White Sox DFA Latos, Sign Morneau

[Seth Stohs]

According to several reports, the White Sox have DFAd RHP Mat Latos who has struggled since starting out 5-0. 

 

In a separate tweet, they announced they have signed former Twins 1B Justin Morneau to a one-year contract. Remember that Morneau had offseason surgery.

 

 

 

 

[bluechipper]

I hope Justin gets a chance to play a lot at 1B/DH eventually this season.

 

And yeah, Mat Latos looks done.

[Vanimal46]

Morneau to the White Sox makes a ton of sense. I'll be rooting for him to do well.

 

It's weird to compliment the Sox, but at least they're not just sitting on their hands doing nothing. We'll see if their aggressiveness pays off.

[d-mac]

I wouldn't mind taking a flier on Latos. He's still only 28- he was a consistent high-end number 2 for so many years. 

[Winston Smith]

Morneau-ie I wish you luck trying to hit the Twins crack pitching staff.

[Blake]

 

Morneau-ie I wish you luck trying to hit the Twins crack pitching staff.

Were I managing the Sox, I had have Morneau in the lineup days maybe even weeks before playing the Twins.

[D. Hocking]

I wish him the best and hope he does well even with the White Sox.  I do wonder if it would be better for him if he listened more to his body and considered retirement instead, although I understand why it is so hard for these athletes to make that decision.

[HitInAPinch]

"Mat Latos’ final act in White Sox uniform was an expletive-laced assessment of his pitching performance Tuesday night."

 

If you gotta go, go in style.  Ish....

 

Won his first 5 decisions with a sub 2 ERA that exploded to 4.62.  Still, seems like a pretty quick hook by the White Sox.

[Pardon My Dinger]

 

Morneau to the White Sox makes a ton of sense. 

 Completely disagree. Morneau as white sock...does not compute. 

[twinsnorth49]

Oh Justin, the White Sox?

 

I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

[bluechipper]

And now the White Sox have DFA'd Jimmy Rollins in order to bring up their top SS prospect, Tim Anderson. I guess they're not messing around.

[jimmer]

 

And now the White Sox have DFA'd Jimmy Rollins in order to bring up their top SS prospect, Tim Anderson. I guess they're not messing around.

they are rushing him.  feel bad for the kid's development, glad the Sox are doing it.

[Otto von Ballpark]

they are rushing him. feel bad for the kid's development, glad the Sox are doing it.

I see where you are coming from, but at the same time, not every player keeps developing in a linear fashion. The White Sox might view Anderson as more of a finished product that you do, and they are giving him a chance to see if he can produce at an acceptable level.

 

Off the top of my head, it reminds me of Rosario last year, or Rivas back in 2001. Those guys capably filled holes in MLB for a little while, and I'm not sure if they would have appreciably improved with more minor league time. Strike while the iron is hot.

[TheLeviathan]

What they are doing with Anderson reminds me of what they did with Beckham.  That had immediate dividends but in the long run probably cost them a pretty good middle infielder.

[Otto von Ballpark]

What they are doing with Anderson reminds me of what they did with Beckham. That had immediate dividends but in the long run probably cost them a pretty good middle infielder.

Or, they got something out of him before the pros figured him out? Some guys just burn out early.

 

In any case, Beckham was a college draftee who was promoted after a few months. Anderson has had 3 years in the minors already.

[TheLeviathan]

 

Or, they got something out of him before the pros figured him out? Some guys just burn out early.

In any case, Beckham was a college draftee who was promoted after a few months. Anderson has had 3 years in the minors already.

 

They also appear to be different races, one is from Alabama and the other George, they bat from different sides, etc.  If we're going to deliberately miss the point, perhaps we can just go all out?

 

The comparison is - the Sox are competing, struggling in the infield, and called up a middle infielder far sooner than people thought would happen.  Kinda like Beckham.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Do you want to compare by the number of days they had in the minors, just so we dramatically miss the point?

 

The comparison is - the Sox are competing, struggling in the infield, and called up a middle infielder far sooner than people thought would happen.

Far sooner? Anderson is in AAA and batting over .300. He spent a full year in AA last year and again batted over .300. Also topped that mark in the AFL back in 2014. He's not perfect but he has been having success and slowly climbing the ladder.

 

I'd say mid 2016 is right about when most people expected to see him debut in the majors, give or take a month.

[TheLeviathan]

 

I'd say mid 2016 is right about when most people expected to see him debut in the majors, give or take a month.

 

Given his hitting profile, I expect those same people also believe in Adam Brett Walker.

 

Or how about what some Sox fans said.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Given his hitting profile, I expect those same people also believe in Adam Brett Walker.

 

Or how about what some Sox fans said.

So some fan said September (last November), and they called him up in June. Big stunted development, I am sure, comparable to calling up a new draftee in less than a year. Anderson has had 3 years in the minors, I am not sure less than 3 months is rushing him or even constitutes a significant difference opinion about his development time.

 

I am not arguing he isn't flawed, but most ballplayers remain flawed no matter how long they spend in the minors. If after 3 years as a pro, Anderson still isn't addressing his flaws in the minors, but is still having success moving up the ladder, maybe it is time to just take a look at him. If his flaws prove too much for MLB success, they can always send him back down. Maybe that will help him work specifically on his flaws in the minors more than keeping him there today.

