White Sox/Royals exchange former Cub prospects

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Andrew Sisco-R-White Sox Dec. 16 - 12:31 pm et

 

 

White Sox acquired LHP Andrew Sisco from the Royals for first baseman Ross Gload.

 

 

 

Ross Gload-1B-Royals Dec. 16 - 12:31 pm et

 

 

Royals acquired first baseman Ross Gload from the White Sox for LHP Andrew Sisco.

 

[cheapseats]

I really like this move for the Sox.

[Post Count Padder]

Rotoworld's take:

 

Andrew Sisco-R-White Sox Dec. 16 - 12:31 pm et

 

 

White Sox acquired LHP Andrew Sisco from the Royals for first baseman Ross Gload.

 

This definitely helps make up for less-than-stellar returns for Neal Cotts and Freddy Garcia. Gload has had nice runs with the White Sox two of the last three years, but that didn't necessarily mean he was going to remain a useful bench player. Rob Mackowiak can take over his at-bats next season without the White Sox losing anything. In Sisco, the White Sox get a 6-foot-9 left-hander with still outstanding upside. We'd like to see what he could do as a starter if he received a half-season in Triple-A first. Most likely, the White Sox will keep him in the pen and look for a rebound from a 2006 in which he had a 7.10 ERA. He has options remaining, so if things don't work out right away, he can be sent down to Charlotte.

 

 

Ross Gload-1B-Royals Dec. 16 - 12:31 pm et

 

 

Royals acquired first baseman Ross Gload from the White Sox for LHP Andrew Sisco.

 

Awful. At least Rafael Soriano for Horacio Ramirez could be justified by the not quite non-existent chance that Ramirez could somehow be a No. 3 starter in the AL. Gload is a 30-year-old backup first baseman with little chance of being more than a useful pinch-hitter going forward. Sisco is a 24-year-old left-hander with terrific stuff who the Royals made the mistake of forcing into the bullpen. Players like Gload are available as minor league free agents every year. Players like Sisco become available only when you're lucky enough to catch a bad GM on the right day. We're growing less impressed with Dayton Moore by the minute. Gload can hit a little in his limited role, but he's no better equipped to help the Royals than Justin Huber is. Huber is probably the next youngster Moore will sell off for at a big discount.

 

[BigbadB]

Odd trade. A young left handed arm with tons of potential for a guy that would be lucky to get an invite to minor league camp from any major league teams this offseason.

[cheapseats]

Rotoworld's take:

 

Sisco is a 24-year-old left-hander with terrific stuff who the Royals made the mistake of forcing into the bullpen.

 

 

I disagree with this part of the analysis. He was a Rule 5 pickup in 2005, and the bullpen made sense as a way to keep him on the roster. Also, he's still young enough that limiting his pitches is probably a smart idea. Keeping him in the bullpen is one way to do that (but not the only way, of course).

[TXCubsFan]

Odd trade. A young left handed arm with tons of potential for a guy that would be lucky to get an invite to minor league camp from any major league teams this offseason.

 

Let's see. A franchise (Cubs) that values, if not overvalues, hard-throwing pitching prospects exposes Sisco to the Rule V draft. Another franchise (Royals), desperate for starting pitching, trades Sisco for a generic bench player.

 

Speaks volumes about Sisco's makeup, doesn't it?

[BigbadB]

Odd trade. A young left handed arm with tons of potential for a guy that would be lucky to get an invite to minor league camp from any major league teams this offseason.

 

Let's see. A franchise (Cubs) that values, if not overvalues, hard-throwing pitching prospects exposes Sisco to the Rule V draft. Another franchise (Royals), desperate for starting pitching, trades Sisco for a generic bench player.

 

Speaks volumes about Sisco's makeup, doesn't it?

 

Possibly. I found it to be really strange that the Royals didn't send him to AAA last year to stretch him back out in a starting role.

 

It will be interesting to see what the Sox do with him.

[Deeg]

There were serious questions about Randy Johnson's "makeup", too. Love this trade for the Sox.

[TXCubsFan]

Odd trade. A young left handed arm with tons of potential for a guy that would be lucky to get an invite to minor league camp from any major league teams this offseason.

 

Let's see. A franchise (Cubs) that values, if not overvalues, hard-throwing pitching prospects exposes Sisco to the Rule V draft. Another franchise (Royals), desperate for starting pitching, trades Sisco for a generic bench player.

 

Speaks volumes about Sisco's makeup, doesn't it?

 

Possibly. I found it to be really strange that the Royals didn't send him to AAA last year to stretch him back out in a starting role.

 

It will be interesting to see what the Sox do with him.

 

I agree. Even if Sisco had failed to take to a starting role, the Royals always could have returned him to the pen.

[Coach C]

As most of us remember, Sisco had issues with his weight and attitude at one point as a Cub, didn't he?

[Bruce Miles]

There were serious questions about Randy Johnson's "makeup", too. Love this trade for the Sox.

 

The questions about Johnson weren't like they were with Sisco. We'll see what happens the first time he runs afoul of Ozzie. A third franchise this early means there are definite red flags.

[oldcubsfan]

There were serious questions about Randy Johnson's "makeup", too. Love this trade for the Sox.

 

The questions about Johnson weren't like they were with Sisco. We'll see what happens the first time he runs afoul of Ozzie. A third franchise this early means there are definite red flags.

 

Doesn't he have the same type of "makeup" questions that Jenks had?

[Bruce Miles]

There were serious questions about Randy Johnson's "makeup", too. Love this trade for the Sox.

