Sox Machine Live!: MLB Hot Stove on FIRE

Stream Date: 11/28/2021

Josh is joined by our friends over at Fromthe108 to discuss the latest MLB Hot Stove news.

  • Marcus Semien to Texas
  • Byron Buxton $100 Million to stay in Minnesota
  • Max Scherzer to the New York Mets
  • Kevin Gausman to the Toronto Blue Jays
  • Even old friend, Avisail Garcia, is getting paid.

So, what will the White Sox do? They discuss that and more on this episode of Sox Machine Live!

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  • Josh Nelson

    Josh Nelson is the host and producer of the Sox Machine Podcast. For show suggestions, guest appearances, and sponsorship opportunities, you can reach him via email at josh@soxmachine.com.

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Wayne

Call me crazy, but if the White Sox don’t do something Crazy to fill 2B (Seager or Correa), and don’t go to the extreme reach (Story), I may prefer the Cesar coming back at $5-6M than paying Baez or Taylor.

Trade Market also aligns that way: Ketel Marte trade would hurt most, but Segura or Tony Kemp would be more palatable options for trade.

I would line them up as : Segar, Correa, Stoy (money for star), Marte (painful trade), Segura (easy trade with Kimbrel), Kemp (painful trade with SP or trade you feel alone), Cesar (cheap, short term), Baez (no QO), Taylor (QO)

Drdoctor

Bypassing Seager & Correa. because, yeah, how much in the minority am I for kinda wanting the Sox to sign Javy Baez for, like, 4/80, the Fangraphs projection? He’s never hurt, the defense is always there, have to deal with forehead slapping swings and cub stank, but come on, Baez vs Cesar Hernandez? Uh, yeah. Sign me up.

And it’s not like his plate discipline or chase rate could get worse, amirite?? 😀

Trooper Galactus

The only thing that bothers me about Baez is he’s more of what this team already has in abundance while exacerbating their core issues on offense.

Drdoctor

Quite right. Still prefer him to “do nothing” as it sounds like you would too

hitlesswonder

I feel like we’ll be lucky if the Sox don’t end up with Gregorius or Cano at 2B. I think that’s a real possibility…maybe even likely at this point.

Trooper Galactus

Sorry, but I just don’t see any way Jerry signs off on 2/48 for Cano, or anything remotely close to that. Finally, his cheapness saves us from disaster!

calcetinesblancos

I agree. You do almost wonder if Baez would have a chance at 40 homers in our park, but someone who gets on base and can run the bases is way more valuable to this team as presently constructed.

Trooper Galactus

I’d take the ability to work a count and succeed against RHP.

asinwreck

Signing Báez involves betting that:

1) The gains he made after the trade to New York can be sustained, and
2) He’ll be a major upgrade on the up-the-middle defense.

I’m not sure about #1 and my feelings that #2 is likely are based mostly on the eye test.

calcetinesblancos

I wouldn’t understand the point of bringing Cesar Hernandez back. I’d rather let Romy play. SSS, but he was at least able to get some hits after being brought up.

Trooper Galactus

Aside from his lousy two months to end the season, Hernandez has been a perfectly average-ish second baseman for years.

As Cirensica

Unlike Romy, whose ceiling might be Cesar’s floor.

calcetinesblancos

I admit that I am always biased towards giving the yutes a chance. Permanently scarred from KAGHM.

Trooper Galactus

Kinda funny the stuff about Gregorius. If he’s what they get for Kimbrel as their 2B solution, holy hell, what a fucking disaster (even assuming they get some other pieces in that trade). What weirds me out is I have no idea what the eff happened to Gregorius in 2021. His BB% didn’t crater, his K% didn’t exactly spike, his hard-hit rate was on par with his better offensive seasons, his EV was above his career average, and he wasn’t pounding the ball into the ground more, but his BABIP was an atrocious .217. Was he just popping the ball up a ton or am I missing something else?

knoxfire30

My OPP had a trade of sheets and burger for vidal brujan and that should still make a lot of sense for both teams. Its not ideal for the sox to have to count on a rookie to fill in a starting spot but if they bring back Leury as their fall back option super utility player, and go big on RF with a Casty, Bryant, Conforto type signing I think its a pretty good option.

Im thrilled the twins are locked into Buxton, he never stays healthy and its a shame cause he is a hell of a talent but it is what it is…

This sox off season has all the terrible feelings of off seasons past and for those keeping track at home with me I like to track the players that have signed bigger free agent contracts then the sox have ever given out so the bar is Grandal. From the window of off seasons 2018-20 that number was 14, the 2021 off season has added 4 more so far and I predict many more on the way…. thats 18 free agent signings and counting thru our peak contend years that the sox have been unwilling to jump in on…. SAD!

Trooper Galactus

I like the idea of targeting a guy like Brujan if he isn’t the immediate starting option for RF or 2B and is allowed to develop a bit further, but he has tools and a good combination of contact and plate discipline the White Sox could certainly use. But I think there’s no way the Rays are parting with a top-25 prospect for the likes of Burger and Sheets.

knoxfire30

They probably would start both Burger and Sheets at some point in 2022… and Brujan had a pretty bad MLB debut (not uncommon I know) so his prospect status may be slipping. They are pretty set at ss/2nd too. Maybe the sox kick in an arm but I dont think its very far off being a possibility.

