Jake Diekman can’t be White Sox’s only trade deadline deal

Rick Hahn speaking at SoxFest 2020 town hall (Photo by Josh Nelson)

Before Monday’s game, the White Sox acquired lefty reliever Jake Diekman from Boston.

Then they spent Monday’s loss to the Royals showing the futility of adding only relievers during this deadline period.

The White Sox were once again outhomered by one of the few teams with fewer homers than them as they dropped the first game of a home series for the sixth consecutive time. They lost their spot in the HR rankings to the Oakland Athletics during the three-game series due to a 7-4 deficit, and now the Royals put a dent in the White Sox’s six-homer edge with a pair of solo shots that proved to be too much to overcome.

Diekman is flawed, and the remaining $4.5 million owed to him ($3.5 million in 2023, plus a $1 million buyout) makes an expensive bullpen even more inefficient, but that’s all kinda besides the point. Even if Diekman were a league-mininum type in the middle of a phenomenal year, he wouldn’t address the White Sox’s biggest issue. Adding a reliever to team with such a limited offense is like trying to improve a car’s resale value by rolling back the odometer, rather than replacing the cracked head gasket. Unless Diekman knows how to erase runs already scored, then he can only help so much.

The hope is that the Diekman acquisition signals further activity from the White Sox before 5 p.m. today. I know there’s a large segment of the fan base that doesn’t see the point in adding. I understand both the simple desire to avoid false hope, as well as the legit concern of pumping further resources into a team that can’t really be fixed. I, too, would rather see Tony La Russa and Frank Menechino fired, hoping that the shock is enough to rattle them out of their rut and win the Central, because neither of them are assets going forward.

The problem is that Diekman already gives the bullpen that money-pit feeling. With his $3.5 million salary on the books for 2023, the White Sox have more of next year’s money devoted to relief spending than any other team. These salaries are all guaranteed…

  • Liam Hendriks: $14M
  • Joe Kelly: $9M
  • Kendall Graveman: $8M
  • Aaron Bummer: $3.75M
  • Jake Diekman: $3.5M

… and that $38 million doesn’t account for arbitration raises for Reynaldo López, José Ruiz and/or Matt Foster. Even if all three were non-tendered and replaced with league-minimum types, we’re still talking about a $40 million bullpen that might end up being average.

As futile as it may seem, the Sox may as well try to press whatever advantage they’re trying to buy here, because it’s not like all of these guys are likely to be better in 2023. Here are their ages:

  • Hendriks: 34
  • Kelly: 35
  • Graveman: 32
  • Bummer: 29
  • Diekman: 36

The more I think about this trade, the less I like it. One way to get me thinking less about this trade is to make a deal that is far more exciting and actually addresses the team’s root issues. Alas, Shohei Ohtani isn’t happening, and the morning’s rumors are directing Juan Soto toward San Diego, so sights will have to be lowered.

Further bulletins as events warrant.

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soxygen

I can’t wait to find out which 2022 draftee is the PTBNL in this trade. At least we have something to look forward to this off-season!

yinkadoubledare

Fortunately, you are not allowed to do that anymore.

BenwithVen

It’ll probably be international pool money because the White Sox don’t have any use for that anyway.

andyfaust

If you are spending that much on a bullpen, it had better be dominant. This bullpen is assuredly NOT dominant. It would also suggest that there are no other needs elsewhere that need addressed. If you watched last night or at all this season for that matter, you will know that is also NOT the case.

metasox

Bullpen is a place they can spend money that doesn’t require big, long-term contracts. Nor require giving up prospects that don’t exist.

andyfaust

You’re right, Rowan. That’s very useful given the Sox constraints. Why don’t we fill up the whole roster with short term bullpen arms since those rarely mortgage the future?

From asinwreck last night…
Rick Hahn has resembled Rowan Atkinson for quite some time.

I do see your point, while there are other holes to fill, there are admittedly few organizational resources with which to fill them. In short, I’m worried this “window” might have been painted shut before it was ever allowed to open.

Malkatraz

Yes, but they count toward the budget… then when fans wonder why a big name FA aren’t ever signed, the FO says “we’re spending record money”.

JimMargalusBiggestFan

Doubling down on stupidity seems to be the motto on 35th and Shields.

It’s sad because:

1. I don’t expect them to add a starting position player

2. If they somehow do add one, I have full confidence that he’ll be terrible for them.

Malkatraz

Reported for using the word “Shields”.

dongutteridge

How bout the entire Sox farm system for Juan Soto, Keibert Ruiz, Josiah Gray and Josh Bell?

Yay or nay?

Last edited 1 year ago by dongutteridge
dwjm3

Nay because of Jerry.

Jerry wouldn’t even put a contract on the table for Soto, so in two years he would move on and we would have nothing on the farm. I would be all in with a different owner.

Otter

It’s moot, but there is no one in the Sox system I wouldn’t trade for Soto. I’m not sure there is a prospect in all of baseball I wouldn’t move for Soto.

vince

Feel like the title should be “shouldn’t” rather than “can’t”, since they obviously can and probably will stand pat.

I’ll show myself out.

calcetinesblancos

If The Russa wasn’t sleeping in that video, they legitimately might want to send him to the doctor because he looks unwell. But I agree that firing him is the move that might actually benefit the team and wake them up.

As for the trade itself, Boston probably thought they won the lottery by getting a cheap, controllable catcher they can plug in and audition the rest of the year in exchange for shipping out Diekman and his guaranteed salary and BB issues.

BenwithVen

Man, Hahn really bungled this didn’t he?

itaita

While i wouldn’t say hes a top 5 GM or anything i think its somewhat hard to rate him because of how hamstrung he is by the guy who writes all the checks. Who knows how differently this team looks if hes allowed to hire the manager he wanted or was allowed to actually make a run at a big ticket item instead of being told to just be at the table.

As Cirensica

Jerry gave him a 190M check this year. Hahn fucked it up.

OldMMJ87

This is kind of how I view it, I was willing to give Hahn the benefit of the doubt last year but after this offseason where the only additions were more guys over 30 to the bullpen while still not addressing right field or second base, I’m inclined to believe he just isn’t very good at his job

soxygen

The thing about the being at the table part is that it is just a performance for our benefit. Sort of like telling Nightengale that they are in on Quintana. It’s PR, not a sincere effort to improve the on-field product.

dwjm3

Cleveland’s front office was able to put together a roster that can compete with ours for 50 million. If Hahn was that good at finding low cost talent we would likely be able to win a World Series with Jerry’s 190 million dollar budget.

