Last Sunday, we took a look at the improvements (or lack thereof) the worst bullpens of the 2018 major league season have made since the winter began. Today’s edition will focus on the sorriest rotations from 2018, when the starting staffs of the Orioles, Rangers, Blue Jays, Padres and White Sox posted ERAs upward of 5.00. Those teams also fared poorly in terms of fWAR, unsurprisingly, with the Orioles, Rangers, Padres and White Sox joining the Reds to make up the majors’ bottom five in that department. Even though spring training is set to open across the league, there are still some quality starters remaining in free agency, so it’s possible these teams aren’t done yet. For now, though, most of these staffs leave much to be desired heading into the new season.
White Sox (2018 fWAR: 30th; 2018 ERA: 26th; projected 2019 rotation via Roster Resource): Last year’s White Sox received 30-plus starts from each of James Shields, Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito, but only Lopez managed adequate production. He and Giolito, two former high-end prospects, will once again take up 40 percent of Chicago’s rotation this season, while Shields is currently without a job. Carlos Rodon is also back as one of the team’s most proven starters, albeit after disappointing over 20 appearances in 2018. At least one newcomer – righty Ivan Nova, acquired from the Pirates in December – will slot in near the top of their staff, and fellow offseason pickup Manny Banuelos could join him in the starting five. The 32-year-old Nova isn’t going to wow anyone, but he’s a perfectly cromulent major league starter, having recorded ERAs in the low-4.00s and thrown 160-plus frames in each of the past three seasons. The 27-year-old Banuelos – a trade pickup from the Dodgers – is a former big-time prospect, but the lefty hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2015, when he totaled the only six starts of his career as a member of the Braves.
Given the lack of major league success Giolito, Banuelos, and depth options Dylan Covey and Carson Fulmer have experienced, the White Sox would be well served to land more rotation possibilities before the season. Their situation would look a lot better if not for the Tommy John surgery prized prospect Michael Kopech underwent last September. He’ll miss the entire season as a result, though Chicago could get its first look at its No. 2 pitching prospect, Dylan Cease, this year.
Orioles (2018 fWAR: 29th; 2018 ERA: 30th; projected 2019 rotation): Thanks in part to a less-than-stellar rotation, this is going to be the second ugly season in a row for the rebuilding Orioles. Internal improvement is possible, though, as returning starters Dylan Bundy, Alex Cobb and Andrew Cashner have all shown themselves capable of providing much better numbers than the production they registered over a combined 87 starts in 2018. Inexpensive free-agent signing Nate Karns is also a bounce-back candidate after sitting out most of 2017 and all of ’18 as he recovered from the dreaded thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. Aside from those four – any of whom could end up on the block during the season – no starting option on the Orioles’ 40-man roster has achieved success in the majors. Moreover, their farm system isn’t teeming with hurlers who are in line to make MLB impacts this season. With that in mind, rookie general manager Mike Elias may still be scouring the free-agent market for another cheap stopgap(s) after inking Karns earlier this week.
Padres (2018 fWAR: 28th; 2018 ERA: 27th; projected 2019 rotation): The Padres shrewdly signed former Angel Garrett Richards, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, back in November. But Richards won’t return until later in the season, if he pitches at all in 2019. Other than Richards, the Padres haven’t picked up any starters of note this winter. It hasn’t been for lack of effort, though, as they’ve been connected to the likes of Noah Syndergaard, Corey Kluber, Dallas Keuchel, Marcus Stroman and Mike Leake, among others, in the rumor mill during recent months. Syndergaard and Kluber probably aren’t going anywhere, but Keuchel remains available in free agency and both Stroman and Leake could still be trade candidates. Having failed to secure anyone from that group, the Padres continue to possess an underwhelming rotation – one that received a combined 49 starts from the now-departed duo of Clayton Richard and Tyson Ross last season. However, Chris Paddack and Logan Allen, top-100 prospects and a couple of the many prizes in a San Diego system laden with talent, may debut sometime this year.
