Talkin' Baseball (MLB Podcast) - 102 | Chicago White Sox | Profile & Projection

Episode Date: March 4, 2020

The Chicago White Sox went out and locked up a whole bunch of guys this offseason. They are officially in compete mode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Oh, yeah. Welcome back to talking baseball for another TPP team profile and projection. And on today's episode, we are talking about your Chicago white stockings, A.L. Central Pess, Trevor Ploove's favorite team in the A.L. Central. Jake's second. They are both sitting next to me as we do this. And are we excited or what to talk about these guys? I'm excited. Another off-season winning team, which you hate those teams. I mean, you can win the off-season, but who cares? That doesn't mean anything come March 28th.

You know, it really means something if you win spring training. That's true. The Marlins are like five and out right now. We saw that today. Book the ticket. The White Sox, as we said, had a fantastic off-season. They've been in a rebuild for a while. We've seen a lot of teams do the rebuild.

The Cubs did it successfully. It took them like three to four years. The Astros did it successfully, Asterix or whatever you want to say there. The Yankees did kind of like a reboot type thing where they sold some pieces and then in two years they were back. We've seen a lot of teams do this. The White Sox feels like they've been rebuilding

and it's actually taken the full five years to get there. They finally have the homegrown talent. And now they're sprinkling in the free agent signings. We had some big ones this offseason. We had the biggest one, I think, is Grandal, who comes in, take over the catcher position. You got Gio Gonzalez and Dallas. Cichel.

Edwin and Conacion. You got Cichick in the bullpen. You got a lot. And they didn't lose that many people. I got to say, they made some moves, but I don't know if they won the offseason. Now that we're talking about the moves and who they brought in, they made moves.

A lot of people made a lot of moves this off season. So who cares about that? They made moves. I'm happy for it. I like what teams do that. They didn't lose that many people. They lost Yvonne Nova. They lost Yalmer.

And they lost John Jay. They didn't care about him anyway. They just brought him to get in. John Jay, friend of the pod, love him. Our biggest thing about the White Sox winning the offseason is that as a part of their rebuild, they wanted to sign big dudes. They were in on Harper and Machado. Well, well, well.

It was reported. No. No. Their GM came out. Their GM came out. Instead, they offered more. money for Machado. He went to sleep thinking it doesn't matter what they say.

Okay. We don't know what was really going on and that happens a lot. Well, we, okay. We know who the puppets are for these agents. We know there's some puppets for teams. I don't think we can sit here and say they were for sure all in on some of these. Well, let's, even if we're not for sure, for sure. They were, A, they were in on a.

B is that I think for the White Sox, what they did this off season is better for them. I don't think Manny Machado changed them. But I think when you bring in Grandal, Kuykel, who's the other pitcher they brought in? Gio. Gio. Edwin Encarnacion, even on, you know, a one-year flyer seeing what Big Eddie's got left, I like that to fill out the roster rather than, hey, we got Machado. Like, I don't think that solved this team's problems.

Do you know what their record was last year? What was their record, Trevor, Plouf? 72 and 89. It's bad. So we're talking, yeah, they made the record. some moose. Did they make enough moves? I think really what they're banking on is another leap forward. A Lucas Gialito type leap because if they, my guy, if they can have a few of those guys jump like he did. Right.

Where, I mean, he became a legitimate ace. That's a real jump. That's a jump. They need some more of those. They need a couple of the young guys to do that. They also, they locked up and bought out the arbitration of a lot of players. Yes. I love it. I think that. It tells the players like, hey, we love you. We want you around for the long haul. We believe you're going to be worth it. And they did it with like Aaron Bummer. They did it with, we've been doing this all off season.

They did it with a bunch of guys. Yes. That's got to be a good feeling as a player. Luis Robert. Luis Robert. I mean, they did it with a bunch of the other guys that are already up. To tell, it doubles down on the players like, hey. I like it.

I do like it. And I think players obviously like it. But I think more of what that signals is that's kind of the way that teams will start spending money in the future. and they're starting to do that already. They're early on it, though, because they did the last couple years. You take chances with these guys. You pay them. You know, it's a lot of money.

But in the grand scheme of things, like, you know, I always go back to the Acuna thing. They signed them to a $70, $100 million contract. And, you know, that's not, they didn't give any of these guys that. But, you know, what they're trying to do is let's take a swing at three of these guys. And if we hit on one of them, we're going to save some money. Does it give players security in a sense of, of them knowing a team wants them. Yes, and I think that does help their performance.

But I don't think they're doing this. Like, we believe in these guys, and we're going to be good to them and just give them some money. They're doing it because it's a smart business play. It's both, though. Well. Where do? I'm being real critical right now to start.

