TCS Morning 3 items or less only

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Oftentimes the only useful and complete view of how a team approached a free agent pursuit is after the fact, possibly years later, in a book perhaps, written by Jonah Keri. Reacting to incomplete and often intentionally strategically released information and trying to paint a larger picture is a minefield.

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Two Roads Diverge at the Winter Meetings, are the White Sox walking blindly into the woods?

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 In recent years, the Winter Meetings have been a time of much activity for the White Sox, especially since Rick Hahn filled the GM seat. In the last tow years, Hahn has acquired Adam Eaton, Jeff Samardjiza, Melky Cabrera, and David Robertson all during baseball’s annual December assembly, moves that have been, for better or worse, some of the most consequential of the Hahn regime. What the White Sox plan to do at this year's Winter Meetings seems to be completely up in the air.

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Hardly, Hardly, Hardly, Hardly Pay Anything

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On Wednesday, MLB Trade Rumors published a list of the largest contracts in each MLB team's history. As could probably be assumed, the list was full of face-of-franchise studs- Giancarlo Stanton, Clayton Kershaw, Troy Tulowitzki, Alex Rodriguez (twice!)- as well as a fair share of major albatross contracts- Albert Pujols' Angels deal, Vernon Wells' Blue Jays disaster, and the Twins' extension of Joe Mauer. One thing that stands out is most franchises have by now given out a mega deal, with 22 of 30 teams (including financial lightweights like the Rays and Marlins) having inked a player to a deal of at least $100 million.

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The Pros and Cons of Shark and Robertson

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Please let me know if you also think this would be a great title for a children's book. Regarding baseball, apparently while I slept the White Sox made two rather huge additions (and possibly some significant subtractions) in trading Marcus Semien, Chris Bassitt, and a third, unknown player for Jeff Samardzija from Oakland and signing David Robertson from the Yankees. Here are my initial reactions:

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Implications of the Duke & LaRoche Signings

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Zach Duke was added for 3-years and $15 million, and Adam LaRoche joins the White Sox for 2-years, $25 million. Yes, these are mid-level free agents that address areas of need. The lineup needed patience and power, a left-handed bat, and there was room at 1B/DH. The bullpen was very bad last year, and there are very few internal options when it comes to lefty relievers in particular, so Duke makes sense there. But both of these signings have a lot in common, and I think they make a strong statement about where the front office thinks the team is. 

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The Sox Stove: 2015 Edition, Part 2 - Yankees Pitchers

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The Yankees have made a qualifying offer to reliever David Robertson, but evidently that hasn't stopped six teams from expressing an interest and calling regarding his services.  Normally one would expect a qualifying offer to absolutely torpedo the market for a reliever - the only teams that should be signing high profile relievers are playoff contenders, and the only teams that have their first round pick protected are the ten worst teams from the past year.  As Brandon McCarthy was traded mid-season last year, he was not eligible for the qualifying offer, so all it takes is money. Are either of them worth it for the White Sox?

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The Sox Stove: 2015 Edition, Part 1

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Although the conclusion of the World Series is always a drag - winter is here, no more baseball, etc. - for teams like the White Sox, it means they are going to start having activity again after being told they weren't good enough to play in the month of October.  We have learned that the "Golden Era Committee" (formerly the Veteran's Committee) may give us some new Hall of Famers, most notably among them for White Sox fans would be Minnie Minoso and Dick Allen.  A flurry of other activity has kicked off: Adam Lind being traded to Milwaukee for Marco Estrada, and qualifying offers being extended to various players - including David Robertson, Victor Martinez, Max Scherzer, and Melky Cabrera.  Declined options have meant that Billy Butler, Nick Markakis, Chad Billingsley, and Rickie Weeks, among others and now free agents. As of Tuesday, November 4th, free agents can sign anywhere they like. So! What's going to happen? This is only the first in what will be months of speculation and analysis here at the Catbird Seat,  but I'm an impatient guy and I want to start talking about roster construction.

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Free Agent Wishcasting - Part Two

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The White Sox continue to explore new ground as an organization. They have emerged on the other side of Hitting Rock Bottom (2013), Admitting You Have A Problem (2013 Trade Deadline and Offseason), and are now ending Phase One of the Rapid Rebuild. They now have a new, good core around which to build (Sale, Abreu, Quintana, Eaton, and Alexei) and a ton of free agent money to do so. I recommend reading James' article on this topic first, but I wanted to poke around and see what else the White Sox could actually do with their newfound wealth. 

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Where are the holes the Sox should fill?

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We've been discussing recently what the White Sox should not bother doing. They should not bother trying to wade into the morass of the free agent catcher market if Tyler Flowers (who naturally followed up Monday night by going 0-3 with 2K) is going to tease at being a league-average hitter. They should not pay up for two starting rotation upgrades if they can get Carlos Rodon to be one of them for the small price of the rookie minimum and the biggest draft bonus in franchise history.

But where should they spend the monies? Obviously.../glances at Tuesday night's box score...somewhere.

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