Since it's been years since the White Sox have maintained a winning record beyond the first week of the season, it's also been years since we've had a P.O. Sox mailbag filled with questions that are tinged with optimism, although pragmatism still reigns.
The following questions are from Sox Machine 10 WAR tier subscribers. Whether you're asking the questions or reading our attempts at answering them, we appreciate the support.
With Benintendi starting to heat up (1.008 OPS over the last 2 weeks), is there a chance he could be playing his way into
A) being traded for some salary relief, or
B) being traded for a low-level prospect, or
C) too important a piece on a contending team to consider moving?
He had been looking like a DFA candidate for a team with aspirations and in need of roster flexibility.
GrinnellSteve
Are any of Benetendi, Hicks, or Acuña on a DFA timeline?
Andrew S.
James: If I were running a team I would at least conduct a study if there was a level of ‘players acquired to later to DFA’ that would be worth carrying from the start of spring. Nothing so consistently drives questions from fans, nothing seems to provide as consistent catharsis for fans as the topic of who they can kick off the team for poor performance. If a player is willing to submit themselves to be dismissed via some manner of trebuchet that a lucky season ticket holder gets to trigger–with necessary safety precautions–in exchange for an extra $100K or so, I think a forward-thinking team has to consider as a means of maintaining a baseline level of morale, since wins are harder to guarantee.
Let’s put these in order of likelihood. Acuña’s efforts to install offensive changes really haven’t taken hold, Tristan Peters has wrenched away the majority of center field reps from him, and Derek Hill could fulfill his role better. So between the lack of financial commitment and the possibility he could clear waivers, it seems like a greater possibility. There is still a fair amount of financial commitment to Hicks, who is throwing very hard and not being hit hard, even if his K-BB relationship is such that any team could credibly declare this isn’t working and just recall Jordan Leasure. Benintendi’s financial commitments make his trade value negligible and while I don’t know if he or the White Sox fulfill any of the conditions of option C, there isn’t a groundswell of other viable left-handed bats to push him out of regular DH work, so it seems like his place is relatively stable.
Jim: The White Sox have carried those guys on Opening Day rosters past, and the Nick Matons of the world aren't enough to quench anybody's thirst for blood.
As always a great job in reporting and profiling players such as Davis Martin. This past weekend was very fun, even from the distance of Ohio.
I am curious about the "infield logjam". With the infield being the most solid aspect of the team right now, and with infielders such as Sam Antonocci moving to Left, Acuna playing Center, and Jacob Gonzalez, Caleb Bonemer and possibly Roch Cholosky knocking on the door soon, would you expect there to be trades at the deadline for more starting pitching or outfield depth, or is that something to look for at the end of the season? Is there another way out of this conundrum other than giving the prospects outfield gloves?
John S.
How do you see the outfield roster 4-6 weeks from now assuming a Hayes and Pereira return and a possible B Montgomery callup? Who is most likely to go between Kelenic, Acuna, and Hill or will Hayes be dealt as an Austin Slater 2.0? Does Benintendi have any trade value if he goes on a heater or do the Sox just ride that wave if it happens? Could Jacob Gonzalez also force the issue? Thanks for your outstanding coverage of a long awaited interesting Sox team.
cmansoxfan
James: I have been told that saying ‘Hays and Pereira and Montgomery will all just replace whoever is hurt over the next 4-6 weeks’ is a reader-unfriendly answer that doesn’t embrace the spirit of the exercise. Additionally, if Montgomery is still in Triple-A in six weeks, it’s not necessarily bad at all. And though he’s holding his own, he will need to get hotter than he’s been over that time to get the call. Another variable is that Montgomery has been playing more center than anywhere else this year in the minors. It seems to be an unlikely long-term home and the Sox have made a lot of glove-minded roster decisions, but it would obviously alter the question of 'which corner option has to move to make way' if a chunk of his future playing time comes in center.
Because you asked seven questions packed in one, I’m going to try not to overlook something. The Sox have pumped the brakes on Gonzalez playing the outfield, and I don’t think he’d present as a DH option yet. The catching situation seemed like the thing that would best crowd Benintendi out of DH opportunities, and it doesn’t look capable of doing so anymore, but I think we’re still well shy of him being movable. Acuña seems like the current roster occupant with the most limited role, but Hill also has a split contract that is supposed to make it easier to stash him in Triple-A, and Kelenic is whiffing too much to really prioritize just yet. Venable sounded ready to play Pereira in center more before he got hurt again, which sounded like a death knell for Acuña and a way to accommodate both Hays and Grichuk, but he needs to actually complete a throwing program and stay healthy before we give him someone his spot.
(rubs forehead for several minutes)
OK, in some future world, rather than six weeks away. Antonacci, Montgomery are playing almost every day, Pereira and Peters round out the regular outfield mix, and Benintendi and Grichuk are a glorified DH platoon and Hays brings a small trade return. Maybe. A bunch of unpredictable stuff probably happens between then and now, which is why you sign a proven option like Hays in the first place.
What role do you see for Jacob Gonzalez? Is the adjustment to his mechanics this year a key that unlocked consistent production, or is this peak performance with a lower career plateau or valley likely to follow?