Last edited 1 year ago by dwjm3
upnorthsox

He was allowed to hire the manager he wanted and he hired Ricky, how did that work out?
The Sox payroll is 190M
the Twins is 139M
Cleveland is 68M
Who’s in 3rd place?

dongutteridge

And, both have minor league talent better than ours. Cleveland has one of the best in baseball and a big league team the Sox equal all for $68 mil.

Otter

Which is also damning for the Guardians.

fpicks

He could have signed a real player with a the money he had to work with. He chose to piss it away on shitty second baseman and bullpen.

Last edited 1 year ago by fpicks
Qubort

I’m tired of excuses on behalf of Rick Hahn. I doubt Jerry told him he wasn’t allowed to sign a right fielder for the past decade. I doubt Jerry told him he had to buy out unproven players arbitration years. I doubt Jerry told him which QO to give out. Hahn has been GM long enough that he deserves blame. If not, then he should change his title.

Otter

Rick Hahn has a decade of being bad. Please stop making excuses for him.

yinkadoubledare

I don’t mind the deal because it basically just costs some money (McGuire being out of options was likely to end up DFA’d and claimed elsewhere once they decided not to roll with 3 catchera) but yeah, we know what the problem is and other than a quixotic attempt for Ohtani it’s not seeming likely they address it. The two obvious platoon guys they could have targeted are off the board. They can’t outbid the Padres for Soto. What lefty bats are left?

metasox

Is Conforto still out there? Maybe he would be useful, if healthy. That has the look of a Sox move. Creates a splash, gets a headline and creates the appearance of doing more than it really is – like Kimbrel last season.

ParisSox

I totally forgot that he was a White Sox

upnorthsox

And it’s not that he was even bad for the Sox, just pointless.

HallofFrank

My prediction for today: the Sox make an out-of-the-blue kind of deal for a player that wasn’t on anyone’s trade radar and will leave us with some mix of scratching our heads in confusion but also a kind of shoulder shrug, “I dunno, might work, and better than nothing, I guess.”

andyfaust

I could see that happening. I feel like it’s happened before as well. I interpret that scenario as the Sox realizing they will not be able to acquire any meaningful talent so they instead make a cheap, but intriguing move that no one saw coming in order to temporarily displace our ire with confusion. Manny Ramirez comes to mind.

funkerdan

Giving up nothing for him was the best part, so just the financial risk.

soxygen

That seems entirely plausible. Sadly.

Otter

This would require Rick Hahn being creative, something he’s rarely shown as the GM of the White Sox.

Honestly his most create move (at least in the last five or six years) was Kimbrel for Madrigal… which wasn’t even all that creative just the Sox probably maxing out Madrigal’s trade value (which is a major bummer in itself because drafting Madrigal wasn’t creative to begin with).

metasox

I thought Hahn might pull a rabbit out of his hat with a team looking to shed payroll – like SD. But running out of time for that

ParisSox

He missed out on Hosmer 😉

dwjm3

The problem they have is they needed to invest more in the roster last offseason and earlier on in the window of contention. I think it is difficult to address their issues at the deadline. Here we are in 2022 still talking about how they need a right fielder. It feels like we have been talking about that for five years.

calcetinesblancos

My biggest lesson from the success that teams like the Rays enjoy is to not have any black holes or glaring weaknesses in your roster. Platoon bats are used when needed, lighter hitting bats are fine only if they play good defense, they put pitchers in situations where they succeed, etc. The Rays would never put someone like Leury Garcia in the outfield who can neither hit nor play the outfield.

As Cirensica

Quite frankly, I expect another toilet.

andyfaust

Twins acquire Baltimore closer Jorge Lopez.

soxygen

That is a legit move. Let’s see if the Twins get Mahle or some other legit major league starter. The Twins and the Jays are two teams that need to be aggressive today.

andyfaust

Minnesota giving up Cade “you are not the father” Povich.

As Cirensica

This pisses me off. The Twins are addressing their needs, and actually getting better. With Diekman, the Sox got worse, and have more money committed to areas that don’t solve anything.

andyfaust

Yeah I know Lopez was an all star, but Diekman… is left handed?

serious question, how would you feel if Sox sent Sean Burke, plus a 28 year old AAA reliever you’ve never heard of, plus two young throw-ins for Jorge Lopez?

As Cirensica

I’d be ecstatic! Lopez is a better bet to get out LHH than Diekman

As Cirensica

calcetinesblancos

Twins had to pivot after they lost out on Diekman lol.

Josh Nelson

White Sox 2022: The money is being spent (stupidly)

knoxfire30

Remember when rick and kenny said they couldnt spend big because they had to make sure they would be able to keep this core together, LOLOLOL

As Cirensica

Wired: White Sox 2022: The money is being spent in relievers (stupidly)

vince

White Sox 2023: $100m bullpen

hitlesswonder

The beauty of this trade is that the Sox have also agreed to spend money stupidly next year!

jhomeslice

No kidding. This front office is just bag of hammers stupid about everything they do.

When this guy with his 4+ ERA comes into games and can’t throw strikes, Sox fans will love him. Next year too. What fun.

Torpedo Jones

I’m honestly just so frustrated by the feeling of being stuck in baseball purgatory – just hoping the team starts to fire on all cylinders to magically win the division. Hard to justify adding to this team, especially when we have such a thin farm system and minimal track record of developing prospects into WAR+ major leaguers. But it’s also hard to justify tearing the team down with so many young, controllable players.

Jerry and the Gang went for a rebuild, got about 80% of the way through it, and then called it good enough. Which is how we end up in a spot like this.

soxygen

Re purgatory, Dante’s 4th circle involves a bunch of sinfully cheap souls pushing rocks in one direction, and a bunch of sinfully profligate souls pushing rocks in the opposite direction. Neither group makes any progress.

This is the 2022 Sox – too cheap to sign any real answers to glaring problems, but pissing money away on useless short term bench & bullpen pieces and hoping that we win the lotto.

