Just a quick update I will be reporting from Camelback ranch, spring training home of the White Sox, for a few days to watch games and practices. I will be looking at Adam Dunn’s swing, Dayan Viciedo’s progression, and my personal big issue is how Chris Sale will transition to the rotation. I think he will have an excellent season next year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he turns into a total superstar like a Cole Hamels or so. Of course he still has to develop but in do time he will advance into the elite starting pitcher like few others…. See you there!
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All posts for the month February, 2012
According to multiple reports the White Sox are now in the lead for Cuban prospect Jorge Soler. Jorge is 18 years of age and is one of the top Cuban prospects on the market. He is a right fielder but can play all 3 outfield positions.
The Cubs have also shown strong interest in the defector. The White Sox may actually outbid the Cubs because they need him for their farm system so badly. The Cubs are projected to bid at max $27.5 million event though Kenny stated that the budget is maxed out I think that this is a necessity. Although and $30 million price tag has been put on him I don’t think it will go past $15 or $20 million at most.
Reports say that White Sox right fielder Dayan Viciedo has contacted him and has been pursuing him to accept a possible White Sox offer not yet on the table.
By Tim Dierkes [February 20 at 12:48pm CST] Manny Ramirez is going to the A’s on a minor league deal, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The deal is worth about $500K in the Majors, reports ESPN’s Pedro Gomez. The signing has been expected for several weeks. Though the story is interesting, the A’s took an insignificant financial risk and didn’t commit a roster spot, and the likely reward is small as well. Manny must first serve a 50-game suspension for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drug policy a second time, making his earliest possible debut June 2nd at Kansas City, according to Gomez. Ramirez retired when news of the suspension hit in April of last year, but was reinstated in December. Ramirez, 39, would be a certain Hall of Famer if not for his PED issues. He owns a .312/.411/.585 line with 555 home runs in 19 seasons for the Indians, Red Sox, Dodgers, White Sox, and Rays. He’s projected to serve as the A’s designated hitter for the latter two-thirds of the season.
Source: mlbtraderumors.com
(2/22/12) UPDATE: The White Sox are now improving in trade relations with the Braves. Alejandro De Aza is now what the Braves are looking at. I like De Aza with the Sox but he is already going to be 28 and I would like to see Brent Lillibridge in LF instead of De Aza. This of course would not be the only player that the Braves would ask for, for Beachy and maybe others. Expect more Updates today.
(2/22/12) UPDATE: The Atlanta Braves have two proposals currently circulating, they would want either A: Alexei Ramirez + Brent Lillibridge + cash or B: Gavin Floyd and Jordan Danks. Looking at the Price that the braves are putting on the Sox I HIGHLY doubt that the Sox will get this deal done. The Braves are asking a for lot of offense, like I predicted, but the price is to high for the Sox in my opinion.
(2/20/12) Reports show us that the White Sox are interested in SP Brandon Beachy. Beachy, 25 went 7-3 with a 3.68 ERA in 2011. The White Sox were reportedly interested in him during the trade deadline last year when the Sox were shopping Carlos Quentin. Brandon is one of the Braves’ many talented young arms, being a hot commodity I wouldn’t be surprised if a deal came to be within the next week but these are only rumors.
If a deal were to happen the Braves would likely ask for offense or prospects like Gordon Beckham, Jordan Danks or even Alex Rios if some of his contract were eaten by the Sox. The Braves will be looking for offense this season so this could explain why they need it. They will have to trade away a little pitching to become a more balanced team.
The Tigers and Angels have also shown interest please comment and leave your thoughts More information will be posted….
Adam Dunn, the first thing you think is strike 3. Well next year that could really change. Dunn says that he has been going to the batting cages and that he has been doing off-season workouts. If Dunn, Rios, Beckham, and even Morel have years that Sox fans expect, the Sox will be a big pain to the Tigers even with newly signed Prince Fielder. The White Sox will be contenders next year even when all the”experts” are low on the Sox…. I would wait until even spring training to begin making predictions. It would be impossibly hard for the White Sox to rebuild because they have to many high cost, un-trade-able veterans on their team. There is still long way to go for Adam but I see a comeback on the rise. Also I believe Alex Rios will bounce back. We all know that he (Dunn) has the power to rack up 30+ homers which he may do in 2012. I can only wish him good luck.
We all know what happened to the White Sox last year but I still think they can win. No one is betting on the White Sox this year to win but the “wholes” in there lineup can be replaced. “by who?’ you might ask. The truth is that they themselves will have to change there ways.
You know who I’m talking to Adam Dunn, Gordon Beckham, and Alex Rios. If they can turn it around the White Sox will be one of the best teams in the league. When you think about it the White Sox really did not lose a whole lot this off season. They lost Mark Buerhle and Juan Pierre to free agency. Losing Buerhle is a bad thing but it opens up more room to use on payroll which could be used on defector Yoenis Cespedes which has been linked to the White Sox multiple times.
Losing Juan Pierre was not a bad thing, the Sox weren’t even going to resign him anyways, in fact he ended up signing a minor league deal with Philadelphia. Gordon Beckham will be a major factor in next year’s playoff race. If he does well it could change the Sox’ record dramatically. He has power, speed, and fielding ability to be a perfect player. He did very well in the minors and we will have to see if he can turn his career around to a season like his rookie year.
Beckham has a huge amount of potential, if he can use his tools he will be a superstar. I know that Beckham has his heart set on 2012 and that he is purely determined to win. Alex Rios is another factor, not only has he performed poorly at the plate, but also in the field. He took many bad routes to fly balls last year. Alex was a major disappointment last year. A Healthy Jake Peavy will be very important to solidify there rotation for next year. We all know how much talent Jake possesses, of course he will never be the same Peavy as in 20o7 but when healthy should be a great #4 starter. The White Sox should be competitive next year even though there is a great amount of doubt.
(Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images)