- The White Sox do not seem likely to deal Jose Quintana now when interest in him could ramp up at the deadline, but the Astros, with their strong farm system and rotation needs, seem likely to eventually acquire Quintana or another good starter.
White Sox Rumors
No Extension Talks Between Todd Frazier, White Sox
- Todd Frazier tells MLB.com’s Scott Merkin that he hasn’t had any talks with the White Sox about an extension as he heads into the last year of his contract. Despite the lack of negotiations and the trade buzz that has circled around Frazier as a veteran player on a rebuilding team, Frazier says he hopes to remain with the Sox over the long term.
White Sox Notes: Tilson, Moncada
- White Sox center fielder Charlie Tilson told reporters (including Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune) that he will be forced to continue wearing a walking boot for a few more weeks. Tilson suffered a stress reaction in his right foot last month, and between his continued recovery time and his preseason training, it might be late May before Tilson reaches the majors. Sox manager Rick Renteria said that the team is still deciding between Peter Bourjos, Jacob May, and Leury Garcia to handle the center field job in Tilson’s absence.
- Yoan Moncada will begin the season in Triple-A, and Fangraphs’ Craig Edwards argues that the White Sox should keep the star prospect in the minors until at least mid-May for both baseball reasons (Moncada has never played at the Triple-A level) and for service time reasons. Moncada acquired his first 31 days of MLB service time last season with the Red Sox, so an extended stint in the minors would help Chicago gain an extra year of control over Moncada’s services. In fact, the White Sox could even delay Moncada’s promotion until after the All-Star break to prevent him from getting Super Two status. While this system may not be the fairest for a player, Edwards writes, this extra control is more valuable to the franchise than any early reps Moncada might get playing for the big league club in April.
Latest On Jose Quintana
- The Braves have had some interest in trading for White Sox lefty Jose Quintana, though Atlanta president of baseball operations John Hart says his rebuilding team isn’t quite ready to make that kind of major deal. “We’re still growing this team. Our whole mantra has been young players,” Hart said. “It’s worked. We like where we’ve gone. Our farm system has gone from worst to first. At this point we’re probably likely not going to move these [prospects].”
- Quintana may be the biggest name who could be traded before Opening Day, though the White Sox are steadfast in their demands for a big return and are prepared to keep Quintana until someone finally meets the asking price. Cafardo sees the Dodgers as a sleeper for Quintana, as Los Angeles has a good farm system and is dealing with some injury questions in the rotation.
- “The Astros seem to be the team most engaged” on Quintana, though Houston didn’t budge when the White Sox asked for a trade package of Francis Martes, Kyle Tucker and Joe Musgrove earlier this offseason. Cafardo notes that Martes is the specific stumbling block in talks, as the Astros are naturally unwilling to give up one of the sport’s most highly-touted pitching prospects.
[SOURCE LINK]
Carlos Rodon Injury Update
- White Sox lefty Carlos Rodon, suffering from bicep tightness, got some good news when an MRI revealed no structural damage, CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes tweets. Rodon will still visit Dr. Neal ElAttrache to get a second opinion and hopefully confirm that the injury isn’t serious. Sox GM Rick Hahn said yesterday that Rodon will likely begin the season on the DL since the team wants to be as cautious as possible with their young southpaw.
White Sox Notes: Moncada, Rodon
White Sox second baseman Yoan Moncada initially took Boston’s offseason decision to trade him in a package for ace Chris Sale “as a very personal rejection,” his father, David, told Eli Saslow of ESPN The Magazine. But, thanks in part to teammate and first baseman Jose Abreu, Moncada has adjusted well to the changing of Sox. Abreu, a fellow Cuban, texted Moncada the night of the trade and told him that “this team gets it,” in reference to the White Sox’s history of employing Cuban-born players. Their relationship has continued to grow since, and the 21-year-old Moncada, arguably the best prospect in baseball, now regards Abreu as a “mentor and friend whose example I can only hope to follow.”
- The White Sox scratched left-hander Carlos Rodon from his start Friday because of tightness in his bicep, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago was among those to report. There’s no structural damage, and manager Rick Renteria said the team’s initial exam was “positive,” but Rodon will nonetheless go for an MRI (all Twitter links). “Odds are” Rodon will begin the season on the disabled list, according to general manager Rick Hahn, who noted that the White Sox “are going to err on the side of caution here, even if it winds up costing him his first couple starts” (Twitter links via Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune and Hayes). That makes sense considering the 24-year-old Rodon is one of the rebuilding White Sox’s most important cogs. Thus far in his career, the two-year veteran has logged a 3.90 ERA, 9.08 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 across 304 1/3 innings.
Mixed Opinions Around Majors On Lucas Giolito
- Right-handed prospect Lucas Giolito has lost some of the hype that accompanied him last year, leading Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com to wonder if he’ll regain it with the White Sox organization. Previously a member of the Nationals, with whom he topped out as Baseball America’s fifth-best prospect, Giolito was part of a blockbuster December trade in which he (and fellow righties Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning) went to Chicago for outfielder Adam Eaton. Despite serving as the headlining part of the return for the Sox, and despite continuing to rank as a high-end prospect according to most outlets, skepticism has developed regarding the 22-year-old. “I think he will be a bullpen guy down the line, kind of like a Jon Rauch or Luke Hochevar,” a National League executive told Crasnick. “He got hyped up a lot and Washington found out later. Usually, the drafting team is the last to know.” Meanwhile, one member of an American League front office Crasnick spoke with isn’t as ready to write off Giolito. “As a 22-year-old who’s already missed a year with Tommy John, Lucas Giolito deserves a chance to grow and evolve,” he said. “He really hasn’t had enough innings to show us what he’s going to be.”
Is Jose Quintana Worth It For The Pirates?
- Jose Quintana is worth the big price it would cost the Pirates to acquire the southpaw from the White Sox, Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette opines. Quintana’s strong track record and affordable contract make him a good fit for the Bucs, who could sacrifice young arms Tyler Glasnow and Mitch Keller in order to win now with Quintana, in Zeise’s view. Giving up outfield prospect Austin Meadows could be difficult, though Zeise wonders if the Sox have perhaps slightly lowered their asking price. (White Sox GM Rick Hahn said nothing had changed on that front in comments to reporters today.) Pirates GM Neal Huntington “should do [the trade] today,” Zeise writes, if Chicago would accept Glasnow, Keller and Josh Bell.
No Recent David Robertson Talks Between ChiSox, Nats
- The White Sox are open to any trades, “but at their price,” according to one rival GM. While this statement is probably generally true for every team, Chicago is known to have a very high price tag on its main trade chips as it looks to rebuild, and the Sox have already landed two big prospect hauls from the Red Sox and Nationals, respectively, in deals for Chris Sale and Adam Eaton. The Nats and White Sox have also been heavily linked in talks about David Robertson, though a source tells Heyman that it has been “over two months” since the two sides last discussed the closer.
[SOURCE LINK]
Details On Tim Anderson's Extension
- Speaking of extensions, neither the White Sox nor shortstop Tim Anderson’s representatives wanted discussions on a new deal to drag into the season, according to Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago. Thus, it was a must for the two sides to reach an agreement by Opening Day, which they did Tuesday. Anderson’s camp was skeptical of signing a long-term pact when the White Sox contacted them several weeks ago, per Hayes, who reports that they rejected the team’s initial offer. But talks intensified from there and ultimately yielded a six-year, $25MM guarantee. “In the end, what really mattered was the fact that Tim wanted to do the deal, so we pulled the trigger,” said Patrick Murphy, the COO of Anderson’s agency, Reynolds Sports Management.
