White Sox acquire All-Star Todd Frazier in 3-team deal, Add RHP Nate Jones

[cigaretteman]

The White Sox have acquired Reds third baseman Todd Frazier in a three-team trade that also involves the Dodgers.

The Sox will send second baseman Micah Johnson, outfielder Trayce Thompson and right-hander Frankie Montas to the Dodgers. The Reds acquired infielders Jose Peraza and Brandon Dixon and outfielder Scott Schebler from the Dodgers.


In Frazier, the Sox, in desperate need of a power boost, acquired a two-time All-Star who hit .255 with 35 home runs, 89 RBIs and a .498 slugging percentage in 2015. Frazier, 29, is due $7.5 million in 2016, the second year of a two-year contract. He will also be under Sox control in 2017, when he will be arbitration eligible.

The Sox had acquired third baseman Brett Lawrie from the Athletics last week, but he can also play second base. With Johnson headed to the Dodgers, Lawrie will likely slide over to play second.

The Sox gave up a big haul to solve their ongoing problem at third base. Montas is the club’s third-ranked prospect, while Johnson is ranked No. 5 and Thompson No. 14, according to MLB.com. But they didn’t give up their top two prospects, shortstop Tim Anderson and right-hander Carson Fulmer, who was the club’s first-round draft pick in 2015.

Johnson struggled defensively in his first season at the major-league level, but Thompson had a breakout few months for the club. The team’s best defensive outfielder, the Sox said last week at the winter meetings that he could have vied for a starting position in 2016.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...te-sox-todd-frazier-trade-20151216-story.html

 

[whatsup13579er]

The White Sox haven't really had much production at 3rd base since Crede in 2005 when they won the World Series.

 

[Viv_Savage]

So now they might be a .500 team? I don't get what they're doing.

They should have blown the whole thing up. Trade Sale, Quintana, Abreau, etc.

 

[Tom Paris]

So now they might be a .500 team? I don't get what they're doing.

They should have blown the whole thing up. Trade Sale, Quintana, Abreau, etc.

The thing with the Sox though, unlike the Cubs, if they blow it up very, very few fans will attend to watch. The Cubs could get away with it because fans still would go to Wrigley. The White Sox always have to have something there to get fans in the seats.

 

[whatsup13579er]

They have a pretty solid lineup now. Eaton, Garcia, Abreu, Cabrera, LaRoche, Lawrie, Fraizer. They have a SS in the minors that they like in Anderson that might be ready to come up this season. The pitching staff is pretty good led by Sale and Q. If everyone plays like they should (I'm looking at you, LaRoche), the White Sox should be much improved in 2016.

 

[LuteHawk]

When the White Sox are the second banana in Chicago,
they cannot afford to slip up. The Cubs won 97 games
last year and go into the playoffs. The White Sox must
continue to add All-Star players like Frazier to remain
relevant.

 

[Viv_Savage]

Do any Sox fans know if they have the cap room to make a push for Cespedes or Gordon?

 

[2bagger22]

I like Johnson at 2B if he can carry over his late-season success at AAA into the bigs (a big if, I know). He nearly started a donny-brook against Iowa his junior year after sliding hard into second so I figured he was perfect for the Sox.

 

[JRHawk2003]

There is no cap in baseball.

As a Sox fan, this is a typical Sox move. It has nothing to do with the Cubs. Its been their MO for 35 years now for the most part. I dont think this is a great pick up. Frazier was bad in the 2nd half last year. It smacks of LaRoche

 

[lucas80]

The thing with the Sox though, unlike the Cubs, if they blow it up very, very few fans will attend to watch. The Cubs could get away with it because fans still would go to Wrigley. The White Sox always have to have something there to get fans in the seats.

Cubs attendance plummeted during the demolition job. I spent quite a few games in a nearly empty Wrigley Field.

 

[Tom Paris]

Cubs attendance plummeted during the demolition job. I spent quite a few games in a nearly empty Wrigley Field.

C'mon. Wrigley is never "nearly empty" when the Cubs are playing. I will agree that Wrigley wasn't packed during the rebuilding years, but the Sox already struggle to get fans at Comiskey consistently.

 

[lucas80]

So now they might be a .500 team? I don't get what they're doing.

They should have blown the whole thing up. Trade Sale, Quintana, Abreau, etc.

