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Rick Hahn

Central Notes: White Sox, Cubs, Tigers

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The White Sox rolled out a $128MM payroll on opening day this year, already the highest in franchise history, but don’t expect Chicago to curb their spending now. Team options for the newly acquired Cesar Hernandez and Craig Kimbrel would bring their payroll for next season up to $150MM — and that’s before arbitration raises – but owner Jerry Reinsdorf and GM Rick Hahn have prepared for this payroll spike and they’re ready for it, per The Athletic’s James Fegan. If Hernandez and/or Kimbrel aren’t part of the 2022 Sox, it won’t be because of their impact on the payroll. Elsewhere from the flyover states…

Latest On White Sox, La Russa, Rotation

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TODAY: La Russa’s interview with the White Sox has taken place, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reports, as La Russa spoke with team executive VP Kenny Williams and GM Rick Hahn.  Levine adds that the White Sox hope to make a hire within the next 10-14 days, and that the club has spoken to other candidates besides just La Russa about the job.

OCTOBER 14: News came down on Wednesday night that the White Sox received permission from the Angels to interview Tony La Russa for their managerial opening. The 76-year-old looks more-and-more like a front-runner to land the job. For his own part, La Russa is reportedly excited about his upcoming conversations with the White Sox, per Bruce Levine of 670 the Score (via Twitter).

La Russa managed the White Sox from 1979 until 1986 – his first managerial role in the majors – so there’s certainly a nostalgic angle that makes sense here. He fits the bill as laid out by GM Rick Hahn as well: He’s a voice technically coming from outside the organization, and he hard-checks the championship experience box. La Russa has six times managed a team into the World Series, winning the ring in 1989 with Oakland and in 2006 and 2011 with St. Louis. He retired after winning the 2011 World Series with the Cardinals. He spent the past season as a special advisor to the Angels, and the White Sox’ opening is an appealing position, even without the circle-of-life angle.

For the White Sox part, Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf has expressed regret in the past for allowing his GM-at-the-time Ken Harrelson to fire La Russa midway through 1986. What’s more, La Russa and Reinsdorf were often seen watching White Sox games together prior to 2020, writes the Athletic’s James Fegan. A committed La Russa must be a tantalizing possibility for ownership, but the White Sox are still early in their search process, per Fegan.

In the meantime, Hahn has his hands full trying to upgrade right field and the starting rotation. Though they have a lot of young pitching for whom they are closely tracking development (Reynaldo Lopez, Dane Dunning, Dylan Cease, Garrett Crochet, Jonathan Stiever, Michael Kopech, and others), Hahn doesn’t plan on just waiting for the kids to grab the reins, per this piece from Fegan. Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, and Dunning are slotted into the rotation, but they may explore outside the organization for back-end upgrades. The White Sox have no shortage of guys who could very capably fill out those last two rotation spots, but with the Twins and Indians set to compete again, their margin for error may again be slim.

Don Cooper Will Not Return As White Sox Pitching Coach

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After agreeing to part ways with manager Rick Renteria this morning, GM Rick Hahn spoke to the media, announcing further changes. The White Sox have made the decision to move on from long-time pitching coach Don Cooper, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin and others (via Twitter). Cooper has been the pitching coach for parts of 19 seasons with the White Sox, beginning in July of 2002.

Cooper first joined the White Sox in 1988, giving him a remarkable 32 years with the organization. He was one of the longest-tenured pitching coaches in the major leagues. He was not only the pitching coach for 4 different White Sox skippers, but he actually became the manager himself for a short time at the end of the 2011 season when Ozzie Guillen was let go. Cooper then went back to his pitching coach responsibilities when Robin Ventura took over starting the 2012 season.

In recent years, Cooper has overseen the development of ace Lucas Giolito, as well as the ushering of many young arms to the major leagues. As a staff, the White Sox ranked 6th in the majors with a 3.81 ERA in 2020, but just 18th with a 8.93 K/9, and 17th with 3.71 BB/9. The change may be as much about allowing a new manager to weigh in on coaching decisions as it is about anything particular with Cooper, especially given comments from Hahn suggesting they are looking for new voices from outside the organization.

