It’s been long suspected that the Athletics were going to undergo a roster teardown after the lockout. Those predictions have been coming true in recent days, as the club has already traded Chris Bassitt to the Mets and Matt Olson to the Braves. Among their most likely trade candidates, they still have third baseman Matt Chapman, along with starting pitchers Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas. When it comes to those pitchers, the White Sox are among the teams interested, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
The Pale Hose already have an excellent front three in their rotation with Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease. However, there are some question marks in the backend. For one, Dallas Keuchel had a rough season last year, throwing 162 innings with an ERA of 5.28. As for Michael Kopech, he missed most of 2018 and all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery and then opted out of the 2020 pandemic season. Last year was mostly about getting him re-acclimated to pitching and building up his arm strength. While he fared well, putting up an ERA of 3.50, he only amassed 69 1/3 innings. While he may be able to handle a starter’s workload this year, it’s certainly not a sure thing.
In terms of depth, the club has Jonathan Stiever and Jimmy Lambert on the 40-man. Both are optionable and likely to be in Triple-A until an injury creates a need for their services. Vince Velasquez was also just signed to bolster the depth, perhaps serving as a long man out of the bullpen to start the year.
Adding Manaea or Montas to this group and bumping everyone down a peg would surely bolster the staff as a whole. Manaea pitched 179 1/3 innings last year with a 3.91 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate and 5.4% walk rate. He’s scheduled to hit free agency at the end of the season and is projected to earn a salary of $10.2MM, per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. Montas, meanwhile, tossed 187 frames with a 3.37 ERA, 26.6% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. He’s projected for a $5.2MM salary and comes with an extra year of control.
One obstacle the White Sox might face is their farm system, or lack thereof. On Baseball America’s most recent Organization Talent Rankings, the club’s system came dead last. In order to pull off a major trade, they would have to further deplete what it already arguably the weakest system in the league.
However, the club will surely want to take advantage of what is a very strong MLB team that just made the postseason in back-t0-back seasons for the first time in their 120-year history. With the Twins and Guardians still aiming to compete and the Tigers making strong moves to emerge from a rebuild, the South Siders may be willing to take that hit to strike while their competitive window is wide open.
The Chris Bassitt trade was not good for the Sox.
It was 2014 hard trade to predict. It took him awhile to get this level.. Semien and Bassitt ended up to be pretty damn good.
Semien has had 2 good years since 2015. 5 of the last 7 years his wRC+ was under 100 (league average). So there’s that.
The James shield trade also
Too bad Tatis can’t play a full season and is irresponsible enuff to ride a trail bike and fall off repeatedly!
Dumba**!
Did you say this about Madison Bumgarner too, or are you just a….?
LOL serious delusions from A’s nation on here.
Keep dreaming if you think either Vaughn or Kopech is going to be a part of those trades.
At least they hit with the Quintana trade
This rumor tells you all you need to know about the confidence the Sox brass have in their rotation. Keuchel is clearly on the downside of a good career and Kopech remains, despite flashes, untested and unreliable in his fourth season with the team.
Technically a little over a season for Kopech. He didn’t pitch in ’19 or ’20, after only 4 abbreviated starts with Chicago in ’18. Crochet has almost as much ML experience as Kopech.
If the Sox have any prayer of moving Keuchel, he will be a starter, at least through April. Because of his vesting option in ’23, he needs to create a market for himself that currently doesn’t exist. There’s no way the Sox will let his vesting option kick in. He will either get cut or end up throwing a couple innings in relief each week to ensure the option won’t kick in.
No it wasn’t cuz I think they gave Oakland Semien & Montas in that deal as well. In their defense, they had those guys for a couple seasons cuz I remember the Tigers doing well against them. They came into their own with Oakland though.
Two separate deals
-Oakland Athletics traded Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa to Chicago White Sox in exchange for Marcus Semien, Josh Phegley, Chris Bassitt and Rangel Ravelo.
-Frankie Montas, Micah Johnson and Trayce Thompson, were traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a three team trade that sent Todd Frazier to the White Sox and José Peraza, Brandon Dixon and Scott Schebler to the Cincinnati Reds
Looks like the White Sox won the latter trade in a vacuum. Though none of the teams made out well, Frazier was decent for them.
Chicago WhiteSox 2022 World Champions.
*3022
Don’t be so pessimistic. 2220.
Muted. Adios
Lol snowflake
ratio + no one cares + bye
Wait, the World Series started?
How? Did tired Tony retire?
*American League Champions
They will fall to the Braves.
