Jordan Hicks To White Sox

[mvp 78]

16 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

The one thing I remember and liked about Baty that I saw in person in the minors is that he always tried to hit to the opposite field, which kept his head on the ball... and would play well in a home ballpark with a 37-foot high leftfield wall that is 310 feet from home plate.

I've heard from Mets fans that he is more of a UTIL guy than a fulltime player and doesn't really have the chops for 3b. 

[Hugh2]

10 hours ago, Randy Red Sox said:

We obviously couldn't afford Suarez after what he signed with the Reds for?

 

Obviously no one else wanted him either, did you people ever stop to think why???

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Obviously no one else wanted him either, did you people ever stop to think why???

Sox never made an offer. They didn't want him to begin with. Had nothing to do with cost. 🫠

[WoxburyWommunityWollege]

11 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Sox never made an offer. They didn't want him to begin with. Had nothing to do with cost. 🫠

Feels like the Red Sox don't want to add another everyday player or someone who will eat any DH PAs - they already have all of their DH PAs occupied with their 4 OF + Yoshida.  Their offense should already be great against RHP - they really only need help against good lefties.  They essentially just need a clone of Romy Gonzalez.

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, WoxburyWommunityWollege said:

Feels like the Red Sox don't want to add another everyday player or someone who will eat any DH PAs - they already have all of their DH PAs occupied with their 4 OF + Yoshida.  Their offense should already be great against RHP - they really only need help against good lefties.  They essentially just need a clone of Romy Gonzalez.

They clearly didn't believe in his glove at 3b and thought the defensive decline was real. He probably would have hit 35 HR's this year as DH, but still have Masa and Casas lingering on the 40 man. 

What's the plan for 2b/3b? It's down to Cubs/Cards/'Stros trade or Boras mystery team.

[WoxburyWommunityWollege]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

What's the plan for 2b/3b? It's down to Cubs/Cards/'Stros trade or Boras mystery team.

Honestly not sure, but most of the trades this FO makes are not things we or the media see coming.  I also wouldn't be surprised if they're content going into the season as-is and willing to go til the trade deadline to upgrade where they need to.  This would allow them to react to how players perform and their health, and it also could make some guys easier to move.  For example - if Yoshida picks up where he left off in 2025, then he would be way easier to move in June with 1.5 years left on his deal than he is today. 

And maybe they want to give Campbell another shot at 2B, or see if Romy can cut it as an everyday player.  They don't have to make a move for an infielder by Opening Day - they should still be fielding a competitive team with great pitching, and they have assets to make an upgrade if they feel they need to.

My pipe dream is trading for Jared Triolo from Pittsburgh.  Showed an ability to hit LHP last year and I think if he can stay healthy he's gonna break out this season.  I kinda doubt the Pirates will trade a versatile cost-controlled young infielder like him though.

[mvp 78]

9 minutes ago, WoxburyWommunityWollege said:

Honestly not sure, but most of the trades this FO makes are not things we or the media see coming.  I also wouldn't be surprised if they're content going into the season as-is and willing to go til the trade deadline to upgrade where they need to.  This would allow them to react to how players perform and their health, and it also could make some guys easier to move.  For example - if Yoshida picks up where he left off in 2025, then he would be way easier to move in June with 1.5 years left on his deal than he is today. 

And maybe they want to give Campbell another shot at 2B, or see if Romy can cut it as an everyday player.  They don't have to make a move for an infielder by Opening Day - they should still be fielding a competitive team with great pitching, and they have assets to make an upgrade if they feel they need to.

My pipe dream is trading for Jared Triolo from Pittsburgh.  Showed an ability to hit LHP last year and I think if he can stay healthy he's gonna break out this season.  I kinda doubt the Pirates will trade a versatile cost-controlled young infielder like him though.

4 years of Triolo, but he hasn't hit much above high A. He plays great defense, but just seems like a UTIL guy. He's projected to be the starting 3b for PITT and I think a sub 700 guy can work there, not sure it's a great fit here. Low exit velo and barrel rate. He'll be 28 on Sunday, so he's not exactly young. I'm sure the Sox could make a package for him out of some of their stock of arms if they really wanted. IMO, he's a step up from David Hamilton, but not enough to meaningfully improve the team.

Romy isn't a great 2b. They'll probably go with a Hamilton/Romy platoon at 2b if they don't go outside the org. If Hamilton's bat stays at '25 levels, they'll acquire someone midseason or call up someone from WOO. I have no idea what KC has. I'm hopeful that his bat can return to form, but don't have any faith in his glove. Maybe it can work out in the OF with his athleticism, but he just looked so awful at 2b. 

