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White Sox Acquire Cesar Hernandez

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After searching the infield market for second base upgrades over the past few weeks, the White Sox announced Thursday that they’ve acquired veteran Cesar Hernandez from the division-rival Indians in exchange for minor league left-hander Konnor Pilkington. Chicago released right-hander Tyler Johnson in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Cesar Hernandez | Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Second base has been a clear area of focus for a White Sox team that lost Nick Madrigal for the season (torn hamstring) earlier this year. Chicago has been hit hard by injuries in the outfield, but with Eloy Jimenez returning this week and Luis Robert on the mend, the infield began to look like a more logical target. The Sox have been connected to Jonathan Schoop, Trevor Story, Adam Frazier and other infield targets, but they’ll go with the solid, switch-hitting Hernandez to step in and solidify the lineup.

Hernandez, 31, is playing the season on a one-year, $5MM contract that contains a $6MM club option for the 2022 campaign. He’s still owed about $1.8MM of that $5MM sum through season’s end, and there’s no buyout on the option, so it’ll be a straight $6MM call for Chicago after the season. Given that Madrigal is expected to be healthy for the 2022 campaign, Hernandez could well be viewed as a rental option for the South Siders, although the $6MM price point isn’t so steep that he couldn’t be kept as a potential utility option.

Hernandez isn’t hitting for average as he typically does, but his 18 home runs already represent a career-high mark. He’s not striking out any less often than he did in 2020, when he batted .283, but Hernandez has been plagued by a career-low .256 average on balls in play that sits 74 points below his career mark. It’s possible, then, that he’s in for some positive regression over the season’s final couple months.

Even if that’s not the case, however, his .231/.307/.431 batting line is a solid enough plug-in to a strong ChiSox lineup. That production is exactly league-average after adjusting for Hernandez’s league and park, by measure of wRC+, which falls right in line with what Hernrnadez has been for the past six seasons.

On the Indians’ side of the swap, they’ll add Pilkington, a 23-year-old lefty whom the White Sox selected out of Mississippi State in the third round of the 2018 draft. He’s spent this season pitching in Double-A and has fared well, working to a 3.48 ERA with a 30.5 percent strikeout rate, a 9.0 percent walk rate and a 43.4 percent ground-ball rate in 14 starts — a total of 62 innings.

Pilkington wasn’t presently ranked among the White Sox’ top prospects, though that’s surely at least in part due to scouts not being able to get a look at him during 2020. He entered the ’20 campaign ranked 17th among Sox farmhands at Baseball America, and FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen tabbed him 21st in the system last year. BA’s 2020 report on the lefty noted that he lacks the “knockout repertoire” evaluators prefer to see but suggested he could still be a fifth starter. That type of profile is also the type that could tick up in the bullpen, of course, so it’s possible that’s where Pilkington ultimately lands. Given his age and success at the Double-A level, Pilkington is a relatively near-term addition for Cleveland.

The 25-year-old Johnson’s release comes after the 2015 fifth-rounder has struggled across three minor league levels in 2021. The South Carolina product has spent time at Triple-A and both Class-A affiliates in Chicago’s system but allowed a combined 23 runs (17 earned) in 16 innings of work.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the trade was close (Twitter link). The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that a deal had been reached. Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base first reported that Pilkington was going back to the Indians (Twitter link)

Latest On Interest In Cubs’ Trade Chips

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12:41PM: The White Sox and Red Sox are two of at least seven teams interested in Kimbrel, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine writes, while the White Sox have also scouted another Cubs reliever in Ryan Tepera.

10:49AM: The Cubs completed another trade last night in sending Andrew Chafin to the Athletics, setting the stage for what should be a very busy week of transactions for Chicago in advance of Friday’s 3pm CT trade deadline.  Many of the biggest names remain, and rumors continue to circulate about where these top names could land.