Video: Grading Rick Hahn’s Trade History For The White Sox

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White Sox GM Rick Hahn has shaped the team as both a buyer and seller in many major trades over the years, involving Chris Sale, Adam Eaton, Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier, Jeff Samardzija, Jake Peavy, Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, and more. Check out today’s video to see Jeff Todd’s evaluation of Hahn’s trade history.

GM Trade History: Rick Hahn

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It’s not always fair to judge baseball operations leaders for free agent signings.  In many cases, the biggest contracts are negotiated to varying extents by ownership.  The same can hold true of major extensions.  It’s just tough to know from the outside.

There’s obviously involvement from above in trade scenarios as well.  But, when it comes to exchanging rights to some players for others, it stands to reason the role of the general manager is all the more clear.

In any event, for what it’s worth, it seemed an opportune moment to take a look back at the trade track records of some of the general managers around the game.  After covering the Diamondbacks’ Mike Hazen, former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, the Brewers’ David Stearns, the Angels’ Billy Eppler and the Rockies’ Jeff Bridich, let’s venture to the South Side of Chicago and evaluate Rick Hahn of the White Sox. Here’s a look at Hahn’s deals since he was promoted prior to the 2013 campaign (in chronological order and excluding minor deals; full details at transaction link.)

2013 Season

2013-14 Offseason

2014 Season

2014-15 Offseason

2015-16 Offseason

2016 Season

2016-17 Offseason

2017 Season

2017-18 Offseason

2018 Season

2018-19 Offseason

2019 Season

2019-20 Offseason

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What do you think of Hahn’s trade history? (Poll link for app users)

AL Central Notes: White Sox, Madrigal, Kopech, Royals, Perez, Mondesi

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SoxFest is a victory lap trap for the Chicago White Sox this year, but Rick Hahn won’t cop to it. “We haven’t won anything yet,” said the Sox’ GM, per The Athletic’s James Fegan. With the golden boy Cubs hanging a winter goose egg (Steven Souza notwithstanding), the White Sox’ rebuilding efforts are cusping at the right time to steal the spotlight from their crosstown rival. Hahn was promoted to GM late in October of 2012, the last time the Sox posted a winning record. After seven years at the helm of an extended rebuild, Hahn is getting an opportunity to show a different aspect of his GM profile as he oversees the Southsiders’ push for contention. The handling of Nick Madrigal and Michael Kopech, in particular, will be interesting litmus tests, writes Fegan. For Madrigal it’s a question of service time, an issue Hahn and company sidestepped with fellow youngster Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez by signing them to extensions. For Kopech, it’s a question of inning and pitch limits as he returns from injury. After an aggressive winter, look to Madrigal and Kopech to track their pedal-to-the-metal approach into the season. Let’s check in on a division rival…

  • A couple of injury updates for key players came out of Kansas City yesterday. Both Salvador Perez and Adalberto Mondesi are expected to be ready by opening day, per The Athletic’s Alec Lewis (twitter links). Perez hit an important benchmark yesterday, throwing down to second base for the first time since Tommy John surgery. Royals catchers were a bottom-10 unit in 2019 by measure of fWAR, wOBA, and wRC+. Power was one of Perez’s calling cards, which should help the unit if he can return without any lingering effects.
  • Mondesi, meanwhile, underwent shoulder surgery in the fall and expects to be ready. The 24-year-old is arguably the Royals’ best young player, despite a history of poor on-base skills. Speed (43 stolen bases), dynamism (20 doubles, 10 triples, 9 home runs), and lynchpin defensive skills up the middle (4 OAA, 10 DRS, 9.1 UZR) make Mondesi a key figure moving forward for the Royals. Any push for contention for the Royals will probably come coupled with another development step from Mondesi and/or the other Kansas City youngsters.