Rangers (2018 fWAR: 27th; 2018 ERA: 29th; projected 2019 rotation): Of the seven Rangers who accrued the most starts in 2018, only one – lefty Mike Minor – remains. Fortunately for Texas, Minor was easily the best member of the club’s subpar septet. He’s now part of a completely remade starting staff which has reeled in Lance Lynn (three years, $30MM) and Shelby Miller (one year, $2MM) in free agency and Drew Smyly via trade with the Cubs. The team also has 2018 signing Edinson Volquez returning after he missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. In all, it’s not the most compelling quintet, and it’s anyone’s guess what Miller, Smyly and Volquez will offer after their recent injury-wrecked seasons, but all five have at least shown flashes in the majors.
The soon-to-be 32-year-old Lynn has been effective and durable for most of his career; Miller’s a former star prospect who prevented runs at an excellent clip from 2014-16; Smyly generally impressed as a starter over the same three-year span as Miller; and Volquez has five seasons of 170-plus frames under his belt. Meanwhile, other than newly added minor league signing Jason Hammel, the Rangers’ depth options have virtually no major league accomplishments. A few of their top-10 prospects – Jonathan Hernandez, Taylor Hearn and Joe Palumbo – are climbing up the minor league ladder and could be in Arlington soon, however.
Reds (2018 fWAR: 26th; 2018 ERA: 25th; projected 2019 rotation): The Reds boasted a mostly healthy rotation in 2018, as six pitchers each made at least 20 starts, but no one was particularly good. Consequently, the Reds have acquired three proven MLB starters in various trades this offseason, having picked up Sonny Gray from the Yankees, Alex Wood from the Dodgers and Tanner Roark from the Nationals. There isn’t an ace among the trio, but all three are credible major league starters – which the Reds desperately needed, especially considering Matt Harvey walked in free agency. High-potential holdovers Luis Castillo and Anthony DeSclafani, who have been inconsistent in the majors, will comprise the rest of Cincinnati’s upgraded rotation to begin the season. The Reds’ new additions will push 2018 regulars Sal Romano (25 starts of 5.48 ERA/5.10 FIP ball) and Tyler Mahle (23 starts, 4.98 ERA/5.25 FIP) into depth roles, which is a plus, as is the end of the Homer Bailey era. The Reds sent Bailey and the remains of his bloated contract to the Dodgers when they traded for Wood and outfielders Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp in a blockbuster December deal. Bailey produced catastrophic results from 2017-18, a 38-start, 197 1/3-inning span in which he mustered a 6.25 ERA.
Blue Jays (2018 fWAR: 22nd; 2018 ERA: 28th; projected 2019 rotation): The Blue Jays’ rotation handily outdid the above teams’ by fWAR last year, yet the unit still compiled the majors’ third-worst ERA. Toronto has since made modest acquisitions by trading for Richard and signing Matt Shoemaker (one year, $3.5MM). They’ll serve as placeholders for a Jays team which is at least another full year away from vying for a playoff spot, and may listen to offers for its top two starters – Stroman and Aaron Sanchez – during the upcoming season. Both Stroman and Sanchez have been outstanding at times, but that wasn’t true of either in 2018, and the two are now entering their second-last seasons of team control. Stroman and Sanchez remain atop Toronto’s rotation for the time being, with all parties hoping the righties return to their past productive and healthy ways in 2019. Beyond those two, Richard, Shoemaker and Ryan Borucki, the Blue Jays don’t possess any starters who have done much in the majors, though Sam Gaviglio (37 starts), Sean Reid-Foley (seven) and Thomas Pannone (six) have at least gained some experience.
I was surprised to see that the Marlins were not on this list.
Marlins actually had decent starting pitching, Urena, Richards and a few others were decent for them
I was surprised Connor chose a picture of Sonny Gray…
I would have preferred Homer Bailey. In 20 starts with the Reds, he went 1-14 with 6.09 ERA and 1.64 WHIP.