Closer Craig Kimbrel is drawing much of the buzz, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Padres are among the teams interested in the veteran reliever.  While many of the Cubs’ most notable trade chips are rental players, Kimbrel is controlled through the 2022 season due to a $16MM club option.  He also has around $5.5MM remaining in salary for this season, so he isn’t an entirely inexpensive proposition for a team looking at the right-hander as just a rental.

This is a particular factor for a team like the Padres, who are facing a luxury tax overage for the first time in franchise history.  Team ownership is willing to make that leap beyond the $210MM payroll threshold, though the Padres are naturally exploring ways (such as unloading Eric Hosmer’s contract) to avoid the tax if at all possible.

The Red Sox “have at least had preliminary conversations ” with the Cubs about first baseman Anthony Rizzo, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports, which seems like a natural fit considering how little production the Sox have received from the first base position this season.  Boston is the first team officially linked to Rizzo on the rumor mill, as Passan writes that Rizzo’s market “is not so robust” since he is a veteran position player who is a free agent after the year.

In fact, there has been more speculation about Rizzo possibly staying with the Cubs rather than leaving, even though extension talks in Spring Training failed to produce a new contract.  Recent reports suggested that the Cubs would look to again discuss extensions with both Rizzo and Javier Baez prior to the deadline, but NBC Sports Chicago’s Gordon Wittenmyer reports that “no extension talks are happening with” either player.

This doesn’t mean that either will be traded, however.  In fact, Wittenmyer hears from sources around baseball that the Cubs will be keeping both Baez and Kyle Hendricks beyond Friday’s deadline.  (MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported last night that the Cubs weren’t looking to move Hendricks and that a trade was unlikely.)  It isn’t quite as firm about whether or not Rizzo could remain or be dealt to Boston or another team, but if the first baseman is kept, Wittenmyer writes that the Cubs will again look into extending both Rizzo and Baez before they reach free agency this winter.

Eloy Jimenez Activated From Injured List

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The White Sox have officially activated outfielder Eloy Jimenez from the 60-day injured list, according to a team announcement.  Infielder Jake Burger was optioned to Triple-A to open up room on the roster.

Jimenez required surgery after suffering a ruptured left pectoral tendon near the end of Spring Training, and he will now return at the shorter end of his initial four-to-five month recovery timetable.  He began a minor league rehab assignment earlier this month and has already banked 12 games in the minors to make up for all the lost time.  Luis Robert also began a rehab assignment this week, after Robert went on the injured list in May with a hip flexor strain.

Chicago has built a commanding lead in the AL Central even without Jimenez and mostly without Robert, as the White Sox have thrived due to excellent starting pitching and a lineup that is still one of the best in baseball.  A mix of somewhat unheralded veterans and youngsters have filled in admirably for Jimenez, Robert, and other injured White Sox like Nick Madrigal and (more recently) Yasmani Grandal.  Rookie Andrew Vaughn has become a fixture in left field, and La Russa said that Vaughn will remain in the lineup as either a left fielder or DH, possibly splitting time at the two positions with Jimenez.

Over his first two MLB seasons, the 24-year-old Jimenez did nothing but mash, hitting .276/.321/.527 with 45 home runs over 730 plate appearances.  Jimenez finished fourth in AL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2019 and he won a Silver Slugger last year as he helped lead the White Sox into the postseason.  With the AL Central title looking like a distinct possibility for 2021, Chicago’s chances of taking another step forward in the playoffs will look a lot better with Jimenez, Robert, and (eventually) Grandal all back in the mix, besides what other acquisitions might be in the works at the trade deadline.

Draft Signings: 7/24/21

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Here are the latest Day Two draft picks to sign with their teams.  For more on the 2021 draft class, check out the prospect rankings and scouting reports compiled by Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.  As well, here is MLB Pipeline’s breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.

All signings were reported by MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis, unless specified otherwise.