At face value it's a good trade, but there was spirited discussion about it on the Score today. In particular Jason Goff wondered out loud if breaking even next year meant mediocrity for a decade? If they'd traded for prospects and concentrated on improving through the draft they'd be better off.
The one thing the Sox haven't done in a while is develop a position player. They've struck gold with numerous pitchers since 2005, but they cannot develop impactful position players.

 

[SchmittyHawks32]

These are my thoughts every time the Sox make a move:

I just want to experience the fun of 2005 again, please baby Jesus....

 

[dgordo]

Cubs attendance plummeted during the demolition job. I spent quite a few games in a nearly empty Wrigley Field.

Average attendance never fell below 32k a game. Those seats were empty but the tickets were paid for.

 

[hawkssox1]

Do any Sox fans know if they have the cap room to make a push for Cespedes or Gordon?

Right now they are at $104 million,Danks at 15,750,000,Cabrera at 14 and Laroche(37 years old) at 13 million.Cespedes would be a good pickup a little nuts but good player.

 

[whatsup13579er]

Right now they are at $104 million,Danks at 15,750,000,Cabrera at 14 and Laroche(37 years old) at 13 million.Cespedes would be a good pickup a little nuts but good player.

Danks is woefully overpaid. He must have the best agent in the world to land that deal. I know he was solid but he never had $16M stuff. Is his contract about up?

 

[JRHawk2003]

I wish they would go the Cubs route in a way. Its how they got Rodon. I agree with Lucas on position players. Buddy Bell should be canned. I am so sick of 85 win seasons that mean nothing. Is that really a lot better than losing 90+ and getting a high draft pick?

I guess there is talk that they are going to go after a big name free agent...we will see.

 

[whatsup13579er]

I wish they would go the Cubs route in a way. Its how they got Rodon. I agree with Lucas on position players. Buddy Bell should be canned. I am so sick of 85 win seasons that mean nothing. Is that really a lot better than losing 90+ and getting a high draft pick?

I guess there is talk that they are going to go after a big name free agent...we will see.

I don't follow MLB too closely in the offseason. Who are the big name free agents?

 

[hawkssox1]

Danks is woefully overpaid. He must have the best agent in the world to land that deal. I know he was solid but he never had $16M stuff. Is his contract about up?

Dank's is signed thru 2016.

 

[JRHawk2003]

Dank's contract is an albatross. Sox will run him out there again in 2016 as the #5 starter.

Here is the free agent list. Not a lot of big names. Cespedes is out there, but he has been on 4 teams already in a short time frame. Head case anyone?

http://espn.go.com/mlb/freeagents

 

[bhawk24bob]

I'm not sure what the point is, his splits indicate that he's going to hit in the .230 range in the AL. They need upgrades in LF, RF, C, SS, 2B, DH, and manager if they want to compete for the division. That's an awful lot of upgrading to so

 

[JRHawk2003]

I'm not sure what the point is, his splits indicate that he's going to hit in the .230 range in the AL. They need upgrades in LF, RF, C, SS, 2B, DH, and manager if they want to compete for the division. That's an awful lot of upgrading to so

They need a change in ownership, which won't happen until Jerry passes. The "just good enough to tease you" philosophy has been around for 35 years. It panned out a few times, once all the way. There is a disconnect between the Sox fans that show up at the convention, etc. and the rest of us.

 

[LuteHawk]

Ultimately, fans go to the ballpark to see Super-Stars who
can win games.

The Cubs now have Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Jake
Arietta, Jon Lester. The White Sox have Abreu and Sale

One big difference between the Cubs and the White Sox:
Joe Maddon is a good manager and Robin Ventura is not..

 

[JRHawk2003]

Carlos Rodon will be a star too. We will see if Fulmer joins the rotation this year or not.

They have a decent staff to build around.

 

[whatsup13579er]

Pitching isn't the problem. The problem has been little to no contribution offensively from C, 2B, 3B, DH, and at least 1 OF spot for years. Hopefully Lawrie and Fraizer can fill the void in the infield, LaRoche can contribute something, and Cabrera/Garcia can produce up to their potential.

 

[bhawk24bob]

The problem is that they keep putting bandaids on problems, and the bandaids have a best case scenario of being mediocre.