GM Rick Hahn: White Sox “Probably Done With Any Major Acquisitions”

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The White Sox have been one of the offseason’s busier clubs, and according to GM Rick Hahn, the South Siders may not be making more headline-grabbing transactions.  While the Sox are taking a “never say never” approach to further opportunities and “various potential smaller additions” could potentially still occur, “we’re probably done with any major acquisitions,” Hahn told reporters (including NBC Sports Chicago’s Vinnie Duber).

“The nature of the job is you always feel like there’s one more addition you can make, so I’m probably never going to stand up here and say we’re finished,” Hahn said.  “But in reality, I think the safe assumption is the bulk of our heavy lifting for this winter, at least, is over.”

The White Sox have erased any questions about whether the organization was willing or able to expand payroll, spending over $201MM on several new faces (i.e. Yasmani Grandal, Dallas Keuchel, Edwin Encarnacion, Gio Gonzalez, Steve Cishek) and a familiar one in Jose Abreu, who first accepted the club’s one-year qualifying offer for the 2020 season and then inked an extension that will run through 2022.  If those signings weren’t enough, the Pale Hose also acquired Nomar Mazara in a trade with the Rangers, and locked up star prospect Luis Robert to a long-term extension prior to Robert’s MLB debut.

These moves have already gone a long way to turning the White Sox from an also-ran with a 72-89 record in 2019 to a potential postseason contender in 2020.  That said, there are a few areas that could still possibly be upgraded — Duber cites rotation and bullpen depth, as well as a potential platoon partner for Mazara and a more stable veteran to play second base.  In regards to the latter position, Hahn did say to “ask me again on March 25” about the second base plan, which could hint that the Sox are still exploring second base options.  For now, “some combination of Leury Garcia, Danny Mendick and Nick Madrigal” will handle the keystone.

Madrigal is one of Chicago’s top prospects, and a player expected to eventually take over the position at some point in the 2020 season.  Madrigal is likely to begin the season at Triple-A for extra seasoning (and service time reasons), leaving the veteran Garcia and the rookie Mendick with the bulk of at-bats at least early in the season.  Garcia has displayed average-to-solid glovework — depending on your defensive metric of choice — and not much hitting over his seven seasons and 1493 plate appearances for Chicago, while Mendick had some good numbers at Triple-A and even over his 16-game cup of coffee for the White Sox in 2019.

Despite the promise on hand, there isn’t a lot of certainty within the group, especially for a would-be contender.  There are some interesting veteran second base options still hanging around the free agent market, and would potentially be had for a relatively low price at this late date in the offseason.  Signing such a player to even a one-year deal could be a good investment, and it would lessen any pressure on Madrigal to immediately contribute in his first exposure to the big leagues.

Mazara appears to be Chicago’s first choice as the everyday right fielder, as Hahn said “our scouts and coaches think there’s more upside to” Mazara’s hitting potential.  The former star prospect hit a middling .261/.320/.435 over his first 2189 Major League plate appearances, though Mazara is still only 24 and could benefit from a change of scenery.  The White Sox have often been linked to Nicholas Castellanos this offseason, though it seems like the Sox will give Mazara a clear shot at right field rather than make another splashy addition.

Depending on how things shake out with right field, second base, or other positions over the first few months of the season, Hahn indicated that the White Sox are open to addressing any future needs at the trade deadline.

Details On The White Sox/Yasmani Grandal Signing

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The White Sox made a big early strike in the free agent market, signing Yasmani Grandal to a four-year, $73MM contract that stands as the priciest deal in franchise history.  Here some of the early reactions to the signing…

