Official 2008-09 Offseason Thread

[natedog125]

Well I have some thinking to do, but thought Id get a thread started for the upcoming offseason. Its was a fun year and too bad they couldnt close the deal but we have a nice young core to build off of. Whats everyones ideas for the off season??

Ill start by saying

1. get what you can for Vazquez
2. Let Griffey walk as cool as it was seeing him in a Sox uniform his career is over
3. Let Cabrera walk. I was a huge fan of the trade to get him but i never thought he fit in
4. Let Uribe walk. Im sorry Im just tired of his ugly swing at the plate. We can get a better bat with near equal D

So ARAM moves to short. We now have openings at CF, 3B, 2B. Everyone else is here for another year.

The number one thing we need it a TRUE LEGIT leadoff hitter. That can be a CF or a 2B either way go get a good one. I need to look to see who is available.

The other of the 2 can be from the farm either Getz, or Anderson I dont care they both will hit better than Uribe and play good D.

3B?? well we have Fields. Im sorry but I dont think he is the answer. I think we should get a rebuilding project. Maybe a Blalock, Mcpherson type?? That will be cheap.

So we spend some decent money on a leadoff hitter and a small amount on a 3B.

Time to get a starting pitcher. Go get a decent 3 or 4 pitcher that isnt a choker. Once again need to see who is available right now I have no clue.

Get 1 more bullpen arm.

So we arent spending that much money. We should be able to get this done I feel with the money we will have available.


Ill get into specifics of players soon.

[natedog125]

Ozzie already saying what i just said.. I like the way he puts it though. "We need speed, but they have to have talent," Guillen said before the Sox beat Tampa Bay 5-3 Sunday to extend their American League Division Series. "I know I would like to see some more speed. But when you talk about speed, you can't talk about nine rabbits. You can't."

http://baseball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ ... xt_season/



Hmmmm Figgins would be a nice fit. Need to check out the free agent list

[Shootdabull]

Kenny is going to have to find us a few more gems this off season. I would expect the starting rotation is going to be MB, Danks, Floyd, Richards & Vazquez. At Javy price I am not sure how many takers there will be for him and he is decent for the end of the rotation pitcher - he will have some really good games and others which make him the .500 pitcher he is.

I would not be suprised to see OC moved and AR become the starting shortstop. That leaves a hole at second - and unfortunately I think it will go to Uribe. Crede will be interesting do you take a chance and resign him. Do we have faith Fields can finally take over the position? We need to move either pauley or swisher, and get a centerfielder with some speed. I think the Tori Hunter miss last season hurt us, as we would not have made the bad trade for swish and the outfield would be looking pretty good Hunter/Carlos/Dye. The top priority will be same as last year - CF.

[natedog125]

I think it would be a mistake to get rid of Konerko. He played really well in Sept and Oct. He will be on a mission next year. The injuries really affected him this year and I expect a much better season next year

[Shootdabull]

I think it would be a mistake to get rid of Konerko. He played really well in Sept and Oct. He will be on a mission next year. The injuries really affected him this year and I expect a much better season next year

You could be right, but if we are going to add some speed to the line up the best spot for that would be CF. That means you would have:

OF - Carlos - speedy - (dye or swish)
1b - swish or pk
dh - thome or pk

Thome is hard to move because of salary.
Dye would bring back the most - but he also helps us the most.
So I see swish or PK as the one to being moved to make room.

[natedog125]

Honestly as much as I hate to say this.. I think we should move Dye. He is getting up there in age and the value he would be bring back might not get higher. I dont think we will see anymore MVP type numbers out of him anymore.

Dye really struggled at the end of the year.. Going at 1 point over 100 at bats without a homer and there were a couple 1 for 25 stints also.

If I had to choose I keep Konerko over Dye, but I bet the Sox would do what you say before what I say.

I do think Swisher can bounce back.. He is still pretty young.

[Shootdabull]

Kenny may end up moving Dye depending on deals that are out there for these guys. I am not sure if he feels swisher was a mistake. Swish has three years left on the contract, but I think he would be tradeable. Konerko & Thome who are both over paid for there current performance level also have no trade clauses so moving them becomes a even more difficult. Still I expect one of these four to be moved, replaced with a speedy CF.

Kenny's other moves:

3B: My guess is we bring Crede back - do to his injuries I don't expect he will get top dollar and he may sign a short term deal to show he is healthy. If not plan B is to turn the position over to Fields.
I'm not sure if a plan C might be best here.

SS: I think we save some $$ here and move AR over and let OC leave via the free agent route.

2B My guess is make a run for Hudson and come up short and then promote Getz.

Other free agents - we bring back Hall - Griffey maybe - Uribe finally walks

[natedog125]

Well isnt griffeys option 17 million?? I hope to god we spend that kinda money somewhere else.

[Shootdabull]

I saw Ken's name on a free agent list and I didn't realize we had a $17M option.

