PREAMBLE
Howdy there. Long time lurker, first time poster. With Uncle Jerry getting ready to go into cryostasis until they figure out the cloning sequence perfectly, he's buttoning down the hatches when it comes to his money. This means no Cole, no Rendon, no Grandal, and probably no Wheeler...which sucks. I also started to question how hot a destination the South Side is among the general major league population halfway through making this plan, which might mean the Sox will be out completely, or overpaying to bring any free agent of note who isn't 38, or fresh off a tactical sting of a brothel in rural India onto the team. That being said, let's try and make the White Sox...OK.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Alex Colomé, $10.3M - TENDER - Gonna trade him to someone with a bad bullpen image.
- Yolmer Sánchez, $6.2M - NON-TENDER - Someone in the analytics department can teach Danny Mendick how to be funny in his place.
- 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 - If Ryan Goins plays a single game in a White Sox uniform in 2020 things have gone very poorly.
CLUB OPTIONS
- Welington Castillo: $8 million/$500,000 buyout - DECLINE - Remember how we could have had Tyler Flowers for the last six years? Me too...
IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
- Jose Abreu (made $16M in 2019) - RESIGN - He gets a (modified) Paul Konerko deal. 2 years/$24M, Mutual option for 2022 at $13.5M.
- Iván Nova (made $9,166,167 in 2019) - RESIGN. $5M
- Jon Jay (made $4M in 2019) - LET GO. Good luck with him on a sporcle quiz in 10 years...
- Hector Santiago (made $2M in 2019 on split contract) - RESIGN -...to a minor league deal.
FREE AGENTS
No. 1: SP Jake Odorizzi - (4 years / $42M - 11.25/11.25/10.5/9) - Was he actually good? No. Not really. Will he be a fine #3 or 4 starter with regression? Yes probably. Will the ball dejuicing maybe help him? Yes clearly. This is a very White Sox signing.
No. 2: RP Daniel Hudson - (3 years / $32M - 10.25/10.75/11) - Did you know that the White Sox originally drafted Daniel Hudson? Doesn't a reunion sound lovely for you? Doesn't giving a three year deal to Daniel Hudson based on his Postseason performance sound like something YOU want to do? It sure does to me!
No. 3: RP Will Smith - (3 years / $39M) - Is this an overpay? Yes probably. But he's gonna slot in as your closer and he's got good peripherals and good performance.
No. 4: C Jason Castro - (2 years / $17M - 9/8) - A poor man's Yasmani Grandal...decent-ish framing numbers. The ability to get hot occasionally, and a left handed compliment to James McCann. And we all know the White Sox can only sign catchers who have already played for the Cubs or in the AL Central. It's the perfect storm.
No. 5: OF Curtis Granderson - (1 year / $1.25M, vesting options up to $2M) - Kenny always gets his man. Always. I bet Kenny Williams calls Torii Hunter at least once a year to ask if he wants to come out of retirement and play center field for the White Sox. Granderson gets to come play in front of the hometown for one season (or less...), and if used properly as a left handed platoon bat, rotated through the outfield...oh who am I kidding. I thought about putting Howie Kendrick here, but I think the Sox would end up giving him a multi-year deal and then I got dizzy so I stuck with this. The best I hope for with Granderson is some sort of dead-cat bounce...He likely gets DFA'd around mid-May when Luis Robert comes up.
TRADES
No. 1: Trade Alex Colomé, Jace Fry, Carson Fulmer, and Micker Adolfo to Los Angeles Dodgers for Chris Taylor and Matt Beaty. The Dodgers want a different look in their bullpen. They have the money to pay Colomé, they get a young controllable pitcher in Fry, and given their player development track record, likely turn Carson Fulmer into a decent set up guy. I threw in Adolfo because Taylor and Beaty are both cost-controlled long term and I think it takes an extra piece to pry them away from LA. Honestly, I'm not sure if this package even gets it done...
Taylor slots in as your starting 2B, Beaty heads out to RF. Once Madrigal comes up, Taylor and Beaty platoon in RF, Beaty can spell Abreu at 1B, Taylor can fill in center, at short, at 2B.
SUMMARY
Opening Day Line Up
2B - Chris Taylor
3B - Yoan Moncada
1B - Jose Abreu
LF - Eloy Jimenez
C - James McCann
DH - Matt Beaty
SS - Tim Anderson - He likes hitting seventh, ok guys. He LIKES it.
RF - Curtis Granderson - Thanks. I hate it.
CF - Adam Engel
Bench - Danny Mendick, Jason Castro, Leury Garcia, Zack Collins
Mendick goes down when Madrigal comes up. Curtis Granderson gets DFA'd when Luis Robert arrives...or they send down Engel.
SP
1. Giolito
2. Odorizzi
3. Lopez
4. Cease
5. Nova
RP
Closer: Will Smith
Set Up: Aaron Bummer
Set Up: Daniel Hudson
P1: Kelvin Herrera
P2: Jimmy Cordero
P3: Evan Marshall
P4: Josh Osich
P5: Jose Ruiz/Tyler Johnson/Dylan Covey/Ryan Burr
I put Rodon in this bullpen when he comes back to ramp up his innings. One of Nova or Lopez also goes to the bullpen when Kopech proves he's fully recovered in AAA.
CONCLUSION
Is this the sexiest roster? No. It's a very White Sox-esque roster. The trade for two good Dodger players who are expendable makes the team interesting, but Rick and Kenny still rest the whole thing on four or five players hitting their ceiling. This team could win 86-90 games. They could also lose that many. But hey...look at what the Nationals are doing on TV this week. Sometimes gambling pays off. Based on my art school degree math, this roster comes in $103,260,000. This leaves some room for mid-season acquisitions, or an extension for Giolito.
This has been a real fun exercise! I've enjoyed reading everyone's ideas, and just hope the White Sox make some legitimate moves this year. Thanks all.
