Jay Bruce and more silly White Sox narratives from Chicago sports media

Jay Bruce

There has been a lot of discussion -- even some this week -- about the White Sox needing to acquire a power-hitting left-handed bat for the middle of their lineup.


I don't disagree with Bruce Levine when he says the Sox could use that piece, but I am unconvinced that Jay Bruce is the right man for the job -- especially considering that the Cincinnati Reds would most likely want the Sox to take on most of the $12.5 million Bruce is owed for the 2016 season in any deal.

Reports outside Chicago, most notably from MLB Network's Jon Heyman, indicate the Sox and Reds have not had any recent talks about Bruce. Heyman reports the Sox are not seeking a starting outfielder after their recent signing of Austin Jackson. I tend to think Heyman is correct.

That didn't stop the Chicago Tribune's David Haugh from adding to the Bruce talk, and in a bizarre twist, Haugh seems to believe the Sox should acquire Bruce with the idea of pushing Adam Eaton to the bench.

What?

Here's what Haugh wrote:

"The broader big-picture question involving Eaton should be what to do with him if the Sox acquire outfielder Jay Bruce, the left-handed power hitter the Reds reportedly want to trade. Several other teams remain interested in Bruce, scheduled to make $12.5 million in 2016, and WSCR-AM 670 reported two top Reds scouts have been regulars at Camelback Ranch. If Sox general manager Rick Hahn can pull it off, Bruce would join former Reds teammate Todd Frazier in the middle of an increasingly dangerous Sox lineup.

"Trading for Bruce to play right field with Jackson in center and Melky Cabrera in left likely would make Eaton a fourth outfielder and part-time designated hitter -- perhaps platooning with Avisail Garcia -- Eaton's ideal role on a contending Sox team. It also would make Eaton's five-year, $23.5 million contract extension signed a year ago all the more baffling. Bruce offers 30 home-run potential, a capable glove and an expiring contract, which Hahn appears to be collecting."

Again, what? 

I'm not sure if Haugh is expecting us to take this narrative seriously, but let's humor him with some player comparisons. Tell me which of these four 2015 statistical profiles you like best:

Player A: .267/.311/.385, 2.3 fWAR
Player B: .287/.361/.431, 3.6 fWAR
Player C: .226/.294/.434, 0.1 fWAR
Player D: .273/.314/.394, -0.3 fWAR

So, what's your verdict? Who's the best player in the bunch? You gotta go with Player B, right?

Player B has the highest batting average, the highest on-base percentage, the second-highest slugging percentage (only .003 behind Player C) and the best fWAR.

Mr. Haugh might be interested to know that Player B is Eaton, the guy he thinks belongs on the bench.

For the record, Player A is Jackson, Player C is Bruce and Player D is Cabrera.

Eaton, to me, is the third-best positon player on the Sox, behind only Jose Abreu and Frazier. I look at him as a core player, and I can't see any rational baseball reason for him to be displaced from the lineup for a player such as Bruce. Play Eaton wherever you want in the outfield, but he and his .361 on-base percentage need to be at the top of the lineup for the Sox this year. There is no question about that.

Haugh wrote that, "this week's discussion over where incumbent center fielder Adam Eaton plays was cute," and I'm not sure what he means by that.

I'm not being cute at all when I tell you that some members of the Chicago sports media would be well-served to do a little research and maybe watch a few White Sox games before they sit down at a computer and offer their "opinions" about the team.
 

White Sox bats showing some life in early spring

Avisail Garcia

The White Sox have scored 40 runs through their first six Cactus League games, including 34 runs in their last four games.

I know, it's spring training, so who cares? But the Sox are normally so terrible in spring ball that you can't help but notice when they do well.

Avisail Garcia and Jimmy Rollins both homered in Tuesday's 10-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, as the Sox improved to 4-1-1 so far in Arizona.

The Sox have 12 home runs by 12 different players through six games. Garcia and Rollins joined a list yesterday that includes Jose Abreu, Todd Frazier, Adam Eaton, Dioner Navarro, Matt Davidson, Steve Lombardozzi, Adam LaRoche, Brett Lawrie, Tyler Saladino and Jason Coats.