Kevin H.
James: Consistent major league production for a guy who has never played there or seemed like an impact hitter before this point is a bridge too far, at least for now. Gonzalez is playing quite well, but his under-the-hood numbers show more of an average hard-hit rate and an expected slug more in the .450s rather than the ‘Barry Bonds in his 20s’ surface results he’s producing in Charlotte. I am watching a Guardians game while writing this so I am picking a comp with substantially more swing-and-miss in his game who can also play the outfield, but if Gonzalez is Daniel Schneemann, a multi-positional left-handed reserve player with some usable pop that you’re OK with making regular starts for stretches as needed, that would be a nice development. I don’t know if his mechanics have given him everyday regular potential again, but he seems like a big league contributor again and he’s clearly comfortable at the plate for the first time in a long time, and I love that for him.
I am writing this on May 18, when Munetaka Murakami has 17 home runs. Lenyn Sosa led the White Sox with 22 last season. Aside from wondering if Murakami will exceed that total by Memorial Day, has he already generated $17 million worth of revenue to the White Sox?
Asinwreck
James: The day that a team lets me look at their financial books, I’ll hurry back with a definitive answer on their investment return, but the White Sox talk and act like they already understand that Murakami’s start is a coup beyond their already initial hopes that the added attention would justify the risk. They should sell special tickets to watch Murakami take batting practice, and given how much he’s gladhanding guests of White Sox executives during that time, perhaps they already are in a way. I would put some respect on Lenyn’s name – since he’s lying down on the job on that front right now – and say Murakami will not hit six home runs in the next week.
Thank you for watching the games so that I don’t have to. But now that the Sox are competitive, when will they get nationally televised so that I can actually watch them here in Texas without paying for a streaming subscription?
Question 2: Can Josh give a state of Texas college baseball state of the state? As our 32-team fantasy league has proved, there are a lot of Texas college backers in the Sox Machine family (Hook Em Horns).
Thanks for all that you do! Appreciate you guys.
Bud Black Metal
Jim: NBC has set a Sunday Night Baseball schedule for the entire season, and the White Sox aren't on it. I'm curious whether the network has the ability to flex games, because there could be some clunkers down the line (the Astros are currently 20-31, and they’re slated for three Sunday nights in August alone). NBC has adhered to the schedule thus far in terms of teams, but it did allow the Royals and Angels to move up a game to the afternoon due to weather, so there may be some ability to alter course.
Josh: The Lone Star State should be well represented in the NCAA postseason. Both Texas and Texas A&M will host a Regional, and TCU should sneak in.
On paper, there aren't many teams that stack up to UCLA's level of talent and depth. But on the field, I would like Texas to have a fighting chance against the Bruins. The Longhorns' starting rotation of Ruger Riojas, Dylan Volantis, and Luke Harrison is a better trio than UCLA's, especially with the uncertainty of Logan Reddemann’s arm fatigue issues.
Offensively, Aiden Robbins and Carson Tinney are rising up draft boards. Both could be top-50 picks in July and can change a game with their home run power. Anthony Pack Jr. is having an excellent freshman season. Casey Borba is a wild card. I’m not crazy about his strikeout rate, but he has 17 home runs. In a tournament format, I’m curious how coach Jim Schlossnagle handles that aspect.
Texas A&M is playing a lot better than what I saw from them in late February. They have plenty of offensive firepower led by Gavin Grahovac and Caden Sorrell, but have five hitters in their lineup with 10 or more home runs. But while the Aggies can light up a scoreboard, too often they get lit up by opposing offenses. I’m worried about their pitching depth in this upcoming postseason. If they don’t make Super Regionals, I’m thinking the lack of impact arms will be to blame.
TCU has been dealing with the injury bug all season. They get pitcher Tommy LaPour back, but their dynamic duo of outfielders Chase Brunson and Sawyer Strosnider is now on the mend. If those two don’t return, I’m not liking the Horned Frogs' chances of upsetting a top seed in Regionals.
Curious what your thoughts are on the Sox potentially trying to get ahead of the market and become buyers in the month of June (if their record holds about the same or even better)… Any benefit of doing this for a team nobody thought was going anywhere this year and probably a few years “ahead of schedule”? Would Getz be ok with letting some prospect capital go in a scenario to win the division this year and maybe snag a player with a few more years of control?
Kevin P.
James: I neither think the White Sox would rush into a decision on whether to push forward on a win-now trades, since this start is clearly beyond the expectations of multiple levels of the organization. They’re a year early, at least. Their pitching situation is pretty tenuous. They’re curious about where they’ll be in June – in a good way – but it would be hard to see them rushing to flip prospect capital. And if by "prospect capital"you mean someone who would be top-10 on their internal rankings, then I don’t think anyone of that sort moves this summer. They love making small swaps of guys who don’t have clear paths to being future regulars. They probably have at least one deal with the Brewers or Rays in them before the next time we hold a mailbag. But I don’t think you should start typing "Billy Carlson" into the MLB Trade Values simulator or anything.