 

The questions about Johnson weren't like they were with Sisco. We'll see what happens the first time he runs afoul of Ozzie. A third franchise this early means there are definite red flags.

 

Doesn't he have the same type of "makeup" questions that Jenks had?

 

Get your calculator out and hit the multiplication key. Believe me, there were people in the Cubs organization from teammates on up who weren't sad to see this guy go.

[BigbadB]

Do you think the Cubs would have then attempted to work a trade with KC if he wasn't working out so well on the 25 man roster in 2005 rather than have him return to the club?

[oldcubsfan]

There were serious questions about Randy Johnson's "makeup", too. Love this trade for the Sox.

 

The questions about Johnson weren't like they were with Sisco. We'll see what happens the first time he runs afoul of Ozzie. A third franchise this early means there are definite red flags.

 

Doesn't he have the same type of "makeup" questions that Jenks had?

 

Get your calculator out and hit the multiplication key. Believe me, there were people in the Cubs organization from teammates on up who weren't sad to see this guy go.

 

That's what I had heard also. Thanks.

It should be interesting to see how happy Ozzie will be with his act.

[Bruce Miles]

Do you think the Cubs would have then attempted to work a trade with KC if he wasn't working out so well on the 25 man roster in 2005 rather than have him return to the club?

 

If he wasn't working out well, the Royals, bad as they were, might have offered him back to the Cubs, and they would have taken him back. At the time they let him go, they had other guys in the system to whom they had to send a message. Perform well, play by the rules, be a good teammate, and you'll have a shot at being on the 40-man roster. It's the same in any workplace. If you were doing all the right things but somebody your bosses deemed as "talented" got ahead despite a spotty record in behavioral and other areas, you wouldn't have been happy. That's what the Cubs were faced with back during the 2004 Rule 5 draft.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Rotoworld's take:

 

Sisco is a 24-year-old left-hander with terrific stuff who the Royals made the mistake of forcing into the bullpen.

 

 

I disagree with this part of the analysis. He was a Rule 5 pickup in 2005, and the bullpen made sense as a way to keep him on the roster. Also, he's still young enough that limiting his pitches is probably a smart idea. Keeping him in the bullpen is one way to do that (but not the only way, of course).

 

Well, keeping him in the bullpen in 2006 didn't make much sense. Send him to AAA and have him work on starting again.

[Elrhino]

Over/under on how long he stays in Ozzie's good graces? I give it maybe until the end of Spring Training. I bet he's with a new organization by July.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

Sisco pulled the same crap here in KC he did with the Cubs. When he struggled, he wouldn't listen to anybody, this guy thinks he's the cat's meow, he has a very serious atttitude problem. Royals decided they'd had enough. Rotoworld can get as snippy about it as they want, but the fact is right now at least, all Andy Sisco is worth is Ross Gload. I applaud the Royals for moving on.

[NorthsideAvenger]

I am going out on a limb and say the White Sox will not be Andy Sisco's last professional team he plays for. I see Sisco making the rounds like Mike Morgan.

 

Now, it will be fun to see Ozzie trying to talk smack while having to look up to Sisco. That scene would remind me of a child asking for candy. Good luck Sisco, good luck Ozzie.

 

And maybe Sisco should consider wrestling as an option, after Kenny Williams moves him before 2007 is out.

[DiamondMind]

I still remember when I was at a Peoria Chiefs game with a friend, and Sisco came to town as part of the Lugnuts. We asked him for an autograph, pre-game, and were told "Can't you all just wait?" in a very rude, almost annoyed voice. Post game, about 3/4 of the Lugnuts came out to sign autographs, since there were more Lugnuts than Chiefs fans there, and of course - no Sisco.

[Outshined_One]

As most of us remember, Sisco had issues with his weight and attitude at one point as a Cub, didn't he?

 

Yep. He was reportedly massively overweight while pitching for Daytona at the start of their season a couple of years back. He also broke his non-pitching hand. One account was that he was really frustrated with an outing and punched a wall out of anger. Another account was that he got into a fight with JK Ryu over who had a larger signing bonus. Ryu apparently won that fight on both accounts.

 

This could turn out to be a Bobby Jenks-like move for the Sox in having an overweight guy with attitude problems finally reach his upside. Or he could end up being an enormous headache and eat himself out of baseball.

 

Either way, I'm impressed the White Sox actually got something of value for Gload.

[Guest]

There were serious questions about Randy Johnson's "makeup", too. Love this trade for the Sox.

 

The questions about Johnson weren't like they were with Sisco. We'll see what happens the first time he runs afoul of Ozzie. A third franchise this early means there are definite red flags.

 

Doesn't he have the same type of "makeup" questions that Jenks had?

 

Get your calculator out and hit the multiplication key. Believe me, there were people in the Cubs organization from teammates on up who weren't sad to see this guy go.

I know JK wasn't sad.

[TruffleShuffle]

Yeah regardless of an attitude problem, he's a talented guy in his mid-20s who has had success at the major league level. Why you'd trade that away for a guy like Gload who is pretty much just roster-filler is beyond me.

[Danny82]

Sisco pulled the same crap here in KC he did with the Cubs. When he struggled, he wouldn't listen to anybody, this guy thinks he's the cat's meow, he has a very serious atttitude problem. Royals decided they'd had enough. Rotoworld can get as snippy about it as they want, but the fact is right now at least, all Andy Sisco is worth is Ross Gload. I applaud the Royals for moving on.

 

I agree.

 

I have a rather strong feeling that Sisco will never realize anything near his full potential.

 

Maybe exposing him in the Rule V draft wasn't really all that perplexing.