The result? A team that can’t get clear from .500. So we are in the 4th circle of hell.

ParisSox

The 4th circle of hell – aka Mired in Mediocrity

BenwithVen

It’s 2012-2016 redux. A core of talented pitchers and position players that go no where because the owner is obsessed with winning his way.

Otter

Those teams more had great and bad players. This team is underperforming.

This is more like the 2002-2004 stretch with probably the 2003 team being the best comp mainly because Konerko was god awful and probably costing them the division (or at least a game 163) by himself (they also couldn’t find a 5th starter to save their lives). After more blah in 2004, Kenny really started making moves in season (bringing in Garcia, Contreras, and Everett) and then a few more over the winter.

I’m not at the trade Carlos Lee point here with this group of players, but they probably need to start planning for that in the winter. The HUGE difference is for all of Kenny’s faults, he was creative where as Rick doesn’t have any creativity nor any tricks other than extensions but that well has dried up as agents have wised up.

Right Size Wrong Shape

I was really hoping that Hahn would use this year’s deadline to reconfigure the roster. I have a hard time believing that Abreu won’t be back next year, so trading Vaughn for a similarly talented player who is left handed, or can play a position would make this team make more sense. (BTW, I really like Vaughn, but this team won’t get better until they clear the DH logjam, and Vaughn would bring back the most value).

metasox

I really hope Abreu moves on next yr. I don’t dislike him, but would like to see the org shake things up and move on from this era. Besides new manager and coaches in the clubhouse, get some new player leaders to come forward as well. Team might not look better on paper, but we have seen that what is on paper isn’t decisive

gibby32

I hope I move on next year.

ParisSox

We want you around a good long time

Trading Vaughn for a similarly talented player

Hahn does not have the guts and he knows he has no knowledge about how to pull big trades like that

Augusto Barojas

The Sox have 90M committed next year to 8 players that are combining for a negative WAR. Grandal, Moncada, Eloy, Lynn, Kelly, Pollock, Garcia, Diekman.

They need to get creative and try to make a deal with a team like the Dodgers in the hopes they might be able to dump some salary on them, even if it means giving something up to do it. You can’t win if nearly half your payroll goes into a hole. Surely they have to hope Eloy and Moncada produce better next year, but still, the rest of that is a motley bunch that I expect little to nothing from, and certainly nowhere near the 63M or whatever that the remaining guys will get paid.

metasox

I have some faith in Grandal after an off-season of recovery. He showed last season what he can do when healthy. Though he may need to DH fulltime to stay healthy.

Malkatraz

Grandal will be a 34-year old catcher coming off of multiple surgeries next year. I DO NOT have any faith he will be better next season.

metasox

I have no doubt people will disagree on the matter

upnorthsox

Funny, it turned out that the Dodgers were looking for someone like the White Sox when they were trying to unload their AJ Pollock contract…….and they didn’t even need to give up a prospect to do it.

Otter

Err that deal was more “take our expensive excess for your expensive excess and hopefully it will work out for us both” deal.

It hasn’t really worked out for either (though the Dodgers could claim that Kimbrel has been somewhat unlucky and the Sox could claim that Pollock wasn’t supposed to be bad)

upnorthsox

That’s what I thought too until the fine print was pointed out.
Are the Dodgers on the hook for 12Mil in 2023? No, this wasn’t a like for like deal at all

Torpedo Jones

Honestly, dealing Kimbrel for Pollock wasn’t that bad given the circumstances. The mistake was in first trading for Kimbrel knowing that he seems to struggle when not closing (and his first half of 2021 was almost too good to be true), and second for picking up the option to keep him at a high cost for 2022.

Had they not picked up Kimbrel’s option, they could have potentially put that money elsewhere. Once they threw good money after bad to keep Kimbrel, I’m amazed they got someone who at least had been a legitimate MLB outfielder in recent memory.

texag10

You keep saying this which is funny because Grandal, Pollock, Diekman and Leury are the only ones that are actually negative WAR in that list. Are the others underperforming? Sure. But in reality Leury at -1 fWAR is doing the heavy lifting in your complaint and no one here argues he’s an issue.

Augusto Barojas

The other 4 have a combined WAR of 1.3. That doesn’t exactly change the point that all of them are astronomically overpaid for basically awful production, and that they can’t count on any of them next year to be worth their salaries. Most of them probably not close. You would hope Eloy and Moncada would get better, but probably not worth 27M.

The point remains, they have a ton of wasted or almost wasted payroll they will undoubtedly suffer to a large extent next year as well. Which makes another completely crappy offseason pretty likely, unfortunately.

patrick

They were afraid of big contracts eventually leading to bad money for aging players without much value. So they went the route of spending bad money on young players without much value. They just sped along the process. Quite efficient really.

asinwreck

William Goldman’s script for All the President’s Men has an apt quote for what Jerry Reinsdorf, Rick Hahn, and the brain trust have done this year.

Soxfan2

If (when) the Sox add this deadline, I hope it’s similar to the Braves approach last year of adding smaller named guys and hope they play above expectations.

This White Sox team as presently constructed isn’t one or two big deadline moves away from being a world series contender. This is a seriously flawed team. And the flaws are both physical (hitting vs RHPs, defense etc) and mental.

I am one of those people that believes anything can happen once the playoffs start but this team had the same flaws it had when we first made the playoffs in 2020. Deadline adds are supposed to supplement your current talent and core to push you to that next step. No matter who they add, they’ll be stuck with poor play of Moncada, Grandal, Jimenez, Lynn, Giolito, Pollock and so on. When 40-50% of your starting lineup is below replacement level and two of your “aces” have been garbage…it’s a lost year.

The best thing the Sox can do imo is to not trade any main prospects and hope for a bounceback from the current core while supplementing that core with guys that are exceeding expectations (which involves luck).

This roster needs a serious overhaul this off-season.

patrick

Is there anyone even coming off the books that allows an overhaul? Like it or not, they wanted to keep the core together, maybe learning from the 2016 Cubs. They just forgot the part where the core needs to be good at baseball for that to pay dividends.

gibby32

I like McGuire. The deal would have been fine if Grandal was the piece going to Boston. He can neither catch nor hit anymore. Which is exactly why Boston would not have taken him as the piece going to them.

calcetinesblancos

It was always a risky signing.

jhomeslice

Hahn would have to be a genius if he could get any team to take Grandal. Rather, another team would have to be pretty dumb.

