PREAMBLE
Everyone knows the White Sox front office is incompetent. What this plan presupposes is... maybe they aren't.
A good organization would invest in sustainable, defensible strategies to build long-term success without needing to trade assets at peak value or buy lots of wins at market prices via free agency. That's really about scouting, player development, international presence, and creativity. It's really the only way the White Sox will ever become a consistently winning organization. Hint: not going to happen with this management and ownership. Besides, that's not something you reap rewards from overnight.
This plan is.
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 - non-tender (This guy is a DFA waiting to happen. Increased BB%, unimpressive K%, plummeting soft contact rate. He could be worth the contract. He could also be worthless. We don't got $ for that.)
- Yolmer Sánchez, $6.2M - tender (I'm actually offering him something like 2/$10M with a $1.2M buyout. I like the defensive versatility. I think the bat is better than 2019.)
- James McCann, $4.9M - non-tender (His 2nd half was like the numbers that got him DFA'd by Detroit. Not sure why anyone keeps him outside of laziness and/or fear that Giolito isn't the same without him. I believe in Giolito.)
- Carlos Rodon, $4.5M - tender (Could be a good add down the stretch.)
- Leury García, $4M - non-tender (Whatever. Just a guy.)
- Evan Marshall, $1.3M - tender
- Josh Osich, $1M - tender
- Ryan Goins, $900K - non-tender
CLUB OPTIONS
Write “pick up” or “decline” after the option.
- Welington Castillo: $8 million/$500,000 buyout
Decline
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: RHP Zack Wheeler (five years, $90M).
No. 2: C Yasmani Grandal (four years, $76M).
No. 4: LHP Madison Bumgarner (four years, $72M). He's back healthy. Guy is a workhorse. I think he gives you value for the length of the contract.
No. 5: SS Didi Gregorious (three years, $48M). There's a new SS on the South Side. Tim Anderson is moving to CF. Luis Robert will be in RF.
No. 6: 1B Jose Abreu (two years, $20M). I see the Sox just gave him the QO. Little chance he's worth more than that next year. Littler chance someone else was going to give him that. This org is frankly embarrassing. Abreu might have been in for a long winter. But it seems, as usual, that instead we are.
No. 7: DH Edwin Encarnacion (one year, $12M).
No. 8: C Jason Castro (two years, $12M).
SUMMARY
Lineup
- Luis Robert, RF ($0.55M)
- Yoan Moncada, 3B ($0.55M)
- Jose Abreu, 1B ($10.00M)
- Edwin Encarnacion, DH ($12M)
- Eloy Jimenez, LF ($2,33M)
- Yasmani Grandal, C ($19M)
- Didi Gregorious, SS ($16.00M)
- Tim Anderson, CF ($4.00M)
- Nick Madrigal, 2B ($0.55M)
Bench:
- Yolmer Sanchez, UTIL ($5.00M)
- Adam Engel, OF ($0.55M)
- Danny Mendick, UTIL ($0.55M)
- Jason Castro, C ($6M)
Rotation:
- Lucas Giolito, RHP ($0.55M)
- Zack Wheeler, RHP ($18.00M)
- Madison Bumgarner, LHP ($18.00M)
- Michael Kopech, RHP ($0.55M)
- Reynaldo Lopez, RHP ($0.55M)
- Dylan Cease, RHP ($0.55M)
I think the Gregorious move improves the defense and the lineup. Plus, I didn't like the FA OFs. Catching is going to be a real strength for this team. Rotation has some insurance. Going to just take a ton of fliers on the bullpen.
With Herrera ($8.5M), Marshall ($1.3M), Osich ($1M), and a bunch of league minimum guys, I've got this at $129M in total payroll.