Gray was part of an average rotation, far from the worst. Even with his home trouble, was thoroughly impressed, 2018, Sonny Gray kept his ERA under five for the Yanks
The picture is Somny Gray because he was traded to the reds
as well the halos…
The Padres have done zip to upgrade their current rotation and just talking about who’s coming later on doesn’t presently help them from having the worst rotation this coming season behind even the Orioles.
I believe that is plan. I mean even if they signed keuchel, harper amd machado , they are still a 4th place team. They have a nice system stocked with good players. No need to spend yet.
Spending on Machado wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Having him long term to go with Tatis, Urias, Hosmer, Mejia, Reyes, and Margot would create a solid long term offense.
We’ve been reading about this nice system “stocked with players” for too long now….Prospects, no matter how highly touted, don’t all work out.
And how about that shrewd contract they gave Richards to not pitch in 2019 while they pay him to rehab…..
If they have all these system guys that they are waiting to bring up why are they then tied (in these trade rumors earlier) to Moustakas to play 3rd….you mean they don’t have one infielder in all those stocked players at the minor league level?
.If I was a Padres fan, I think I would root for another team.
With all due respect, we haven’t been hearing about a system “stocked with players” for too long. It wasn’t that long ago, many perceived the system to be stripped after AJ Preller’s first attempt at building a competitive MLB Team.
And you’re confusing young talent being developed in the farm, with young talent being ready to call up. They’re two different things.
The advantage the Padres have is that their ballpark is more favorable. They should edge out the O’s for that reason alone. I think talent wise it’s pretty close. Bundy and Cobb have the potential to be the best pitchers out of either rotation but the O’s back end is pretty ugly. I like the Karns pick up but he’s a total mystery at this point.
Think the plan is to give chances to guys like Logan Allen, Cal Quantrill, Chris Paddack and Jacob Nix. They can’t all be busts right?
Allen, Paddack, and Quantrill won’t be up til mid season at the earliest in all likelihood. I’m mildly surprised they didn’t sign another Tyson Ross type rebound candidate but they have a full 40 man and may just prefer to give their lesser considered upper level minors guys a go early on. Can’t fault them for that either. It’s not like they’re thinking about October this year
I think Allen and Quantrill will be up relatively early. There was talk of them getting called up last September but the Padres gave priority to the guys who had to be protected from Rule 5.
Maybe so. They’ll still need to make 40 man moves to do that though. Someone will inevitably be hurt but the 40 man should still be tight early on. They may not want to give up on one of the arms they protected to accommodate Allen or Quantrill that early on. Assuming they DFA pirela to sign Moose or another 3B.
Pirela can be DFA’d. Richards and Lamet can be placed on the 60-day DL.
True. I;m assuming you don’t go into the season with France as your starting 3b so I was already taking Pirela out of the equation but you are correct.
Although I’m not entirely convinced that they’ll cut Pirela
Well, lets be optimistic and hope they’re waiting to cut him for a 3B. It’s Shocking they’ve opted to cut other guys over him particularly with the addition of Ian Kinsler and the presence of all those OFers you already had. I don’t know how they’d find a spot for this guy on the team even if they wanted to.
Pirela and Raffy Lopez would have been 1A and 1B of who I cut this offseason. In reality, Lopez was the first to go and Pirela is still here.
Well, yes… But knock on wood, right?
As I’ve known and just recently the GMs have started to figure out spending doesn’t equal winning. Especially spending on pitching. Most of all improvements in pitching always come from improvements from your own players. Fans don’t wanna hear that because it goes against their ignorant narratives.
Cincinnati has a chance to be a real sleeper pick in the central. I’m not saying they’ll win the division, but they could be right there in the mix of it come September. Overall the central division is gonna be one of the toughest in baseball, excluding the Pirates of course.