Malkatraz

Just call up Tony Larussa and Dave Stewart in Arizo…oh…damn.

hitlesswonder

I really hope the Sox do not make any more trades. Nothing good can come from it as witnessed by the Diekman trade.

This is an awful trade. They traded away a useful backup Catcher plus an unknown prospect who I’m sure is going to be someone like Cristian Mena for a relief pitcher who starts fires…the Sox literally have better options in the minors…and they take on $4.5M for next year.

Hahn made this year’s team and next year’s worse with this trade.

Last edited 1 year ago by hitlesswonder
a-t

Soto and Bell are now Padres.

hitlesswonder

The deadline deals of the Padres and Sox are so starkly different. Makes the Sox seem so, so small time.

Last edited 1 year ago by hitlesswonder
dwjm3

We are massively outgunned with this ownership. The newer generation of owners doesn’t hesitant to throw out a 100 million dollar plus contract.

jhomeslice

The Sox are small time, it all starts with Jerry.

andyfaust

pretending the Sox had the resources to pull a move like this, do you think they have the stones?

Torpedo Jones

No – these guys are risk-averse. And in a high-stakes zero-sum game, you have to be willing to take chances. And that can mean big FA spending or risking trading away valuable players.

Small market teams like the Rays, Guardians and Brewers can be competitive by making savvy trades and investing in developing prospects. Big market teams can invest across the board, including winning a free agent bidding war to get the right player. Other teams can play in the middle tier, periodically reloading for a year or two and then pushing some chips in when the time is right (the Twins’ trades this season feel like such an example).

Jerry and the gang are far more comfortable building a good core and just treating any subsequent success as a matter of luck. They seem to feel this roster is “good enough” and don’t have an appetite to materially improve their chances.

I’d argue they also view relievers as some kind of super-smart investment play, which is…interesting. Particularly when you wallpaper over trivial things like corner outfield defense, starting pitching depth, and second base.

Otter

The Sox and Padres started their rebuild at the same time basically. The Padres have done it in a way that I think most Sox fans would have wanted. They went out there and spent money, built up their farm system, traded for big name guys.

Ironically the Padres haven’t made the playoffs yet, but they also are so much more fun than the Sox and have a much better chance of winning something. Such a bummer than from ownership to the FO to the dugout to the players it’s just a bunch of either pennywise, pound foolish smugness, idiots, or underperformance (save like four guys).

texag10

The Padres were awful a lot longer than the Sox were. They’ve had 7 seasons with a .500+ record since 2000 with 3 of them the last 3 seasons.

jhomeslice

Wow, that’s two players better than everyone in the Sox organization, in one trade. I’ve liked the Padres approach way better than the Sox. They might give the Dodgers some real competition. They sure as hell got two very good players.

a-t

Soto yeah but bell no lol. he’s not even better than Pito

jhomeslice

Bell has better avg, slugging, homers, OPS, WAR. They’re pretty close, but he’s certainly just as good as Abreu in 2022, no doubt. A rental for Padres, but still, a big one.

a-t

His fWAR is well below Abreu, 2.5 to 3.1, and his wRC+ is a tick below. The reason is that Bell is, like Altuve, really aggressive in trying to stretch singles into doubles, which adds to his SLG but also means he gets dinged with worst baserunning value in baseball. He’s a really good 1B, but we don’t have to hyperbolize him.

jhomeslice

Saying that Bell and Abreu are about the same isn’t hyperbole. It’s pretty much splitting hairs. They are quite close. Very similar numbers across the board.

Sounds iffy that Bell might be going in the trade now. But Soto is. That will be one hell of a trio of hitters with Soto, Machado, and Tatis when he gets healthy. Thanks in part to Rick Hahn.

a-t

This is Bell’s best season to date, and in seven seasons he’s only ever gotten to 2 fWAR twice, and also only been comparable or better in wRC+ than Jose’s 133 wRC+ twice. You can slander anyone else on the roster, but I’m not going to agree with any disrespect to Jose Abreu.

jhomeslice

Jose is 35, Bell is 29. I’m comparing their stats this year, not their careers. They are about the same in 2022, very solid, good players with similar numbers, same position. That’s not slander or disrespect unless you want to inject needless emotional nonsense into a simple discussion that most people can handle without getting completely defensive and agitated. Slander and disrespect. Jesus.

HallofFrank

To be fair, it is kinda disrespect. You say you only want to compare this year’s stats. But that’s no way to evaluate players. If it was, the Padres just WAY overpaid for Soto, whose OPS is barely higher this year than Bell’s. Abreu has been worth 21 WAR more than Bell over their careers and he’s only played two more seasons than Bell. Hell, Abreu’s WAR total in the last 3 seasons is almost (9.0 / 9.7) as much as what Bell’s produced his entire career—and one of those seasons was pandemic shortened.

Bell is a fine player having an excellent season. But saying he’s better than, or as good as, Jose Abreu is either (a) an extreme overrating of Bell or (b) a major slight to Abreu.

ForsterFTOG

Slander and disrespect?
Get a grip.

gibby32

You should understand a tongue in cheek comment.

upnorthsox

Tongue in cheek doesn’t contain wRC+ twice, that’s hard core man.

Qubort

I’d take Cease over Bell.

calcetinesblancos

I assume you mean as a hitter?

knoxfire30

The padres have continued to do everything the sox promised they would… just incredible stuff from them, you can live with any outcome when your gm and ownership continue to be that aggressive, just constantly pushing the envelope

OldMMJ87

I noticed that when they had a disappointing season last year, they fired their coaching staff and continued to add parts aggressively to address holes. The Sox should try that one day.

dwjm3

Their GM isn’t the best but their ownership is willing to keep spending around his mistakes. Jerry needed to do the same with Hahn.

jhomeslice

Yeah as someone said, the Sox got 2/3 of the way through their rebuild and just gave up. Which is what the fans response to this joke of a franchise should be, frankly. Keeping around a manager who can’t stay awake through games is an insult the intelligence and loyalty of this whole fanbase.