Trooper Galactus

It doesn’t matter if they would start either or both of them, NOBODY is trading a top-100 prospect for those two, much less a top-25 guy. Also, the Rays aren’t exactly the types to invest heavily in defensively limited guys like Burger and Sheets; they leave that to the White Sox. Brujan has the sort of versatility they value, and it would take a better win-now piece (or pieces) to pry him away from them.

knoxfire30

A prospect grade is subjective, but you are saying two 50 grade players that immediately fill positions of needs on a team for 1 55 grade player who is blocked isnt close, and I disagree with that. But to each their own!

Trooper Galactus

Neither Sheets (40) nor Burger (35+) is 50-grade, though after the seasons they had they both probably got upgraded to the 45 range.

Also, Brujan is a 60-grade. I think you’re overselling the value on our end and underselling the Rays’.

Last edited 2 years ago by Trooper Galactus
knoxfire30

Uh I went to the team sites and had Brujan at 55 and Burger at 50 today….

If your numbers are right then yea its more off base but Brujan didnt do much of anything special in AAA last year and he had a Jacob May like mlb debut so he is gonna come tumbling down the rankings.

I do also value that we saw sheets and burger produce at the mlb level in limited time.

Would you rank Brujan higher then Bryson Stott cause he just ticked into the top 100 and I would want him even more than Brujan

Trooper Galactus

I’m going off the FanGraphs preseason rankings. Sheets is no longer ranked, but if he were they’d probably upgrade him to a 45; same with Burger. They’d have no real reason to downgrade Brujan, you’re placing far too much weight on a very small cup of coffee for a 23-year old who didn’t play at all in 2020.

Trooper Galactus

Okay, I see you’re referring to the MLB Pipeline grades, which, yeah, they also give Wes Kath and Jared Kelley a 50 grade, so I wouldn’t put a whole lot of stock in Burger’s 50 with them. And given none of those guys is sniffing the top-100 while Brujan is ranked 21st, clearly there’s a pretty vast gulf between a 55-grade prospect and a 50-grade prospect by their standards.

knoxfire30

19 now!

Bman41488

Great podcast, gentlemen!

hitlesswonder

Good podcast…but it absolutely makes me feel like the Sox are being left behind by the rest of league. And it really is because they refuse to spend money…it’s like their value scale is locked into one from 20 years ago. They can sign middle relievers today using the max salary from the scale from 20 years ago…and that’s it.

Trooper Galactus

Jerry never evolved much past the days when handing Albert Belle a 5-year contract was considered outlandish.

calcetinesblancos

This is going to get weird. All the people who don’t want to deal with the lockout uncertainty are going to sign, and then there will be the long freeze during which everyone else stews and schemes. What happens after that will be interesting.

metasox

Irony is that the lockout is likely forcing up prices in the short term. And possibly placing a premium on guys under contract whose terms won’t be affected by whatever comes out of the CBA

hitlesswonder

I think RF is either Conforto or zero RF. It seems likely that Castellanos is priced out of the Sox comfort level since he wants a seven or eight year deal.

calcetinesblancos

I think that’s priced out of the entire league’s comfort level.

Trooper Galactus

I think a lot of people scoffed at the notion of Semien getting a 7-year deal like he was demanding, yet here we are.

hitlesswonder

Yeah – I think he’s got a good shot at a 7 year deal. There are teams that will do it…they have the money or prospect capital to move the contract later if they want.

And to be honest, the Sox probably aren’t going give anyone even a 6 year deal so I think Nick will not be on South Side next year.

calcetinesblancos

Yeah but that deal didn’t shock me. The AAV is below what it seems many expected, including myself. And obviously Semien is a better all-around player.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I’m pretty confident nobody give Castellanos a seven year deal, unless the AAV is really low.

Trooper Galactus

Really? A lot of people seemed to think Semien’s AAV was going to be in the 20-22 million range. I wouldn’t think Castellanos would get a 7-year deal either, but if a team thinks he’s their key to getting over the hump (or a potential payroll floor), then yeah, somebody will get crazy.

gregtybor

It could be that for right field, the Sox are looking for a one or two year place holder until they sign Oscar Colas and see what he can do in the minors. For second base, to get a 100 dollar bill player like K. Marte, the Sox are going to have to match the value with a 100 dollar player or two or more 100 dollar potential prospects. It will be interesting to see if that can happen.

Foulkelore

Jerry just got very excited about the thought of 100 dollar players.

Trooper Galactus

If they’re keeping a place warm for a guy like Colas in the middle of their contention window, then fuck this team.

jhomeslice

You said it. We have one of the richest owners who is near the end of his life, content to run things like a small market team, in spite of a 200M year over year increase in net worth. F him.

a-t

Scherzer to the Mets for a huge sum. Gausman off the board. Semein, Frazier, Escobar gone as far as 2B goes. Baez and C. Taylor are the best remaining established 2Bs remaining, both of which I’d like a lot. Seager, Story are more extreme (not in a bad way) options there. Starting pitching is getting snapped up… Ray, Stroman, Kershaw are the top remaining options while ‘Los is still running free yet. Not many real rumors regarding the Sox, but they’ve tended to strike quietly early in the past few offseasons, so I’m trying to contain my anxieties that way.

hitlesswonder

We should probably just be happy if the Sox aren’t worse at the end of the off season. If they escape this window without having to pay Didi Gregorius $17M for negative WAR I will count it as a victory.

Foulkelore

Wrong post.

Last edited 2 years ago by Foulkelore