Good! Manea would be great for the rotation
@The Baseball Fan-C’mon you know Montas is better than Manaea. So let’s stop pretending he’s better.
We need a lefty, so Manea would probably be more valuable.
Handedness in the rotation doesn’t matter because (1) to be a starter, you have to be able to get hitters from both sides out, and (2) the rotation is generally fixed and not based on matchups the way the bullpen is.
“I love both sports, but the deciding factor was, being a LH pitcher, I had a huge advantage in MLB because of that, and I didn’t have that type of advantage in hockey.” – Tom Glavine explaining his career choice
It is fascinating to me how many LHP’s and LH hitters are in the HOF given their (10%) share of the general population. Almost half the HOF is made up of Lefties!!! Fascinating
Do the Sox want one of those arms badly enough to trade from the MLB roster? Theyll probably have to.. Vaughn?
Yolbert Sanchez and Adam Engel should do it
Yolbert and Engel, the new Adolfo and Stiever.
No to Vaughn, he is too valuable as a hitter.
Yolbert and Engel might be enough to get Paul Blackburn.
Yes, but at what price?!
Exactly what they need but I wonder at what cost.
Let Sheets and Vaungh stay put!!!
Montas will cost Vaughn.
@DonnyDownvote- of course he will. But it will be well worth it. Montas is the real deal.
Vaughn is a local Bay Area guy who played 1B his whole life til this season, A’s just lost their 1B….perfect match.
Montas-Vaughn straight up works, right?
Works amazingly well if you’re an A’s fan. I’m genuinely hoping Hahn isn’t that stupid.
I am very curious why so many of my fellow White Sox fans are so against trading Vaughn? He hasn’t shown anything to indicate that he is on the verge of becoming an elite hitter. Even his minor league numbers were more good then great. If we could get Montas for him I would do it in a second. We have Sheets and Berger who could fill the role Vaughn is currently projected to play.
Well considering he played A season in the minors and moved through 3 levels in that year, didn’t play at all in 2020 because of Covid, and still managed to hold his own and show an advanced level of adjusting to pitchers…that might be why Sox fans, and most experts BTW, believe he is the real deal.
Just for reference, Konerko’s 1st pro year he hit 217 with an OBP of 276 and he was only 1 year younger than Vaughn was last year. I’m not saying he will be Konerko, but he is going to be a damn good player, and sooner rather than later.
I am very curious to know if you’ve been following sports long enough to have seen other top prospects take a year or two to figure it out at the big league level.?
A’sfaninUK I thought the A’s weren’t going to have a massive sell off?
I’m not saying he can’t be really good or even great. I’m just saying you have to give something to get something. We simply do not have the minor league pieces to make a major trade. Thus IMO Vaughn is the most logical piece to move. We have guys that can replace him on the roster already and so far he has not shown elite upside since being drafted.
Ted 2 – I’m very curious if you’ve been following baseball or sports long enough to know a lot of prospects end up being bust or under performing their perceived upsides.
Again I am not saying he is going to be a bust, but I would be willing to give him up if he gets us a legit starter for 2 years like Montas.
Sox are not trading Vaughn.
Based on BTV, that trade slightly benefits White Sox. But pitching is at a premium and Vaughn, hasn’t done much or got much opportunity yet. There’s a 4 pts gap in value that white Sox would have to add to deal, something like burger, dalquist, Kelley, or odolfo.
Jake Burger or Gavin Sheets for one year of Manaea.
Try both plus another prospect but will As want that?
Burger and one or both of the AAA Sox SP’s.
Both sheets and burger still falls short of matching manaea on BTV 11.5 to 14.1, If A’s are rebuilding they may or may not be targeting a couple soon to be 26 yr old players
I say go for it. The opportunity in front of us is rare and fleeting. I like all three of Vaughn, Burger, and Sheets. But I think Vaughn is the only one worth more than Manaea on his own. Still, if the A’s insisted on him, and threw in more to even it up, I’d do it.
“I think Vaughn is the only one worth more than Manaea on his own” Spoken like a true Sox fan. Despite the 11 x difference in fWAR in favor of Manaea, and about double the projection for ’22, it may be much closer than the current numbers because of age and years of control / cost over the next few seasons. And now the A;s need a 1B.
But I can’t see Vaughan as more valuable than Manaea at this point. That you would eagerly do the deal reinforces the point. A youngish (24 on OD) DH/1B vs a pretty established starting pitcher that just turned 30? Vaughn may have been promoted to the bigs too soon leading to a disappointing ’21, I’m sure his best is yet to come. But I don’t think he brings Manaea straight up right now. Surely a better deal is available elsewhere,.
