9:51am: The White Sox are sending their remaining $243,300 of international bonus space to the Pirates in the deal, tweets MLB.com’s Adam Berry. International space typically must be sent in chunks of $250K but are able to trade the remainder of their entire pool as one block if they have under $250K remaining. That’s what happened in this instance.
That pool space will be added to the Pirates’ 2019-20 signing pool. While the international signing period typically runs from July 2 in one year to June 15 the next, the 2019-20 signing period was extended into October while the forthcoming signing period was pushed back into January. Those changes, much like the shortened 2020 Draft, were agreed upon by the league and union as owners sought means of offsetting some of their revenue losses from the pandemic-altered season.
8:58am: The White Sox are set to acquire speedy center fielder Jarrod Dyson from the Pirates, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter). The White Sox are expected to send international bonus pool space to Pittsburgh to complete the deal, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
Dyson, 36, inked a one-year, $2MM deal with the Pirates this winter and is still owed $333K of his prorated $720K salary. That makes him an affordable late-inning defensive upgrade and pinch-running option for the ChiSox, who currently are tied with the Indians for second place in the AL Central and just a half game behind the division-leading Twins.
Dyson is out to a miserable start at the plate, hitting .157/.218/.157 in a tiny sample of 57 plate appearances, but he’s an all-world defender and elite baserunner. Dating back to 2012, Dyson is sixth in the Majors in stolen bases (234), and his 84.7 percent success rate is remarkably efficient. He’s also eighth among MLB outfielders with +79 Defensive Runs Saved in that time despite having played thousands of innings fewer in the field than all but one player (Juan Lagares) ahead of him due to his status as a part-time player.
The White Sox have a full outfield with Eloy Jimenez in left, Luis Robert in center and Nomar Mazara in right. They also have fellow speedster Adam Engel on hand to back up at all three positions, but between Jimenez and Mazara, the corners could both stand to use a defensive upgrade in late, close games. Dyson’s left-handed bat also complements Engel’s righty bat, allowing manager Rick Renteria to optimize his late-inning outfield options based on platoon matchups.
As for the Pirates, they’ll add some additional international funds in exchange for the final month or so of Dyson’s contract. Dealing him also opens up additional reps for the Bucs to take a look at shortstop Cole Tucker in the outfield — an experiment the team has been exploring under the new front office/coaching regime. Dyson was a free agent at season’s end anyhow and clearly not going to receive a qualifying offer, so cashing him in for even a relatively minimal return makes perfect sense for Pittsburgh.
I’ll be happy if the Pirates get anything for Dyson. Even if that’s just international bonus money, or cash in general.
Edit: Didn’t see that that’s what we got, so cool.
That money will be good for one international lotto ticket.
leefieux, I don’t think that’s true. The Pirates can now outbid teams with that extra quarter of a million dollars. That’s not insignificant.
Halo, stop over posting. That is exactly what he implied. ….clearly.
Stop posting? Why are you practicing fascism on a public board?
If you can out bid a team by a quarter of a million dollars and get that player to sign with you, it’s more than a lottery ticket.
That isn’t exactly what he said… not close to exactly what he said. But this is still America, so you can give whatever silly opinion you want.
How good is Dyson’s glove? With that bonus pool money, how many vacuums could they have bought?
Haven’t seen him much recently, but what I seen the glove and speed isn’t what it used to be. Pirates lucky to get anything. Good for them.
BIG news here. Starting the trade deadline with a real barn burner.
There aren’t likely to be any barn burners this season. Taijuan Walker already was dealt, so that’s a bigger name for you.
I had heard IFA space won’t be permitted to be traded in the next cycle.
I guess the 3019-2020 cycle is still going?
yeah i think they may have delayed the start of the next cycle.
I know that.
However, the last cycle was supposed to conclude on June 15th. Apparently, it didn’t.
The article addressed this question.
Clepto and gbs42 – U are the “overposters”!
Perhaps the article wasn’t fully updated when the poster posted.
