PREAMBLE
Look let’s get real. If the White Sox want to make the playoffs they’ll have to win approximately 95 games next season. Each AL division champ won at least 100 games. No AL wild card team in 2017-2019 has won less than 95 games. Going from 72 to 95, a difference of 23 games is extremely tough, but possible. More than throwing money at Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg, or Anthony Rendon, the White Sox need to shore up a few positions as Hahn stated at the end of the season, but they also need to create depth both position player and pitching wise. I see the need for at least one additional starting pitcher, a defensive and offensively minded RF, a catcher, with depth created everywhere. I really want to stress that defense is super important in RF because the White Sox will start 2020 with at best average to very bad defense at LF, SS, and 1B.
Also, I am going into this with the assumption that JD Martinez will not opt-out of his contract. (Most things I have read in Fangraphs or MLBTR do not think he will)
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
Write “tender” or “non-tender” after each player and their projected 2020 salaries. Feel free to offer explanation afterward if necessary.
• Alex Colomé, $10.3M - Tender. While I’m not exactly thrilled to pay Colome just over $10 million for one year with his peripherals saying that he should not have been as good as he was this past season.
• Yolmer Sánchez, $6.2M – Non-Tender. He seems like a great clubhouse presence and has a fairly decent glove (that has been trending lower over the last few seasons according to Fangraphs) but it is not worth it to pay him that when he cannot hit and Danny Mendick is waiting to be a super sub.
• James McCann, $4.9M – Tender. He will not put up the season that he had this year. His second half is much more representative of his offensive output than is his 1st half. However, his defense and work with pitchers is without question.
• Carlos Rodon, $4.5M – Tender. He will not be pitching till post All-Star break for the Sox and that sucks. However, with Cease and Kopech either coming back from injury or putting on more innings than ever before, Rodon coming back to pitch in all of August and September can give all the other arms a break.
• Leury García, $4M – Tender. He is basically Yolmer only with the ability to play the outfield.
• Evan Marshall, $1.3M – Tender.
• Josh Osich, $1M – Non-Tender.
• Ryan Goins, $900K – Non-Tender.
CLUB OPTIONS
Write “pick up” or “decline” after the option.
• Welington Castillo: $8 million/$500,000 buyout – He Gone
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
Try to retain, or let go?
• Jose Abreu (made $16M in 2019) Retain. See below.
• Iván Nova (made $9,166,167 in 2019) So long.
• Jon Jay (made $4M in 2019) Farewell
• Hector Santiago (made $2M in 2019 on split contract) Auf Wiedersehen (I would bring him back to spring training as a Non-Roster Invitee. He could be helpful depth in Charlotte)
FREE AGENTS
Yasmani Grandal – 4 years $75 million (That computes to $18.75 per year). [10/20/25/25] As I wrote above, McCann cannot and should not be counted on to have the same offensive output he had in 2019. Grandal is the best catcher on the free agent market, and arguably one of the best 3 or 4 catchers in baseball. Not only that being good on both sides of the baseball, he is also a switch hitter.
WAR total according to Fangraphs 5 (average WAR over the last five seasons)
Jake Odorizzi – 3 years $40 million with a club option at $16 for a fourth year. Again, we need innings more than anything else. Competent innings. Giolito and Kopech should be a really great 1-2 punch. Odorizzi can slot in a number 3 or 4. Three years gives the White Sox enough time to develop additional starters like Dane Dunning or Jonathan Stiever. Three years does not lock the team into a long term deal. Plus, this also hurts one of the biggest division rivals in the Twins. WAR total 2.32
Kole Calhoun – 2 years $25 million. I quite literally had an entire paragraph written on why the White Sox should sign Yasiel Puig. But after thinking about it one last time Calhoun seems better on a shorter deal. Every pundit I have read has suggested that the Angels will decline the club option for 2020 because they have one of the best prospects in baseball in Jo Adell ready in Triple A. Calhoun is a power hitting, defensively plus, left handed, right fielder. However, the big problem is that there is no really good RF on the free agent market. One might say Castellanos but he is terrible defensively. WAR total 2.26
Jose Abreu – 2 years $20 million with a club option for a third year at $10 million. If the option is declined then he is bought out for $5 million. Look there is not much to say, he is a meh first baseman. He has not produced at least 2 WAR since 2017. This brings him back because we know it is happening but at a low cost. WAR total 2.54
TRADES
No. 1: Trade Lenyn Sosa, Konnor Pilkington, Micker Adolfo, Kade McClure, and $5 million to the Baltimore Orioles for Trey Mancini and Mychal Givens.
I am willing to play with some of the guys leaving the White Sox minors. I picked them because they are in AA or lower and the Orioles rebuild will be long. Plus they cannot seem to develop pitching so I will send them a lot to try and give them more opportunities at the wheel. This also gives the White Sox another LF option but hopefully a steady DH presence. It also gives the bullpen another weapon for the next two years. WAR added 9.65 (I came up with this as I wrote Mancini in as the DH and do not see him playing the field almost at all. Thus I used just his offensive FWAR)
Payroll added, $4 million approximate.
SUMMARY
I come into the 2020 season with my payroll right around $120 million (if my figuring is accurate). The other big things are these moves do not lock the team into anything longer than a 4 year deal. It does not massively deplete the Sox farm system. Lastly, this adds depth and adds 21.8 WAR to the team which would put them at 94 wins in the 2020 season.
Position Lineup:
C – Grandal
1B – Abreu
2B – Garcia/Mendick (that is until Madrigal arrives.)
3B – Moncada
SS – Anderson
LF – Jimenez
CF – Engel/Garcia (until Robert arrives)
RF – Calhoun
DH – Mancini
Bench:
Garcia
Mendick
Collins
McCann
Engel
Rotation:
Giolito
Kopech
Odorizzi
Lopez
Cease
Bullpen:
Colome
Marshall
Givens
Herrera
Fry
Bummer
(Add some minor leaguer/NRI)
