Here's an early holiday gift for all you Patreon supporters out there. Enjoy.
Asinwreck asks:
James Fegan reported that Danny Farquhar’s experience with the Rays led to him giving analytics tips to Lucas Giolito. Farquhar is now a minor league pitching coach for the Sox, and I hope his experience allows the Sox to make better use of data to develop pitchers.
Dallas Keuchel has spent all but one of his seasons with the data-driven Astros. Aside from the intangibles of veteran/Cy Young/World Series experience, will having Keuchel in the rotation led to advances in the ways Sox pitchers use information?
It doesn't hurt. Keuchel seemed to be a resource for a young Braves staff during his fourth months with Atlanta, and while he doesn't go about his business in the same way as any of the White Sox's young pitcher, he certainly has shared experiences, going from a 5-ERA guy to a Cy Young winner and World Series champion.
I don't think he'll open eyes like Farquhar did, because I don't think White Sox pitching is as far behind when it comes to processing information in comparison to their hitting counterparts. There are some ways that they're backward (insisting on making starters out of sub-replacement-level guys chief among them), and they're late adopters of high-speed cameras and such, but we've heard enough about Everett Teaford and Matt Zaleski in the minors, and the big brand names like Rapsodo and Edgertronic in the majors, to suggest the White Sox aren't fighting advances on the pitching front. Hey, Don Cooper was once ahead of the game when it came to guys like Jesse Crain, Zach Putnam and Anthony Swarzak making secondary pitches their primary pitches, and maybe Yasmani Grandal will help the Sox see some success from strategies that their previous catchers couldn't support.
Then there's also this recent hire:
I think the bigger issue with evangelism lies on the hitting side, but at least Frank Menechino is around to provide a different variable to the equation.
Kevin asks:
I still think Castellanos or Ozuna would be an excellent addition to the lineup. Do you feel like the Sox are still interested, were ever interested?
They're interested in Castellanos according to Jon Morosi:
I think they probably have a range in mind for Castellanos, but while Scott Boras has been able to get his price faster than usual for most of his clients, I could see this case lasting into the new year. Castellanos has enough defensive doubters and variance in his offensive performances to make negotiations travel a longer distance, whereas the pitching market moved swiftly enough to make teams pony up or miss out. Ozuna's presence may exacerbate the willingness to stand firm, whether it's because one agent wants the superior market, or because teams are treating both as equal options.
Both players make a lot of sense, in the same way that Edwin Encarnacion makes a lot of sense. The White Sox can use home-run hitters against right-handed pitching and have DH reps in the near term, and all three qualify. If I had to pick a favorite, I'd guess the Sox have seen more or what Castellanos can do. But after acquiring a credible upside play in Nomar Mazara, the Sox have a little bit of leverage to wait, the way they absolutely did not with Keuchel.
Doug and Andrew asked similar questions:
What else do you think the Sox need? I would like to see speed in a part time outfielder. Someone strong in defense. Maybe a trade?
Assuming there are dollars left to spend, where would you look to upgrade? Still RF? Bullpen? Overall depth?
What makes Castellanos appealing to me is that his presence would allow the Sox to make the most out of what Mazara currently is, rather than needing Mazara to be more than what he's shown. Throw in Nick Madrigal and Luis Robert, and the Sox would be able to run out a complete lineup with guys who aren't waiting to be replaced, which would be new.
If the Sox can't connect on him, then I imagine the remaining moves involve the best available bat in late January and a right-handed reliever to insure the Sox against Evan Marshall regression.
Adam Engel is a surprisingly fascinating figure in all this. He hit .313/.360/.482 against lefties last year, and if he had anything remotely close to that success in platoon situations before last season, the White Sox might already have the fourth outfielder they need. As it stands, it's hard to hang a plan on a sample of 89 plate appearances that has no other reinforcement.
And finally, Lew asks:
How different would this offseason be playing out if the White Sox had signed Machado?
Maybe I'm guilty of a limited imagination, but I think Machado's presence would still accommodate the big moves the White Sox have made to date. They'd still need what Yasmani Grandal, Dallas Keuchel and even Nomar Mazara offer, and they'd have the payroll space to accommodate all three. Perhaps the Butterfly Effect leads a different Tier 2 starter to the Sox, but it'd be a pitcher of similar quality on a similar deal.
The difference is that the White Sox might lack the willingness to add a Castellanos-like salary afterward, but perhaps Machado's heavyweight presence at third creates a different solution for the Sox.
If Yoan Moncada stayed at second, I'd guess that he'd be just about the same player offensively and slightly sharper at second with another year of reps, but he'd still be wobbly enough there tbat his defense would knock him down from a 5 WAR season to a 4 WAR season. His movements just didn't strike me as natural for the position.
The question is whether the Sox would be content with a Dan Uggla-like producer at second and trade Nick Madrigal for a cheaper outfield solution, or whether they'd consider moving Moncada to the outfield in an attempt to free him from complicated infield mechanics and let him rely more on his top-line speed to make plays. I suppose that might depend on whether his legs would betray him as a second baseman the way they did at times in 2019. That's an issue he's attempting to address this offseason, by the way.