Good move by Hahn. Watched Cards/Pirates game one yesterday. Extra innings.
Dyson pinch ran for the player who made the last out in seventh and scored.
Defensive in late innings in left.
Can he bunt?
Great move never underestimate a player’s speed ability. Wish the Yankees had more team speed.
Yes, I know this is a short season, but when your stolen base leader has 5 stolen bases, which Tauchman has, you clearly don’t even try to steal a lot.
Stolen bases aren’t as valuable as folks think. If your success rate is below %80 you’re doing more harm than good. Speed on offense is overrated. It helps on defense much more.
Well, good thing Dyson is 85%!
Stolen bases on offense may be overrated, but speed is not. Speed affects a heck of a lot more than just stolen bases.
Speed is good for defense.
Yes, it is. It’s also good for offense. Did I say otherwise?
But Cosmo….is speed good for defense?
Watch a game with a speedy runner on base and see how much it affects the game whether he attempts to steal the base or not. It affects defensive positioning, it affects pitch selection (fewer off speed pitches), it affects pitch location (pitchers less likely to spike a curve), it affects pitchers concentration. It affects outfield positioning, a runner who can take an extra base on a single affects run scoring. As a hitter fast runners can force defenders to hurry, which increases the chance they make a bad throw or some other mistake. It affects defensive positioning/shifting. It affects way more than just getting a stolen base in the box score.
My point is that speed as an offensive weapon, is overrated
TLB, This is what fans believe according to the “eye test” and common, misguided assumptions. Speed has an effect on offense but it is way overstated by many fans such as yourself. It’s like believing that a player being “clutch” is an actual talent. It appears so at first glance but deeper analysis shows it to be false.
Thank you for educating all of us misguided commoners, Cosmo.
Yeah speed helping avoid a double play, infield hit, stolen base, scoring from 1st, tagging up totally overrated. Teams in all sports hate guys with speed. Haha some of you guys are great. Crack me up with your intelligent posts.
Heh… gbs42, I guess I’m a peasant amongst “commoners”… I’m not unaware of the fact that I’m just a random idiot spouting sparsely researched opinions…. heh
Speed matters, just not that much. Count me as a man who believes the stolen base is the most exciting play in the game! But research says that it’s just not that valuable. Not as much as we tend to think. And all the rest? Avoiding double plays, for example? The effect occurs once in a blue moon.
I grew up with the ’80s Cardinals. I loved all the stolen bases, and I still do, even if it’s generally inefficient.
The research you cite talks about the stolen base. My point is the stolen base is only one aspect of speed. Ask players who actually play the game if speed on the bases affects them.
And clutch absolutely is a thing. Baseball is a game played by human beings. It’s not strat-o-matic. Every human being handles emotions and stress differently.
Also you say stolen base is only valuable if you succeed > 80%, Dyson’s career success rate is 86%.
My career ended after college but speed guys were a distraction. Back then you had to worry about the bunt. But even today there are still things. I didn’t want to pay attention to a guy on base. Didn’t want to rush my delivery. Catchers didn’t like speed either. Squeeze play was always something to worry about. Knowing a single scores the guy from 2nd for certain. Infielders fumbling with the ball, not getting a good grip, resorting to bare hand grab. Speed kills in most sports. Think whatever you want. Just don’t hurt yourselves.
1985 Cardinals were perhaps the most exciting team ever.
Dyson to do some damage against former (KC) team over the next couple of weeks!
They have a light-hitting LH outfield who can bunt. Luis Gonzalez.
They had another guy they could have tried – Basabe – but they traded him for nothing
Once again, Hahn gives away an asset as opposed to given one of his own guys a shot.
This is not a good move. It’s a waste of resources.
Too bad lowly Cubbies have NO resources to even make a phone call to make any deal…
Cubs even just fired most of their scouts ’cause they can’t make payroll!
Sox have their speedy baserunner luxury guy. Doesn’t seem to cost Sox much.