The South Siders are leading the Cactus League with a .609 slugging percentage heading into Thursday's game against the Oakland A's. All the usual caveats apply about these games being meaningless, but it's been a long time since the Sox have looked good in spring training.

Do you want to know the last time the Sox had a winning mark in spring games? 2004! Even the 2005 World Series championship team had a losing month of March.

So, while this recent stretch of good offense won't mean a thing when April 4 rolls around, it's refreshing to see some guys getting good results, instead of having to resort to the usual grumping about how early it is, or clinging to the idea that failure is OK because the players are "just getting their work in."

It's never a bad thing to play good baseball.

Orioles add Pedro Alvarez to a lineup that already has a DH

Pedro Alvarez

Former Pittsburgh Pirates 1B/3B Pedro Alvarez agreed Monday to a one-year, $5.75 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles.

Alvarez was No. 2 on our list of top 5 remaining free agents going into March (posted earlier this week), and he figures to add power to an already-potent Baltimore lineup. Alvarez has clubbed 101 home runs over the past four seasons. Last year, he hit .243/.318/.469 with 27 home runs and 77 RBIs in 150 games with the Pirates. He also struck out 131 times.

Pittsburgh, being a National League team, most likely parted ways with Alvarez because he is a defensive liability at both first base and third base. The Orioles have Chris Davis at first base and Manny Machado at third base, which means they can have Alvarez serve as designated hitter and hide his deficiencies with the glove.

There's just one problem with that: Where does that leave Mark Trumbo? I would have projected Trumbo as Baltimore's DH before this Alvarez move. Now, Trumbo is probably going to play right field, where he's just as big of a defensive problem as Alvarez would be at first base.

I wonder if the Orioles will try Davis in right field and have Trumbo play first. I'm not sure that's any better, but I won't be surprised if Baltimore manager Buck Showalter at least experiments with that defensive look during spring ball.

Baltimore is going to score some runs this season. Adam Jones, Davis, Machado, Trumbo, Alvarez, Matt Wieters, J.J. Hardy; they have a deep lineup with plenty of guys who can hit the ball off the wall and over it.

I question whether the Orioles have enough starting pitching to contend in the AL East. With a projected rotation of Chris Tillman, Ubaldo Jimenez, Yovani Gallardo, Miguel Gonzalez and Kevin Gausman, there isn't an ace in that group -- unless the 25-year-old Gausman, a former first-round draft pick, takes a giant leap forward.

I think Baltimore is going to need to play good defense behind that questionable rotation, but it looks to me like there are too many weak gloves in its projected lineup. That's going to drive Showalter crazy, as he is known as a manager who values good defense.

If the Orioles are to be a playoff team in 2016, they are going to have to outslug the opposition on most nights.

Austin Jackson agrees to one-year contract with White Sox

Austin Jackson

The White Sox moved to bolster their outfield depth Sunday, signing veteran Austin Jackson to a one-year contract worth $5 million.

Jackson, 29, posted a slash line of .267/.311/.385 with 9 home runs, 48 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 136 games split between the Seattle Mariners and Cubs last year. He's a career .273 hitter, but I don't think offense is the reason the Sox acquired him.

The projected outfield of Melky Cabrera in left field, Adam Eaton in center and Avisail Garcia in right is a subpar one defensively. Jackson will be the best fielding outfielder on the roster the minute he walks through the door. Jackson has produced 49 Defensive Runs Saved in six seasons in center and has a career Ultimate Zone Rating of 11.8 there, according to fangraphs.com.

Accordingly, Sox GM Rick Hahn has indicated Jackson will spend most of his time in center field.

“Most of, if not all of, Austin’s time will come in center,” Hahn told beat writers, including Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago. “Obviously, a high quality defensive player out there and a lot of his value comes from having him in that spot. As I talked about with Adam Eaton at the end of last season and a couple times over the offseason and once again this afternoon, we also view Adam as a very fine defensive center fielder. He was one of the three finalists for the Gold Glove in 2014 out there and we think we’re stronger certainly from a defensive standpoint when we have both Adam and Austin out there in that same outfield. Adam’s expressed a willingness to do whatever we feel makes the most sense on a given day to win a ballgame whether that’s playing center field for Adam or DHing or being on one of the corners.”

