FANTASY ISLAND

Three stars down, with only one tweeting that he’s close. Eloy is cleared for baseball activity, but Luis is on an uncertain timeline and Nick Madrigal is done for the year. In a year where the Sox are sitting so very, very pretty in the standings it is a source of both frustration and titillation that they could be better. Better!!! Imagine a world where Eloy, Luis, Yermin, Engel and Vaughn were rotating in the outfield and DH while Adam Eaton, Leury Garcia and Jake Lamb were used sparingly. Imagine Nicky Two Strikes the rest of the way instead of wondering if Danny Mendick is a real ballplayer or Jake Burger playing 2B won’t cause him to break apart like the Blues Mobile outside of City Hall. And if you didn’t just mentally see several statues and a thin, young Danny Akroyd looking at the wreckage I question your value.

So do we live with Ham(ilton) and Burger together? (Sorry.) Really, actually are we living with Engel and Mendick and way more Leury Garcia than you’d want? Keep trucking along until August when Eloy comes back, and hope there’s a Pantera lurking behind him? Or…dare we dream of an outsider riding in and bringing this season home for a parade? Mr. Hahn!!! De trades!! De Trades!!!

There’s always rental guys, for example as the Mariners slide down the standings Mitch Haniger becomes a nice target. I’ve mentioned plenty o’ rentals in recent weeks. But this is the start of a window, why not play fantasy GM and not just help the Sox this year, but for the next few?

Parameters are simple: a guy can’t be a bank breaker because that’s not the style here, and the present team must be out of it and rebuilding, or it must be to the mutual benefit of both teams for this year at least. So the Twins, who might rebuild after this, aren’t necessarily trading with the Sox for A-ball players but might trade for AAA guys like Jonathon Stiever. But screw the Twins anyway we don’t want them. The Reds, before Nicky Two Strikes became Nicky One Legs, might have taken Leury Garcia to fill their gaping SS/2B hole and given back Shogo Akiyama, who could be a good bench piece in the future but help now. Also, there’s likely to be some overpay optics here. But gotta crack eggs and slaughter a pig to make a decent omelet.

Right now the teams that are full on toast are the Pirates, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Orioles, Twins, Tigers, Royals, and Rangers. The Reds, Marlins, Mariners, Angels, and Blue Jays are in trouble. Everyone else is at least in the hunt. Not all teams are dance partners though.

ADDING TO THEIR REBUILD:

Pirates

Needs: Anyone and everyone they can get. The Pirates will take flyers on prospects and failed MLB guys under control.

Bryan Reynolds, OF (.293 avg. .897 OPS) It’ll be harder to get Reynolds, who is under team control, without giving up some decent pieces but the Bucs have shown that they are willing to take on quantity. Reynolds would take someone who can play right away and some prospects. He would line up next year in right with Vaughn and Robert, Eloy to DH please just to be out of the field.

Adam Frazier, 2B/OF (.324 avg. .844 OPS) As I mentioned before Frazier is a good player but he’s having a career year so these stats aren’t representative of him typically. But he was shopped as he’s ending his run of team control after next year, and the Bucs have infielders waiting. He would be insurance against Madrigal not being ready for spring training and would also slot into RF alongside Vaughn and Robert.

Only downside with these trades is that Yermin gets left out, or Vaughn, and definitely Engel. At the end of the year, that may not matter if Yermin continues to fall or Vaughn or Engel fails to get better. But Reynolds would be an upgrade so it could be worth it.

Diamondbacks

Needs: The Diamondbacks need pitchers. You might have to toss a few their way, but Stiever is a good building block for a deal, or maybe Jimmy Lambert. Tyler Johnson could easily be included.