$243k of international bonus money they probably had no intention of using isn’t much of an asset at this point in the game. Pretty much all the prospects are off the board.
He put down a nice bunt the other day and beat it out. He reminds me of Kenny Lofton, wish he bunted more for base hits.
Lofton was 100x the player Dyson is
Lofton belongs in the HOF
I can see the Kenny lofton, but to me he is more of a Ricky Henderson or young Barry Bonds.
Lofton has a career bWar of 68.7, and was the premiere leadoff hitter during his era. Dyson has always been a fourth outfielder, even with the Royals. There is no comparison.
Late inning D of Robert, Engel and Dyson would be great but it does look like Dyson has lost a step. Engel (3rd) and Robert (10th) have 2 of the fastest sprint speeds in baseball, but dyson is way down the list and a slightly below average defender this year (20 games only of course). Can’t hurt.
Cleared a spot for Alford and got some slot money. Nice work.
If the Sox ONLY need him to be a pinch runner, good move for them.
Exactly. This isnt necessarily playing time for Tucker. I bet it is a look-see on the Alford lottery ticket.
Tucker has not impressed me yet in CF. Love the enthusiam, but raw. If Alford finds his own, Tucker becomes a tradable piece in the offseason. Lets face it: Dyson had no place on this team. Trading him for pool money was a win/win.
Tucker should still be viewed as a SS. He’s better there defensively than Newman and has more overall upside than Gonzalez. It honestly baffles me that he hasn’t played even an inning there yet this year.
Sorry JT, but disagree completely with value positioning. Basis: I view team is sneaky competitve in 2023. Things seem to line up then. Maybe 2024. That being said, Newman, Reynolds and Keller are the only untouchables on the current roster, in my view. Tucker might be displaced by Gonzalez for glove, and Newman has better bat. I just dont see a place for him except maybe 2B, or as an extra OF. He has higher trade value than keeping him in as utulity, or light hitting OF.
Agree!
Newman is much better suited for 2B than SS. Once the Pirates trade Adam Frazier, Newman should move fulltime to 2B, openeing the door for O’Neil Cruz at SS next year. Tucker is a great guy to root for, but offensively, he’ll probably never be anything more than a bench piece.
I still have a lot of doubts on O’neil being a SS. Probably will wind up being a COF. Also probably wont be ready next year since he hasn’t hit above AA and the Pirates will have nothing to play for.
Probably RF for Cruz. Definitely not short long term. They have some better guys coming up there.
González should not be in the long term plans for this team, and otherwise Tucker is easily the best defensive SS anywhere near the majors in the organization. Putting him in the OF or in a utility role long term is misusing his abilities, he’s only there now to get reps on offense (or so I hope). Newman’s best place long term is 2B, and Tucker still has enough potential with the bat that he should currently be viewed as the long term SS, he just needs a real shot. Unless they actually think Cruz can stick there, which is doubtful.
Jkuch-Gonzalez can be the super utilityman.I agree that Tucker should be playing shortstop full time which would maximize the chance that he would be most comfortable hitting.Let Newman play second base and trade Frazier or use him like they used to as a utilityman.
Cruz will end up playing the outfield which is where they should move him now.
They can give Martin and Alford a chance now in the outfield.
It wasn’t too many years ago that they had a top 3 ML outfield.
Not anymore!
Still can’t believe the White Sox gave up an actual prospect to acquire Nomar Mazara.
They traded away a guy who’s only a year younger (now 24) than Mazara (now 25), and hadn’t played above single A.
He turned 24 last month and would’ve certainly been in AA this year. Don;’t frame it that way. They traded for a career 1.9 WAR guy in 2000 Pa’s. Mazara stinks
Ok, Mazara turned 25 in April. So he’s 1 year and ~3 or 4 months older. Walker’s OPS in High A was .771. Not exactly a shoe-in for a promotion. I do agree that Mazara has stunk, and should be on a very short leash.
Walker was going to be in AA. He was a 2nd round pick in 2018 and was on a clear promotion path. A very typical one at that. He’s not a shoe in to be a decent major leaguer but he is a real prospect. There were about 10 better free agent options than Mazara that would have cost 0 prospects.