Not sure how well Masa would have to hit for the Sox to move him. If he hits well enough, the Sox would probably just hold onto him if Casas wasn't mashing. IDK. Lots of moving parts there.  

[Hugh2]

44 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Sox never made an offer. They didn't want him to begin with. Had nothing to do with cost. 🫠

Given what he signed for I think it’s blatantly obvious no one wanted him.

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, Hugh2 said:

Given what he signed for I think it’s blatantly obvious no one wanted him.

I can't really be worried about the other 29 teams, just what the Red Sox are doing TBH. 

If Suarez is a 3b/DH, many teams already have that spot taken. Some teams just won't pay 15M for a DH. That pushes the amount of teams willing to sign Suarez down to a select few TBH. 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Yuck

YUCK-A-Doodle-DOOO!

[Hugh2]

20 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I can't really be worried about the other 29 teams, just what the Red Sox are doing TBH. 

If Suarez is a 3b/DH, many teams already have that spot taken. Some teams just won't pay 15M for a DH. That pushes the amount of teams willing to sign Suarez down to a select few TBH. 

The point is for that money obviously no one viewed him as a 3B 

[mvp 78]

10 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

The point is for that money obviously no one viewed him as a 3B 

I didn't want him at 3b. Why move Raffy off 3b just to get older RHB Raffy next season? 

Paredes>Hoerner>>Donovan>Shaw 

If it's not Paredes or Hoerner, I'm not sure I'm interested TBH.

[notin]

7 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I didn't want him at 3b. Why move Raffy off 3b just to get older RHB Raffy next season? 

Paredes>Hoerner>>Donovan>Shaw 

If it's not Paredes or Hoerner, I'm not sure I'm interested TBH.

Paredes might be the better Fenway guy, but Hoerner is the much better overall player.

Shaw might be better than Donovan going forward as well.  Certainly thr better glove.  He hit really well in the second half last year, and bats right-handed…

[mvp 78]

15 minutes ago, notin said:

Paredes might be the better Fenway guy, but Hoerner is the much better overall player.

Shaw might be better than Donovan going forward as well.  Certainly thr better glove.  He hit really well in the second half last year, and bats right-handed…

Sox offense needs omph and Paredes could give it some. I originally had Hoerner higher than Paredes because of the defense. 

Not a fan of Shaw. He'd cost a lot too.  

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

Very happy to see Hicks and his contract go, surprised anyone would want him.  

 

 

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

They clearly didn't believe in his glove at 3b and thought the defensive decline was real. He probably would have hit 35 HR's this year as DH, but still have Masa and Casas lingering on the 40 man. 

What's the plan for 2b/3b? It's down to Cubs/Cards/'Stros trade or Boras mystery team.

His age, plus 79 Ks in 201 ABs, on a team which already has some strikeout and K/W issues.  I'd have signed him for $15M, but there are better alternatives.

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

His age, plus 79 Ks in 201 ABs, on a team which already has some strikeout and K/W issues.  I'd have signed him for $15M, but there are better alternatives.

The other alternatives cost more than just money though. 

[JoeBrady]

12 hours ago, Randy Red Sox said:

another brilliant move by the FO right Joe??

Brilliant can't be used for low-level trades.  If this is a prelude to adding talent and staying under the 3rd cap, then I like it.  Otherwise, it doesn't do anything for me.

[UtahSox]

2 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Ya, that swap sounds more reasonable than what I read this AM: Donovan for Tolle... and Harrison... AND Valera.

I wouldn't trade Tolle straight up for Donovan... but I might do Harrison OR Valera.

Donavan is a good baseball player, but his splits vs LHP are not good. 614 ops we could probably live with that, if it wasn’t for our 4 OF’s all hitting considerably worse vs left hand pitching as well. There are a lot of things to like about Donovan… He doesn’t strike out too much 13% SO, hits majority of balls up middle, his exit velocity is still climbing as well. And his hard hit % percentage is climbing. If we make this trade, and don’t give up any positional starters. I do like our depth. But in a pinch, like last year, let’s say both Abreu and Roman are out. Donovan plays pretty decent outfield, can play third base can play second base all at a very serviceable skill level. So I like his bat to ball, flexibility, defense, good teammate. The only thing I don’t like about him is the way he hits left-handed pitching. And not that it’s that bad, it’s just the way the team sets up.

Nico is the guy….. I agree with you that we can’t guarantee that Craig would resign Hoerner. I just think it makes us the best baseball team. If we’re gonna give up Tolle in a package…. We better get an elite player back……. K Marte.

