You had questions, I have thoughts that sometimes take the form of answers.
Andrew asks:
In a hypothetical world where the Phillies were willing to trade Wheeler and/or Harper, how much would you be prepared to trade, both in terms of prospects to send and cash to absorb? It would have to be a different trade than Lynn, because of the length of his deal, right?
It doesn't seem like it'd take all that much in terms of talent, assuming the White Sox took on all the money, or close to it. The Sox were the only team willing to go as far as the Phillies did on Wheeler, and the Phillies had no competitors for Harper at that range, whereas Lynn would have a whole host of teams wanting to pay him $8 million for one year. There's no such surplus value for the remainder of the Wheeler and Harper deals, especially since the first year or two tend to be the most projection-friendly.
If the White Sox had a bad contract on their books, or even an inefficient expiring one, that could be enough (I'm thinking Ian Kinsler for Prince Fielder). Since they don't, it could be a guy like Micker Adolfo, who is taking up a 40-man spot. It doesn't make sense to pay much more, because if they were that interested in shelling out the final $274 million of Harper's deal, they would've just paid up when they had the chance, rather than cough up that money and talent for a Harper who is now two years older.
Steve asks:
What would a package for Snell look like? Could we send Madrigal and sign someone like Kolton Wong to play 2B?
Eno Sarris at The Athletic pitched Andrew Vaughn, Michael Kopech and Jonathan Stiever, which seems like a gross overpay, but Sarris seemed to be taking the low assessment of the prospects because the White Sox were unwilling to share their alternate site data with the rest of the league. I'd consider it closer to fair if Snell were a 200-inning guy, but he's totaled just 157 innings over his last 34 starts. They've been 157 good innings, but the White Sox wouldn't quite be acquiring a horse. Now, if the Rays included Austin Meadows for a package involving those players, giving the White Sox a chance to solve two positions with one deal? That intrigues me more.
I don't think Madrigal can headline a group for a player whose services should command competition, because if the White Sox were correct in thinking that Wong could provide a lot of the same value for a fairly low cost, wouldn't the Rays just sign Wong instead?
Doug asks:
Do you think the Sox would rather stick it to the Cubs or get the best players? Sign Schwarber and Q instead of maybe better players.
Get the best players. I think there'd be a little satisfaction in signing Jose Quintana after winning the trade with the Cubs, similar to the way the White Sox wrung two of the last useful years from Freddy Garcia on a why-not signing after they sent him to Philadelphia in a killer deal. However, after swinging and missing with Derek Holland and a pair of Gonzálezes, I think the White Sox just want a one-year pitching deal to work out, whoever it might be.
Alex asks:
What would your thoughts be on a signing of Robbie Grossman for RF? He made a swing change in 2020 and it showed in his numbers as his WRC+ rose to 126. I feel like he gets overlooked compared to other left handed bats and would provide more value than a Rosario or Schwarber with his defense
Depends which 2020 Robbie Grossman the White Sox are getting:
- July/Aug: 267/.422/.558 over 109 PA
- Sept. .213/.241/.400 over 83 PA
I think he's overlooked because he doesn't have a strong history of hitting right-handed pitching well, year after year. In 2019, he had a .700 OPS against righties, and a .688 OPS the year before. If you tell me a guy changed his swing for a season, had an uncharacteristically strong first month and an uncharacteristically poor second month, I might assume it took a league a month to update the scouting report.
That's only a hunch, and it could be a mistaken one, but that's generally my impression. He seems like a fine choice for a team that has to count every dollar, but the White Sox have the ability to invest in a better/more certain/more skilled player.
What would Dick Allen's time with the White Sox have looked like through the lens of modern social media?
I'll be writing more about Dick Allen for Tuesday, but one link that crossed my Twitter feed was this Paul Sullivan column from a fortnight ago, where he sounded like the A.J. Pierzynski of the 1970s:
It doesn’t matter to Allen. He said he’ll always feel like a part of the Sox and indebted to Sox fans for treating him so well.
“My gosh, yes,” he said. “It’s better than anywhere I’ve been my whole baseball career. I might say my whole baseball life.
“I’ve never been treated any better. You guys are the best for my money.”
Of course, Allen and Pierzynski were disdained by their previous fan bases for very different reasons. Allen's surliness seems like very much the result of his experiences with 1950s/1960s racism, so if you transported him ahead five or six decades, he might've been as delightful to fans, writers and front offices as his teammates found him, because he'd have fewer reasons to fight for himself.
But let's say he developed the same personality in a different way, less driven by the era or geography. Bill Melton told Sullivan "No way would Dick Allen be on a cellphone in a clubhouse." Perhaps. Chris Sale has zero social media presence, which I think has allowed him to be himself -- intense, sometimes misguided, but ultimately confident that his talent and answers he provides to the media is enough.
I could also see him developing a love-him-or-hate-him following through social media, giving those who care a direct link to his perspective and cutting out anybody who he feels is working against his interests. I think the baseball media in 2020 is better designed to celebrate a player like Allen, for good reasons (general advancement of society, a little less owner-aligned) and not-so-good reasons (greater percentage of reporters on hand are paid by the league).
Either way, I don't think his time with the White Sox would've looked remarkably different because his time with the White Sox was relatively peaceful by his standards. I'd just hope that he'd be at peace for more of his career with fewer people rooting for him -- or setting him up -- to fail.