I agree. It’s a tough division but the Reds will hit with any team in NL. If the pitching is even 25% better .. we won’t be screaming for the start of the football season at the all star break. Last year the Reds were done by June 1st
Hell I gave up on the season by tax day. 3-18 will do that for ya
Not sure why you’re being downvoted for this, they had one of the better offenses over the last two months of the season.
The Tigers or Marlins were probably next on the list, maybe KC?
Kinda surprised Joey Lucchesi wasn’t mentioned in the Padre’s section.
I think if Gray has his bounce backs season the Reds’ rotation isnt top 5 worst. I mean, its not top 5 best but there are some other teams that seem worse off to me.
If you read the headline, it’s about top five worst in 2018 and what they did to change them…. he’s not saying it’ll be top five worst in 2019.
So, essentially the worst rotations from 2018 are expected to be the worst in 2019.
I don’t think so. Cincy should be much improved. Texas could be better, if multiple lottery tickets pay out.
Sadly, the Jays also appears in the worse defence list for 2018. I know that they are waiting for their prospects to get to the majors level, but it doesn’t look like they have a good farm on the starters side. Getting starters is not simple, because teams are reluctant to give up on their aces and FA may not be a great option if there’s a competition for a starter. They should start bolstering their rotation now, not a year from now, because they may not be able to.
White Sox defense was terrible in 2018. Probably the worst.
The new regime, Shapiro and Atkins, have been drafting mostly position players. AA used to concentrate on starters. It’d be nice to pick enough of both!
Prospects aren’t strong defenders either, for the most part. Should be interesting how they grow on the defensive side.
Appreciate the author’s comments re Bundy and Cobb. They should both be better this year. While there is no apparent immediate help in the minors there’s actually plenty of pitching talent there—just not likely ready to emerge this year (2020 more likely).
Padres have Bryan Mitchell. No need to add anyone.
And to think some fans believe the Padres will contend this year. That rotation desperately needs an upgrade, and even then they’re still behind Rockies/Dodgers/Giants. Probably better than the Dbacks at this point though.
I’ll take the Dbacks over the Giants even with their losses. They’ve added Holland, Weaver, 2 Kelly’s and get the return of Souza Jr. and Taijuan Walker. Meanwhile the Giants are playing a AAA team in the outfield and will in a likelihood eventually be dealing Bumgarner and Smith/Watson. Not that any of that matters because they both figure to be around 75 win teams.
I’ll take the Giants over the Dbacks any day. Giants were on pace for 85 wins in 2018 before McCutchen was traded, Posey and Duggar had surgery. Giants only won a total of 5 games in September because they gave up after the surgery of Posey. They were literally 3 games back of the Dodgers for most of June/July, and that was with their “AAA” outfield of Duggar/Slater/Williamson/McCutchen not to mention half the team was on the DL for the entire season. The only loss this year is McCutchen, who was only worth about 1.5 WAR for the giants anyway.
Well, Cutch wasn;t a AAA caliber OFer so that helped. I don’t see Longo, Crawford, Shark, or Melancon recapturing any their old glory and the only addition you’ve made is Drew Pomeranz. The aging curve doesn’t bode well for that team. 2018 should’ve been the last crack at it. Aside from Smith/Watson you’d be selling the rest of these guys for little to nothing if at all. That’s the only reason I think this team is still together. I don’t see either team being good so you very well could beat out the Dbacks but you’re significantly closer to them than the Dodgers.
I don’t see the Dbacks as even touching 70 wins. They simply lack the depth, and if an injury occurs to their injury prone stars (Ray, Greinke, Souza) they are going to crumble. The Giants, on the other hand, have increased their depth and have around 8-10 ML starters despite already losing arguably their best in Cueto. They have Panik and Sandoval in case the infield gets hurt, Pomeranz and Beede in case the rotation gets hurt, and all the money in the world to patch up the OF.
