AL team to watch: White Sox

[Frobby]

3 hours ago, HakunaSakata said:

It would take half the farm to land Cease though. Also, his walk rate is VERY concerning. I think he's much closer to a mid 3.00s / high 3.00s ERA guy than the pitcher he was last season.  Still a good pitcher, but probably overvalued from a trade target perspective and I'm not a fan of "buying high". 

Buying him last offseason would have been buying high.  Now, maybe not so much. 

[eddie83]

Bottom line is we are still 2 months away from any moves. It’s rare to see trades before July. We will have a ton more information by then and so will CWS. 

[Bemorewins]

1 hour ago, TommyPickles said:

I mean, it depends on how the rest of Bradish's season goes.

Last season, no Oriole pitcher was better against Houston.

August 26th: Bradish threw 8.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 6 Ks against the Astros.

September 22nd: Bradish threw 8.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 10 Ks, 0 BB against the Astros.

The Astros would of course go on to win the World Series. 

So, yes, I might want Kyle Bradish pitching in those games.

Good point. He may be a good matchup against them.

[Bemorewins]

1 hour ago, SteveA said:

Except for 6 Gerrit Cole starts, every pitcher who has started a game this year for the Yankees has a season ERA of 4.91 or higher (and all the FIPs are 4.49 or higher).   Right now, any one of Gibson/Wells/Rodriguez would have the 2nd best #s on the Yankees staff.

Of course the Yankees will probably not be a postseason opponent anyway, they'll likely be at home watching on TV.

I hope so. Because every time we face Cortez he makes us look foolish. Plus Rodon hasn’t pitched yet. I’m not going to lie, their front 3 scare me and are way better than anything that we have. I believe with the age of their roster that they are built more for a short series than a long season. So maybe they don’t make the Playoffs as you suggest.

[EddeeEddee]

3 hours ago, baltfan said:

For any of these types of trades, we need to follow the Dodgers model.  They have repeatedly traded for top end guys and refused to give up the very top of their system in exchange. 

I think a bit of an apples to oranges comparison because the Dodgers frequently have top pitching prospects and the Orioles rarely do.  If the Orioles often had 2 or 3 top 50 pitchers like the Dodgers usually seem to have then we wouldn't be having this conversation.  The Orioles are going to have to trade one or two of their top prospects to get a guy like Alcantara -- and the Dodgers would too (though the Dodgers have less need for him).  Also the Dodgers frequently trade for short term rentals like Machado and Mookie, which aren't going to cost them their top prospects.  And if Ohtani became available then watch the Dodgers and every other contender happily offer some of their top prospects.

[Frobby]

4 minutes ago, Bemorewins said:

I hope so. Because every time we face Cortez he makes us look foolish. Plus Rodon hasn’t pitched yet. I’m not going to lie, their front 3 scare me and are way better than anything that we have. I believe with the age of their roster that they are built more for a short series than a long season. So maybe they don’t make the Playoffs as you suggest.

Cortes got crushed yesterday, I was happy to see.   He’s been a little less effective lately.  

[Bemorewins]

I hear ya. And hope we don’t have to face him anymore this season and certainly not in the postseason. Because I don’t believe that we have crushed him 1 time. It’s usually him who is doing the crushing against us. In the game earlier this season, he toyed with us and made most of guys not named Adley look really bad.

[Bemorewins]

8 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

I hate the make believe trade talk unless there's actually rumors of us engaged with a team to possibly make a trade.  Then it becomes a lot more interesting.

I'll only say this:  If we were trade prospects for a guy like Cease or Burnes or whomever in an effort to get us a great #2 (Cease) or a #1 (Burnes), I'd like to see JA open the wallet to keep them.  I'm really not interested in giving up prospect capital for a one or two year rental and then we gotta go out and try to find a replacement of the guy we just sent prospects for.  I'd love to get a guy like Burnes, that would immediately make us a legit team amongst the Rays, Jays and Yankees but only if we could extend him.  

Cease is signed through 25’. I don’t think Burnes will even be available. But Alcantara is signed through 27’ if we are talking about big game hunting.

[Just Regular]

The post-Yadi/Pujols Cardinals are a much sturdier brand than the White Sox but it has been almost as bad.    Is Jordan Montgomery qualifying offer worthy?

Pirates or Cardinals more wins on the year?

Edited May 2, 2023 by Just Regular

[jdwilde1]

8 hours ago, HakunaSakata said:

It would take half the farm to land Cease though. Also, his walk rate is VERY concerning. I think he's much closer to a mid 3.00s / high 3.00s ERA guy than the pitcher he was last season.  Still a good pitcher, but probably overvalued from a trade target perspective and I'm not a fan of "buying high". 

Cease’s stuff is as good as anyone, but his walk rate is a huge concern.  Especially given the importance of pitch counts now-a-days.  He Ks a ton (10.8 career/11.0 2023 per 9) and walks a ton (4.0 career/4.5 2023 per 9).  As a result, he doesn’t get deep into games too often (averages about 5.1 innings for his career).  

[sportsfan8703]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/05/which-players-could-white-sox-make-available-closer-to-the-trade-deadline.html
 

MLBTR has a good run through of who might be available. 
 

Lucas Giolito would be my pick. Rental. TOR arm when healthy and his velo is back.  

[Bemorewins]

12 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/05/which-players-could-white-sox-make-available-closer-to-the-trade-deadline.html
 

MLBTR has a good run through of who might be available. 
 

Lucas Giolito would be my pick. Rental. TOR arm when healthy and his velo is back.  

I hear you. But that sounds like a meh move to me. I have never seen him really as a needle mover or put together a dominant season like Cease just did. I know some think that I a married to the idea of acquire Cease. I am not. I just want the team to acquire a true ace. Is that too much to ask?

We have an abundance of positional org talent and way to many prospects to fit on the ML team. Instead trying to squeeze them all in with weird things like platooning top #100 guys, why not take some of the excess position players and turn them into a true difference making pitcher that can help us in October?

[Sports Guy]

There are so many directions the Os could go on and so many directions the other team could go in.

Maybe the WS don’t want a full rebuild and like the idea of a guy like Mateo?  Or maybe they want a solid guy like Urias?  Or maybe they would be interested in Bradish or Tate or whoever.

In other words, we have ML talent that could also be available in a deal, although that is obviously harder to part with when you are contending.

Of course, it wouldn’t just be those guys but guys like that could be part of the deal. 

I think we also need to recognize that Cease, as good as he was last year, does have some wall issues and hasn’t been that great outside of last year. So, how much is he really worth? 
 

If I were a betting man, I would bet on the WS keeping Cease and looking to unload several other guys but he would likely bring the most back and he only has 2 years of control left, so if they don’t want to pay him, it would make sense for them to trade him.

[clapdiddy]

Count me as a Giolito guy.  I think he could be had for a reasonable return since he's a rental.  

[Sports Guy]

5 minutes ago, clapdiddy said:

Count me as a Giolito guy.  I think he could be had for a reasonable return since he's a rental.  

It’s far more likely the Os go for a rental type guy that won’t cost as much vs a bigger fish imo.