Yolmers Gatorade’s Offseason Plan

PREAMBLE

I think the White Sox need to do two things this offseason:  (1) field a 2019 team with MLB caliber players at every position and (2) not mortgage any of the team’s prospect stock.  I also do not think the Sox are going to be able to get Machado or Harper to sign with them.  A currently contending team, the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Cubs, ect., will be able to match any offer the Sox make, and Machado and Harper will want to play for a team they can see contending right away.  I do not think the Sox will be the type of team in 2019 that will be an obvious contender.  However, I think with the team I choose to field, the Sox will be a dark horse to upset the Indians in the Central in 2019, especially if the Indians fail to improve.

ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS

Write “tender” or “non-tender” after each player. Feel free to offer explanation afterward if necessary.

Jose Abreu, $16M — tender

Avisail Garcia, $8M — tender

Yolmer Sanchez, $4.7M — tender

Carlos Rodon, $3.7M — tender

Matt Davidson, $2.4M — tender

Leury Garcia, $1.9M — tender

Danny Farquhar, $1.4M — non-tender but off minor league deal.

I understand the anti-Avi sentiment, but I do not think the Sox will be able to get a better player on a one year deal at a similar price.  I like that Avi has only one year left because if all else fails the Sox can let him go next season and start giving time to some of the prospects.  If Avi shows the same 2017 form or something in between his 2018 and 2017 selves, the Sox can trade him or keep him around if they are contending with Cleveland.  The other players I think are pretty obvious tenders.

CLUB OPTIONS

Write “pick up” or “decline” after the option.

Nate Jones, $4.65 million/$1.25M buyout — pick up

James Shields, $16 million/$2M buyout – decline

It will be hard to find similar bullpen help as Jones for $4.65 million.  I am going to hope for the best on the injury front.

OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS

Miguel Gonzalez (made $4.75 million in 2018) — let go

Hector Santiago (made $2 million in 2018 — added) – let go.  No point in having Davidson train as a pitcher if Davidson cannot get the mop up role innings.

FREE AGENTS

Nathan Eovaldi: 4 years $60 million

He could go for more money with how he is playing in the playoffs and the stuff he is showing touching triple digits pretty often.  I like that the Sox can move him to the bullpen if he keeps getting injured.  With the Sox young bullpen talent, I do not think he needs to go 6+ innings often.  It would be pretty sick for the Sox to be able to go a full 9 innings with pitchers who can touch triple digits, but they would with Eovaldi starting and some of their bullpen pieces.

Kelvin Herrera: 3 years $30 million

The Sox need a veteran to start the season as closer to decrease the pressure on their young bullpen.  Herrera is an old hand in the Central Division, and played really well for the Royals last year before being traded.  I think he can hold his value as a 1.5-2 WAR player over the three years.  He can start at closer and swing back to a high leverage reliever if one of the younger bullpen arms overtakes him.

Brian Dozier: 1 year $10 million

The Sox take a chance on a guy coming off a down season but fairly recently showed some big power.  If Dozier regains his form, the Sox will either have a 3+ WAR player to help propel them towards contention or trade at the deadline.  Dozier was not horrible last year either.  He seems like a good piece for the Sox to take a chance on, and I think he would like the contract and playing time to rebuild his value as an MLB player.

Leonys Martin: 2 years $10 million

He played well for Detroit last year.  His defensive metrics are close to Engel, and his slugging percentage is over .400.  If the Sox prospects are ready by 2020, he can slide over into a 4th outfielder role easily as well.

TRADES

Jose Rondon and Ian Clarkin to the Yankees for Sonny Gray.

The Yankees told the rest of the league they are trading Gray, so I do not think there is any need to offer too much for him.  The Yankees get a decent shortstop to fill in until Didi Gregorius returns and can have their Ian Clarkin back.  Maybe the Sox throw in another low level prospect if that is necessary to make the deal work, but I do not see any need to offer more than this.

SUMMARY

Here is the lineup, rotation, and bullpen

  1. CF – Leonys Martin
  2. 2B – Brian Dozier
  3. 1B – Jose Abreu
  4. DH – Daniel Palka/Matt Davidson
  5. LF – Eloy Jimenez
  6. RF – Avi Garcia
  7. 3B – Yoan Moncada
  8. C – Omar Narvaez/Wellington Castillo
  9. SS – Tim Anderson

Bench: Davidson, Castillo, Leury Garcia, Yolmer Sanchez

Rotation:

Carlos Rodon

Nathan Eovaldi

Reynaldo Lopez

Sonny Gray

Lucas Giolito

Bullpen

CP – Kelvin Herrera

RP – Nate Jones

RP – Jace Fry (L)

RP – Aaron Bummer (L)

RP – Ian Hamilton

RP – Juan Minaya

RP – Caleb Frare (L)

(Matt Davidson doing double duty)

Like I said, this Sox team will field MLB caliber players are every position.  The payroll comes out to about $110 million.  I think it makes commitments to players who can be a part of the next winning team (Eovaldi, Herrera, maybe Martin) and makes a couple good gambles on players that can either make the 2019 team good or easily be traded (Dozier, Gray).  Meanwhile, the core and prospects get a year to mature and progress.

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Greg Nix

I like this one. I’d prefer Dozier to Moustakas if they miss out on bigger targets. Martin’s a risk though — is he even cleared to play at this point?