The giants might have rotation depth but they’re all #4 or 5 caliber starters. The Dbacks rotation of Grienke, Ray, Godley, Walker/Kelly and Weaver is just as good as any combination of guys the Giants throw out there. The only difference is that they don’t have the depth starters. If Stratton gets hurt you replace him with Pomeranz and don’t lose much but you weren’t getting much from the first guy to begin with. That’s not a recipe for being good. You can replace Longo w Sandoval if an injury happens but that doesn’t mean either one of them was being very productive. Neither team is very good. Coin flip on which one is better.
The Dbacks will not sniff the playoffs but they are still by far better than the Giants and will easily win 70 games. They have way more decent bodys than you think
And the underestimation of the Giants outfield is exactly why they will succeed next year. Duggar is a far better player than the casual fan might think. Duggar played a total of 41 games last year, and was worth 1.1 WAR. If he plays a full season, that means he’s roughly a 4 win player which is above average. Him, coupled with Williamson (0.5 WAR in only 28 games played) and a free agent outfielder in RF (Harper? Marwin Gonzalez?) is going to make a very underrated outfield that will surprise many.
Duggar looks to be Kevin Pillar but he K’s too much. Honestly even if he is that isn’t enough. Nothing but hope can make B-Craw, Longo, Shark, etc. turn back the clock. The aging curve has caught up to the team, I think they’ll rebuild faster than most teams with their farm systen situation because of their payroll capacity but the earlier they accept it the better. You’ve won 66 then 73 games for a reason. The team had its time. If I were a Giants fan I’d be hoping for a tear down now followed by a pursuit of Arenado, Trout etc. in the coming years. After I stocked my farm with useful pieces because if you think Longo/Crawford are going to help you much now (which I dont) they certainly won’t be helping you in 2021 and beyond when those guys are available. .
I would say Duggar comps to Kevin Kiermaier, and Longoria is the same age as Josh Donaldson. You can’t count out a solid season from somebody who’s proven to have great work ethic, we saw Nick Markakis turn back the clock, we can see Longoria do the same and produce around 3 WAR.
Hopefully I don’t need to tell you this but you don’t project full seasons from a 150 AB sample size. Which fangraphs pegged him at .7 fWar which would make him a 2.8 WAR player. Which would be a fine outcome particularly for that outfield. But especially when Duggar’s minor league profile showed little power and while he was fast he didn’t really swipe many bases. He has the potential to be a solid player at his ceiling but there’s also big red flags like his 29% K rate which is consistent with his upper level minors numbers. He has somewhere in the Pillar/Bradley Jr (The JBJ who hits 13 hrs not 26). type upside but he could also be Manuel Margot.
all of this talk of petco being a pitchers Park and yet despite that the padres staff is among the worst in mlb. Is the mantra of a pitchers Park kind of overrated ? People claim the Yankees have no pitching for example and yet they were in the top 5 in the AL and 10 overall in mlb and they play in a “bandbox” lol
Show me a park where Joey Lucchesi, Clayton Richard, Jacob Nix, Eric Lauer, Luis Perdomo, Bryan Mitchell and Robbie Erlin will comprise a staff that isn’t in the bottom 5? That was an ugly group of starters mixed in with a couple of their lesser regarded prospect arms. No surprise it wasn’t very good.
Absolutely true my friend but my point is that good pitching will succeed anywhere. Petco doesn’t help pitchers as much as people think
Park factors are a very real thing. I can’t discredit them. Petco doesn’t make you an ace overnight but there’s no doubt it helps significantly more than pitching in Camden Yards or Coors Field.
Even in an extreme pitchers park you still need starting pitchers to go anywhere
The Padres problem is they only had one of the two
Poor White Sox fans. Ricky takes the Dodgers 10th OF and makes him their starting OF and now they take LA’s 15th starter and make him their “ace.” Dark days in the Windy City.