Eaton remains the third-best position player on the Sox's roster -- behind only Jose Abreu and Todd Frazier -- so there is no chance he'll be displaced in the lineup by Jackson. If the plan is to play Jackson in center field and move Eaton to a corner outfield spot, that creates a logjam for Cabrera, Garcia and incumbent DH Adam LaRoche. Only two of those three players can be in the lineup if Jackson is in there.

Against left-handed pitching, LaRoche is certainly the odd man out -- the veteran hit just .157 with a .383 OPS against lefties last year.

Meanwhile, Jackson has been a solid bat against left-handed pitching over the past two seasons:

vs. LHP: .290/.345/.408
vs. RHP: .248/.293/.344

It seems like a pretty obvious move that Jackson plays center field against lefties, Eaton moves to right field, the weak-fielding Garcia is relegated to DH duties, and LaRoche goes to the bench.

The more interesting question is what the Sox will do against right-handed pitching. The splits show Jackson is not a good hitter against righties, but will his strong defense be enough for him to be in the lineup every day regardless? We'll assume the highly paid LaRoche will DH against righties, like it or not.

That leaves either the veteran Cabrera or Garcia as the odd man out. Would the Sox allow the 24-year-old Garcia to wither away on the bench? Will they send him to Triple-A Charlotte? Or might they give up on him entirely and trade him? It's a story to follow as the spring moves along.

With Jackson's addition to the 40-man roster, third baseman Mike Olt has been designated for assignment. No surprise there.

Hopefully, John Danks has to earn his spot in the White Sox rotation this year

John Danks

Even though it's only spring training, it was nice to hear baseball on the radio Thursday afternoon. The White Sox lost, 6-1, to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The result wasn't satisfactory, but all the usual caveats about spring training being meaningless in the won-loss column apply.

The Sox were limited to just three hits, and starting pitcher John Danks gave up three runs on four hits over two innings. He walked the first batter he saw, then gave up three singles to put the Sox down 2-0 after the first inning. He also gave up a long solo home run to Alex Guerrero in the second inning.

Let me say this about Danks: I hope his spot in the starting rotation isn't secure. His ERAs over the past three years have been 4.75, 4.74 and 4.71, respectively. He's been consistent, give him that, but he's been consistently below par. In each of the past two seasons, his WHIP has been higher than 1.4 (1.441 in 2014, 1.413 in 2015).

Nothing he has done recently should be good enough to guarantee him a spot in the rotation. He should have to compete for one, and unlike previous seasons, the Sox do have other options. We know Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Carlos Rodon will be in the rotation, assuming good health. But the other two spots should be up for grabs among Danks, Mat Latos, Erik Johnson and Jacob Turner.

If two of those three other pitchers are more impressive this spring than Danks, then they should be in the rotation, and Danks should go to the bullpen. If Danks outpitches all of them this spring, then he can keep his spot. But I don't think it should be just handed to him.

Earlier this winter at SoxFest, a fan asked GM Rick Hahn whether designated hitter Adam LaRoche was going to keep his spot in the lineup based on his veteran status and $13 million salary. Hahn insisted the Sox do not have any "scholarship players," that LaRoche would have to earn his spot, and that manager Robin Ventura has been told to play the best players regardless of who is making the most money.

I don't know if I believe it when the Sox say they will send a high-priced player to the margins if that player is not producing. Like LaRoche, Danks is set to make big bucks in this, the final year of his contract. In fact, Danks will be the highest paid player on the team at $15.75 million.

Based on that figure, I can't shake the feeling that Danks is going to be in the rotation whether he deserves the spot or not. And based upon what I've seen the past three years, he's a good candidate to be replaced. His poor outing Thursday comes with the aforementioned caveats about spring training not mattering, but there have been plenty of times where Danks has failed miserably when it did matter.

Let's hope the Sox take that into account if Danks flounders all spring.

Slick pickoff move attempted; announcers clueless

Check out this pickoff attempt by University of Rice pitcher Blake Fox:

Somehow, the announcers didn't notice what was happening. Granted, the attempt did not result in an out, but credit Fox for ingenuity.

Top five remaining free agents going in to March

David Freese

As the calendar turns to March, there are no more remaining free agents who turned down a qualifying offer earlier in the offseason. However, that does not mean there are no decent players left on the market.

Sure, all the high-impact guys have signed now, but there still are some free agents out there who can provide value to a team in the right situation. Here's the complete list of players still available, and let's take a more detailed look at the best of the bunch:

1. David Freese, third baseman -- Freese will turn 33 in April and he's now four years removed from his 20-home run campaign with the Cardinals in 2012, but you would think Freese would have a job by now given that third base often is a hard position for teams to fill. The veteran posted a .257/.323/.420 slash line last year with 14 home runs and 56 RBIs in 121 games with the Los Angeles Angels. I'm a little bit surprised Freese hasn't landed back with the Angels. The Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians also would be good fits.

2. Pedro Alvarez, first baseman/designated hitter -- I can't blame the Pittsburgh Pirates for cutting ties with Alvarez. He's a low-average guy and a lousy fielder, and that makes it hard to justify the eight-figure salary he likely would have gotten in arbitration. Alvarez is a career .236 hitter, and he's struck out at least 118 times in each of the past four seasons. However, during that same span of four years, he has hit 101 home runs -- so about 25 a year. He has value as a designated hitter and fallback option at first base for an American League club. New York? Houston? Cleveland? Maybe Boston if the Red Sox get sick of the Hanley Ramirez show?

3. Austin Jackson, outfielder -- Jackson is a strong defender at any of the three outfield spots, and he has experience, having started in center field for a contending Detroit Tigers team from 2010 through the middle of 2014, when he was traded to the Seattle Mariners. Jackson just recently turned 29, but his OPS of .655 in 2014 and .696 in 2015 seems to be giving potential suitors pause. Jackson's OPS during his time in Detroit was .755, but he's taken a turn for the worse lately. The Angels have a gaping hole in left field, but reports indicate Jackson turned down their one-year offer. Baltimore could be a fit after the Orioles struck out on Dexter Fowler. He also could land in the AL Central, where the Indians, White Sox and Royals all could use some outfield insurance.

4. Matt Thornton, relief pitcher -- Thornton is entering his age-39 season, and his elite years with the White Sox from 2008 to 2010 are past. That said, Thornton still was a competent reliever with the Washington Nationals last year. He posted a 2.18 ERA in 60 games and limited left-handed hitters to a .198/.205/.279 slash line. In today's matchup-obsessed game, you would think some team would want a left-handed reliever who can retire left-handed hitters, no matter the age of that pitcher. There are worse left-handed relievers on MLB rosters than Matt Thornton, that's for sure. Thornton has said he is waiting for a team to show "serious" interest in him. I read that as teams have offered him a minor-league contract and an invitation to big-league camp, but he doesn't want to sign unless someone offers him a major-league deal.

5. Tim Lincecum, pitcher -- The 31-year-old is now seven years removed from his back-to-back NL Cy Young Awards in 2008 and 2009, and he's coming off an injury that limited him to 15 starts last year, when he went 7-4 with a 4.13 ERA with the San Francisco Giants. Supposedly, at least 20 teams have requested Lincecum's medical records, so proving he's healthy would likely lead to a contract offer. At some point in the near future, Lincecum is going to hold a showcase for teams. The Detroit Tigers will be there. Other interested clubs reportedly include Miami, Baltimore and San Diego.

Honorable mention, Ryan Raburn, outfielder -- The Giants are reportedly interested in the White Sox killer, and if you're a Sox fan like me, you're just praying that some team in the National League takes Raburn out of your sight. Raburn had eight home runs last season -- three against the Sox -- and 29 RBIs -- seven against the Sox. Twenty of his 82 career homers are against the Sox, as are 82 of his 322 career RBIs. Eighty-two RBIs against the Sox! His next highest totals are 12 home runs and 25 RBIs against Kansas City. Somebody make it stop.