Podcast: Trick or Treat for 2023/24 MLB Free Agents
Record Date: 10/29/2023
Rundown:
- Halloween situation at the Margalus and Nelson residence
- Discussion about the new White Sox bullpen coach, Matt Wise
- 2023 World Series: What a start and can Max Scherzer hold up in Game 3?
- Trick or Treat with MLB Free Agents: Mitch Garver, Gary Sanchez, Joc Pederson, Tommy Pham, Adam Duvall, Jordan Montgomery, Kenta Maeda, Michael Lorenzen
Author
Mitch Garver, TRICK: Probably too expensive for a player that won’t be here when we are back to contend
Gary Sanchez, TRICK: Yes, he bounced back, but we have Quero. We only need a 1 year bridge
catcher.
Joc Pederson, TRICK The time to sign him already passed
Tommy Pham, TRICK Too old
Adam Duvall, TRICK Not what this team needs.
Jordan Montgomery, TREAT. He has been a stable starter for years, and reliable. We
could use some of that
Kenta Maeda, TRICK Already getting hurt too often. Old.
Michael Lorenzen TREAT a very dependable arm that can provide innings at a
bargain price.
Completely agree here, not sure I see a point in chasing older catchers and taking half measures to try and fill out the lineup, I do however see the value in a strong free agent pitching market, spending on that now will go a long way to contention viability in 2025. Nola and Snell probably out of the sox range but its time to pony up for Montgomery and or Lorenzen.
Also….players like Duvall, Pham and Pederson represent exactly what this team needs to get away from. Unidimensional players that can’t offer flexibility. Or they can’t run. Or they can’t OBP. Or they can’t field. Aren’t we tired of that?
Duvall can play all three outfield positions and hit homers, so that’s two dimensions.
Yeah, I think he is the better of the three, but that OBP is just ugly. In some years, it has been under .300 (.276 as recent as 2022). That’s a lot of outs Jim. The problem with Duvall is that if he does not hit homers, he has very little else to offer.
So you want a guy who can play good defense, hit homers, and gets on base, all in the White Sox budget? Any ideas?
Allocate more of the budget for scouting and player development.
Well, yes, I want players like that. What RSWS mentioned would be a good start. Also, when a player like Bryce Harper is available and you have one of the leanest payroll, sign him.
I’d be into Garver or Sanchez if only because I’m tired of Garfien and McGuffey gush over Austin freaking Hedges.
Appreciate the Free Agent lists. I don’t think this is where the White Sox will go, but educational none the less. Would be awesome to see them be a serious org for once and actually look at players who will help win games instead of guys who keep the margin for error ever so thin.
Going back to OPPs, I’m surprised there isn’t more talk of Max Muncy? With LA clearing the decks for Ohtani, there’s a real possibility he’s going to have his team option declined. He’s not a good defender by any means, but he’s a high OBP, High SLG bat from the left side which this team has been missing for a decade.
If Eloy is getting traded, he’d be the guy I target for DH/1B.
Montgomery is the only name mentioned of any real quality, the rest are mediocre if not closer to awful. Montgomery is solid but is the 8th ranked free agent. Texas paid 500M to their middle infield and will surely make him an offer. Not a chance Jerry wins a bidding war for him, with other teams not having the stigma “don’t come here unless you enjoy losing, incompetence, and misery.” The Sox have become one of the last teams anyone would want to play for, undoubtedly. Abreu’s comments spoke volumes. I’m sure Tim would not tell anybody “this is great place to play”, to say the least. Intelligent fans or players alike know what Jerry is about, and how idiotic and cheap this front office is.
I don’t see anything wrong with not doing much ahead of a throw away season, or what will likely be 2 or 3 of them. There will be a better crop of free agents in subsequent winters, and they need to be in on guys a hell of a lot better than anybody listed here. But them being in on any good free agents is a hopeless hypothetical. I hope Jerry sees Ohtani’s contract and has a coronary. His death or selling is the only way this cycle of perpetual nonsense and disappointment will change. Otherwise they will be rotating names like those mentioned, apart from Montgomery, every winter.
I am taking a welcome respite from this winter of our discontent by reading Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, the ’72 White Sox and a Transforming Chicago by John Owens and David J. Fletcher.
I’m a quarter of the way through it and enjoying it thoroughly. The book puts that thrilling season in the context of all that was going in Chicago, in baseball, and with the Sox both on the field and off. It brings up things I haven’t thought about in decades plus a lot that I never knew.
This was a team that was just 2 years removed from a 106-loss season that was worse than what we just experienced. The next year they were 79-83, and then in 1972 the Sox were in first in August and finished with the second-best record in the league, which today would get them a first-round bye.
It was a totally different landscape then, but it’s instructive to see how quickly a team can be resurrected. The World Series is providing 2 competing visions for doing that, too.
Chili Dog MVP is the perfect book to read as the Hot Steve League fires up.
I’ve given that book a couple of attempts because it’d be perfect to lead a “What are you reading?” post and the information is great, but I’ve gotten stuck both times.
It’s partially my fault, because my reading patience is shorter with a toddler, but my dad gave me his copy, and he agreed with me that a lot of pages cover the same ground as pages earlier in the chapter. It’s like they wanted to use material from every interview conducted, even if it largely rehashes what somebody else said.
Next time I pick it up, I should probably go for more of a skimming approach, thinking that something I glance over will be covered later. I’m reading Colson Whitehead’s “Crook Manifesto” right now.
Perhaps I’m more indulgent of such things because it takes me back to my wonderful 15th year. Those days were magical for me.
I read “God Almighty Hisself” last year and enjoyed it. It didn’t focus a lot on the Chicago years, but I thought it was pretty good.