Manny Banuelos will be fighting for the 5th spot in the White Sox 2019 rotation provided Rick Hahn doesn’t pick up another veteran starter which he has been hinting about all offseason. He’s more focused on the Machado and Harper bidding but suggested late last month at SoxFest that he has other FA acquisitions and trade scenarios in the works that might include the rotation.
Btw-I assume you were referring to former White Sox outfielder Trayce Thompson who was never a regular starter on the South Side after his re-acquisition from the Dodgers. Thompson was released and is currently in the Indians organization.
Thompson was never re-acquired from the Dodgers. He came from Oakland, a team that frequently tries to find some value from Dodgers castoffs.
Thompson was indeed the starter after his acquisition from the A’s. From games 17 to 31, He started the overwhelming majority of games over that time while demonstrating that he simply can’t hit. And then they gave him another go at it a month later before realizing that there was a reason he was on his fourth team for the 2018 season.
You’re silly.
I believe the Reds new starters are in for a shock. They will all be hard pressed to repeat their 2018 performances in the GAB bandbox. Plus they don’t have a centerfielder either. They will get run support, a decent infield defense, but Good Lord the ball flies out of that park, especially to right. But one hopes the additions will put some butts in the seats, cause the past couple of years has been an embarrassment for a once proud Baseball city. Visiting teams often had more fans.
What about the Mariners? I am going to be shocked if Justus Sheffield even closely resembles a starting pitcher as we watch James Paxton actually be a starter. Felix Hernandez, Marco… and then who? Mike Leake?
Mike Leake is an exponentially better pitcher than Felix Hernandez has been. They also added Kikuchi who figures to be a quality mid rotation arm. Leake, Gonzales, and the expected performance of Kikuchi is probably just enough to keep them off this list with any positives from Sheffield being another plus.
Kikuchi is a big question mark too.. Marco Gonzales and Mike Leake being your “aces” isn’t going to cut it. Every pitcher for the Mariners has question marks and so that’s why I feel they should be on this list.
Aside from the reds current rotation those rotations listed above are far worse. This list was the worst rotation last year though and the M’s did not qualify for that because their rotation wasn’t in the bottom. If we were putting together this years worst rotations you’d probably take the reds out and put the royals or possibly mariners in their place.
I hope these teams give the Brewers a call we have to find homes for Guerra, Davis, Anderson, Wilkerson homes. I know you can never have too much starting pitching but these guys should be able to get some decent young players back. I think that is the key to keeping us competitive for years to come down the road. We still would have William’s, Houser, Brown, Ashby, Smith, Ponce, Tomlin and Supak for starters
No one is giving anything up for Guerra or Anderson. They’re obviously tradeable players but you won’t get anything more than a C+ prospect back. Guys like Brett Anderson, Clay Bucholz, Ervin Santana, Shields, and Miguel Gonzalez are just sitting out there in FA. All are extremely comparable and require giving up nothing at all.
I think San Diego would be a perfect fit for guys like Chase Anderson and them plus I would be very happy with returns that we got for like what we got for Adam Lind
Cromulent!
I love the Simpsons reference in the White Sox section
Perfectly Cromulent
People always talking smack about the marlins and how bad they’re suppose to be but yet they end up with a better record than all these teams lol.
Just because you don’t suck the most doesn’t mean you don’t suck in your own special way
Shiniest turd…
The Marlins are going to suck. Badly.
At the end of this season the Cubs will be on this..
So White Sox fans keep insisting….
White Sux fans should stop obsessing over the Cubs. They’re not even in the same galaxy. All of their “prized prospects” to this point, Hmmmmm Moncada- BUST, Tim Anderson – BUST. And, as this article highlights, Rodon, Fulmer, Lopez, Giolito…. BUST, BUST, BUST, BUST and Kopeck’s arm fell off, so he’ll have to wait til 2020 to be a BUST. Wasn’t exactly lighting it up before his arm exploded, who knows how he’ll comeback.
Yeah, I see no reason why the Northwest Indiana White Sux won’t continue to be a joke and irrelevant.