Vaughn is more valuable than Manaea because Manaea is a free agent and Vaughn was a top 3 overall pick with several years of cheap control left. I mean for this year, Manaea will be the more valuable player, of course. But I’m not dealing Vaughn for 1 year of a good starter when the Sox have 3 other good ones, and Vaughn is slated to be part of their RF/DH solution. Beane would jump out of his chair to deal Manaea for Vaughn. I don’t see that happening. Sox trades with the A’s have not proved to be good for the Sox to say the least.
Manaea+Montas+Trivino
for
Vaughn+Sheets+Burger+Kopech+Vera+Montgomery
Lmao.smoking?
The White Sox would not and I repeat would not trade Vaughn straight up for Manea no way no chance.
Vaughn had a slow start to his big league career but he would hardly be the first guy to struggle in his MLB debut. I wouldn’t even trade him straight up for Montas but that would be more in line a straight up trade for Montas. I fully expect Vaughn to show why he was such a high draft choice and rake this year.
I know I should want Freeman’s postseason experience and abilities, but is it bad that I hope he takes a $20+AAV from TOR and the Dodgers pull out a Chapman/Montas trade instead?
Right there with you. He’s a great player and an even better person but we just don’t need him and he’d push Muncy to 2B which would cause us to slip defensively. I’d like to keep him at 1B and see what Lux can do with more time at the keystone. We could definitely use another starter or two on the other hand.
From the As perspective, they may as well trade everything they can and fully commit to the teardown.
That’s…what they’re doing…
Well a tear down probably will be two impending free agent pitchers in bassitt, manaea. They traded olson with 2 yrs remaining Chapman’s value is down, montas will be only making $5 mill and has 2 yrs left, laureano isn’t a free agent until after 2024 and despite being talented has some injury and suspension issues. Catching is at a premium, would they trade gold glover Sean Murphy who has 4 yrs of control, but did strugggle hitting last year and they did acquire a top catching prospect in olson trade
While either Montas or Manaea would be great to have, what would they cost? Kopech? Crochet? Vaughn?
Only Montas has 2 years left, I would definitely not give up any of those 3 for 1 year of Manaea, good a pitcher as he is. For Montas, dealing Crochet might be worth considering. I see Crochet as poster child for TJ surgery candidate in the next year or two. His velocity in 2021 never returned to what it was in 2020, so I’m just not sold on his durability. A promising young pitcher for sure, but 2 years of a kick-ass 5th starter like Montas might be worth it. Sox bullpen is now a strength, they have nothing to give out of the minors so Crochet is the only asset I could see them giving up that might actually get Montas. If they gave up Kopech I think would be a disaster, and another Billy Beane theft job. I’m really high on him longer term.
Can you count on Montas? His suspension clouds the picture. I wouldn’t trade anyone for that uncertainty.
Would like the Dodgers to pursue those 2 starters
That farm system is so bad, A’s should be asking for a pre arb roster player or two to headline a package for both of them.
I got it
Manaea+Montas+Trivino
for
Vaughn+Sheets+Burger+Kopech+Vera+Montgomery
Delusional much!?
Vaughn and Kopech have a 66.30 value while manaea, montas and trivino have a 54.80 value so adding in those 8 other players isn’t going to happen nor is the trade involving both Vaughn and Kopech.
Send Keuchel, Sheets, Gonzalez & Vaughn to A’s for Manaea and Montas and use the salary savings from dumping Keuchel to sign Castellanos.
How much cash are Sox throwing in? A’s don’t want Keuchel with that vesting option.
Flip Keuchel to another team for lottery ticket prospect. Everybody is looking for arms for 1st half of season.
Then make up a feasible trade by making it a 3-teamer where Keuchel goes to a 3rd team – teams rarely if ever “flip” stars or even semi-stars like Keuchel.
Dallas Keuchel has a negative 12.8 mil trade value. As such, in order to move him, the White Sox would have to actually *add* a prospect. Not get one. Even the proverbial lottery ticket. All teams have their own crappy pitchers who cost a whole lot less. Ya know?
I didn’t realize their farm was so bad. It doesn’t seem like trading a prospect just to get out of his contract would be prudent. Hahn is probably just hoping for some kind of rebound. Which is about all the Sox can do.
Make it a feasible trade? Didn’t you just post 6 players for 3, 2 of whom are on the current roster?
As if the A’s would ever take on that high a salary.
People on here who I always incorrectly assume are the most knowledgeable of fans constantly suggest dumping high salary players to teams who are looking to do the exact same thing!!! Why on earth do you think the A’s traded bassit and Olson for gods sake.