  • The Angels signed St. Mary’s College left-hander Ky Bush for a $1.75MM bonus, spending slightly beyond the 45th overall pick’s assigned value of $1,650,200.
  • The Nationals signed Daylen Lile for $1.75MM, going a bit overslot ($1,580,200) for the 47th overall pick to get the high school outfielder to forego his commitment to Louisville.
  • The White Sox went overslot to sign second-round pick Wes Kath, signing the high school third baseman for a $1.8MM bonus.  The 57th overall selection has an assigned price of $1,243,600, but the Sox had some money to spare after going well underslot to sign college players picked within their first 10 selections.
  • The Athletics signed University of Virginia third baseman Zack Gelof for $1,157,400, matching the slot price for the 60th overall pick.  Oakland has now signed all of its picks from the first 10 rounds of the draft.
  • The Royals signed 66th overall pick Peyton Wilson for an at-slot ($1,003,300) bonus.  Wilson is listed as a second baseman, but Callis notes that the University Of Alabama product can also play catcher and center fielder.
  • The Indians signed Florida right-hander Tommy Mace for $1.1MM, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo.  Mace’s bonus is above the $929.8K slot price for the 69th overall pick.
  • The Orioles have reached agreements with 20 of their 21 picks, with some notable overslot bonuses among the signings  Eighth-rounder Creed Willems had the most eye-opening number, as the high school catcher landed a $1MM bonus that went way over the $187.7K assigned slot price for the 227th pick.  MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports that the Orioles also went well above the $818.2K slot price for 76th overall pick John Rhodes, who signed for $1.375MM.

Yermin Mercedes Returns To White Sox’ Triple-A Club

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July 22: In a sudden turnabout, the White Sox announced to reporters that Mercedes is in uniform and on their Triple-A club’s active roster for tonight’s road game in Durham (Twitter link via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times).

In a new Instagram post of a phoenix rising, Mercedes writes that his dream is to be an established Major Leaguer and that he owes it to his family, the White Sox organization and his fans to continue working toward that goal. “I love everybody, I’m back,” he wrote at the end of his post.

July 21, 11:05pm: White Sox manager Tony La Russa only learned of Mercedes’ post after tonight’s game against the Twins but tells reporters he plans to reach out to Mercedes (Twitter links via MLB.com’s Scott Merkin).

La Russa drew plenty of criticism earlier this year for not supporting Mercedes after he missed a take sign and hit a 3-0 home run in a blowout win over Minnesota. Many have immediately jumped to the conclusion that La Russa’s handling of the situation contributed to Mercedes’ decision today, although there’s nothing to support that line of speculation. La Russa suggested that he and Mercedes are still on good terms:

“As you probably know, if you are paying attention, several times he said how close we are. He knows I’m a supporter of his. So I’ll reach out to him and see what’s going on. It could be he’s just feeling frustrated. … I’ll try to explain to him he’s got a big league future.”

9:15pm: White Sox designated hitter/catcher Yermin Mercedes announced on Instagram tonight that he’s stepping away from baseball “indefinitely.” The 28-year-old thanked his family, agent Daniel Szew, and his former teammates before concluding his post with the words: “it’s over.”

It’s a stunning development for a player whose breakout performance was one of the biggest storylines of the early 2021 season. Mercedes started the season as the White Sox’ designated hitter and went 8-for-8 to begin the year. Mercedes batted .368/.417/.571 through the season’s first 38 games, but he followed that up with a .150/.220/.196 across his next 118 plate appearances.

The White Sox optioned Mercedes to Triple-A Charlotte back on July 2, and he’s been ripping through minor league pitching since that time. In 14 games and 61 plate appearances, he’s batting .309/.377/.655 with four home runs, five doubles and a triple.

Despite Mercedes’ post tonight, the White Sox say they have not received any formal indication from the player himself. The team released the following statement:

“The White Sox are aware of tonight’s Instagram post by Yermín Mercedes, who is currently on the active roster of our Class AAA team in Charlotte. At this point in time, the White Sox have not received any official notification from Yermín concerning his future plans.”

White Sox Sign First Round Pick Colson Montgomery

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The White Sox announced they’ve come to terms on a $3.027MM deal with first rounder Colson Montgomery. That matches the slot value associated with the 22nd overall selection.