1 of them is still out there today. Yasiel Puig.
Mazara is a former top prospect who is still relatively young. It was a change of scenery/upside play for a very low grade prospect. I liked it at the time (I’m not a Sox fan) but it clearly hasn’t worked out, as often happens
Why is Walker a low grade prospect? He was a 2nd round pick who signed for 2 million bucks, Last year was his first full minor league season and he wasn’t overmatched. He’s definitely a solid prospect with a chance to be big league regular.
Yes, that’s why 30 teams are fighting over Puig. Not.
Hur hur hur hur. I see we’ve located the artist formerly knows as “ChiSox city”
Phones are ringing off the hook for Nomahhhh Mazara aren’t they!???!?! Maybe next year will be the year he bats the big league average! After all the 5th time is the charm!
He’s what around 10 in the (weak) Rangers system. Numbers don’t pop out to me. Screams low level prospect to me. Still a prospect as opposed to just a minor leaguer but quite low level. Draft position means very little in MLB
He was a well overslot 2nd rounder (2 million) who played his first season of minor league baseball last year and was solid. He has the tools to be a big league CF. He’s a fine prospect. He may not pan out but he
isnt low grade.
It was a real prospect for a guy who has hit below the league average in all 4 of his big league seasons. All 4 seasons played in a hitters paradise. After 2000 PA’s you have a real clear picture on who the guy is. Nomar Mazara stinks.
Mazara’s floor is MLB replacement level. Maybe he never improves beyond that. Off the top of my head, J.D. Martinez/Jose Bautista figured it out late.
Last year, Walker’s High A OPS was .771, That’s about where Mazara’s was at the MLB level, and they’re roughly a year apart in age.
Point is, the trade isn’t some kind of disaster.
JB67, are you Walker’s agent?
Still my favorite player, wish he was still a Royal
Good move for both teams. Dyson has a ton of late inning value, especially in 7 inning games. Pirates had no use for him
Frankly, if the Pirates obtained some slot-machine nickels for Dyson, this would be a win.
He’s the man at second in extra innings games….
That was one of my first thoughts. Unless that person is already Engel, Robert, or Madrigal, Dyson should be the PR.
This is dumb. You are giving away money to sign young talent to acquire a washed up play who has a bWAR of -0.7, all because the player you acquired has been a bust.
Play Engel, and give Gonzalez a chance. Another bonehead Hahn move.
You do understand the WSox window is now….not in 5 years. Not sure what games you are watching, but I see a WS caliber offensive lineup when I watch.
Another Bonehead Hahn move? the dude literally setup the White Sox to be a legit contender for at least the next 5 years and most of the core is locked down to long term cheap deals as well. My goodness, some fans are just never happy.
Dyson was aquired for spare change, there is nothing to get upset about here.
I see both sides. I don’t like giving up int’l money because that’s the area the Sox have been best at scouting, but at the same time, having an OF of Engel, Robert, and Dyson to protect late leads or Dyson being a PR, if it wins just one playoff game, could be well worth it.
-0.7 bWAR means absolutely nothing to the Sox. He’s not being acquired to be an everyday player. He will have a specific role on this team, and it’s one that he is extremely well suited for.
Again, my problem is that they have a player on the roster already who pretty much can serve the same purpose as Dyson.
Luis Gonzalez is a plus defender with solid speed who hits left-handed. They have literally given him no chance to show what he can do.
This is another example of the team going out to acquire a player without first attempting to see what their own guys can do if given the chance. And in this case, they gave up money that could help bring another player into the pipeline.
Without Covid roster expansions and injuries, Matt Foster would probably still be in the minors, as well as Codi Heuer. There is absolutely no reason to have not given Gonzalez more reps, especially since Engel can’t hit LHP and Mazara stinks.
And yes, Hahn has made too many boneheaded moves, including the one that led them to have to acquire this player in the first place – Nomar Mazara.
