JotCast | White Sox Offseason Chat

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Tim Dierkes

10:09

I think because he's a 34-year-old catcher and he was SUCH a bad hitter last year, there's a vibe that he's toast. I feel like he'll have a nice OBP this year, but I don't know that he can play 100 games or be effective defensively.

Oscar Colas

10:10

If I break camp as the RF, do you think I can adequately cover CF in a single game or 2 that it impacts the bench composition? Romy has played a little CF in minors and ST. Any serious injury gives a roster move.

Tim Dierkes

10:10

Yes, from what I've read in Baseball America Colas could fake it in CF for a few games. He has 40 speed, though, so he's not a guy you want to plug in there for weeks. That's why Leury might stay on the roster, I guess.

kurt the hurt

10:11

How much will Sox miss Liam as closer and who replaces him in your view ?

Tim Dierkes

10:11

They'll miss him a ton both on a personal and baseball level, and everyone is rooting for Liam.

Grifol has said he doesn't want to name a set replacement closer, which is generally considered the best approach these days.

Mix and match as needed.

John

10:12

Sale for Moncada, who says no

Tim Dierkes

10:14

Financially their contracts are relatively close. But unless you think Moncada would take 2B back up he doesn't fit on the Red Sox. Plus, Sale is healthy right now and I think they're eager to see if he can string together 150 quality innings this year.

The Ghost of Bobby Thigpen

10:14

Succession Plan - Yes...he's talked about it...financially, it makes more sense for his kids to sell the team after he passes. Something about Estate Taxes, and whatnot.

Yasmani Grandal

10:15

Excuse me, but you think the Sox regret signing me? I know I had a rough year last year. But I was worth 5.2 fWAR in '20 and '21—and that includes the shortened 2020. Yes, I've declined, but I think I earned my money.

Tim Dierkes

10:18

I can see your point. If he ends up having three solid years out of four, you probably can't complain.

Rick Hahn’s Burner

10:18

Has there been any talk amongst White Sox beat writers that Rick Hahn overspent on the bullpen, leaving the rest of the roster lacking significant depth?

Tim Dierkes

10:19

I think that has been a commonly-held opinion of Hahn dating back many years. Heavy bullpen investment at the expense of other needs.

Gary Bennett

10:19

Tim, I'm just watching to pick up pointers hope someday to do another chat.

Tim Dierkes

10:19

I hope this is really Gary! Another great chat yesterday, and today we've got Dan Haren.

Ryan

10:19

What is your expectation for Robert this year? Bref has him at a .793 OPS in 430 PA for 2023 but it seems to me that the White Sox are still banking on him doing way more than that

Tim Dierkes

10:21

I feel like his season was so weird with COVID and his slate of odd injuries that a projection system can't capture it. If you were to somehow magically guarantee 145 games with no IL-worthy injuries, I can see Robert in the MVP conversation.

I think I said in the last White Sox chat...Robert is gonna play 130+ games at least once in the next three seasons. But which one??!

Bill Melton's Bat

10:21

But will the Sox defense REALLY be better? I will say "yes" to a degree in the OF, but infield defense is still going to be suspect in my opinion. Abreu saved a lot of errant throws last year, and Andrus is learning a new position and won't have shifts to lean on. I'm still seeing holes...

Tim Dierkes

10:22

You could argue that Andrus has SS-caliber range but is playing 2B, and range is more important with the shift limitations. And I think they've taken the OF defense from "probably the worst in baseball" to average.

Rookie

10:22

Let’s assume health isn’t a major concern like it was last year. What’s the ceiling for this team, more directly what’s the ceiling for some of these young guys aka Eloy and company? Thanks Tim!

Tim Dierkes

10:23

Using that major assumption, the ceiling is a championship. Eloy has already shown he's capable of hitting 40 HR with a .340+ OBP.

Guest

10:24

The problem (and reality) is almost no high value free agent wants to come play for the White Sox. Not a sexy destination... So they always end up having to make better offers to players

Tim Dierkes

10:25

I can buy that to a degree. Certain teams have tiebreaker factors...Cubs have Wrigley and day games, San Diego has awesome weather, excited fanbase, not overly harsh media, etc.

But for the most part in FA, the top offer wins. What they had to do to get Benintendi is a good example. You have to be a little bit unreasonable to get your guys.

10:26

In hindsight, a sixth year for Zack Wheeler, an 11th for Machado, a $28MM AAV for Bryce Harper...any of those things may have gotten it done even if those guys had other geographical preferences.

Bobbysox

10:26

It seems like the White Sox are built for the playoffs--3-4 solid starters, a good 9-man line-up and enough depth to fill in the blanks. A healthy team gets 90 wins, and then we see how they match up in a short series. I also think Grifol will hold players more accountable. So I'm half-full about this season.

Big E

10:26

Does Billy Hamilton have a shot to stick as OF depth and speed option? Sox seem to have a more aggressive approach on the bases this spring so Billy’s speed on the base paths and glove in CF could be valuable

Tim Dierkes

10:26

Yeah, I think especially if they cut Leury at some point they're going to need Hamilton or Marisnick backing up CF.

10:27

How many other organizations allow their GM to have such limited success and still keep their job? Hahn has been a disappointment

Tim Dierkes

10:27

Reinsdorf's loyalty is legendary. I think most owners would have fired their GM after the disappointment that was the 2022 White Sox.

Big Hurt

10:27

You don't seem very high on Cease... I understand that 2.20 ERA isn't likely, but he was 2nd in Cy Young, hits per 9 was 6.2 and K/9 over 11. If he finds just a tiny bit more control, his FIP comes way down and sub-2.5 isn't impossible.

Tim Dierkes

10:28

I don't think sub-2.50 is impossible (he just did that), but I also don't think it's probable. To get even a sub-3 projection you need to be nearly a flawless pitcher.

10:30

Cease walks a lot of guys, his BABIP in the second half was .215, his HR/F 7.8%. I don't think you'd say the BABIP and HR/F are likely to repeat. Those things are not stable year-to-year.

10:31

Strikeouts, walks, and groundballs are pretty stable year-to-year. Cease stands out in one of those, Ks. He's also 27 years old, so who's to say he doesn't trim the walk rate.

Ed Poisson

10:31

Would White Sox consider Trevor Bauer ?

Tim Dierkes

10:32

I think if they were going to do that they would have already. I'm not up on the current relationship of Clevinger and Bauer but signing Bauer seems like a powder keg waiting to happen.

The Guy Next Door

10:32

Poll: Cubs or White Sox better record?

Tim Dierkes

10:32

Better record

Cubs (18.8% | 9 votes)

White Sox (81.2% | 39 votes)

Total Votes: 48

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