Please dump most of Kimbrel’s money first for whoever needs a closer. Not getting a good player or prospect back. Use said money to get a lefty bat of consequence whether via creative trade or signing. Logjam of below average defenders-be willing to deal Vaughn or Eloy to shake up the roster. More of the same won’t cut it if they are going to compete with the big boys in AL.
Keep Kimbrel as closer insurance
Graveman was impressive closing in Seattle if Hendriks needs a day off or is on IL. They have a budget, so being realistic they have to shed a mostly moveable salary to get a good lefty bat.
In fairness to the Sox, their farm is currently on the ML roster. So like the Cubs before them, it’s win now or go home.
I feel for Tigers fans right now… so much up-and-coming talent, yet Avila and Illitch continue to sit on their hands as the division gets stronger. These are two guys who could really bolster the Tigers chances in a still weak division, despite the recent moves by the Twins.
The Tigers have a full rotation with potential. Once Torkelson and Greene are promoted they will have a solid lineup all around. They could add a backend starter. They need a lefty arm in the pen. This is the year to find out what they have. They did their moves early. They got what they needed.
I’d argue that last year was the year that they found out what they have: a team with potential. They added ERod, Baez, and Barnhart, yes, but they 100% need another arm or two in that rotation. If Baez, Torkelson, and Greene can inject more pop into that lineup, great. Just not all that confident in a starting rotation of ERod and the Hotshot Question Marks. Mize and Skubal could be great IF they take the next step. Manning is young with a lot to prove. The bullpen was excellent at times last year, it just lacks consistency and a bona fide lefty, as you say. Diekman would have been perfect, as would Chafin. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pulling for the Tigs, I just think that Manaea and Montas are two guys who could really get the team over the hump.
I wouldn’t mind them being added at all, and I think they have the depth to do it, but this is the year they find out which pitchers take the next step, and then Turnbull will be back in ’23. Still hoping they bring Boyd back, too.
Houstoncolt feels sorry for tiger fans because they’re going to be good very shortly and he wants them to overpay and make a bunch of bold moves to close the window faster.
White Sox often get worked over in trades w/ the A’s.
Every single time
Dodgers should trade for Chapman and have Turner DH
Is Turner a better 2B than Muncy?
The A’s have managed to trade Olson & Bassett at the peak of their value – Manaea is the next most obvious with only one year of control left. Chapman’s strike out issues & Laureano’s ongoing suspension mean a needed strong first half rebound and a mid season trade more likely.
A’s tearing it down
Not necessarily. Oakland’s Billy Beane and Co. been there done that with the limited resources given and still remained competitive. Sure it is painful but… Go A’s…
Come on cardinals
White Sox have some inside scoop with Cuban players. A’s could get one or two.
Ricky, baby, I got this.
Vaughn gets Manea.
Crochet, Montgomery, Burger gets Montas.
Make it so and send some tics my way.
Cordially,
Your new Assistant-Gm
Rick: Why don’t you throw in Cespedes to get ripped off even more?
Vaughn is too much for one year of Manea.
Well this is ridiculous, if these two pitchers are going anywhere, it’s to Seattle. Mariners farm is by far the most superior of any contending team in the AL. JERRY would be able to laughably match and best any other offer by a magnitude of degrees. We don’t need both these guys, but one or the other. LET’S get er done Jerr.
The issue you have is if you aren’t willing to trade from your top 5 then from a trade standpoint other teams can match or beat you. The White Sox could potentially dangle Vaughn. The only guys the Mariners have in there farm who probably have more value then Vaughn are Rodriguez, Marte and Kirby. If you aren’t willing trade those guys you don’t have an advantage.
Thank you, I hear your point and it’s crystal clear now. Appreciate it.
The White Sox should be able to acquire either Sean Manaea or Frankie Montas despite being farm system bottom dwellers. One of the primary reasons their system has ‘tanked’ was because their best prospects have graduated to the active or 40-man roster. The White Sox have a lot of value to offer if they are willing to deal off more young controllable MLB talent like they did when trading Nick Madrigal and Codi Heuer last summer. What they need to do is be smarter this time around and just use pieces where they have some surplus.
As far as dealing with the A’s, it’s clear that Oakland might be interested in either Gavin Sheets or Andrew Vaughn to replace 1B Matt Olson who was just dealt to the Braves. Sheets should be plenty as the centerpiece of a Manaea deal. It might take Vaughn to pry away Montas. That said, perhaps the White Sox might still have enough ‘surplus’ with other young controllable players with some MLB experience like Jake Burger who might serve as a replacement for 3B Matt Chapman who the A’s also figure to deal in the coming days.