I completely understand that. I was on the Yermin Mercedes bandwagon last year when they were wasting at-bats on Wellington Castillo – which led them to waste money on EE instead of playing Yermin and/or Collins. I also don’t understand why they brought up Gonzalez if they didn’t have ANY intentions of giving him a shot. I also want them to give Dunning weekly starts and piggyback Gonzalez with him until he’s up to speed stamina-wise rather than going out of the organization for a starter this year. They have messed up many, many times in my opinion.
That being said, I would 100% rather have Dyson than Gonzalez in this specific role at this specific time.
And quite frankly, despite Engel not being able to hit *RHP, I’m perfectly fine with him getting regular starts vs righties this year. With him and Robert, the OF defense is ridiculously good, and unlike previous years, they have more than enough talent in the lineup to makeup for his poor bat.
Dyson is very good in CF so he has that going for him. Which is unusual considering he’s like 107 years old.
His defensive metrics this year are very bad. He’s washed up.
Yea age is gonna catch up sooner or later
I’m not a white Sox expert, but I doubt very much they acquired him so that Luis Robert can ride the pine in late innings. He’s going to play RF I bet.
I’d bet LF. An outfield with Dyson, Robert, and Engel. No ball will ever get down.
I don’t think they’ve given up on Eloy just yet, even though that’s been, to put it nicely, an “adventure.” I think he’ll be primarily a late-inning defensive replacement and PR.
I was specifically talking about late innings as a defensive replacement, which I believe is what TLB was referring to as well. They aren’t even close to giving up on Eloy in LF – nor should they be.
OK, I thought you were implying Eloy being DH, like some have suggested. EE’s slow start makes him an unexpected liability, but I’m still hoping he turns it around.
I wouldn’t hold your breath. He looks pretty washed. I wouldn’t play him against anybody that throws harder than ~90mph. Any faster than that, he has to completely guess to make up for his diminished bat speed. That’s what I see at least. Hopefully I’m wrong though because I know they won’t just move on.
I will take that bet.
lol Sox were like “take our spare change”
Dude was horrid this year, he was only in Pittsburgh because no one else would give him a major league contract
Would like to see Oliva get some reps this year
Good for the pirates for turning something out of nothing here. Rough move for the Sox. I don’t think he’s worth the cash he’s paid… seems someone on the market would have been a better option in my humble opinion…. even in your own organization
He brings great speed and defense. That’s not something teams can just snap up on the open market at any time. PIT signed him to trade him later, and it worked.
Frankly the Bucs could have received a Dyson vacuum in return and this would still be a good move.
And they would both suck!
Why do they need another OF? they’re overloaded with them
Unless its like Dyson for Engel.
The White Sox will have some extraordinary defense and speed in their outfield to help protect late inning leads with Luis Robert, Adam Engel and Jarrod Dyson, to say nothing of the pinch-running ability of the latter two on the bench.
How often does a pinch runner actually effect the outcome of a game? Once a decade?
If your talking about the Sox alone over the past decade, then your hyperbole might be somewhat true. On a team with a lineup this stacked, pinch runners are huge. For example, hitters will see more fastballs.
2004 was the last time.
With the new extra innings rules, it makes a bigger difference. If you could choose between Abreu on 2nd to start the inning or Dyson, especially at home, the choice is easy.
A solid pinch runner who can play solid defense? Like Basabe? Or Gonzalez?
It’s not a lot of money, and it’s not a lot of player.
The Eloy Whisperer?
This doesn’t move the needle, but I don’t mind adding a veteran outfielder to a team with a very young roster. While the Sox do already have Abreu and Encarnacion providing veteran leadership, adding someone in the outfield with years of experience who can be a resource to the young OF core, can’t hurt. And he has some post-season experience.
I don’t like the White Sox sending Int’l bonus money. If there’s one area of scouting they’ve been pretty good at, it’s international players. And now that the rules have changed, that bonus money is bigger than it used to be. Dyson is better than some of their other options, but I don’t like this deal when they could have taken a chance on some 16-yr old out of Cuba or something.