Jim: Beyond the pitching, I think Colson Montgomery's series against Seattle (0-for-11, 7 Ks) and the scare with Miguel Vargas’ hand shows how quickly this offense can look ordinary if some of the extreme profiles this offense is built around start working against them. It brings to mind the White Sox trading some anonymous international signing for James Shields on June 4 in an attempt to keep the hopes of the 2016 team aloft.
The vibes of this team are way better – I don't see Davis Martin getting scratched for decapitating bobbleheads or Sam Antonacci brawling with Austin Hays – but there's the same element of being fairly certain that one deal won't be able to prop up this team. The All-Star break seems like a sounder time to consider an aggressive pursuit of reinforcements.
I know Getz does not want to tie his job performance to wins, but the people that vote on awards do. Will he and Venable start garnering buzz for Executive/Manager of the year? If so, when and how does the team need to finish to keep them in that conversation?
Tim B.
James: Given the level of attention that they’ve already received for their turnaround, and because first-half enthusiasm counts for a lot often, I think a 15-20 win improvement from last year–and thus the accomplishment of essentially doing it back-to-back years–keeps them both in the conversation. But usually a team that actually makes the playoffs usually takes this. People love giving both these awards to the Rays and I think they’re probably a better bet at this point.
Jim: Looking at the 2024 AL Manager of the Year voting, Matt Quatraro picked up just two first-place votes for leading the Royals to a 30-win improvement and wild card berth, because Stephen Vogt oversaw a 16-win improvement and division title. So that's probably the ceiling without winning the Central, and even then, it probably requires the Sox getting to .500.
Based on the amount of second-guessing we've seen around baseball about the White Sox being the only team to guarantee Munetaka Murakami an amount every team could have afforded, Getz might be able to peel away some support on that signing alone. But then again, the Rays have Jonathan Aranda, Junior Caminero and Yandy Diaz at the positions Murakami could've played, so they have an excuse.
As you all look at the potential glut of talent in the middle infield for the Sox, I wanted to veer a bit from over-engineering solutions (just move player X to OF or player Y to 3B) at this point. Instead, I ask if you had any thoughts on what might be wrong ways to approach things from here, knowing only what we know now.
For example:
-- Would it wrong to move Montgomery off SS for any reason given his strong defensive showing there?
-- Would it be wrong to use Billy Carlson as trade bait to try to land a real OF prospect?
-- Would it be wrong to choose only one from the Meidroth, Antonacci, Bergolla Jr. triumverate within the next year and again package the others for OF or SP?
-- Would it be wrong to factor any of the current roster and pipeline logjams at middle infield into draft planning (or potentially signal to a Cholowsky that 3B might be an ask)?
I love that the Sox finally seem to have good problems. I'm open to a wide range of potential solutions, too. I wanted to check if you spot any potential pitfalls as expectations begin to rise for the first time in a long time.
Steve V.
James:
- If the Sox’s internal metrics agreed that Montgomery at short is the fifth-most valuable defender in the entire sport like OAA states, he wouldn’t rotate to third base even as much as he does now. I think he stays there on his own merits, but there are worlds where Carlson or Cholowsky, or hell even 98th-percentile outcome of William Bergolla Jr. push him off to some other position where his bat would still play – which is pretty much all of them
- High-profile prospect-for-prospect swaps usually happen in the offseason, or are some measure of challenge trades between teams that are a little less than convicted in the long-term prospects of their own guy. In a vacuum, no it’s not wrong. If it’s addressing the current need for outfielders, it’s probably not quite the time.
- Obviously depends on the return, and I think it’s pretty clear at this point that Antonacci is the one they would pick to keep, because the other two are a bit more limited in their offensive ceilings. So no, not wrong.
- Yes, very wrong. Just get good players and worry about that stuff the day it comes to the forefront, which is perhaps never.
Jim: I've felt like the White Sox could go about their emphasis on versatility in a more considered fashion. The flexing of Montgomery to third feels a little unnecessary, for instance, and I didn’t think Brooks Baldwin needed to be thrust into the superutility lifestyle at the time the White Sox lacked a major league shortstop, and we've talked about their lack of outfielder training for their infielders. But I think one positive about it all is that we haven't seen anybody attach their ego to a position, which I think is a healthy outcome as the Sox look to distribute their shortstops around the diamond.
Why is Schriffen still trying to land the plane on catch phrases? Does anyone at home really “staaaaaaand up” because he suggests it or are we already standing, pacing the floor waiting for Siranthony to induce a ground ball?
Chris M.
Jim: I've developed a negative association with the phrase “keep your powder dry,” because it's been used in the vein of emphasizing financial flexibility to put a positive spin on not spending, but here's a case where it would've been sound advice. Had Schriffen deployed “South Side, stand up” for the first time after the White Sox climbed over .500, or took the series from the Cubs, it could have actually been a stirring call to action reflecting a product suddenly deserving of pride? But he used it in his very first spring training broadcast, and then for the first weeks of the losingest season in MLB history, so it's always going to hit my ear as forced. But he wouldn't be the first person to apply a good idea at the wrong moment.
James: Usually I’m staaaaaaanding up so I can go catch the press elevator to get downstairs to the clubhouse. So by one interpretation, I am his greatest adherent.
