Rumore and Fact

Clare texted on Saturday that the White Sox were about to sing free-agent outfielder Marcell Ozuna.  When she came over Sunday to help put up the tree, I let her know she’d been the victim of a rumor.  “Don‘t feel bad,” I counselled.  “I saw somewhere that the Yankees had signed Gerrit Cole.”  Now, that’s what you call both rumor and fact.  Just today, New York signed Cole to a nine-year, $324 million deal.  Want to bet Lucas Giolito writes those numbers down for future reference?

This morning, Clare called as she was waiting for the bus that takes her from the train station in the West Loop to work on north Michigan Avenue.  “The White Sox traded for somebody named” Omar Mazara, he of the 500-plus foot homerun against Reynaldo Lopez of the Sox last summer in Texas.  The deal should make Lopez happy, if no one else.  

I’m sensing a general feeling of disappointment amongst all those Sox GM-wannabes out there.  The Sox didn’t get Zack Wheeler, and they certainly didn’t get caught up chasing after Cole, or Ozuna, for that matter.  Oh, boo-hoo.  Why go after big free agents if you don’t know how good the next batch of rookies—namely center fielder Luis Robert and infielder Nick Madrigal and starter Michael Kopech—is going to be?  I guess nobody’s from Missouri these days.

Mazara will turn 25 come April, with a .261 BA; 79 home runs; and 308 RBIs over a four-year career; the Sox have two years of control.  It pains me to say this, but I think this is a good move by Rick Hahn.  He gets a player who can be expected to hit 20 homers while driving in 70 runs, this at the cost of a minor leaguer who has yet to reach Double A.  With luck, Mazara will see how Jose Abreu goes about his job and do likewise.

In which case, nobody will care about Marcell Ozuna.