White Sox signing Cespedes bro is GOOD and TERRIBLE
The big news of the last week or so for the White Sox has been…
Here’s the strapping young man, take a good look frents.
If you want the low down on Yoelqui Céspedes, Yoelkis Céspedes, or even Yoelki Céspedes and his grades and all the horny statistics from the leagues he’s played in that aren’t stateside, my guy James Fox from FutureSox has all that shit for you right HERE.
Dats not the kinda blog I’m bringing you, I want to talk to you the White Sox fan about perspective, what this signing REALLY means and how to view similar signings in the future *folds hands in a prayer formation wishing more of these types of signings*
THE GOOD
Chorizy and I wrote an article awhile back about how bad it was that the White Sox consistently trade off their International Pool Budget for cash payoffs. The reason why it’s so fucking stupid is that they are basically trading it 1 for 1, when spending in these International markets (particularly those bound by MLB restrictions) tend to pay off about 6.5 to 1. That’s right, a fucking 650% ROI. Image that, giving someone an option to make 650% on the capacity you just gave them. Oof.
That’s why I am so fucking pleased the White Sox spent $2M on this kid. Even if our in place International scouting team can’t attain the expected ROI denoted above, NOT spending money in this market place that is ridiculously capped in favor of the MLB teams (and against the players, which fucking sucks balls, but I digress) is foolish. It’s a very good investment for the White Sox to spend in this market, even if they are only half as good as the average. It’s still a monster pay-off.
BUT, BEEF….IS HE THE STARTING RIGHT FIELDER IN 2022?
THE BAD
Here’s the rub for us regular ass fans, just because you signed player X from the International Market that has Y skills and Z body type doesn’t mean he’s a panacea. White Sox fans are probably clouding their judgment when looking at Alexei Ramirez, Jose Abreu and Luis Robert. Ramirez and Abreu were well established professional stars from Serie Nacional de Béisbol and Luis Robert was for A LONG TIME considered the best foreign prospect in the world. Lil Cespedes bro is not in their same class of player. That’s okay, but it’s probably best to back off the comparisons.
Might be prudent to temper your expectations even when listening to what the White Sox say about him. Below is an excerpt from James Fegan’s article at the Athletic.
20-25 home runs huh…..from what I can tell, Cespedes is LISTED at 5’9″, but might be smaller than that, here is a quick list of 5’9″ or shorter players in MLB since 2012 with at least 25 HR’s in a season.
Yea…..
The way to think about these International Market signings with the absurdly high ROI is all those Sundays that I bet on the Jets (at Pointsbet, PROMO CODE: 108ing). Each individual bet would elicit this sort of response….
But in the end…..
We just aren’t built to assume we’ll make a lot of little bets that lose all the time and then one of those little bets becomes a big win, but that’s how you should look at this signing and Norge Vera and when the White Sox come off the top fucking rope in 2022 and sign Oscar Colas. Assume they’ll all lose, but know in the back of your mind, one of them is going to win BIG!
-BeefLoaf
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beefloaf108
Low information White Sox Fan. Big Feet Energy ORIGINAL 108er Like Whore 2019 Opening Day #SoxMath WINNAR Mediocrity Personified