Meanwhile, the Cubs are in the midst of 4 straight playoff appearances (and counting) winning more games than anyone in baseball during that span, including 3 straight NLCS and a ring already in the bank with a young, PROVEN, Championship core that hasn’t even hit their peak years yet. Not “prospects” but PROVEN players.
So yeah, if you think you clown haters are miserable now, stay tuned, it’s only gonna get worse for you, hahaha.
Bryzzo, Can you please provide your definition of “bust”? I’m generally curious.
Well, as a typical fan that has access to the same information as other random fans, I could look at WAR, projected WAR in addition to stats that I personally consider legit measuring sticks such ERA, K/BB ratio, OPS, etc…. but when specifically using the term “bust”, I trust those that actually get paid for their opinions.
Both locally and nationally, several outlets are not sold on the “prospects” that have graduated to the bigs for the South Siders. I’m assuming their performance/peripherals has led to these labels that I happen to agree with. This particular article that we’re commenting on is just another example.
Thank you. Clearly Anderson and Rondon’s stock has fallen, no question. Rondon could easily fit in the back of a rotation on a contenting team if they don’t put too many innings on his arm. Based on the sample size of Moncada, Lopez and Gio are you honestly ready to call them a bust? Seems a bit early. Any input on the other too prospects the Sox have? I honestly can never tell if you’re an A+ troll or real fan of the game and not just the Cubs.
Nope, not a troll. Yes a Cubs fan, but not a blind Cubs homer. I just call it how I see it. As far as thoughts on other Sox “prospects”, they are just that… “prospects” by definition, no guarantees. So I don’t put a lot of stock and/or faith in ANY of them until they prove it in the show. Buxton was “cant miss” same with Moncada, Giolito, etc…., Bryant was cant miss and he lived up to the hype obviously. College Player of the Year, MiLB player of the year, ROY and MVP in 4 consecutive years, that’s never happened before, then you have guys like Schwarber (whom the media laughed at when the Cubs drafted him in spite of signing him well below slot) Hendricks, Contreras etc.. many organizations have guys like that on their 40 man that were never hyped “prospects” and/or draft picks, yet have thrived in the show.
Yes, it’s way too early for the Sox to worry about FA signings now. They need to self scout/evaluate first, find out where they legitimately stand in terms of talent. Who is a part of their young core that they can build around… THEN build around them. Why overpay (something JR hates to do BTW) when you’re not clear on when you can legitimately contend. Again, many have tried what the Cubs/Astros have accomplished… but VERY FEW pulled it off. A young championship core that is a sustainable contender year after year.
It’s Rodon not Rondon
Haha, really? Hmmmm, Lester, Hendricks, Hamels, Yu, Q…. All healthy, I’ll take that rotation any day. Monty as a 6th starter Incase of injury or ineffectiveness. Yep, I have zero complaints with that rotation. Troll better Boomer. It’s pathetic enough to troll, at least TRY and be clever about it. Hahaha
I’ll be curious to see how Lester does this year. His K total dropped by about 30 last year, but he still had a nice 3.32 ERA. At 35, both he and Hamels are slight question marks, but man did Hamels look good last year for the Cubs. If they both have another good year left in them and Darvish somehow remembers that he’s an ace caliber pitcher, the Cubs will have a fantastic rotation. Still a lot that could go wrong, but the ceiling is incredibly high. Here’s hoping they all crush it!
Sure, a lot can go wrong with any rotation. But when Hamels is your 3, backed up with a healthy Yu (got an early start to ST) and then Q as a 5th starter… WOW! Yes, I’ll take my chances with that rotation any day. Even their 6th starter/long reliever Monty, he would be in the rotation for most teams.
I get the focus on Machado, but it seems kinda odd the White Sox haven’t done much yet to acquire pitching beyond Nova (who’s a #4 at best) and Banuelos (who’s barely a #5 yet).