Padres are persistent, they never give up. Sox would never have a team like that in a thousand years with Reinsdorf and the inept people he keeps around… and around.

soxygen

Also, their GM isn’t afraid to make mistakes.

Root Cause

and Rick said, “Hold my beer”!

Augusto Barojas

You are right, that is some incredible stuff from the Padres. Oh well, it’s pretty clear that this rebuild is scorched earth for the Sox. Too much idiotically allocated payroll next year to even give them a chance of rectifying anything in the offseason. They’ve got the wrong GM for that job.

vanillablue

the Sox used to have a GM who was really aggressive making trades, trying to win every year. not sure what happened to that guy.

upnorthsox

It’s too bad that guy could only get Billy Beane to trade with him.

Otter

I hope you’re kidding?

upnorthsox

Probably hyperbole but it felt real.

itaita

I wonder if they are making a run for it with Soto now and then going to deal him or somebody else when hes due for FA. They might end up becoming the Angels having almost a billion dollars tied up on 3 guys but no money left to spend on the rest of the roster.

jorgefabregas

Any interest in Scott Barlow or Josh Staumont while the Royals are in town?

a-t

MLBTR reports interest in both as well as in Michael A Taylor

upnorthsox

He’ll end up in Houston because they don’t stop and admire the potential of there players or assume they will get better when healthy even when they are 67-37.

andyfaust

A move for Barlow would’ve been nice… 18 hours ago! Then someone else would’ve had to cover his 2 scoreless innings last night.

Seriously though if he’s throwing 2 inning saves in August, he must have plenty in the tank and would probably be quite useful. And it’s not like they haven’t been using him. He’s at about 50 innings right now, which is more than anyone in the Sox pen.

Soto and Bell going to San Diego apparently. While the White Sox remain “Mired in mediocrity.”

jhomeslice

The Sox are tied for 9th best record in AL. They’re barely good enough to be considered mediocre. They’re better than just 1/3 of the teams in the AL at the moment.

Kelly Wunsch N' Munch

I see your point. Nonetheless .500 baseball throughout the season is pretty much the epitome of mediocre. To be honest, they’re lucky to even be at .500 with the way they’ve played.

dongutteridge

I agree with your comment about replacing the crack heads.

hitlesswonder

In fairness to Rick Hahn, his two best trades did result in world series wins.
For the Red Sox and Nationals, but still.

I imagine that Tatis Jr. will eventually be instrumental in getting the Padres a championship, so in time it will be 3 trades that led to championships.

abehickock

Jerry Reinsdorf has been the controlling partner of the White Sox since 1981, 42 years. In that time, the Sox have been to the playoffs a whopping 7 times. Only once out of those 7 times did they win a playoff series, 2005. Their ineptness starts at the top. I hope Reinsdorf is proud of his track record. I guess he hasn’t gotten lucky yet and have the Michael Jordan of baseball fall in his lap.

armchairGM

thats not true – he allowed his crew to pick jared mitchell over the michael jordan of baseball

abehickock

Yep, you’re right. Kenny Williams was looking for their future leadoff hitter that year instead of his usual high strike out hitter.

SocksO’Graham

Renisdorf

soxygen

The Nats also took Hosmer back in that deal to improve the prospect haul…and what a haul it is with Abrams, Wood, and Hassell…this is exactly the sort of thing the Sox were too cheap to do during our rebuild (when at one point we had the 3rd lowest payroll in MLB) , which is one of the reasons that we have a bottom 5 farm system and not much flexibility right now.

knoxfire30

Yea its not easy losing a superstar but credit the nats they said the opposite of the initial thought that they would want a team to take on corbin to trade soto, instead they take on hosmer to get a much better prospect haul thats exactly how you jump start a rebuild

andyfaust

the Hosmer part of the deal is especially interesting. He can refuse that trade, but apparently the deal has contingencies to keep the deal intact if that is the case. Also, Washington is paying the remainder of his 22 salary, but his remaining years 23,24, and 25 will remain SD’s responsibility. I suspect this twist wasn’t so much to increase the prospect haul for Washington (although it must have somewhat), but to help keep SD at or near the luxury tax line.

Joliet Orange Sox

Nightengale says the Hosmer part is now off. We’ll see what the contingencies are.

Can’t blame him. Why would Hosmer agree to that?

phillyd

To play? Barring injury, he won’t see the field much in SD this year.

Right Size Wrong Shape

Who cares? Why would you give up a chance to win a world series to pick up your family, move across the country and play for a bad team.

phillyd

If I were a MLB player, I would want to play That’s me though.

soxygen

Me too, though if I were an MLB player I probably wouldnt mind living on the beach in California either

Torpedo Jones

He would “win” only in the sense that they couldn’t use him. Not sure how much honor there is in saying “hell no, I’d rather sit on the bench and collect my WS ring.” But to each his own.

Honor? LOL!

jorgefabregas

They were already willing to pay multiple years of his salary for him to go away. I’m assuming they will DFA and he can have a hand in picking his next destination.

metasox

Sounds like there are some teams he can still be traded to today without approval. Would not be a bad deal for a rebuilding team to take him if they have 7 mil available to spend, can get him free for the next 3 and get a prospect thrown in.

andyfaust

I think we were somewhat at odds earlier on in the comments, but we seem to be completely aligned here if you read what I just posted right below here.

I’d even suggest that in addition to the $7M or so for the remainder of this year, Miami should just take on the whole contract if it would net more in return. Hosmer is currently not worth the money in his contract, but the back end of it isn’t nearly as ugly and he’s actually an improvement for them at 1B. Miami has the kind of payroll flexibility that Hahn dreams about.

metasox

Not sure about being at odds, if that was me. But yes, agree this is an opportunity for someone to step up. Maybe former White Sox Ng is the one to do it

andyfaust

Near the top of this stack of comments, i criticized the Diekman trade. You didn’t necessarily defend it, but you pointed out that adding a bullpen rental is one of the few moves they can actually afford to make, given their situation. Which is sadly true. So maybe “at odds” is a stretch.

metasox

Got it. For better or worse, this is the Sox M.O.

andyfaust

Red Sox beat Ng to it.

andyfaust

Seeing that Hosmer is from south FL, if I were Kim Ng I’d be calling Hosmer’s agent to see if he’d accept a trade to Miami, and that’s assuming Miami is even a place Hosmer can block. Looks like a good opportunity to buy some prospects from SD.

metasox

Couldn’t be too happy to have his arm twisted in a last minute deal either. Hosmer can probably get a better deal if the off-season with some sweeteners attached.