The question I keep coming back to is why they would rather lose with Sale and Abreau than trade them and win without them. It defies all logic, just trade those two and get legit, high level prospects in return

 

[Mattski]

Laroche is awful. He's done and they'd be better off trading him for a bag of balls and moving on. You can see he's checked out.
My problem with the Sox is they keep running out .250 hitters which Frazier looks like another one of. Great, he hits a home run every 4th game, the rest of the games your lucky to get a hit a game. Abreau is the one professional hitter on the team but good teams know how to keep him from beating them on his own.

 

[JRHawk2003]

The problem is that they keep putting bandaids on problems, and the bandaids have a best case scenario of being mediocre.

The question I keep coming back to is why they would rather lose with Sale and Abreau than trade them and win without them. It defies all logic, just trade those two and get legit, high level prospects in return

You wont get value for Sale or Abreu. No one trades picks or high level prospects. Very rare. You might....might get one for Sale and chances are that person likely still wont be as productive.

 

[whatsup13579er]

You wont get value for Sale or Abreu. No one trades picks or high level prospects. Very rare. You might....might get one for Sale and chances are that person likely still wont be as productive.

I've never understood why someone would trade a known high producing commodity like Sale or Abreu for a handful of guys that may or may not pan out.

Everyone was really high on Gordon Beckham and thought he was going to be a really good pro. He turned out to be an average guy in the MLB. Would you rather have 1 Sale and 1 Abreu or a handful of guys like Beckham?

 

[bhawk24bob]

The idea that the choice is Sale and Abreau or 2 Gordon Beckhams is absurd.

The likelihood of them putting together a contender while Sale and Abreau are in their prime is very, very small. They are light years away from being competitive right now. They have a responsibility to move those two while they are at the peak of their value for players that will contribute when the likelihood of competing is greater

 

[whatsup13579er]

The idea that the choice is Sale and Abreau or 2 Gordon Beckhams is absurd.

Except it's not. And I never said that if you trade them both you get 2 Beckhams in return. You would get a handful of guys that were Beckham level prospects.

Evaluating prospects is kind of like playing the lottery. When the White Sox drafted Beckham, if they would have been negotiating a blockbuster trade, he would have been the White Sox top prospect to dangle out there.

If you trade Sale and Abreu you might get 3-5 really good prospects. Odds are against all those prospects turning into studs.

 

[Viv_Savage]

There's only a handful of teams that would have the prospects to get Sale. It would cost more than 1 elite prospect to get him. His contract makes his value waaaay higher than you're giving him credit for. Did you see what Shelby Miller got the Braves? Or what the Marlins are asking for Fernandez?

 

[JRHawk2003]

I dont think the Sox are that far off. They need some more bats, but they have the staff to compete. The bullpen with Nate Jones back is a lot better too. I would say if they can add one more bat they can be right there.

 

[bhawk24bob]

I dont think the Sox are that far off. They need some more bats, but they have the staff to compete. The bullpen with Nate Jones back is a lot better too. I would say if they can add one more bat they can be right there.

I disagree, they're pretty far off from competing. Everybody has pitching now. If this was 10 years ago, sure - this staff would separate them from teams. As it stands today, this staff is on the high end of average. It just seems like a plus because the sox' lineup and defense are so pathetic

 

[JRHawk2003]

No, everybody does not have pitching.

The Cubs are banking on Arrieta being all that again. We will see. Its not likely. Pitching is a fragile thing.

 

[lucas80]

Average attendance never fell below 32k a game. Those seats were empty but the tickets were paid for.

The Cubs did have a high discrepancy between tickets sold, and actual attendance. They sold a lot of discounted tickets the last few years. And, empty seats do not buy concessions or team gear. Ad revenue was down. With all the capital improvements going on at Wrigley the Ricketts family has put a lot of their money into the game. That its why you saw stories about how Theo and Jed had to go to them and Crane Kenney to talk about the Heyward contract. A great 2015 did not erase the previous four years of depressed revenues.

 

[diehardhawk82]

Do any Sox fans know if they have the cap room to make a push for Cespedes or Gordon?

Gordon isn't leaving KC. It is close to home to him.

 

[hawkssox1]

Gordon isn't leaving KC. It is close to home to him.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ talk.

 

[JRHawk2003]

According to Bruce Levine they are pursuing one more free agent player. Could be Cespedes or Gordon. I guess they shed a lot of contracts like Danks after 2016. Rumor is that they are trying to trade LaRoche back to the NL and take a partial hit on the salary.

 

[lucas80]

If the White Sox sign Cespedes they are truly stupid.