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, WoxburyWommunityWollege said:

And maybe they want to give Campbell another shot at 2B, or see if Romy can cut it as an everyday player. 

This is a problem for some of the fans.  We don't know the RS l/t plans.  If the FO thinks Romy can take the next step, or that they think KC will be our 2B next year, then it is what it is.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Hugh2 said:

The point is for that money obviously no one viewed him as a 3B 

I actually thought we could manage with him at 1B, until we needed a DH, and with an OF'er trade, that could happen, despite Masa still being on the 40. (Masa has 2 years left.)

Playing some 1B could happen, too, but Contreras has 2 years + an option year.

We'd have a better offense with Suarez at 3B not DH.

[UtahSox]

16 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

His age, plus 79 Ks in 201 ABs, on a team which already has some strikeout and K/W issues.  I'd have signed him for $15M, but there are better alternatives.

I agree, but you wanted to make the trade before he signed, now we’ve lost leverage that Suarez is an option for us. For example, if we call to check in with the Houston Astros today, they have more leverage than they did yesterday.

[UtahSox]

The no trade route: thoughts on 

 Andujar+ Rengifo add?

platoon Andujar and M Mayer at 3b

platoon R Gonzalez and Rengifo at 2b

I can’t believe this is where we are. 

[moonslav59]

16 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

This is a problem for some of the fans.  We don't know the RS l/t plans.  If the FO thinks Romy can take the next step, or that they think KC will be our 2B next year, then it is what it is.

They very well might think some combo of Romy-DHam-KC will be "good enough" to cover 2B and also maybe platoon with Mayer at 3B (Eaton in that mix?)

It's not a horrible idea in isolation, but when you look  at the lost 1150 PAs from 2025 from our top batters, where else can we make up some ground.

Fine, say Anthony will get 300 more PAs and Contreras will outhit Toro, but is that enough?

I think many of us don't think so.

We're not getting KMarte. The best players we might get are Paredes, Hoerner, Shaw of Donovan. If someone has a 5th player, let us know.

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

The no trade route: thoughts on 

 Andujar+ Rengifo add?

platoon Andujar and M Mayer at 3b

platoon R Gonzalez and Rengifo at 2b

I can’t believe this is where we are. 

We won't get both. I doubt we get one.

Romy can platoon at 2B and maybe 3B. We don't need to platoon Masa.

[UtahSox]

9 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

We won't get both. I doubt we get one.

Romy can platoon at 2B and maybe 3B. We don't need to platoon Masa.

I think the play is Miguel Andujar. Guy rakes vs LHP, see where you are in May. Should be a lot of options at second base if Marcelo or Trevor are hurt by then. 
I can’t believe Beta Breslow didn’t sign or trade for anyone in the infield. If On December 1st, you had told me where we’d be today. I would have had an absolute temper tantrum come apart. 

[JoeBrady]

34 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

The no trade route: thoughts on 

 Andujar+ Rengifo add?

platoon Andujar and M Mayer at 3b

platoon R Gonzalez and Rengifo at 2b

I can’t believe this is where we are. 

Neither are good enough.  I'd pass on Rengifo completely.

But Andujar could be interesting if we trade Duran.  He could platoon with Yoshi, and back up LF and 3B (poorly).  And we've traditionally done well with rightly ex-Yankee OF..

[mvp 78]

45 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

The no trade route: thoughts on 

 Andujar+ Rengifo add?

platoon Andujar and M Mayer at 3b

platoon R Gonzalez and Rengifo at 2b

I can’t believe this is where we are. 

Very unexciting. 

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Neither are good enough.  I'd pass on Rengifo completely.

But Andujar could be interesting if we trade Duran.  He could platoon with Yoshi, and back up LF and 3B (poorly).  And we've traditionally done well with rightly ex-Yankee OF..

I'd pass on both TBH.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, UtahSox said:

I think the play is Miguel Andujar. Guy rakes vs LHP, see where you are in May. Should be a lot of options at second base if Marcelo or Trevor are hurt by then. 
I can’t believe Beta Breslow didn’t sign or trade for anyone in the infield. If On December 1st, you had told me where we’d be today. I would have had an absolute temper tantrum come apart. 

Romy rakes against LHPs. How many slots are we platooning?

Be specific.

I guess we may choose to platoon Masa with Romy at DH, but we also have Campbell, if needed at DH. (It might be his best position... LOL)

Now, if we don't add anyone, Romy may platoon w DHam at 3B and Mayer plays FT at 3B. You wanna platoon Mayer with Andujar? Is there room for DHam, then? We only get 4 subs and one is a catcher and one is an OF'er. Romy-DHAM plus ____?