And I do like what they've done. For anyone who has no idea. I'm trying to play it for the twins and is very big in Twins Nation. That's not, that's not, no. That's not. When we talk about it. When we talk about it. talk about ALE's teams, we say, hey, this is a Yankee fan, but I'm trying to dial it down

a little bit. Yeah, but I don't. You can only dial it down so much, and that's fair. I don't have this, like, undying twins fandom. I don't. Wow. I mean, I played for him. I mean, you still got juice there.

I see your. I got juice there, no doubt. But I'm just saying, like, the way teams are doing this because it's a smart business play for them. Yeah. Because if they let these guys, if they, you know. But if you're Aaron Bummer, you're going to be excited about that. You are, and it's very hard to turn that down.

Right. Okay, but you look at some of these deals, some of these guys do. I mean, Salvador Perez was excited about five years, eight million. Probably didn't turn out too well for him. They ended up extending him giving him the money. Right. But, like, that's a smart point. Five years, eight million?

Yes. With a bunch of options on top of it. They end up paying him after the World Series, but that's a smart business play. John, I normally do my douchey. Well, when I look at this team, I've got to start with the pitching. Where are you with the White Sox? Where do you want to go, bro? Well, I like the pitching because of this.

Last year, Ivan Nova started the most games for them. and then Rinaldo Lopez started the second most. And he wasn't that great. And Nova had a good stretch at one point in the second half, but then it failed. Gialito was obviously amazing, and then he got injured a little bit. The White Sox, Ivan Nova's not gone. Renato Lopez is pushed down to, like, the fifth starter. You got Gialito coming back.

You got Keiko and Gonzalez, who couldn't find jobs last year, two years or two years ago last year, because they were attached to draft picks, which is so stupid. I like Keikl. He's a guy that gives you a chance to win every game and a veteran on the staff. Gio Lido had no one to lean on as like a veteran in the rotation with him. So I like Keikl and Gio for though.

I've heard a lot of stories about Gio Gonzalez and he's a really good dude and a really good teammate. Yes. And a good pitcher. So what they need, like if Gialito can be that stud number one, then Kikl and Gonzalez are good two-threes. I like that. And all you need to do is get games out of them.

Yeah, I don't, you know, Lucas, I don't think there's anywhere for him to go. Like, he was so good last year. So you can't even project him to do better. I mean, hopefully you can, because I like him. I mean, he's a good, he's a buddy of mine. But he was so good. So you kind of have that. Like, if you get that again, you're stoked.

If you're the White Sox, like, please, like, let's just have a repeat. Let's have a repeat. Yeah. You know, you could say, hey, regress a little bit and we'll still take that. Yeah. And I'm looking at, I'm looking at Gio's numbers. And I was going to say, I liked that Kiko move. Gio doesn't do anything for me, but now as I'm looking at his numbers.

I mean, I knew he was a good pitcher, you know, in previous years. But, you know, he's been doing, he's doing quite well, you know, pretty recently. If you want to get in a good online fight, bring up Gio Gonzalez, because the analytics are fully against Gio. I mean, I'm looking at some projections. Now they're getting projected for like a four ERA. That's pretty good of the guy that you want to put in your three spot or four spot. Yeah.

He's one of the guys where analytics doesn't fully click, because guess what? No, what Gio Gonzalez knows, how to pitch at the major league level? Because he's been doing it. Same with Kikele. Here's the thing. Do you want to see Gio Gonzalez match up against a twins lineup? I don't.

You're going to have to. You're not interested in that game? You know I love my twins. Several times he's going to have to do that. You know I love my twins. That twins line up, man. And I guess for me, the White Sox are all about their young guys, because a dude we haven't mentioned yet is Dylan.

sees he got the call last year he was bad to be honest but he's a big time prospect gilito like you already mentioned and then it starts pivoting to the young guys in the lineup heloi himenez is supposed to be this special dude he showed us a little bit of that does he take the leap yon man kada moncada had a huge year last year i'm a big moncada guy i think he's i think he's special um i think there's a chance that you know that red socks white socks trade of chris sale it's going to be tough it's going to start looking a little different in a few years. And then there's a couple other guys, Kopec. He was a huge prospect.

Yeah, no, he's good. Huge prospect. I think he had Tommy John. He'll be coming back at some point this year. Are you worried about having two Gio's on the team? Because Gio Lito's nickname is Gio. Gio Gonzalez's name is Gio. So could this be confusing?