Btw: Reynaldo Lopez is also another rotation wild card for the White Sox along with newly acquired FA Vince Velasquez. Lopez was actually more effective once his vision problem was identified and addressed. Velasquez has more resembled the ‘old’ Lopez with his production. The White Sox are also hoping Ethan Katz can help fix Velasquez like he has apparently done with Lopez. When Velasquez passed his physical prior to the White Sox making his signing official, hopefully he was also given a thorough eye exam. lol
Manaea+Montas+Trivino
for
Vaughn+Sheets+Burger+Kopech+Vera+Montgomery
So, based on your earlier proposal of Vaughn for Montas, this is one year of Manaea and 3 of Trivino for Sheets, Burger, Kopech, Vera, and Montgomery. Would you like Robert, TA, and Moncada as well?
Nice analysis Aaron, thank you. Very helpful.
Aaron’s the most erudite commenter here, along with being the best writer.
@ AaronSapoznik;
I understand you’re a big Sox fan and respect that. But you need to re-read what you wrote here:
“The White Sox have a lot of value to offer if they are willing to deal off more young controllable MLB talent like they did when trading Nick Madrigal and Codi Heuer last summer.”
That was the worst trade I’ve seen made in years. They totally scuttled their years-long rebuild doing that. Now you want them to trade more young cheap players (I doubt they really have any of interest to other teams left) to pick up a guy that’ll be a FA at the end of the 2022 season? Add in that they’re already at their budget max – based on projected revenues – for 2022, with their players coming up for large raises in 2023.
I strongly suggest you do a little study of how GM Alex Anthopoulos handled the Braves coming out of their rebuild, and is still handling them. It’s really sort of dumb to go through years of a rebuild, the 2nd year out of it you start trading off your cheap core youngsters and “go for it” – yet you’re suggesting they do the same this year?
As I wrote elsewhere – the White Sox elected to pattern themselves after the Cubs/Epstein model instead of the Astros/Luhnow. The object of a rebuild is to be sustainable contender for years. Cleveland is coming out of a ‘rebuild on the fly’ this season; KC and Detroit are coming out of their rebuilds. Those teams will not be pushovers in 2022. And while I think the Twins are thrashing around they might be better in 2022 compared to 2021. Doesn’t much matter – the other 3 teams will be better and continue to get better for at least the next 3-4 years as their youngsters get ML experience.
The White Sox rebuild was the worst I’ve seen in the past 10 years other than the Phillies mess. I have no idea how to restructure that roster – other than to find an experienced Baseball Ops person and give him/her a few years to rebuild the FO and get that franchise back on track.
While not many were thrilled about the Madrigal trade, especially how it ended, the Sox have their core locked in until 2025. They are in much more of a a position to dangle pieces for a win now move. That didn’t work out. But if Kimbrel doesn’t crap the bed, and the Sox make a WS run, that was a brilliant trade, as they traded someone out for the season for a key piece.
People like to call it a horrible trade but it seems too soon to call it as such. Madrigal is a good player but has yet to do anything for the cubs yet. Heuer is a good player as well but only had a handful of appearances and is now out for the season. Kimbrel obviously scuffled last season but still has more experience and proven success at the MLB level than both of those players combined. There’s also no reason to believe that with his off season work along with opening the season this spring with team that he can’t rebound and have another solid season.
@ Samuel
You must have missed the follow up sentence that completed my first paragraph: “What they (White Sox) need to do is be smarter this time around and just use pieces where they have some surplus.”
This is yet another example of taking a comment out of context by cherry-picking portions of a statement to make their own point.
@samuel
“The White Sox rebuild was the worst I’ve seen in the past 10 years other than the Phillies mess.”
Getting Jimenez, Moncada, Giolito, Cease, Kopech, and Lopez via trades and signing Robert, Lynn, Grandal and Hendriks were such stupid moves that set the team back several years in their rebuild, right?
If there were an award for the dumb comment of the day, you would win it hands down for that pearl of wisdom.
@ dioms for Idiots;
There is more to a rebuild than the initial acquiring of players. Almost all teams do that.
It’s how you are positioned and come out of the rebuild.
The Sox are a top-heavy power-hitting team with terrible defense, bad baserunning, decent pitching, but processing poor baseball IQ’s and a complete inability to execute to win games in multiple ways against quality opponents.
What you wrote fits rotisserie baseball. It doesn’t fit in MLB where games are played on a field.
Watch what happens in the next few years. Don’t worry, the fans will blame it on Larussa and the owner not spending more money – and you all will feel better.