If Machado somehow signs, the offense definitely has some potential, but that pitching staff beyond Lopez and maybe Rodon, not so much. Keuchel would be a solid #2, and it’d be great if they could trade for a #1 somehow. Even excluding Eloy, I’d still think they’d have enough prospect-wise to get a deal done. They still have five top 100 prospects after Eloy and several others that are considered top 10 or top 20 at their position.
I’m not saying trade it all or even trade players that seem likely to be slotted in to the main roster at some point, but there has to be some solid prospects the Sox could part with to get what they need.
This is a 100 loss team. Do you honestly think they should heavily invest in Kuechel at this stage of the rebuild? I would think Hahn would want to wait and see if ANY of the mentioned starters prove they can be solid ML pitchers, that their hitting prospects can produce at this level. Because if they all keep underperforming, Kuechel won’t help. If anything it will cost the Sox draft equity. Also, these guys are FAs, they have to want to go to the South Side. If the fans and the media don’t trust this “rebuild” why would players and their reps? Remember this is the same inept front office that claimed to be “All in” just a few years back only to finish with a worse record than teams actively tanking. If they are that clueless at self scouting their own talent, why would potential free agents believe this rebuild will work?
The “All In” season was 2011. Rick Hahn took over GM in 2013. Rick has wanted to rebuild for years and now has the opportunity. So far he has done exactly what every team has done during a rebuild, including the Cubs. Last step, IMO, is to go out and sign FA talent. I personally think that it’s a bit early for that since they still suck but the fact they are making meaningful offers only solidifies the notion that they can and will spend FA money.
2011? Traded for Shields, signed LaRoche and Dunn, etc… that was 2011? Are you sure? That’s when Sale cut up jerseys and Drake LaRoche became the most famous LaRoche? Pretty sure that was 2016. AFTER the Cubs won… THEN the Sox FINALLY committed to a rebuild. Even in 2011, Kenny was GM and Hahn was assistant GM? Either way, same front office right?
Also, MANY have tried what the Cubs/Astros have done… VERY few succeeded. So, I wouldn’t use the Cubs as an example. Theo, after doing the same thing in Boston, was proven. He knew it took more than a subscription to Baseball Prospectus to create a sustainable winner. Organizational overhaul from top to bottom. From scouts, to coaches and everywhere in between. Also, his “prospects” all graduated. No one has labeled Bryant, Schwarber, Baez, Contreras, Happ, Almora, Hendricks etc…as “busts”. They are proven, young MLB champions.
No denying that a grass roots rebuild is difficult but they are obviously committed and so far are going about it the right way. It’s brutal to watch but the storyline is very compelling and interest. Hahn has been assistant gm for years but everyone knows Kenny has been in the drivers Seat until recently. Shield was acquired well after “all in” back in 2016. That was the year the Sox started strong and were buyers prior to the trade deadline. Never the less Was a dumb trade
“They’ll serve as placeholders for a Jays team which is at least another full year away from vying for a playoff spot”
Connor Byrne who are you kidding?. This BlueJays team is 3 years away from any type of winning a championship.
One of Stroman and Sanchez will be awesome this year, the other not so much.
Sean Reid Foley doesn’t now here the ball is going when it leaves his hand, so that means he can be lights out or out of the game.
Borucki is the real deal. He’ll be a true #2 in the rotation by the end of next year.
Pannone is minor league fodder. He got a boost on his 88 MPH fastball last year by taking PED’s. HE won’t have that luxury this year. ‘
Gaviglio is a great 1 turn starter. In other words use him as an opener The 2nd and 3rd turns in the batting order are batting practice off this guy.
Shoemaker and Richard will be good for the fans that have baseball gloves in the outfield bleachers.
Where are the elite pitchers coming from? No one wins a championship without a true#1 starter. The only pitcher in the orgnization that I know of that has that type of upside is Pearson.
BlueJays start the 2019 season 5-20. They will finish somewhere around 76 wins.