PREAMBLE
The Sox have a solid young core with Moncada, Gio, TA, Eloy, Cease, Kopech, Robert, and Madrigal. And most of these guys should be able to produce at a solid level next year, which means if the Sox add productive talent in the key spots they're missing (RF, DH, SP, RP) they should realistically be in the wild card hunt all year long.
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
- Yolmer Sánchez, $6.2M non-tender
- James McCann, $4.9M tender
- Carlos Rodon, $4.5M tender
- Leury García, $4M tender
- Evan Marshall, $1.3M tender
- Josh Osich, $1M tender
- Ryan Goins, $900K non-tender
Colome, McCann, Rodon, and Marshall are all easy and obvious tenders. I'd also bring back Leury because he's a solid bench utility piece who plays at least average defense at 3 up-the-middle positions and isn't god-awful at the plate. Osich is worth bringing back that cheap, if only because he's serviceable until Rodon/Kopech/Dunning/Lambert or one of the young relieving prospects comes up and someone gets pushed off the roster. Yolmer has to go, especially at that price. Goins is the exact type of player who the sox have had hanging around the end of their roster for years. It's time to purge those types of players.
CLUB OPTIONS
Write “pick up” or “decline” after the option.
- Welington Castillo: $8 million/$500,000 buyout decline
Easy decision. The PEDs didn't even help.
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
Try to retain, or let go?
- Jose Abreu (made $16M in 2019) retain
- Iván Nova (made $9,166,167 in 2019) let go
- Jon Jay (made $4M in 2019) let go
- Hector Santiago (made $2M in 2019 on split contract) let go
FREE AGENTS
No. 1: 1b/DH Jose Abreu (3 years, 36MM)
Abreu is still a massively valuable player to the Sox, even though that seems to be an unpopular opinion among many sox fans. He's not going to cost much, and I think 3 years is about right because he should still be productive for the remainder of that contract, even if he has to transition to full time DH by the second or third year.
No. 2: SP Madison Bumgarner (5 years, 110MM)
I'd obviously prefer Cole here, but assuming that's out of the picture, Bum makes a ton of sense for the Sox. He's only 30, even though he does have a lot of mileage on his arm, but he's been extremely durable his whole career besides that weird dirtbike thing. But then he came back and started 34 games this year. I love his personality and makeup and he would instantly become a leader and a face of this team. The fact that he's also left-handed helps too, as I think balance in the rotation is a good thing. But the main reason he fits so well is because he's a damn good pitcher and has been for a long time. Not to mention his proven postseason dominance. I understand the appeal of Wheeler, but I'll take the proven track record, regular & post season, along with the dog mentality and left handedness. For the contract I figure he'll get a little less than Corbin last year and one less year because of the Innings count.
No. 3: C Yasmani Grandal (4 years, 75MM)
The second big free agent fish the Sox reel in. Grandal makes so much sense. It was between him and J.D for me, and there's a few reasons I prefer Grandal. First, I don't completely trust James McCann to play the same way he did this year, ever again. Grandal is a proven top-3 catcher in the MLB, and he instantly relieves any of those concerns. he's an incredible hitter and defender behind the plate and at first base too. He also is a switch-hitter which again, brings some much needed balance to the lineup. I think a rotation where Grandal, McCann, and Collins all rotate between catching, DHing, and occasional 1B makes a lot of sense. Grandal would play every day, McCann would catch for Gio and hit against lefties, and Collins would hit against righties and catch every once in a while. Seems like a win-win to me. Everyone plays to their strengths and the Sox upgrade 2 positions (C, DH) with 1 signing.
No. 4: RF Corey Dickerson (2 years, 28MM)
Dickerson comes with some risk for sure, and he's been generally not good in the field for his career, though he was much improved in 2018, but he is a very solid left-handed bat and he mashes against righties (.942 OPS in 2019), while holding his own against lefties (.782 OPS in 2019). His 2019 season was cut short by a foot injury, but he was playing very well before that, and the injury should keep his cost down. I think he makes a lot of sense as a quality, left-handed power hitter who can play a somewhat capable right field every day.
No. 5: SP/RP Drew Pomeranz (2 years, 18MM)
I like Pomeranz for a couple reasons. I like the idea of having Kopech start in AAA to not only let him get his feet under him, but also to get that year of control back. So until he comes up, I think Pomeranz makes a ton of sense as someone the Sox can bring in to start for a month, then when Kopech comes up, Pomeranz can easily shift to the pen and be a very good reliever, like he was this year. Because he was dominant out of the pen with Milwaukee. I don't know if he'd want to start for only a month, but it makes a lot of sense from the Sox perspective.
No. 6: UTIL Brock Holt (1 year, 4MM)
Holt would be a solid pick-up to start while Madrigal/Robert are still in the minors, most likely. And he would be a great backup utility player as someone who can play all over the field. And he can hit too (.773 OPS last 2 seasons).
TRADES
None. I would maybe trade for another above-average setup type reliever, but I like the way the pen looks without it, and I still don't think the Sox are at the point where they should be shipping out prospects for relievers.
SUMMARY
On opening day, this lineup will look a little different because Kopech, Madrigal, and Robert may not be up, but I made the roster with all of them in mind, so this is more like the May roster.
Lineup:
- Robert CF
- Moncada 3B
- Abreu 1B
- Grandal C
- Jimenez LF
- Dickerson RF
- Anderson SS
- McCann/Collins DH
- Madrigal 2B
Bench:
- L. Garcia UTIL
- Engel OF
- McCann/Collins C/1B
- Holt UTIL
Rotation:
- Giolitio R
- Bumgarner L
- Kopech R
- Cease R
- Lopez/Rodon/Dunning (Wouldn't be surprised to see 2 out of these 3 in the pen eventually this season. Hopefully one of the 3 steps up and is reliable.)
Bullpen:
- Colome R (CL)
- Bummer L
- Cordero R
- Pomeranz L
- Fry L
- Herrera R
- Marshall R
- Osisch/Lopez/Rodon
Overall, I think this is a good team that could win 90+ games if we see incredible growth from the unproven young players (Cease, Kopech, Madrigal, Robert) just like we did this past season with Gio, Moncada, TA, and Eloy to an extent. The biggest downfall of this team will be defense though, as it would likely be terrible, especially the outfield, but the lineup packs a punch and the rotation has a very high ceiling.
I also spent a lot more than the 120 mark, but I actually do expect that to be the case after this offseason. I still think Jerry is cheap, but i just get a feeling that Hahn and Kenny are gonna get him to be willing to throw some money around.