Last edited 1 year ago by metasox
andyfaust

so evidently Hosmer has indeed refused to be traded per Bob Nightengale, but Soto is still going to SD. Not sure how the rest of the deal is affected.

Torpedo Jones

+1 to this. The idea of taking on some salary dumps to add good prospects is just smart business during a rebuild. But Jerry wouldn’t be able to stomach that. Given how they’ve spent their money, we probably would’ve been better off with that approach leading up to this slim crack in the drywall that we’ve been calling a contention window….

NDSox12

Personally, I can’t believe the Padres even wanted Soto when they already have Nomar Mazara in right field.

jhomeslice

That will be the Sox deadline addition, Nomar. Coming full circle. The lefty right fielder we’ve always wanted.

calcetinesblancos

Well you gotta have a backup plan in case Mazara gets hurt.

670WMAQtheElder

I am not going to defend Hahn, but you just can’t discount how much these deals are what TLR wants. He wants a lot of relief arms because it allows HIM to MANAGE. So I think TLR told Jerry he wants a LH relief pitcher and the word went down to the GM to fill the order.

Personally I hope the Sox don’t do any more trades today. Save it for the off season and maybe the HOF manager will no longer be in the picture. And maybe Hahn will be gone, too. This is a .500 team and would still be a .500 team even if Soto or Ohtani were on the team because great players become….something else when they join the White Sox. This is a .500 team with bad contracts and a weak farm system, and the young stars can’t or won’t stay on the field, and coaches who subtract talent rather than develop it. So why bother?

a-t

because making the playoffs is good and exciting

Right Size Wrong Shape

I like them.

Augusto Barojas

I think the Padres and Sox ownerships have very different ideas of what good and exciting means

Qubort

I don’t think Hahn needed TLR to point out Tanner Banks was the only healthy LHP in the bullpen.

HallofFrank

But if the prospects are bad and will also become White Sox, why bother keeping them? I think it was Camus who said that life was meaningless and wasn’t worth living but killing ourselves is also meaningless so it isn’t worth doing.

SocksO’Graham

I agree with you.

ExPtSoxFn

What the Sox need is ACCOUNTABILITY not bringing new players into this toxic/lethargic environment. The lack of accountability, enthusiasm and effort that the “Cuban connection” is putting on display on daily basis is absolutely devastating the team. This is not a sandlot Caribbean baseball league, get your shit together, suit up both physically and mentally and act like Major Leagers! Show examples of your skill and performance professionalism, not your inflated egos!

I am out!

Right Size Wrong Shape

I like that last sentence.

ExPtSoxFn

Thanks homer

Right Size Wrong Shape

Good luck sniffin’ out them Cubans.

The only one worth reading.

SocksO’Graham

When the first wave of Soviets hit the NHL there were some who did not do well and it was hypothesized that they naturally relaxed having left the harsh conditions of the USSR. It is possible we are seeing the same in regards to Moncada. Not sure about Robert. Abreu certainly not but at 37 or even maybe truly 40 he has the usual downfall related to age. Yaz. Old too.

upnorthsox

Yaz grew up in the states though. Another is when the first Japanese players started coming over and their feelings of isolation by both language and culture. Than Ichiro brought his interpreter/entourage with him and things changed for the better.

SocksO’Graham

Good point

As Cirensica

Then refer to the problem as Moncada this and that (I have done so here). The problem is the unnecessary “Cuban connection” grouping which some could read as a racist.

jhomeslice

How can there be any accountability when your manager is half asleep in the dugout while games are being played.

calcetinesblancos

Hey man, you have to get your naps in before the later innings when you might have to start managing the bullpen.

jorgefabregas

Well, bye!

BenwithVen

Robert and Abreu are the two best players on the team, so I don’t think it’s the “Cuban Connection” that’s the problem….

hitlesswonder

Was going to point this out as well. And Abreu is clearly professional…more so than the organization that employs him. So I think we can probably say that the theory that a specific nationality is torpedoing the White Sox is not just kind of offensive but really, really wrong.

SocksO’Graham

It has nothing to do with ethnicity. It could very well have to do with past living environments. See another comment I posted regarding the Soviets. Ironically I doubt anyone will respond my comments are really really wrong regarding the Soviets. I would imagine it could be quite easy to come to the USA and live a wealthy lifestyle all while letting up some at work after having lived under a dictatorship. That sentence can apply to Soviets, Northern Irish, Cubans etc.

Or it could be that the problem with this team isn’t actually “the Cubans”.

I didn’t mean to suggest it was the only problem.

SocksO’Graham

But Moncada and Robert under performance hurts big time.

a-t

Robert has been pretty good still, just not a MVP candidate.

soxygen

Robert is supremely talented and underperforming his potential by a lot. We don’t yet know why, so there isn’t any point questioning his work ethic…but I think it is fair to say he is underperforming. Obviously, it has nothing to do with his ethnicity. But for whatever reason, based on his 2022 it is reasonable to wonder if he’ll end up being a great big ol’ disappointment rather than a perennial all-star.

jorgefabregas

Are you a…..Unionist?

Last edited 1 year ago by jorgefabregas
Qubort

Ah yes, Giolito, Lynn, and Sheets are such traditional Cuban names.

BenwithVen

Gallo to the Dodgers. cue up the “Jake Diekman is the White Sox’s Only Trade Deadline Deal” headline.

SocksO’Graham

Bring back Trayce Thompson

Per Nightengale, Gallo to the Dodgers.

Last edited 1 year ago by Right Size Wrong Shape
Qubort

Finally a trade that makes me feel good. I was concerned the Sox were going to acquire him.

jhomeslice

I was going to post the same. Anybody hitting below .200 with 3X as many K’s as hits is the last thing this team needs. Glad he’s not coming here.

upnorthsox

Instead we got a RP with more walks than hits….

itaita

I still think it wouldn’t of hurt the Sox to take a flyer on him even from a defensive upgrade and a platoon bat. I dont know what the Sox equivalent of this AA guy would be but considering the issues the team has with not taking walks and not hitting HR why not go for him and hope it was just a bad fit in NY which happens all the time.