Montgomery, Basabe, Sheets, and the new Cuban prospect for Montas. Throw in Lopez as well.
The White Sox would probably have to give up Andrew Vaughn in order to get Montas, and would probably have to give up their top few prospects to get Manaea. I guess it depends on how badly they want to try to win for the next couple seasons. Their awful farm system means that their window to compete may not be as long as they had initially hoped when they were in the process of rebuilding. Personally, I think they should go all in for the next couple seasons and then worry about the future when they get there.
Sox are not trading Vaughn.
Wow I’m so glad a lot of these white Sox fans are not Rick Hahn. Trading Vaughn a guy who projects to hit for a 300 average with 30+ home run potential. For either one of these guys would be a big mistake. Yea let’s just trade out top draft picks from all those years we tanked for some bumbs. Vaughn is the type of player you use as a center piece for a super star like Jason Degrom or Chris Sale. Abreu is only getting older and the Sox need Vaughn for 1st base. So dumb to trade him for one of these guys we don’t need. Lopez or Lambert could easily have a better season then these guys. Look at any big trade for superstars over the last 5 plus years the center piece is a player like Vaughn so what the hell are people talking about Vaughn for like the White Sox would trade him for a fifth starter lmao Vaughn has been talked about as a future MVP canadite that’s how high scouts are on His bat.
Look at any big trade for superstars over the last 5 plus years the center piece is a player like Vaughn so what the hell are people talking about Vaughn for like the White Sox would trade him for a fifth starter lmao
He was a 1st baseman that got drafted 3rd overall and won the golden spikes award. The only reason he didn’t go 1st overall in the draft is because he’s a 1st baseman. You don’t get drafted that high as a 1st baseman without having a special bat. Vaughn dominated college baseball pitching and did great at every level in the minors. Had a good rookie year last year for someone learning to play the outfield. No way he’s going anywhere. Just look how valuable he was for the Sox without Eloy. They trade him they would be an injury away from looking for a player like Vaughn. Just like their still trying to figure out how to replace Madrigal at 2B
They trade Vaughn they will have many nights wishing he was in the lineup if Sheets or Abreu suck or get hurt. They would have no options for DH
I wouldn’t do Vaughn for Montas straight up. People suggesting Vaughn as just the centerpiece of that deal are ridiculous. I hope Hahn tells them to get serious if that’s the request. I could see them dealing anyone up to Kopech, but even then, that had better be for Montas and not Manaea.
Kopech and Vaughn are off the table unless their getting A superstar Frontline starter . Kopech will have a better season then either one of these guys. If he stays healthy I would bet my house on it. Vaughn will be one of the Soz breakout players
I agree. The A’s will ask for them, but I don’t believe Rick Hahn will trade Kopech, Vaughn or even Garett Crochet in any deal for Manaea or Montas. That said, if Mike Rizzo starts taking offers on Juan Soto who has 3 years of arbitration control remaining in the wake of turning down a lifetime contract offer with the Nationals, that would be another story. I can’t imagine many White Sox fans complaining about an outfield and lineup that would feature Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert and Soto for at least the next three years.
I’d be willing to ship out Crochet and more in a deal for Montas. He has a high ceiling, but is still not established. Sox don’t have much on the farm, but they do have enough to land at least Manaea, if not Montas.
If Sox could get Soto, I’d be willing to put literally anybody on the table with the lone exception of Robert. Any time you can get a hitter that compares well with Ted Williams through his early career, you have to take a shot at it.
Dumb Sox. We don’t need more pitching, we need a RF like Suzuki, and a decent 2B that gets on base but doesn’t get hurt constantly like Madrigal did.
If our pitchers get hurt, work some of your minor leaguers in there. They never give the minor league pitchers who are solid but unspectacular a chance, which is stupid because then those players never have anything to learn or work on while they rot away in the minors.
Good news: Suzuki is coming to Chicago!
Bad news: wrong damn team.
Good news: Cubs are willing to trade sluggers with sky-high potential for innings-eaters.
Keuchel for Suzuki trade coming soon, lol. Sox won’t even need an additional pitching prospect coming back this time.
I think Sheets or Burger is a good start. Then throw in one of their top pitching prospects not on the roster. Even then that a lot to give up for a 5th starter they don’t need
Meanwhile the Angels are spectating traffic, what a joke.
