The massive gears of the offseason’s machinations have begun to turn, slowly picking up speed. The Astros signed Josh Reddick to a four year, $52 million contract. As he was traded midseason, Reddick doesn’t cost Houston a draft pick, and they have purchased his solidly average services for $13 million AAV. They also added Brian McCann‘s age-33 and 34 seasons for $23 million and a pair of talented 20-year-old arms in the low minors–J.J. Cooper of Baseball America discusses them here as organizational top-10 and top-25 prospects prior to the trade, and our very own Mauricio Rubio has a lot more information here!
Reddick was a player that seemed like someone who could help the 2016 White Sox when they got off to their great start, but as we have discussed at length here, Rick Hahn et al. let the ’16 squad die on the vine instead of helping it. Now we have the White Sox posturing about shopping their core, which is easier said than done. It would be a very White Sox thing for them to try to pick a direction, hesitate, and still fail to do so, leaving themselves trying to buy instead when it’s too late.
I have yet to have anybody persuade me that they shouldn’t try to win one more time in 2017, and at first I was annoyed to see a guy like Reddick get plucked off the market. However, while he would make the ’17 White Sox better, a center fielder would be a much better fit. The clearest impact here is that Dexter Fowler, someone who could really move the needle for a playoff push, now has a contract he can point to and say, “I’m way better than that guy, so give me way more money.” Those four year, $60-70 million estimates for Fowler are looking even more accurate today.
The McCann trade essentially eliminates the possibility of Jason Castro returning to Houston. Several suitors have been connected to Castro, but one argument is that he is a fit for the White Sox regardless of what direction they choose. On a rebuilding team with their aces traded away, Castro’s great receiving and framing skills will help get the most out of the young, wild arms the White Sox would be counting on developing. If they choose to go for in in 2017, he will help the front line starters actually reach their potential instead of being sabotaged by their defense, as they were in 2015, or by awful pitch framing as they were in 2016.
As this was drafted, it was announced that St. Louis had signed Brett Cecil for four years, $30 million. Cecil is good and this deal is probably fair, but this does feel like it supports the hypothesis that the reliever market is going to balloon pretty significantly, which may make the remainder of David Robertson‘s contract a lot more appealing in trade to a playoff hopeful who loses out on the Uber Closer Free Agent Sweepstakes.
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Come onnnnnn. Stop with this win now crap. Reinsdorf doesn’t spend enough to try and won now year after year, and the white sox don’t have the DEPTH while rushing almost every single legitimate prospect (Beckham, Sale, Rodon, Fulmer, Burdi, Collins) in the past 9 years. Turn 7 players into 22 players. Obviously not all are going to pan. But 10 will be major leaguers. Pair that with Anderson, Saladino, Rodon, Fulmer, Collins, Burdi, Ynoa, and whoever pans out of our current system and you’d have something. Sign fowler. And cespedes. And whoever else you thini will help. Not only do you lose draft picks which the sox desperate NEED to add to the infrastructure, you still don’t add the depth that’s desperately needed. You can’t win with 11 good players on a roster. You win with 25 players plus additional prospects beyond that to overcome inevitable injuries which happen to EVERY team. Why are you insisting the white sox continue to keep doing what they have failed to do? Why? Cause they have 4 very legitimate players? (Sale, Q, Eaton, Abreu). No Frazier isn’t legitimate either cause he hit 40 bombs. They guy hit around .200 with a trash on base. GO GET 10 TOP 100 GUYS WHILE THE MARKET IS ATROCIOUS. There will never be a better time to sell on Sale or Q or Nate Jones. The free agent market for starting pitching will be wayyyyyy better a year from now. And if you sell your pitching you damn well better move Abreu and Eaton and Frazier by the trade deadline in 2017 cause Abreu and Frazier are 30 or over, and Eaton’s value is sky high right now. Eaton will have no value once he loses his speed and D in his early 30s. Not to mention Eaton is an immature crybaby just like Sale. Don’t be dumb, do it right, add the depth and elite, cheap, young talent. No guarantees it works but damn, do something different after being awful for 10 straight years.
You contradict yourself all over the place even on your own terms. All I take away from this is that you’re very upset.
Like seriously, you complain about them rushing Sale? You think he wasn’t ready or something? You say you need 25 players, but you want to trade 7 good major leaguers for 10. Okay cool.
It’s about holding Hahn to his stated goal of sustained success. Contending or even winning a division with this group and then going back to being bad isn’t going to cut it.
Give me a team full of crybabies if they can perform like Sale and Eaton…..Sure Sale had his fit over the uniforms but he has always been a team first player..I have never known him to throw his teammates under the bus for playing poorly behind him, generally says team first things…..and besides how often does trading away a legitimate ace and one of the very best pitchers in all of baseball work out. How many examples are there of that happening?