Plus, if he strikes out all the time its better then all the double plays after the teams myriad of singles the other batters do.

Last edited 1 year ago by itaita
upnorthsox

Beeter is better than I thought they’d get.

Right Size Wrong Shape

Beeter Better bought a bit of butter. “But,” he said, “the butter’s bitter. If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter. But, a bit of better butter will make my batter better.” So, he bought a bit of butter, better than his bitter butter. And he put it in his batter. And the batter was not bitter. 

upnorthsox

…So said Beeter.

I bet right now Gallo is wishing he signed that extension that the Rangers offered. Jon Daniels has to realize he dodged a bullet.

a-t

I think it’s worth pointing out that the Padres, who are (not wrongly) regarded as aggressive in the way that we want Hahn and co. to be, struggled badly with injury and depth issues last year and finished under .500 and missed the playoffs. This is a disappointing year, but that doesn’t mean next year will be so rough. With Soto/Ohtani off the board, the focus should be on Joc Pederson etc.

LamarHoyt_oncrack

There’s a pretty big difference between the ownership of the Padres and Sox in terms of intelligence, desire to win, and willingness to spend. The Padres have both Machado and Tatis, rather than the Sox having either or both of them, because of that difference. The Joc Pedersons of the world are never going to make up for that, or the Reinsdorf/Hahn/Tony axis of ignorance.

a-t

They had Machado and Tatis and willing ownership and won all of 79 games with that. Which is my point.

upnorthsox

They also played in a division with 2 100+ game winners.

HallofFrank

They had a losing record against all 3 divisions last season and were 40-39 against below .500 teams. Regardless of division, @a-t ‘s point still stands.

upnorthsox

So my takeaway then is that with a healthy Eloy and Robert and a willing Rick Hahn we should win 79 games. Got it!

HallofFrank

I think you’re right, but I also think the contrast is a bit too overplayed. The Pads FO made some notable blunders, too—Eric Hosmer chief among them. That’s one of the worst FA signings in recent memory and was immediately first guessed.

a-t

Wil Myers’ contract was also quite bad, plus they keep having top prospects debut and not look very good. But yea that’s in part the point I want to make

John SF

When the Padres hilariously overpaid for Hosmer a few years ago, one of the comments I kept seeing was how it was the kind of dumb thing you would expect the White Sox to do.

soxygen

The fact is that the Sox, Jays, and Padres are something of a cohort…all three teams had been building towards competing during this window, and we have had varying
degrees of success and have encountered different pitfalls.

I don’t think the lesson of this is “stand pat and everything will work out.” I also don’t think the lesson is “a front office that tries to improve its roster sometimes makes mistakes therefore why bother” or that “it doesn’t really matter what approach you take because it all a crapshoot.”

I do think the Padres are interesting to follow because the front office takes risks to try to put a better product on the field. It is fair to point out that that strategy doesn’t always work out, because players are human, sometimes get hurt, etc…

But I also think it is reasonable as a fan to want to see your front office take risks rather than just continue to operate in whatever weird way they have been operating for the last several decades.

We have a strangely mismatched roster this year, and while next year may be better from a health and performance standpoint, IDK that that will fix the problem of having almost no one with an actual position. So, it would be nice if we had a GM who, pardon the expression of maleness, had the balls to make some moves.

Josh Nelson

Programming Note:

Twitter Space counting down the trade deadline starts at 2 pm CT.

Qubort

Leury/TLR for Happ/Ross. Who says no?

Right Size Wrong Shape

I could do without Grandpa Twinkletoes, but I’d take Happ.

Qubort

Not a fan of Ross, just I’d take anything over TLR.

upnorthsox

Idk, he does a pretty good job of handling a BP. Not a lot of making magic happen though but then there’s only so much you can do with that roster.

Mobi

Hahn won’t stop at Diekman. He will sign more relievers. At least this is why Mlbtraderumors is trying to tell me.

a-t

Twins chasing Tyler Mahle.

Make some moves, you bums.

As Cirensica

Already official. Twins getting better and better while Hahn admires a pdf copy of Leury’s contract extension with a TLR picture in the top right corner with a red heart drawn in the middle

Foulkelore

Hey, they may have added a good starter and closer, but with Diekman, we have a slightly better chance than before of retiring their one key lefty hitter in Arraez.* ** *** ****

* (One time in a game)
** (Assuming he comes up with two outs, because it’s dangerous to have Diekman face any righties that may be next)
*** (If Diekman doesn’t walk him)
**** (If the Sox offense has scored enough runs to make it matter)

Root Cause

We are not dumpster diving anymore but they are waiting for the crowd from Black Friday to clear to see what landed on the scratch and dent table.

It makes zero sense to get more relievers. There is no point to protect the lead if you never have the lead.

Unless you have no ability to analyze players and you buy pitchers hoping to trade for position players two for one at a later date. Note to Hahn- the lottery is for losers.

Last edited 1 year ago by Root Cause
a-t

the white sox Twitter account has news! no it’s not trades. cease won AL pitcher of the month again is all

soxygen

Clearly we should be happy with his plaque and just shut up.

Last edited 1 year ago by soxygen
upnorthsox

You will be going to the Dylan Cease pitcher of the month commemorative plaque night, right?

Elena

Ben Gamel is a lefty outfielder with some pop. He fields OK and hits not particularly well, but he is an actual outfielder. He could be acquired from the Pirates for not too much, I should think.

dwjm3

A healthy second half from Eloy is better than any trade we could make

Rick Hahn

calcetinesblancos

It’s like watching a movie you’ve seen a hundred times.

dwjm3

Yup, Jerry could at least change the actors in his play from time to time. If we could at least stink with a different front office we might have something interesting to talk about.

