WTF is Rick Hahn doing? Part 2

In this short series, yours truly, the BeefLoaf attempts to examine WTF Rick Hahn is doing with the White Sox? I’ll dig high and low (while possibly intoxicated) to try and decipher what is going on and also what alternate path I might take. BUT FIRST….the tale of the tape.

Rick Hahn

Position: White Sox General Manager aka CEO and shit of the Rebuild

Education: Harvard, Northwestern, Michigan

Accomplishments: 2016 Hot Stove Champion; 2018 Payroll Championship Runner-Up

Likes: Corny Catch Phrases

BeefLoaf

Position: 4th best blogger for Section 108

Education: BCA, DeLaSalle and Dominican University of Illinois (DUI for short)

Accomplishments: Not as fat as MySoxSummer

Likes: Turley Zins and Eggplant Parm

BEFORE YOU CHECK OUT PART II, CHECK OUT PART I

PART II BEGINS……NOW!!!!

Outfield

Left Field

I suspect Nicky Delmonico keeps the seat warm until Eloy Jimenez‘s defensive capabilities are up to snuff (aka, until service time has been supressed). This should be Eloy’s spot for the next 7 years, unless he moves down the defensive spectrum to First Base. For now, let’s leave him in the outfield. The White Sox outfield depth is fucking excellent. Nicky Delmonico is a prime example. He still has 3 minor league options. He’s an okay hitter and exactly the type of guy you’d like to have hanging out in Charlotte for when you need someone to fill in for an injury and not embarrass hisself at the plate. He ain’t no Moises Sierra, he might actually hit the ball hard. Behind that, there is depth, but it is years away.That’s okay, I really don’t want anyone taking these plate appearances other than Eloy.

Center Field

The incumbent, who I tend to give a hard time to on account of the fact that he can’t fucking hit, is the exact type of player you’d like to have in your org so you can “break glass, just in case”. Look I know he was up for a gold glove last year, but 1) He didn’t win and 2) Who gives a fuck, you don’t need a great defensive centerfield in the Guaranteed Rate Field. What you need is someone that can give you good enough defense, while hitting.White Sox teams make the playoffs by smacking a bunch of dingers. The internal options are a little ways away, although if Luis Basabe hits a bunch he could leap frog his way to Chicago by June. The season ticket holder in me would like that, not only because it would give us fans an alternative, but because its not necessarily bad business either, Basabe is burning options as he was on the 40 man last year. Externally, the best alternatives were in the trade market, like Tommy Pham. The widely available center field options were either meh (Billy Hamilton) or going to cost you something (AJ Pollock). I would’ve loved to see Pollock in a White Sox uni, but let’s face it, they rebuilt for a reason and that reason was to save some $$$ while acquiring a gaggle of prospects, since the majority of those prospects reside in the outfield, they could easily talk theyselfs out of making a major signing, no matter how much sense it makes.

Right Field

This should be Daniel Palka as presently constituted. Mr. 108 showed us that he can smash dongs and he didn’t care how big the moment in the game was, he could still come through. What he still needs to prove is that he can be more selective and make more left hand turns at first base. I know what’s about to happen, some snotty kid who thinks he’s dunking on me is going to say “But Beef, he’s a butcher in the outfield”…….Yea, so? This team ain’t going nowhere, let the kid play. We need to find out what we got before shit gets serious. However, given that we have an in house option, that doesn’t need anything other than playing time, Hahn has to go and do something, classic Hahn.

Enter, Jon Jay (33 yr old Machado bait) and Brandon Guyer (33 yr old Right Hand Only Platoon Partner)……ah fuck! I’ll admit, I was excited about the Jay signing initially if only because he does something that has alluded White Sox outfielders for far too long. He gets on base above league average…..however, upon closer examination, it looks like center field is more and more difficult for the old lad, so he’ll end up in right field more often than not. That’s bad. I mean, unless it secures you Manny, because if it doesn’t it just puts not 1, but 2 road blocks in Daniel Palka’s way for playing time. Jay – RF, Alonso – DH. Imagine being a GM and you are embarking on a rebuild. You trade for prospects with your available assets. You draft high, but with varying results. Then, you grab a minor league free agent off the scrap heap and he shows up the next year, in a non-full-time role and smashes 27 HR’s. Most GM’s would be elated as they found something that teams need lots of these days, POWER!! And then you decide to put as many roadblocks to his playing time in the following season as possible. And not like, young potentially promising road blocks, I mean old mutherfuckers. I mean guys that should be running around in some decent teams AAA ballpark. I might barf.

I saw several people on twitter mentioning Guyer as a “Platoon Partner” for Palka. Look, I get the value in the platoon partner, especially for a guy that has struggled with LHP, however, if the guy who struggles with left hand pitching has less than 100 career plate appearances against LHP, how’s about we just let him hit for another season against LHP. The more plate appearances, the better, when it comes to a throw away season in which development is king.

Designated Hitter

This looks like Manny bait Yonder Alonso. Alonso is okay, but other than dragging Manny here, he’s not too valuable. He’s likely taking away plate appearances from someone else in the grand scheme of things. He’s probably keeping us from seeing as much Daniel Palka as we should or sussing out if Jose Rondon can actually hit at the big league level. The costs of the Manny whisperers are more than $$$, they also cost development time.

WTF is Rick Hahn doing?

Hahn needs Eloy in Chicago to cover up the rest of the mess he’s created in the outfield. He has found some depth out of basically nowhere, but that’s a minor victory. He missed trading for Tommy Pham when he likely could’ve matched the price. He’s doing everything he can to take the bat out of Daniel Palka’s hands when he might have found a fucking diamond in the rough. He’s added no real youthful gambles to this mix even though his real prospects in the outfield are likely 1-3 years away from being in Chicago. It feels like paralysis by prospectalaysis. He needs to stop, leaving spots open for people that are years away, and stop putting blocks in the way of people that are here and need playing time for development. Rick Hahn was already skating on thin fucking ice with the 108ers, but if he continues to do everything in his power to keep Daniel Palka off the field, he’ll completely lose us.

-BeefLoaf