White Sox are built to win it with the team they have now #2 in MLB power rankings. It would make no sense to Blow up the core of this team when you have young players Jimenez, Robert, Moncada, Anderson, Vaughn, Kopech, Cease and probably Giolito next will all be under control for at least the next 4 plus seasons. A lot of these guys will take another step in their development this year. Luis Robert could be MVP. Moncada could have his best year. Jimenez is only getting better. Cease could win CY and Kopech could be an All Star. They need to just sign players over the next few years and build through free agency. Let some of these guys build their value in the farm and maybe become valuable trade pieces in the next couple seasons. This team is good now.
Outside of their bullpen, don’t the White Sox have young controllable or controlled players at every position but RF, 2B & C? Add to that, their bets on Colas or Cespedes (RF). Kimbrel’s also coming off next year and, depending on the way this year shakes out, Keuchel too. I am struggling to see how the White Sox window opening is so narrow.
Sox get Sean Manaea
A’s get Gavin Sheets, Reynaldo Lopez & Jimmy Lambert or Jonathan Stiever
Sox already got Lopez replacement as long reliever/6th SP in Vince Velasquez. Sheets (DH) will be replaced by Kyle Schwarber or Anthony Rizzo (probably Rizzo, cheaper and less years). Vaughn stays as RF (Engel or Garcia as late inning replacement, Cespedes later in the year).
Anderson SS
Robert CF
Abreu 1B/DH
Rizzo DH/1B (plays more DH, bad back)
Jimenez LF
Grandal C
Moncada 3B
Vaughn RF
Harrison 2B
Rizzo just re-upped with the Yankees.
As want younger players than that. Back to the drawing board!
Rick Hahn runs the risk of trading away position strength for yet more pitching. That is wrong. A young team like this should be adding a few impact free agents to complete the roster. They seem to be resisting this move to avoid spending more money, which indicates the ownership group has officially slammed the brakes.
Final analysis: They’re done.
100% it’s sad if they did what the Mets did this off-season we’d prob be favored win the next 2 World Series
But we never go all in on the spending
Profits first! Winning second!
The Cards need to jump that train. Manaea and Montas would turn them into an instant force.
And flaherty now has an injury issue
It’s sad the White Sox I’m 34 and if ever in my life they where to go balls to the wall completely in ( lol besides last year ) this year would of been the one to do it with all the young talent …… if Sox did exactly what Mets did a decent not great team they’d be World Series favorites the next 2 years
This year they have enough to win it without sacrificing their young talent on the Roster like Vaughn. That’s just not smart. This young talent will be even better next year and the year after that and the year after that. They just have to be smart and not blow up their roster like the Cubs did. They have most of their young special talent like Robert, Jimenez, Moncada and Anderson under control for many years. They need to let Vaughn develop to make this the scariest young lineup in baseball. Vaughn has the potential to be just as good a hitter as anyone. This team could win multiple championships the way it’s constructed today if a lot of these guys just take another step in their development. They have 4 very promising prospects Cespedes, Oscar Colas, Nola Vera, and Montgomery depending on their progress this year all have the potential to big parts of this young team still in their contending window.
Assuming young rosters will show linear improvement from year to year is what gets teams in trouble.
It never works out that way. Guys regress, guys get hurt.
The reality is the White Sox, as currently constructed, need everyone on the roster to progress to get beyond the 1st round of the playoffs. 10% chance of that happening given their history of injuries and poor plate discipline against quality pitching. The odds increase if they add more talent to areas of weakness.
No one should be expecting this team, as currently constructed, to dominate the AL Central for much longer, either. The Tigers are getting better, and have a track record of spending money when they need to (unlike Reinsdorf’s Sox). Been a loyal fan for 40+ years, but If the Sox continue this attempt to tread water, then dump guys when they blow it like last season, I’m not sticking around to watch.
They just need to get into the playoffs and then get hot. The first part is skill and the second part is luck.
It’s not skill, it’s talent. If you’re relying on luck to win a championship, you’ll be waiting 50-100 years.
Burger, Sheets, Kath, Stiever, Kelley.
A’s can pick two for Manaea. Or 4 for Montas.
No rush to make a huge deal now. If things are going halfway according to plan we’ll have a double digit lead in July and can then be more selective on teams that are selling.
“Yes, Mr. Cars Salesman, I want that car. You can pick from this stack of George Washingtons, Abraham Lincolns, and Alexander Hamiltons. Enjoy!”
South side wrong, Twins want them too! Division rival!
Am I off in thinking in trading Moncada if Chapman is in the return?
If they get those two, they have the AL Central literally locked up. They’re already the obvious favorites.
They already had the AL Central locked up. Doesn’t mean anything in a best of 5 series against a good team.