[TheLeviathan]

Three years in the minors vs. college is roughly the same development. They're debuting at roughly the same age, a little earlier for Anderson.  

 

And that fan was saying to wait to even make a call on Anderson - due to defensive and offensive concerns - until September.  He was making the same case people here do against Adam Brett Walker - quit getting caught up in what looks good in his profile and recognize the massive red flags.  His flaws are obvious - he isn't walking, he's getting by on a high BABIP, and his fielding is questionable.  Not the kind of skills usually advanced well at the major league level.

 

Ask anyone with that profile, including several recent Twins players.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I get what you are saying. But also understand that those flaws aren't necessarily going away with more minor league time. They apparently haven't gone away for Anderson yet. Keeping him in the minors longer may have done nothing, he might be at the same point developmentally in 3 months or even in a year. It is quite possible that 3 months in the majors now will provide the team and Anderson with more useful information for their respective futures than spending 3 more months at AAA would right now.

 

I assume he needs to be added to the 40 man this winter anyway, and you've got a gaping hole at the position -- might as well get a good look at Anderson and challenge him at the highest level and go from there. It is not like they are skipping him a level, or they got rid of someone useful to clear the position for him, etc.

[TheLeviathan]

Getting a good look at him is what September is for.  His batting profile has virtually no chance of sustainable success against big league pitching.

 

It's the same reason I'm not slotting any MVP awards for ABW no matter how many minor league home runs he hits.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Getting a good look at him is what September is for. His batting profile has virtually no chance of sustainable success against big league pitching.

 

It's the same reason I'm not slotting any MVP awards for ABW no matter how many minor league home runs he hits.

September is a pretty short, meaningless look, in many cases. Parmelee, etc. I'd rather have a larger sample to decide whether Anderson is a guy who can learn and adapt and succeed at the MLB level, or if I need to look elsewhere for the position in 2017.

 

And I don't think either Anderson or Walker have MVP futures. But I don't think the logical conclusion from that is to potentially leave them in AAA forever until their game changes.

 

Walker is easy, the Twins have plenty other OF/DH options to look at, so sure he stays in AAA. But Anderson? The White Sox have nothing at the spot, Anderson plays a position where a lack of offense can be tolerated under the right circumstances, etc. And as I said before, his game hasn't been changing in the minors. Maybe a little failure in MLB might give him a more focused plan on changing his game in a return trip to the minors.

 

There is still plenty of time for the White Sox to make poor decisions around Anderson -- judge his MLB performance by the wrong stats or a small sample, run him out to fail for too long in MLB, fail to get a proper Plan B this winter, etc. But I don't think calling him up right now is necessarily a mistake, given his record.

[Mike Sixel]

September is almost useless for seeing what a player can do, since many teams are basically fielding a combo of AAA and MLB players. Some teams call players up faster than others.....all I know is the Sox seem to be more successful than MN, even though they apparently do everything wrong and the Twins are doing it the right way....

[TheLeviathan]

 

September is almost useless for seeing what a player can do, since many teams are basically fielding a combo of AAA and MLB players. Some teams call players up faster than others.....all I know is the Sox seem to be more successful than MN, even though they apparently do everything wrong and the Twins are doing it the right way....

 

Have the Sox been more successful?  Depending how far back you want to go, I wouldn't say either side has a commanding lead.  

 

And, yes, September isn't always a good look.  But I also don't think calling a guy up who has had one season in AA, a couple months in AAA, and has the plate approach of ABW is a smart idea.  That is rushing a guy who is clearly not ready unless you want to get enamored with a BABIP-fueled batting average.

 

He's being rushed. 

[Steve J]

Would a Latos pickup make any sense?

 

used to be kind of a stud for Cinci.  What happened?

[USAFChief]

Would a Latos pickup make any sense?

 

used to be kind of a stud for Cinci.  What happened?

Injuries.

 

I don't think it makes any sense.

[Kwak]

"White Sox are rushing...".

 

Last season when the Twins were promoting everyone who looks like he might help the Twins make the playoffs--and the seals are clapping "way to go Twins!". How many posters have recently posted of the need to eliminate the veterans and play everybody who might be the foundation of a future winning Twins team?--LOTS. The CWS (who are despised by many TD posters) do [something]--and now you complain? Personally, I applaud the fact the they are actively trying to be winners. The present Twins team appear as if they are trying to be losers--and many TD posters are actively advocating that to improve draft position and available money to spend to sign amateur players.

 

Summing up, I infer many posters talking out of both sides of their mouth.

[TheLeviathan]

You're welcome to see if I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth - I'm not.  I believed Buxton should go down to work on his issues.  Rosario too.  If they called up ABW tomorrow I'd call it rushing.  I was fine with Berrios going down to work on his control.

 

I don't believe major league pitching is the place to learn plate discipline and never will.  So while your witch hunt for hypocrisy is cute and all, it's just not true.

 

The White Sox are making a mistake here, for their sake I hope it doesn't hurt their player.  For our sake, I'm glad it isn't us rushing people forward.  I've said it before and I'll keep saying it - do what's best for the kid.  In the long run that's the best way to build a winner.  And that's always the case.

[Otto von Ballpark]

And after 8 games at AAA, the White Sox have activated Justin Morneau:

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/07/white-sox-activate-justin-morneau.html