You think this could maybe get confusing in the clubhouse? I think there's Gio and there's, G-E-E-L-I-T-E-O. And which one is... What do you mean? I think that Lucas G-E-E-E-L-I-O will just go by that from now on. G-A-Lito. The girl from G-A-L-L-L-E-L-E-L-E-T.

You like that? I don't like that. Okay. I think the biggest addition is Grand-Ele. Yeah? You know, maybe the best catcher in baseball. Brand new batteries all around. New pitchers, new catcher.

Yeah, and, you know, when I'm looking at the lineup now, there's a ton of young guys, and that's going to be, that makes me think the year could go one or two ways. You know, if they all take that step forward, they could be great. If they all kind of struggle a little bit, because it is hard. I mean, when you're young and the big league, it's hard.

So if they, you know, have a few bad months, and they just kind of snowball like that, you know, we could potentially see this White Sox team finished third in the Central. And if, you know, best case scenario, they're second. I don't think they're going to, I don't think they're going to beat the Twins. They're not going to take the ALE Central from the Twins' hands. That's an inch, that's, that's interesting.

Everything would have to go right, and I think a lot of things would have to go wrong in Twinsland. I think there is a world, but it's very slim, and it would be those guys I just named being special. I mean, Luis Robert is supposed to be. Well, they are special. These are good baseball players. But baseball is a really tough sport. Very tough. And Munkata is the perfect example.

His first year, he came up. He looked terrible. Red Sox won the world. World Series and everyone's saying, oh, you have prospects, and then Munkata comes back the next year. And he's like a two and a half war guy, and he looks good. Year after that, last year, he's a five-plus war guy, switch hitter. I don't, I'm not worried about him at all. No, but Luis Robert, I mean, he could, he could come up this year and not be great because

baseball's a really tough sport. Azara's the same way. Yeah. I've got to see him play when I did spring training with Texas. I like what he's about. If he takes a step forward and can kind of start to handle lefties, which he's never done. I think they could, that would help them a ton.

Yeah. There's a guy out there that could help them, and I think maybe we'll end up being on their team. Do you know who it is? Yeah, yeah? Yes, sir. Love that. Wild horse.

Love it. Do you know that we've been on this? Do you know, that was my, that was my next conversation. You stole it from me. Well, that's, you guys were, you guys were going to stop talking, and I was going to say, are we mad they haven't signed Puke yet? I think, I don't know what they're thinking there. And maybe Pueeg's like, maybe he's weighing offers.

He's not. I don't know what, yes, he'll whatsoever. But. I think he'd like him. He could help that team. He could be insurance for Robert. Maybe he starts the year. All of it.

He can platoon with Mazzara, except he's not exactly a lefty killer. Right. His splits are pretty even. Even. So not exactly a platoon partner you're looking for. but he definitely fits into this lineup. But, I mean, even if one injury, which will happen, I mean, you can juggle that so easily.

I agree. I think he's worthy of 40-man spot, 26 guys on the roster this year. He could fit on this team. And it's, but with a guy like Yasell, is he going to be okay with that role? Is he okay with platooning? Is he okay with city on the bench for five days if someone gets hot?

I don't know if he is. And then if he's not, do you want that in the clubhouse? Yeah, that's a great point. But this, so speaking of the clubhouse and the dugout and all of it, all the hangouts, full pen to include it. Last year I said this a lot. The White Sox were one of the loosest teams in MLB. They were having so much fun. They were giving each other shit.

They're having a blast. And it played really well for the public perception and fans because they didn't have expectations. They were just supposed to be continuing to get better. And they were doing that. And I kept saying, I think the White Sox Clubhouse is super fun. but if it's this fun in 2020 without taking another step up and really winning more games

that public perception is going to turn on them on a dime and be like they're not serious. So this is kind of a maker, not make or break year. They need to be competitive this year. I don't think they need to get a playoff spot, but they need to be in the hunt come the end or it will very much feel like,

oh my God, a bug just flew my ear. It'll very much in the headphones. and he's, oh, they'll very much feel like. Oh, bug in your ear. Yeah, bug in your ear. That's what it'll feel like if they don't, if they aren't competing. Yeah, I mean, look, I just, I'm not hating on them because I do like what they've done. I mean, it's taken years.

I don't like the rebuilding thing. Right. But they did it, so now the window's coming for them. I just don't see a way into the playoffs for them. You got to win the AAL Central. They're not going to win a wild card. I think the A.O. Central is a one team division. to beat the twins, take that from them.