I see a multiplayer blockbuster opportunity as Sox need to improve infield defense and one starting pitcher. Sox have enough offense so they may have to leverage it. Chapman is gold glove caliber with offensive ability. Manaea and Montas are the starters you would want to trade for. Twins are interested in the pitchers, Sox better get one of them before they face them. That said we are better off facing the lefty than facing a righty. For that thought I would take Montas he has two years left and is in his 20’s still. Both needs fixed in one deal and its play ball. A infield shake up is needed. Sox at bottom of league in turning DP’s. That’s bad news if you are a pitcher in a jam.
This is the kind of headline I’d gotten used to a few weeks ago. One ‘discusses’ what goes on a pizza or what color to paint a room.. Is there an actual DEAL to be made here?
Reynaldo Lopez is also a solid “6th starter”
And have the White Sox ruled out the idea of stretching out Crochet ?
With an abbreviated spring training, I think it’s smart to have a reliable long relief option to work on Kuechel starts…
may help save 3-4 innings per week and not burn out Kelly, Graveman, Hendricks or Bummer
The roster we see NOW will be the roster that the opening day lineup will be chosen from. Rick Hahn will NOT make any significant roster moves from here on out. Another round one playoFf loss….Can’t wait for 2023 because what we see here is what we geting…THis is not a World Series or even a Playoff team right now
cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-power-rankings-dodgers-…
ANOTHER swing and miss for the @whitesox GM Rick Hahn as the Sox have once again missed out big on FA signing 2 years in a row.. Getting dumb luck from some players like Sox did last year rarely happens 2 years in a row. I see Sox struggling really hard to finish in 2nd place this year. Losing Rodon major blow. Not adding 1 star but adding muddling sop gaps will not help out this (INJURY WAITING O HAPPEN) roster. We were promised from Rick Hahn Sox will do everything it can for a World Series. Did he have his eyes closed all year last year. Aging infielder & other journeymen not going to help. Will be a stretch to win 85 games with this roster. Expect injuries from Eloy, Robert, Moncada, Anderson, Engel, Grandal, Abreu, Kopech, Lynn, a host of relievers……Same old Same ole
The Sox appear to be aiming really low for a team that wants to ‘Win it all’ A-listers, Rick, A listers. Not c-listers, this is not 3 years ago buddy.. A-listers… If you move any prospects they better be for a-Listers.. no more bargain hunting and trying to be a diamond miner.. No more basing acquisitions on stats from 5 years ago either.. Current A-Listers bud…. The teams that want to ‘win it all’ go for it….. Not say it, then go bargain hunting.. The Sox have done NOTHING this off season (and yeah I know they got Graveman, that’s still nothing). Heck they picked up Kelly who has an arm issue for crying out loud (and to all of those that say ‘but its only the spring’ Yeah have heard that before and have seen the dumpster fires from those situations) RF, a platoon situation? Ugh, good luck with that (and I have faith that Vaughn and Sheets could be good players, but the time for experiments is over).. 2nd base.. Harrison? Ugh.. WTF… Seeing prime FAs going here and there and zip from the Sox. Once again, like last off season.. too many ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’..
I guess Rick (and the rest of management( still thinks that everyone is drinking the koolaid still from a few years ago.. Not anymore man, no more excuses, and I have no more time for sycophantic media excuse makers in Chicago. Pay up and get a team on paper that should do what you want, or sell off the team, but stop acting like you want to win it all when nothing you doing is instilling any confidence in the fan base…
If you build a championship team on paper and it fails that’s on the players and coach, but if you want to bring in low ceiling mediocre talent and hope some magic pixie dust will solve all woes then that’s on Management.
After all of that said, Hey, i hope Im wrong, but I have watched this team for far too long to think anything different is going to happen PROVE ME WRONG RICK!!!!!
With Chapman out of the picture now Sox better be working on defense. With central rivals improving a few injuries can weaken their advantage on them. The worst scenario is having to face a pitcher they could have added. Especially a righty. Twins , Royals and Sox being played by A’s for their two pitchers. Crochet, Vaughn, Sheets, Lopez, and others in play.
TradeRumors needs to remove this article from White Sox trade rumors. Sox are finishing making moves but this one for sure ain’t gonna happen
Story just signed with the Red Sox, Soler just signed with the Marlins.. Two guys which the Sox could have easily inserted into the lineup as upgrades.. Nope, got a platoon of unproven guys in RF, and a has been at 2nd….Yeah, the White Sox really are ‘all in’…. Again I get it would cost them money, but if they really want to win you do what it takes (and there could have been voidable years -which seem to be all the rage in some of these contracts- and you do not lose any prospects)…