New GM Joshua Dobner has completed his first week of the offseason for the ChiSox, all leading up to the start of Free Agency. Dobner proclaimed to the media prior to the past few days that there were holes that needed filling before this ChiSox team could take a step into the upcoming free agent market. After a flurry of trades and five new faces within the ChiSox roster I think it is fair to say that some holes were filled; while others were not.

New faces: Zach Grienke, Engel Beltre (pending), Doug Cain, Jeff Francouer and Sammy Forbes.
Out: Al Clements, Tedd Lucas, Elton Williams (pending), Raul Rodriguez (pending), Carlos Lucero, Rafael Jimenez (pending) and Brad Duncan.

Reporter: It has been a busy few days to say the least Mr. Dobner.

Dobner: I think my staff and I have logged enough phone calls to last the entire offseason, that is for sure.

Reporter: You said there were holes that needed to be filled when you got hired. These holes included the rotation, defense and speed; along with depth. Can you explain to some of the critics where you feel the ChiSox went in the right direction this offseason?

Dobner: The number one hole that this organization faced coming into this offseason was the starting rotation. We added a slight risk/high reward top of the rotation starter in Doug Cain. Cain brings us the abiliy to anchor our rotation with a 200 IP/200 K guy. We are not at all concerned with the HRs you have seem come off of him the past few seasons. We are not expecting to curb his movement issue altogether but we do feel that our improved OF and our ballpark can lower that number below 30; maybe even 25 next season. We also were able to acquire Zach Greinke; a guy we feel can provide solid innings for us in 2016. At this point Greinke would be pitching in our #2 spot; but pending a few other moves he could land in the #3 or #4 spot before Spring Training comes along.

Reporter: Tedd Lucas was one of the players that went to the Defending Champions, the Marlins, in the trade for Doug Cain. What do you say to the critics who think Lucas was more of an asset to the 2016 ChiSox than Cain can be.

Dobner: Tedd Lucas is a fantastic young reliever; there is no doubting that. He is a Top 10 MLSB prospect and he deserves to be there. We are getting Cain at 4.5 mil a year for two guaranteed with an option; a very affordable price for a rotation anchor like Cain. He could pitch 600 Ks/600 IPs with 45 wins for the combined price of around 14 million; that is less than most anchors in the MLSB receive for one or two years of service.

Repoter: Tell the Chicago hopeful a little about Sammy Forbes and why the ChiSox went in division to grab this guy from rival Minnesota.

Dobner: Forbes was just a few ABs short of having a great chance at capturing the 2015 Batting Crown for the AL. In 400 plus at bats he put up a .327 average and swiped 18 bases very quietly. What we like about Forbes, outside of already being familiar with AL Central pitching, is that he can be a bottom of the order guy with speed who can provide solid hitting and SS/3B defense.

Reporter: Where does Aybar, who put up solid 2015 numbers, fit into the future plans of this organization?

Dobner: Willy Aybar is a great soul, a good player and plays solid defense at enough positions that he will be a solid entity within our organization hopefully until he retires.

Reporter: Where does Forbes fit into the starting lineup for 2016?

Dobner: There are still plenty of days, weeks and months to get through until we make our final Spring Training decisions. With Forbes and Aybar there are about five or six different defense combinations we can et out of them; this is definitely something that we value in both of them going into free agency.

Reporter: Jeff Francouer was brought over for cash considerations from the Brewers; was this a depth move?

Dobner: Jeff Francouer is still a solid MLSB player, at age 31, and we expect him to be competitive in our OF plans for 2016. He has proven himself to be a clubhouse leader, he adds solid defense and can run the bases when asked.

Reporter: That brings us to the newest trade, still pending contract negotations, with Engel Beltre coming over to the ChiSox for three pitching prospects. What prompted this club to move five pitching prospects over the course of this early offseason?

Dobner: Perales, Carson and Si have our bullpen in very good standing going into 2016. While Lucas will be missed, there was not another 'guaranteed thing' we moved this offseason. Rafael Jimenez and Elton Williams certainly have high upside but are both years away from making a MLSB impact; that is a year or two longer than we expect the ChiSox to be winners. We were able to keep Sammy Ward, who had a fantastic AAA campaign in 2015, and that is something that we wanted from the beginning. When my crew and I sat down at the beginning of this week we penciled Ward into our Spring Training rotation almost immediately; so I am very happy we were able to get the talent we got in the door while keeping him in the fold for 2016.

Reporter: What did your group see in Engel Beltre that led to this trade?

Dobner: We actually contacted the Braves first; that is how positive we are that Beltre will be effective for us in 2016. He is a true star going through a few rough transitions in his game.

Reporter: A rough transition is correct, his numbers have declined significantly over the past few seasons; is this a concern at all?

Dobner: Beltre's talent level, for the price we will get him, is off the charts. Even in the midst of putting up a sub .300 OBP in 2015 he managed to hit nearly 25 HRs and approach 100 RBIs. I have not had a chance to sit down with him and delve a little deeper into the recent stats he has posted but we are hoping a change of scenary and a new contract will get those stats back to where they were in the beginning of his still young career. Do not forget however that this deal, the Beltre deal, is still pending contract negotations between the Braves and himself.

Reporter: Do you have a figure, a number that Beltre and the Braves are coming to?

Dobner: I can tell you that it is around a 3 year deal for under $5 million a season. We regard Beltre as a five tool guy and we are very pleased that he will hopefully soon be calling Chicago his home.

Repoter: Going forward and into free agency, what are the key needs for this ChiSox team?

Dobner: The free agent market is still a bit of a mystery at this point, many players who will be coming out have not declared which way they are headed. In that regard it is hard for me to really put a finger on the holes we expect to shore up. In a perfect world we would like to improve our defense behind the plate, moving Hernandez to the DH spot for 2016. Adding another SP or a defensive SS out of free agency is also two tasks that we would like to tackle.

Reporter: How much money are the ChiSox expecting to move this offseason?

Dobner: That is not something that we know at this point. I can say that we are planning on giving the city of Chicago a winner in the ChiSox this season and that they can expect more new faces going forward.