Montgomery’s spot on pre-draft prospect rankings was variable. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN slotted the left-handed hitting infielder 13th, while Baseball America had him 34th and Keith Law of the Athletic placed him 56th. There’s some question marks about Montgomery’s age — at 19, he’s a bit old for a prep draftee — but he has plenty of power projection and a good chance to stick on the infield, likely at third base.

An Indiana product, Mongtomery had been committed to Indiana University. The White Sox will sway him from that commitment and add a high-upside young player to a farm system that has been thinned out a bit as Chicago’s top talents have graduated to the major leagues.

Luis Robert To Begin Rehab Assignment

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White Sox star center fielder Luis Robert has been cleared to begin a minor league rehab assignment, the team announced. He’ll be assigned to High-A Winston-Salem and begin play on Wednesday. Robert has been out since early May after suffering a Grade 3 strain of his right hip flexor tendon.

Rehabbing position players can spend up to twenty days in the minors, so Robert’s in line to return to the major league club by the second week of August barring any sort of setback. He’ll follow shortly after left fielder Eloy Jiménez, who began a rehab assignment of his own a little more than a week ago.

At the time of his injury, it wasn’t clear whether Robert would be able to return at all this season. Not only is he line to do so, he’s returning to game action after about two and a half months. That’s a surprisingly welcome development after the initial prognosis suggested he’d need three to four months before even beginning baseball activities.

One of the game’s best defensive outfielders, Robert got off to a hot start at the plate before going down. Across 103 plate appearances, he’s hitting .316/.359/.463, a step up from the average offensive production he posted last year.

When Robert and Jiménez went down, outfield looked like a natural potential area for an upgrade. Chicago has coasted to a 7.5 game lead in the AL Central largely without that duo, though, and their impending returns lessen the need for GM Rick Hahn and the front office to explore that market before the July 30 trade deadline.

Setbacks from Robert and/or Jiménez could obviously change that, but the outfield no longer looks like a problem area for the South Siders. Indeed, the front office is expected to prioritize finding bullpen help over the next couple weeks, writes Bruce Levine of 670 the Score. On the position player side, Levine notes that the organization’s bigger concerns are now second base and catcher, where Nick Madrigal and Yasmani Grandal have gone down with respective injuries of their own.

White Sox, Lance Lynn Agree To Two-Year, $38MM Extension

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The White Sox and Lance Lynn have agreed to a two-year, $38MM extension with a third-year club option that could keep Lynn in Chicago through the 2024 season, the team announced.

The White Sox’ acquisition of Lynn this past winter has thus far proved worthwhile. As you may recall, last December 8th, Chicago sent right-hander Dane Dunning and lefty Avery Weems to the Rangers in exchange for Lynn, who was scheduled to hit free agency after 2021. Dunning has proved himself a capable rotation arm, and on a strict measure of value, it’s possible to give the “trade win” to Texas. Dunning, after all, has produced 1.1 rWAR, and the Rangers maintain control for another five seasons, not to mention six years of control for Weems, should he reach his potential.

In actuality, the deal speaks to the changing needs of franchises moving in different directions. The White Sox are no doubt thrilled with their return, not only because Lynn has produced 3.4 rWAR while making the second All-Star game of his career, but because of the peripheral benefits that came with upgrading from Dunning to Lynn. Lynn’s track record brought a slimmer margin for error, he brings a veteran presence to the clubhouse, familiarity with manager Tony La Russa, and the fiery, chip-on-the-shoulder quality that’s long been a staple of South Side baseball.

Sure enough, the 34-year-old has found a home in Chicago, where he’ll now stay through at least the 2023 season. After making $9.33MM this year in the final season of the three-year, $30MM deal he signed with Texas prior to 2019, Lynn will make $18.5MM in each of the next two seasons.