Can you imagine the look on JR's face if someone made a mistake and picked up that option.

[nitetrain8603]

Well Ken knows he's going to get his option declined. What you will see if he does come back(and he already stated he does want to come back), is a new contract. If he isn't back, I expect him to sign with Seattle.

Thome/Dye/Konerko/Swisher. At least one must be moved to continue the trend of gathering young players and plugging them in the lineup. Swisher's value is down and probably at its lowest, it's not going to go beneath that, so he's staying. Thome has his vested option which kicked in and it's not like he's bad. He's terrible at lefties, but overall, his power numbers are still there as well as his production. He also has a no-trade clause and the only places he wants to play is with us, the Cubs, or back to the Indians even though they boo him. The best value out of him, is here with us. Konerko has his chronic hip problem that many do not know about. Yes, he was hot pretty much after the Griffey trade, but I've seen him too many times play only 2 or 3 months of quality ball. When he's bad, he's pretty awful. Check the stats before Griffey came. Check 2007 as he was decent at best, and 2005, he really was non-existant until the playoffs. That leaves Dye. His value is at it's highest and he is not going to repeat this year. His defense has gotten much worse and he has 3 years left. He by far is going to give you the best package in return.

If I had it my way, Konerko and Dye are traded for younger guys and speedier guys. I don't want guys who steal bases only. I want guys who get on base and could make it from first to third on a solid base knock. Or maybe even make it home on a double. Guys like Billy Butler from KC would fit the mold. Maybe a David DeJesus in CF. No more of their relievers though unless the name is Joakim Soria. I'm not saying those guys are available, but they are the type of player the Sox should be looking for.

Sox targets:
Orlando Hudson
David DeJesus
Brian Roberts
Robinson Cano
Chone Figgins

Basically the Sox should look to get guys who complement their boppers. They also should look toward guys who will stop clogging the bases such as Konerko, Dye, AJ, Thome and Griffey.

As for pitching, I say we need two long relievers and Clayton should be one of them. His stuff is not good enough yet to go around the lineup 3 times yet. Add another two starters and trade Javy if possible.

[Shootdabull]

Nitetrain - I like your comments: "If I had it my way, Konerko and Dye are traded for younger guys and speedier guys. I don't want guys who steal bases only. I want guys who get on base and could make it from first to third on a solid base knock. Or maybe even make it home on a double."

The sox base running did drive me nuts - three hits to get runners on 1st, 2nd and 3rd. I'm guessing you are thinking swisher will take over for either PK or Dye - and we get a new two thirds of an outfield. I would not be suprised that if Kenny moved both PK & Dye we would resign Griffey as an extra bat and outfileder. I think Kenny is going to have his work cut out for him this off season. Its hard to trade away guys like PK or Thome who make a lot of money, coming off of down years and have no trade clauses. Do you know if Thome contract is still partially being paid by the phillies?

I thought Richards looked like he could be a fifth starter for us if we don't pick someone up. I think we are going to have to roll the dice with some young talent and I think one of clayton - fields or getz will be a starter.

[jem3cerna]

How about trying to puick up the cuban phenom Dayan Viciedo. I hear alot of teams have high hopes for him. It looks like he is the hidden gem in the dirt like Alexie Ramirez. If Dayan does more than expected than again Ken Williams has successfully signed a great player. Plus i heard the White Sox have the advantage because they have Cuban stars like Contreras and Ramirez who are represented by Viciedo's agent Jaime Torres. If he comes along we will be set at the corner. Keep Fields as a reserve, he is recovering surgery so lets bring him in slowly. We know he is a good hitter but now its up to him to prove himself. Hopefully he wont turn into another Joe Borchard.

The Sox also have a problem with the CF position. We need Willy Tavarez. Lets try sending Javier Vazquez for Tavarez. If we get Tavarez we will be successful.

My opinions is to SIgn Viciedo, trade for Tavarez and ger rid of Swisher. Let trade swisher for another young upcoming pitcher.

[nitetrain8603]

Actually the Sox are hot on Viciedo. They were the first team to approach him and they probably are going to lock him up to a long term deal. If I had to guess, they are going to keep Fields around and let Dayan try to beat him in Spring Training. Then they'll probably keep Dayan around as an insurance policy or if they start to stink, you'll see him starting by August.

Let's put it this way though, I would be shocked if the Sox didn't end up with him.

[jem3cerna]

Does any one know when Kenny Williams will make an offer to Viciedo? I so excited to hear that the White Sox are hot on him. I hope he ends up with us. I could just see him batting 5th or Sixth and having a monsterous with him. Hopefully we can lock him up for a while.

[nitetrain8603]

Well Viciedo's agent, Jamie Torres who represents both Alexei and Jose wants a deal done before the weekend.

[SportsWorld]

I'm digging the new out-of-town scoreboard at the Cell: