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| Alex Colome |
I would be opposed to such trades. Colome and McCann are what I like to call "young veterans." Colome is 30 years old. McCann is 29. Neither is a kid, but neither is closed to washed up. They are in that window that you might call a player's prime -- ages 27 to 32.
They have value, but they aren't stars. You can get young players in a deal for them, but probably not premium prospects, and that's why the Sox should hold. Trading players similar to Colome and McCann has not been a strength for the Sox during this rebuild.
Let's forget about the deals of Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Adam Eaton. Those guys are high-end players. The "next tier" type of trades are what we're talking about, and here are some past midseason Sox deals with guys who would fall in the category of young veterans:
- Traded David Robertson, Todd Frazier and Tommy Kahnle for Blake Rutherford, Tito Polo and Ian Clarkin.
- Traded Dan Jennings for Casey Gillaspie
- Traded Anthony Swarzak for Ryan Cordell
- Traded Melky Cabrera for A.J. Puckett and Andre Davis
- Traded Miguel Gonzalez for TiQuan Forbes
- Traded Joakim Soria for Kodi Medeiros and Wilber Perez
- Traded Luis Avilan for Felix Paulino
- Traded Xavier Cedeno for Bryan Connell and Johan Dominguez
So, why would the Sox want to trade Colome and McCann for more "lottery tickets" such as the assorted busts on this list?
You look at where the Sox are right now: They have Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez in the lineup -- hopefully for good. Michael Kopech is coming back next season. Lucas Giolito is emerging. Reynaldo Lopez is going to be around. Dylan Cease and Luis Robert are on the way.
There's your young core, but you have to fill in around them. Not every roster spot can be filled by a prospect.
If you want to win in 2020 or 2021, you need a closer. Neither Ian Hamilton nor Zack Burdi have fulfilled that promise. Would you trust either of them to emerge? I would not. So keep Colome, who can do the job.
If you want to win in 2020 or 2021, you need a catcher. Do you trust either Zack Collins or Seby Zavala to handle a pitching staff on a contending club? Well, maybe you can have one of them on the roster, but it would be beneficial to have a veteran. I choose McCann over Welington Castillo.
At some point, you have to emerge from the "accumulating talent" stage and move to the "let's improve at the major league level" stage. I think the Sox are at that point. You can't just keep trading useful players for crap in perpetuity.
Agreed,...This WS front office has shot a ton of blanks. McCann and Colome' are keepers..WTF is this regime thinking. Those two are reasons to keep tuning in.
ReplyDelete"some people are going to be calling for the White Sox to trade useful veterans such as closer Alex Colome or catcher James McCann." No one on the Sox are quoted. It's a rumor.
DeleteWell, duh. Thanks for that. Obviously, by "some people" I meant media and fans. We all are well aware that the Sox are not going to telegraph their plans at the trade deadline.
DeleteI've had several people say to me (even this year) that I should only be concerned with the performance of certain players who are "important to the rebuild." And by that, I assume they mean Moncada, Anderson, Eloy, Rodon, Giolito and Lopez.
ReplyDeleteI think such a thought process was OK the second half of 2017 when Moncada, Giolito and Lopez first came up. But this isn't Year 1 of the rebuild anymore. It's Year 3, and as more young guys come up, veterans who fit the (alleged) contention window are every bit as relevant as those who are "important to the rebuild."
Why? It's because it isn't realistic to think that every role on the team, all 25 roster spots, is going to be filled with a prospect.
No, that's not happening. We know damn well some of these guys are going to go bust. (Fulmer, Carson) The rebuild has produced a shortstop and a third baseman, so yay. But it has not produced a closer, and there isn't a logical candidate looming on the horizon for that role, so why not keep Colome?
Catcher, same thing. Some will argue that Collins is looming on the horizon, but there still are critics who don't believe he can stick behind the plate. Word to the wise: Keep McCann around just in case Collins is not the catcher of the future. If Collins is the guy, then McCann becomes a useful No. 2 catcher.