  • Grandal and White Sox GM Rick Hahn spoke with reporters — including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin and The Athletic’s James Fegan — during a conference call today today, detailing how the two sides came together.  The White Sox quickly reached out to Grandal’s representatives as soon as free agency opened, and met with Grandal and his team during last week’s GM Meetings.  Manager Rick Renteria was a familiar face to Grandal from their time together in San Diego (when Renteria was the Padres’ bench coach), and Grandal was impressed by Chicago’s core of young pitchers.  “If I see that I can help that pitching staff, for me that’s pretty much No. 1,” Grandal said.  “So, their sales pitch was, ’Look at the young arms we have, look at the guys we have coming up. We have an opportunity here to win, and we think you can help them out.’ ”  To that end, Hahn said that two days after the get-together at the GM Meetings, Grandal asked to see video of Sox pitchers to get more information about his future teammates.
  • The White Sox were perhaps something of a surprise suitor for Grandal, given that Chicago was thought to be relatively set behind the plate after James McCann’s solid 2019 season.  Since Grandal could see time at first base or DH, however, there appears to be a path for McCann to still receive a good chunk of playing time.  “Having too many guys who are quality big leaguers is a good thing, not something we view as a problem,” Hahn said.  “We want to provide Rick [Renteria] with enough flexibility and different options to set a quality lineup each day.”
  • More roster holes need to be filled before the White Sox can call themselves contenders in 2020, as Hahn was quick to downplay the Grandal signing as a big statement.  “There certainly is a level of excitement of what we had done even prior to this signing today, but until we actually convert on some of these targets, the words are just that,” Hahn said.  “I leave it to [the media] to interpret messages and all that stuff….If, in fact, other free agents see this move today as reinforcement to some of the things they’ve heard from us over the past several weeks or even going back to last year, that’s great. Hopefully there will be further moves over the course of the next several months that will continue that positive narrative.”
  • While the White Sox were the most ardent suitor, Grandal noted that his latest trip through free agency drew much more interest than last winter, when Grandal settled for a one-year deal with the Brewers.  “Quite frankly, unlike last year around this time when the market was kind of completely non-existent, this year, it was slightly different,” Grandal said.  “It seemed like there were several teams that were working hard within their limits to be able to compete and there were thorough teams that were really interested.”
  • The Brewers and Blue Jays were previously known to have interest in Grandal this offseason, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required) adds that the Reds, Angels, and Braves were also among the top suitors, though Atlanta may have just “checked in” on Grandal’s status.  Cincinnati was MLBTR’s predicted landing spot for Grandal, as the Reds as known to be willing to spend in pursuit of a postseason berth in 2020 and Grandal represented a clear upgrade over Tucker Barnhart.  Catcher was also a glaring area of need for the Angels, while the Braves have one capable regular in Tyler Flowers but are in need of a complement after Brian McCann’s retirement.

GM Meetings Notes: Mets, White Sox, Red Sox

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The Mets have about $20MM to spend to stay under the luxury tax, and though they haven’t ruled out going over for a season, history suggests otherwise, writes MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. The rotation is largely set with Cy Young Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman, and Steven Matz locked into the top four spots. Despite the rumblings, GM Brodie Van Wagenen has been adamant about Syndergaard staying put, and as for the fifth rotation spot, relievers Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman are very real candidates. Free agent upgrades are more likely to bolster the bullpen, which is already a man down if Lugo or Gsellman jump to the rotation. Of course, the best upgrade they could hope for would come in the form of a bounceback season from closer Edwin Diaz. Diaz is putting in extra work this winter in Puerto Rico, and for what it’s worth, new manager and fellow Puerto Rican Carlos Beltran “considers mentoring Diaz one of his top priorities.” Here are some more notes coming out of the GM meetings…

  • White Sox GM Rick Hahn attempted to temper expectations before projecting bloated win totals for his club in 2020, per the Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan. It’s an exciting time nonetheless for those on the south side of Chicago, with high-end youngsters Nick Madrigal, Luis Robert, and Michael Kopech expected to establish themselves as big leaguers. They have money to spend on pitching or an outfielder, and a tough decision to make on newly-minted gold glover Yolmer Sanchez. Madrigal is likely to unseat Sanchez from his regular role at second, and with Sanchez due to make roughly $6.2MM through arbitration, he’s definitely a possible non-tender. The Sox love him from a character perspective and aren’t eager to kick him curbside, but even with his new hardware in tow, $6.2MM after a .252/.318/.321 season is probably a touch too rich for the ChiSox.
  • The Red Sox are facing a different kind of offseason under the leadership of Chaim Bloom, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Scaling back the payroll is objective A, and the Red Sox are active in trade discussions around just about everyone on the roster. The media has Mookie Betts as the fulcrum of Boston’s trade activity, but he’s expensive on a one-year deal and unlikely to sign an extension, mitigating any trade return and making a deal unlikely. It’s more likely the Red Sox find their desired breathing room by trading from their rotation: David Price, Chris Sale, and/or Nathan Eovaldi. Meanwhile, discussions with free agents are largely on the backburner as they look for creative ways to free up space in the payroll.