The White Sox hold an $18MM option for 2024 that includes a $1MM buyout, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin (via Twitter). There are bonuses, as well, should Lynn finish in the top-3 for Cy Young voting, adds MLB Networks Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Though Lynn has never been a top-3 finisher for the award, he has finished in the top-6 in each of the past two seasons.

Lynn’s 94 mph heater is where its been the past couple of seasons, though he’s dropped its usage from around 50 percent to 43.1 percent. The cutter has picked up the slack, going from 22.2 percent usage last year to 32.2 percent this season. Interestingly, Lynn sticks almost entirely to the fastball, cutter, sinker mix, only rarely turning to a change-up or more traditional curve/slider like he threw in his youth.

The cutter has taken over as a go-to put away pitch for Lynn. Opponents are hitting just .183 with a .295 xSLG against his 88.5 mph cutter. In terms of the bottom line results, however, Lynn has been just about the same guy in Chicago that he was in Texas: he pounds the zone (44.1 Zone%), plays to contact with a below-average 26.5 CSW%, all while coaxing batters to swing the bat (72.7 Z-Swing%, 49.4 Swing% — both marks being above-average), despite just an average ability to get batters to chase outside the zone (30.9 O-Swing%). All in all, he’s posted a 1.99 ERA/3.20 FIP in 16 starts covering 90 2/3 innings.

Securing Lynn keeps another member of Chicago’s impressive core in place. Carlos Rodon is the only member of the rotation not currently signed through next season. The White Sox control Dallas Keuchel and Lucas Giolito through 2023 and Dylan Cease through 2025. No matter what happens with Rodon now, the White Sox should feel secure about their rotation moving into next season.

The White Sox have been wisely proactive about signing their young core to extensions. Yoan Moncada is under contract through 2024, Eloy Jimenez and Aaron Bummer through 2026, and Luis Robert through 2027. Free agent signings Liam Hendriks and Yasmani Grandal also have contracts that run through 2024 and 2023, respectively. Other young talents like Nick Madrigal, Andrew Vaughn, Michael Kopech and Codi Heuer have yet to even begin the arbitration process.

Securing Lynn, however, was arguably the most important item on GM Rick Hahn’s agenda. Even still, the White Sox should have financial flexibility moving forward. Their luxury tax payroll for 2022 projects to be around $145MM, still well below this season’s $170MM mark. They have just $106MM against the tax on the books for 2023. Those numbers will go up with arbitration raises for Giolito, Evan Marshall and Adam Engel, but not so much as to seriously hinder Chicago’s flexibility, should they want to expand their payroll further while still avoiding the tax.

Those raises, however, will be enough to bring their cash payroll in 2022 already beyond the $133MM they have on the books this season. With Lynn’s extension now in place, the White Sox cash payroll for 2022 sits around $127MM before those arbitration raises. Still, given Chicago’s market and the aggressiveness they’ve shown to build this contender, they should still have room to grow.

White Sox Acquire Deivy Grullon

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The White Sox have acquired catcher Deivy Grullon from the Rays in exchange for cash considerations, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter link).

With Yasmani Grandal still recovering from knee surgery, it isn’t surprising that the White Sox are looking to add to their catching depth.  Zack Collins has been starting while Grandal is sidelined, with Seby Zavala as the backup and Yermin Mercedes (who has caught in a couple of games but is primarily a DH) is at Triple-A trying to get his swing on track.  Grullon adds another backstop with at least some MLB experience to the mix.

It represents an opportunity for Grullon to perhaps finally get another crack at the big leagues after a number of different uniform changes over the last 10 months.  Originally with the Phillies last September, Grullon has been claimed off waivers five times by four different teams — the Red Sox, Reds, Rays, Mets, and then the Rays again back in May.

Grullon appeared in one game with Boston in 2020, after debuting with four appearances for Philadelphia during the 2019 season.  A veteran of eight minor league seasons, the 25-year-old Grullon didn’t show much at the plate until 2018, when he hit 21 homers over 353 plate appearances for the Phillies’ Double-A affiliate.  He has had a lot of success at the Triple-A level, hitting .265/.340/.488 with 29 homers in 574 Triple-A plate appearances.