Pavin Smith, 1B/OF, Arizona, (.283 avg. .773 OPS). Smith can hit, and has hit his way into an everyday role on the D-Backs. The knock is that he lacks the power for them to commit to him over Christian Walker, David Peralta, or Kole Calhoun in the corners and he’s not as fast as Ketel Marte, Tim Locastro or Daulton Varsho in CF. But he can play the outfield, and he’s what the Sox thought they were getting from Adam Eaton. In the Sox lineup as it was intended, Smith’s bat would play nicely anywhere and maybe would be the answer at the 2-spot. Smith becomes another OF candidate but could be the heir apparent to Jose. Given his age and team control , he might take a few prospects but there’s a chance that adding in someone like Jake Burger could be closer to a straight trade.

Kole Calhoun, OF (injured until next week). Calhoun is a slightly above replacement level lefty OF (a career OPS+ of 106). He would literally be Adam Eaton, if Eaton cheated BA for power. he makes $9 million next year so he’s not cheap, but he’s no worse than picking up Eaton or signing another mid level free agent. Calhoun had a solid 2019 and 2020, and has been fairly steady except for a down year in 2018. He wouldn’t kill the Sox at the bottom of the lineup, and would help against righties. Given where the D-Backs are, Calhoun is a salary dump and one the Sox could take on with a minimal cost.

Downside? Smith may yet falter and Calhoun is a one-trick pony.

Rockies

Needs: Always pitching with these guys. For the right guy, Lopez might be an option but Stiever, Johnson or even Marshall could be more attractive. But also, Charlie Blackmon and Trevor Story are likely to cost too much, so ignore them.

Ryan McMahon IF (.257 avg. .824 OPS). This would be a gamble. McMahon, career-wise, has that nasty split where he’s a .287 hitter at Coors and .224 away this year, but mashes righties at a .270/.873 clip. He’s a bench piece here but maybe the best Rockies hitter in 2021 given injuries. So does the Southside play like a mile high? He’d be a stopgap and possible platoon with Mendick this year and a supersub for the next few years of team control.

Garrett Hampson IF/OF (.247 avg. .735 OPS). He’s been a 2B and a CF this year, but Brandon Rodgers is taking over 2B and Yonathan Daza has Hampson pushed from CF. His 12 steals would play well in Nicky’s 9-spot ahead of TA, and he could replace Leury next year.

Downside? Hampson is having his best year but isn’t a great year. McMahon might be a bum outside Denver. These are dart throws that might be much the same as what’s in house.

Orioles

Needs: a new owner and everything else but catcher. The Orioles could look to trade Austin Hays, who could be a decent RF if he stays healthy, or capitalize on Cedric Mullins’ emergence. Both are speculative that they will be better than what’s here. But any prospects should be on the table, much like with the Pirates. Reynaldo and/or Adolfo, with an A-ball sweetener?

Trey Mancini, 1B/OF (.277 avg. .838 OPS). Came back from cancer, so he should live for today and come here to win. Still under team control for another year, he’s not a great outfielder but he’s an equal opportunity hitter and would help against righties. Set it and forget it, assuming he’s truly healthy.

Downside? Cost. Mancini could cost the Sox players that they would rather keep but then, if he’s a key piece in at least two deep playoff runs or a championship, there’s no downside at all.

The rest:

The Tigers have not much beyond Jonathon Schoop to offer, but he would be in the way next year. The Twins could part with Max Kepler, who was great in 2019 and middlin’ in other years (.212/.727 this year). The Royals won’t part with Whit Merrifield, beyond that they are in a tryout mode. The Rangers have Joey Gallo who is back to being all HR or nothing and not worth the trade.

MUTUAL BACKSCRATCHING

Here are guys on teams in trouble or contending where the Sox could send a ready-made assist for a ready-made assist.

Garrett Cooper, 1B/OF, Marlins (.248 avg. .720 OPS). A little like Pavin Smith in that Cooper can hit but his lesser power makes him not an ideal everyday 1B in a lineup where there’s less pop all around. Cooper has the advantage of being a guy that has been a bench guy as much as a starter, so he can move around a bit. The Marlins are hanging around the NL East and Cooper is something of a spare guy in their outfield and behind Jesus Aguilar at first. They have relied all season on youth at SS and 2B, so Leury would have been a trade piece but now might be needed. They could use bullpen help and maybe Evan Marshall or Zack Burdi are pieces to consider, with Jace Fry coming back there’s maybe room in the pen to move a guy. Marshall could close in Miami if he regains his form, but here he’s just struggling.