The White Sox have forfeited their remaining 2019-2020 international signing pool dollars which expire in October. Those funds could have only gotten them a ‘lotto pick’.
What they do have is their full allowance for the 2020-2021 signing period, one in which they are expected to officially announce the signing of Cuban RHP Norge Vera (mlb.com/prospects/international/norge-vera-694195) as soon as that begins in January.
The White Sox are also strongly connected with two-way Cuban prospect Oscar Colas (yahoo.com/now/oscar-colas-the-cuban-ohtani-is-comi…). Colas also went as far as posting pictures on social media wearing White Sox gear (soxon35th.com/2020/05/25/cuban-prospect-oscar-cola…).
The White Sox have also been mentioned as a possible suitor for the top overall international prospect, Cuban OF Yoelqui Cespedes who is the younger half-brother of Yoenis Cespedes.
The White Sox traded their remaining 2019-2020 pool dollars for a useful asset as they look to solidify their chances down the stretch and for a deep post-season run in October. They are also primed to be very active during the next international signing period, one in which they may actually need to acquire additional pool dollars to secure some of the bigger names they are connected with.
Can’t rely on every stat as his DRS would suggest more playing time would be coming his way. Note that Lagares was just DFAed.
Dyson’s comment when asked why he signed with the Pirates was classic…”Ain’t much out there.”
Did he mean on the Pirates or offers for himself?
He clearly did not want to be here ,so I say good riddance.
I think that he still does the things well that he always has done well but he has become an even worse ML hitter which was hard to do.
His hitting is so poor, can they really afford to give a roster spot to someone whose only playing time will be either as a pinch runner or late inning defensive replacement?
At least they did not trade any young talent. But it’s hard to justify a roster spot for someone this limited. I guess with Garcia out and Delmonico being utterly useless, Dyson would be their only backup outfielder aside from Engel. Maybe he will steal a key base when pinch running for Encarnacion sometime, who knows! Hard to get excited about this move.
“can they really afford to give a roster spot to someone whose only playing time will be either as a pinch runner or late inning defensive replacement”
This year? With expanded rosters? Absolutely.
They were already doing it with Goins (who sucks at everything). At least Dyson brings something to the table, unlike Goins and Delmonico.
Yea I’m not BBN in favor of defunding. But bgg these young cops are trigger happy. I’m 65. When I was 21 I knew a cop age 45, he looked like burt Reynolds, he said he never pulled his service revolver in 20 years on the force. I know it was 1976. Just saying that these cops need more training. And I know about 8 cops now, and they are dismayed at what’s going on.
Looks like Anthony Alford might finally get a shot in CF for the Bucs… he’s only 26, and was a top 60 prospect as recently as 2018… and he’s one of the fastest players in MLB. Cherington knows him from Toronto’s farm system.
No offense to anyone, but it would be better to keep comments specific to baseball. I share people’s outrage and desire to express that, but there are plenty of forums for that.
I”m just saying, the media bombards people with stories and we hear of a shooting like this repeatedly, which is fine. But this is just a baseball forum, where people might not want to hear about COVID or police brutality for a little while. People need a break from serious, heavy topics once in a while, and that has never been more true than 2020. I say that respectfully, not diminishing the importance of the topic, just saying people need a break from that stuff sometimes, too. This is not the forum for people who want to discuss serious social or political issues. Respect and best to all.
Pods hit at least one HR in the post season in 2005 because when you have that many HR threats at the plate the weaker guys see more fastballs. What Pods did best is pressure teams into mistakes. That’s more important than a stolen base in a game. Just ask the cubs. This move by Hahn couldn’t come at a better time because this year extra innings start with a man on 2nd & the roster’s have not been larger.
Yeah, like Nutting will let Cherington actually spend it.
Why? As a Pirates fan, glad to have him out of the lineup. Unless you’re trying to get worse, not sure why you’d get this gu.y.