AL Central Notes: McCann, Zimmermann, Tribe, Twins, Royals

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It isn’t any secret that the White Sox are eager to keep Jose Abreu in the fold, though another veteran may also be a candidate for a longer-term stint with the club.  While expressing to the Athletic’s James Fegan (subscription link) about how much the Sox would like to continue their relationship with Abreu, GM Rick Hahn also praised James McCann’s work at catcher.  “He’s been everything we had hoped for in terms of in the clubhouse and from a defensive standpoint and quite frankly more than we had even hoped for offensively,” Hahn said.  “He made an adjustment with his stance in the offseason….That’s really clicked for him. He’s been a great acquisition for us. We have control of him through arbitration next year and certainly look forward to having him around for a while.”

McCann signed a one-year, $2.5MM free agent deal with Chicago after being non-tendered by the Tigers in the offseason, and has enjoyed perhaps the hottest stretch of his career at the plate.  McCann is batting .366/.404/.581 through 99 plate appearances, absurd numbers for a hitter who had just a .653 OPS over 1658 career PA heading into the season.  While some regression at the plate is inevitable, Fegan feels the Sox would prefer keeping McCann over Welington Castillo for 2020, since even McCann on an arbitration raise will cost less than Castillo’s $8MM club option.

Here’s more from around the AL Central…

  • Jordan Zimmermann is “probably a month” or so away from returning, Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire told The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen (Twitter link) and other media.  Gardenhire revealed that Zimmermann has been battling a muscle strain in addition to the UCL sprain that initially sent him to the injured list back on April 26.
  • Indians manager Terry Francona provided MLB.com’s Mandy Bell (Twitter links) and other reporters with injury updates today, including the news that Adam Plutko will start for Cleveland on Saturday.  Plutko has missed the entire season due to a right forearm sprain, and has only a 5.38 ERA over 80 1/3 career innings in the majors, though the Tribe is looking to fill holes in the rotation with both Corey Kluber and Mike Clevinger on the IL.  Speaking of the Cleveland injury list, Francona also said Tyler Naquin will be kept out of baseball activities for two weeks due to swelling behind the outfielder’s knee.
  • “The expectation both within the organization and outside is that the Twins, like so many other teams, must address their bullpen if they want to be real contenders,” The Athletic’s Dan Hayes writes in a look at Minnesota’s relief corps.  The Twins are around the middle of the pack in most relief categories, with Taylor Rogers, Blake Parker, Trevor May, and Ryne Harper all delivering excellent results thus far, though there isn’t a lot of experience within that group.  While Minnesota will surely explore adding a reliever before the trade deadline if the team remains in the race, GM Thad Levine notes that “I think it’s a little too early to see that market take shape,” noting that teams with bullpen assets to sell right now are putting a big asking price on that pitching.
  • While Alex Gordon is posting big numbers and can be a free agent after the season, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required) feels “the safer bet is that he stays put, then re-signs with the Royals and finishes his career in Kansas City.”  The long-time face of the Royals franchise can’t be traded without his permission due to 10-and-5 rights, though if he did want to be dealt, “the Royals almost certainly would try to accommodate him.”  There’s also a notable financial element to any potential Gordon trade, as the $4MM buyout attached to his $23MM mutual option for the 2020 season would become a $4MM assignment bonus in the event of a trade, as the mutual option would then be voided.  Plus, Gordon still has roughly $15MM remaining on his $20MM salary for the 2019 season.
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