Dominic Smith, 1B/OF, Mets (.244 avg. .669 OPS). He’s underwhelming at a glance but his expected average, slugging and on-base are all much higher so Smith has been getting some bad luck in 2021. The Mets are about to get Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil back (with Albert Almora too, if that helps them) so shortly Smith will return to more of a bench role. He can hit lefties (actually better stats this year) as a lefty, and would be a guy that could take a DH platoon, and spell Jose at 1B or fill in the outfield this year and going forward. The Mets are actually in decent shape all around, but they have starter depth issues so a guy like Stiever could help them. But they may want more than that for a guy that is useful to them now.

The Rest:

The Jays need pitchers but have little to offer that is all that attractive in a 2B/OF beyond a guy like Randal Grichuk. The Angels aren’t flush with talent on the field right now with Mike Trout gone, and Justin Upton is pricey. The main contenders are probably not going to trade starters for guys like Evan Marshall, so you’d need bench pieces that are blocked and no one is that deep. Even the usually deep Dodgers could only offer up Matt Beaty or Zach McKinistry, who are the west coast versions of Jake Lamb and Danny Mendick.

MEATBALL TRADES

Ok, let’s get Stoopid.

Aaron Judge, OF, Yankees, (.289 avg. .920 OPS). Yeah, right, the Yankees will trade Judge. He’s a star player, wouldn’t help beyond this year as he’s a free agent…it breaks the rules. But the Sox likely won’t be able to retain Carlos Rodon…and the Yankees seem like a destination for him anyway…maybe you snake out a prospect with Judge so the Yanks can rent a much-needed starter and the Sox rent a much-needed bat? Is that a thing that could happen? No, ya meatball.

Jesse Winker, OF, Reds (.340 avg. 1.036 OPS). It’ll only cost the Sox Adam Engel and Dylan Cease plus probably another AAA/AA prospect or two. Winker has turned a corner the past two years and is raking. He would be beautiful in the Sox OF and DH rotation. But he’s also a controllable and cheap asset for the Reds, who would need to reload their rotation, bullpen and bench to lose their best hitter. Not happening.

Kris Bryant, OF/IF, Cubs (.291 avg. .911 OPS). Aaaaaand the Cubs will totally trade Bryant, who could probably play 2B, but the ask would be, well, maybe Rodon? The Cubs could play Hoerner when he gets back, have Bote and their current guys cover 3B like they have been, maybe they swap over a pitcher and Jake Lamb or Adam Eaton goes to the Cubs. It. Could. WORK!!! (No. It won’t.)

The Sweat Meter, a system to manage your White Sox Worries.

As the Sox season carries on, concerns will pop up. Here, weekly, Sox in The Basement and Mismatched Sox will measure the concerning stuff, big and small, and determine whether to sweat it at all. The range runs from five Sweaty Freddies to one, five being sheer panic and one being nothing to worry about at all.

Shower Fresh: The sticky stuff. Doesn’t seem to be an issue here as no one has had the downturns of a Trevor Bauer/Gerritt Cole.

‘Lil dampness: Kopech taking his time coming back. Consider this a management of his innings but a little concerning that he’s not back.

Glistening: Adam Engel not playing back-to-back games. He’s needed now and he’ll be needed in the playoffs.

Swampy Undies: Yermin is a real hitter, but it’ll be a bit before he readjusts and that’s now another hole in the lineup.

Call Family Waterproofing Solutions, its a flood: The Sox definitely need another bat. They are one more key injury away from having only half a lineup, and the pitching is great but they need production from at least 8 lineup spots regularly to get at least 4 guys hitting on any given night.