As Cirensica

A bad movie

OldMMJ87

Followed immediately by Eloy going on the IL again

upnorthsox

“First, in all candor, we are all disappointed we were not able to do more to improve this club……anyone out there feeling a level of disappointment or frustration I’m there with you”
-Rick Hahn

So am I Rick, who’s in charge of this thing that I can talk to about it?

upnorthsox

“We are finally close to having the 6 core guys since 2020 having them all back together and with a little better luck health wise going forward we are confident they can win the World Series”
-Rick Hahn

Last edited 1 year ago by upnorthsox
a-t

Padres even snagged Brandon Drury for their depth. What on earth is the FO doing right now?

a-t

Apparently Terry Francona said he doesn’t anticipate any moves for Cleveland before the deadline. So it’s just the goddamn Twins to chase down now?

soxygen

Do you think the Sox plus Diekman minus McGuire can catch the Guardians? I’m not so sure.

hitlesswonder

They have the worst minor league system in baseball and are unwilling to trade from the major league roster and will not take on bad money. So there are no moves to be made…

a-t

Nah, the farm system is a lot better than that now with how guys have performed this year. It’s still quite thin and isn’t top 10 or anything but its not totally barren

hitlesswonder

It’s bottom 4. The Padres traded 5 prospects for Soto and still have better system than the Sox Link

I was going to write more about how the rebuild failed (or maybe more fair to say did not fully succeed) because fundamentally the organization and it’s talent evaluation and development didn’t change…but I guess I’ll wait till we know 2021 was the high water mark.

metasox

Boston, Tampa, Pittsburgh each with more than 60 ranked prospects makes my head spin. Sure, most are down are at 35 and 40. But that is still a lot of interesting guys to follow

NancyFaustsOrgan

I do believe that Bryan Ramos will turn into a star. Glad they didn’t trade him away today.

calcetinesblancos

My prediction: The deadline comes and goes and we each breathe a sigh of relief or curse Hahn depending on what you wanted to happen. And then a little while later, we find out that the Sox made an awful trade just before the deadline passed.

soxygen

Can we do both? I feel like both are warranted.

jorgefabregas

He’s probably too busy orchestrating moves and lobbying for another relief pitcher

asinwreck

That’s a long euphemism for napping.

As Cirensica

He decides to use that time for naps

abehickock

Does anybody know whether it’s Eloy Jimenez or Yoan Moncada that’s scheduled to go on the IL after Luis Robert comes off the list. I know they rotate but I’m not sure who’s next up. I did see Moncada running hard to first once on Monday so he may have tired legs now and needs some rest.

upnorthsox

50 minutes to go and Contreras is still a Cub, I wonder if he can play RF?

Drdoctor

I’m expecting we bail the Padres out of luxury tax and trade something decent for Wil Meyers to play RF. I can’t think of a more Rick Hahn move than that

hitlesswonder

I think they still have another Tatis they can trade!

soxygen

Is being able to play rf a pre-requisite for the job of White Sox right fielder?

Foulkelore

I almost don’t even care at this point, as long as the bad defender they put there could actually hit. The whole bad hitter and bad defender combo plate is not ideal.

Root Cause

It is apparently a detriment.

Last edited 1 year ago by Root Cause
a-t

Norge Vera got promoted to W-S, in the biggest news we’ll see today

Otter

I’ve decided the most Hahn and Jerry move would be to trade for Rodon.

a-t

Twins added Michael Fulmer too, who has been a pretty effective reliever, although he might be due for a little HR regression.

soxygen

Twins basically did what they needed to do in getting Lopez & Fulmer in the pen, Mahle, and Leon as backup catcher.

jorgefabregas

Givens has been traded, so one more rumored target off the board.

abehickock

The Twins, Jays, Yankees, Astros and Mariners all got better. These teams were already better than the Sox. The Sox got worse, again pinning their hopes on players like Moncada, Jimenez, Robert etc. Completely overvalued.

a-t

Aaaaaaand Jake Diekman is indeed the White Sox‘s only deadline move. Very cool!

Joliet Orange Sox

I’m ambivalent about this.

I’m surprised by how many people are not ambivalent. The Twitter Space is all in on being angry the Sox didn’t trade for help for a playoff push. I’ve also seen people who want to sell low on players like Giolito. I think both those cases are hard to get passionately behind.

Last edited 1 year ago by Joliet Orange Sox
soxygen

It’s a fine line between ambivalent and conflicted!

I don’t want to give the front office credit for recognizing that the flawed team they built is too flawed to be fixed at the deadline given the insufficient amount of talent they accumulated when purposefully putting a crappy product on the field for a few years. Does that make sense?

Last edited 1 year ago by soxygen
evenyoudorn

Right. The only ones they have to blame for the lack of good options are their past selves.

jhomeslice

Whatever form, it’s right and perfectly justified to be pissed about how poorly this team is run. It’s also not worth it. Just a terrible owner, GM, manager, none of whom are remotely likeable, and who were all apparently napping today.

Just about every other team on the map got better, and the Sox got a lefty who is ranked #1 in control issues. This team is a waste of everybody’s time.

Last edited 1 year ago by jhomeslice
BenwithVen

I feel the same. It’s clear they believe this team “is what it is” and I”m glad they didn’t dismantle a promising farm system just so they could put lipstick on a pig.

But I spent years watching that pig grow, and goddamnit, I want it to win first prize at the county fair!

evenyoudorn

I’m not mad about today in a vacuum, rather mad about the totality of this (most recent) squandered window.

asinwreck

I’m relieved Rick Hahn didn’t make a trade, but that’s because I have no faith in anyone in the front office outside of Marco Paddy being able to evaluate major-league talent.

The 2016 rebuild was a good idea. Having the rebuild overseen by the same owner and front office that built the 2016 team was a terrible idea. It’s long past time to clean house.

metasox

I get the sense Hahn is reluctant to deal any notable prospects after seeing how the Tatis deal turned out. And maybe last year’s deals have soured him some as well

Last edited 1 year ago by metasox
yinkadoubledare

There were guys that were obtained for nothing important that would have been perfectly cromulent improvements. Lefty outfielders that hit righties, like Peralta and Naquin. They didn’t even bother with something like that.

soxygen

To be fair, they didn’t have the money after signing Leury Garcia and Joe Kelly…just kidding…sort of…

metasox

Sentiment of Scot Gregor seems reasonable

Underachieving White Sox don’t deserve help at trade deadline

https://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20220730/underachieving-white-sox-dont-deserve-help-at-trade-deadline

evenyoudorn

White Sox = Bowman Blackhawks and I’m getting a beer.

OldMMJ87

They at least won three championships though