A Breakout Starter In His Platform Season

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Carlos Rodón was selected third overall in the 2014 draft and was an immediate top prospect upon entering pro ball. He flew to the big leagues, making his MLB debut ten months after his draft date. Rodón was immediately a productive starter, pitching to a 3.75 ERA/4.20 SIERA across 139 1/3 innings as a 22-year-old. It would’ve been easy for the White Sox to envision him as another top-of-the-rotation arm in an organization that had already produced Chris Sale and José Quintana.

Rodón didn’t make the jump to that level over the next few seasons though. He was fine from 2016-18, working to a 4.11 ERA/4.46 FIP, but it seemed he’d plateaued as a league average arm. That’s useful but probably not what many fans had in mind. Then Rodón dealt with a series of injuries that called his future into question. He landed on the 60-day injured list each season from 2018-20, missing time with shoulder and elbow issues. When healthy enough to pitch over the last two seasons, he was unproductive, tossing 42 1/3 innings of 5.74 ERA ball.

Those struggles even led the White Sox to cut ties with Rodón temporarily. Chicago non-tendered him last winter rather than offer him an arbitration salary that would’ve cost a bit more than $4MM. He spent a good portion of the offseason unsigned before returning to the South Side on a $3MM guarantee in late January. Even at such a low price point, the Rodón reunion looked like a questionable decision given his health woes and recent underperformance. In retrospect, it has proven to be a masterstroke by general manager Rick Hahn and the front office.

Rodón earned a spot in the starting rotation to open the year. He’s stayed healthy to this point and been nothing short of incredible. Rodón has worked to a minuscule 2.31 ERA across 89 2/3 innings. He has struck out a career-high 36.1% of batters faced, a mark that trails only Jacob deGrom, Corbin Burnes and Tyler Glasnow among the 146 pitchers with 50+ innings pitched. Rodón’s also fourth among that group (behind deGrom, Burnes and Max Scherzer) in strikeout/walk rate differential (28.9 percentage points) and SIERA (2.82). The big lefty earned a well-deserved trip to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career in recognition of that strong work.

Unsurprisingly, Rodón’s featuring the best raw stuff of his career. His fastball is averaging 95.9 MPH this season, a marked increase over his 92-94 MPH range in recent years. Rodón actually first experienced a velocity spike during a couple of relief appearances at the end of last season, but it wasn’t clear whether he’d be able to maintain that with a starter’s workload. He has so far, with no indication of slowing down.

He’s also added a bit more life on the heater at the top of the strike zone, and he’s throwing his slider with increased velocity. Both offerings have been plus, but it’s his fastball that has become almost unhittable. Rodón has generated a league-leading 147 whiffs on four-seamers this season, per Statcast. (His 17.1% swinging strike rate on the offering is tied for third among the 68 pitchers who have thrown at least 500 fastbals). In 2018 — his most recent season of more than seven starts — batters hit .257 and slugged .422 off Rodón in at-bats ending with a four-seamer. This year, they’re hitting .180 and slugging .275 against the pitch.

It’s only been three months, but Rodón has performed at an ace-caliber level to this point. He famously threw a no-hitter against the Indians in April, and he’s had an additional seven starts in which he’s allowed three or fewer hits. Rodón has struck out eight or more batters in thirteen of his fifteen appearances, and he’s shown no obvious ill effects from the league’s foreign substance crackdown. In all likelihood, 2021 will mark his heaviest workload in five years, so he’ll need to continue to prove he’s capable of performing at a high level as his innings total piles up.

The White Sox are highly likely to win the AL Central, and Rodón has put himself in what appears to be a very strong future playoff rotation also including Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn and one of Dylan Cease or Dallas Keuchel. He’s in line to again reach free agency this winter, where he’ll be one of the youngest and most productive starting pitchers on the market. There’s no question he’ll fare quite a bit better this time around.

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