So how excited can you be about the White Sox? I think you're excited for the future. You want to see these guys take a step forward. If you're a White Sox fan, you should be very excited. Because what they've had in the last couple years versus what they had now, they're up and up and up. So I think if you're a White Sox fan, just like I said about the Blue Jays fan, the expectations aren't we're going to make the playoffs and win a ton.

But the expectations will be, hey, we're going to be fun. It should be going to be competitive. So I think you should be excited. Yeah, and I'll say this, because we're trying to get them in the playoff hunt and how does that happen. I think this is a team that if they got off well and they get rolling a little bit, that a couple trades would make us like this team a lot more. We've talked about a couple of the pitchers that could potentially be moving. You know, another solid arm in that rotation, another solid arm in that bullpen,

if the lineup is doing its thing. I think we like this team a little more, maybe to give the twins some run, but they're a little bit away. What do you got, Jim? Well, we only have one minute on the video, so if it cuts out on YouTube, you're just going to hear the audio and a freeze frame of us talking because we're not done yet. We're not done yet. We're not done yet. You know who came out hot last year? Who came out hot?

Got everyone excited? Mariners. Yeah. What happened? Yeah, but no one expected the Mariners to be good last year. People expect it. What's their projection? Where are we got?

I think people are expecting the White Sox to be a competitive team. Over 500. Okay. The division is... I can see that. The division is... It is the only division in MLB with two losers. Okay.

Like going into the season, the Royals, and the Tigers will not be good. Yeah. And I think the White Sox will join them. Who? Wow. Okay, so... Not join them in that deep end, but they're still in the shallow end of the pool. So check this out.

So you still... Like Cleveland a lot more than the White Sox. I do. Okay. The over-under is 80 and a half games. So it's right there. I know, yeah. It's right there.

I'm going to take under. I don't think they get the 500 this year. You know, the way they do it is if they sweep the series against the Royals and the Tigers. But who cares? Who does the AL Central play this year? Where do they go? I'm guessing the NL. West.

If they played the NL. West, I have them. Is the over? If they play the NL Central or East, I have them as the under. Negative 124 run differential last year. It's bad. It's not good. That's bad. They didn't do a lot in the soft season.

We mentioned the names. They got Grandale. They did a lot. They got Keikl. Kikell and G are huge. I like Kikel, too, but I don't think he's going to elevate you to the playoffs. Give me. I mean, he's good, but they need more than that.

Division's bad. They stay a little competitive. They had an Alex Cobb or a Chris Archer type. Oh, you want them to add? They're not going to add. I think they're adding. They will not add this season. Unless they are hot.

They signed Yosmani Grandal. They play the N.O. West this season, I'm taking the over. I got him winning 82 games. You said he's arguably the best catcher in baseball. It's a fair discussion. Keikl is a as a reliable guy in a rotation you're going to find. Wait. They've got so many young guys.

They paid out Luis Robert. This team thinks they're competing, which I think is going to have them close enough to the wild card. And spring training, everyone thinks they're competing. Not the Orioles, but we just saw that. I think they're going to be close enough. I think Kenny Williams is still the GM there. He likes to make moves and be loud and competitive. How long do they sign Ground Off War?

I think four years. Four years? I think they're banking on. Four for 75, something like that. I think they're banking on those middle two years. They got the Giants and the Podgers on their schedule, as well as the Royals and the Tigers. I'm taking the over, barely, but I'm taking the over.

See, like, you know what? Yeah, but they got a steam roll of those teams to do that. They got to win all the games. I want them to be rewarded is the thing. So I want, like, karma to work in their favor. I don't need them to make the playoffs, but I want them to have a winning season. Okay.

I don't know, man. That's fine. I just can't wrap my head around them doing anything but playing 500 ball. Well, we'll see. We'll see. Fun fact, Lucas G. Letoito's mom was in the movie The Ring. Did you know that?

I don't think I knew that. But I think that she does paintings. Did she play the girl? I don't think she played the girl. Hold on that because I was like an Asian girl. But Lucas. Was it? There's no video now.

I got to look in the camera. But I was going to look in the camera right in there and say, Lucas, I love you. This guy's a stud. His dad tweeted at me once. I got to see him work out, see him blossom into what he is. The dungeon? The dungeon, baby.

I just produced a lot of athletes. I like to get down there. You know why? Why, I'd like to get down there? No. There was a good energy there. But, yeah, why would you like to get down there? All right.

Sounds good. Thanks for listening. Oh, that's it. That's the end of the show. Edwin and Canasian. Go white socks. Go white socks. I love Edwin.

I'm rooting for them. I am. I really am. I love you, Edwin. Can the end of these now just be everyone yelling? Trevor lied. He's not rooting. He's the liar.

Love you, Edwin.