Pete Chapman’s Plan That Everyone Will Hate

PREAMBLE

The White Sox seem close but have a few glaring holes that have been holes for years so let’s try to fix them while being realistic with what the team would be willing to do. They aren’t signing Bauer, Springer, Colome, and Realmuto as an offseason. We have the owner that we have and he has a built in excuse of the current situation. Now I do think he would spend in a given season if he thinks they can win. I do not think he will spend big money long term. If Trevor Bauer truly is going to go year to year I think he is a legit option. If he wants a multi year contract in the 100M he is not an option in my opinion. This thought process is why I make some of the moves I make. So let’s see what I come up with and you can bash it in the comments section.

ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS

• Nomar Mazara: $5.6M | $5.9M | $5.7M  NON TENDER
• Carlos Rodón: $4.5M | $4.5M | $4.5M NON TENDER
• Lucas Giolito: $2.5M | $5.3M | $2.5M  TENDER
• Reynaldo López: $1.7M | $2.2M | $1.7M TENDER
• Evan Marshall: $1.3M | $1.9M | $1.4M  TENDER
• Adam Engel: $1M | $1.4M | $1M  TENDER
• Jace Fry: $800K | $1M | $800K  TENDER
• Yolmer Sánchez: Would offer a minor league deal if he wants to return because of lack of interest and I do think he would play. NON TENDER

CLUB OPTIONS

• Edwin Encarnación: $12M  DECLINE
• Gio González: $7M ($500K buyout)  DECLINE
• Leury García: $3.5M ($250K buyout)  PICK UP

OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS

• Alex Colomé (Made $10,532,500 in 2020)  Let Him Go
• James McCann (Made $5.4M in 2020)  Let Him Go
• Jarrod Dyson (Made $2M in 2020)  Let Him Go

COACHING STAFF

• Manager:  Don’t really care. I don’t think the manager does that much. I don’t think Renteria was good or bad and the guy they hire likely won’t be either. Maybe helps them win like 2 more games over 162 at best. As long as the guy isn’t horrible who the players don’t respect and makes insane moves I will be fine. The players make the manager look good or bad.
• Pitching coach:  This spot weirdly is a bigger deal to me because of the number of young White Sox pitchers. If this guy can get more out of these players then last season this team looks way different. I liked Josh Nelson’s suggestion of the Michigan coach but I’d be lying if I said I fully know if that will translate.

FREE AGENTS

No. 1 – James Paxton – 1yr $12M with a club option in 22 for 14M and 1M buyout – When healthy he is good. He is rarely healthy. He was specifically not healthy last year. This is worrisome but this is also the reason he should be cheap and available on a 1 year prove it deal. He should be healthy going into spring training and basically missed most of this year which I am sure will get a “He is the healthiest he has been for years” comment. When healthy he is a legit good 3 on a good team. This is the kind of contract this team can deal with.

No. 2 – Jeremy Jeffress  – 1yr $5M with a 2022 club option for 5M with a 1M buyout – He had a good year with the Cubs last year and signed for very cheap. He kinda fluctuates being good and bad based on being able to throw strikes each year. I am hoping he can throw strikes. He has the ability to close which is appealing to me for this team and at the very least be a setup man. I like that bullpen arms shouldn’t be toast because of the short season.

No. 3 – Michael Brantley – 2 yr $32M with a 2023 club option of 12M with a 1.5M buyout – He would split DH and LF with Eloy with the ability to spot start in RF when a banged up player needs to DH. Against lefties Engel would start and he likely would sit. He would be perfect for this lineup and is what they were missing. Very tough out. Anderson and him 1-2 would be rough for opposing pitchers. He also is not terrible defensively. He would be an upgrade from both corner guys.

TRADES

White Sox trade Andrew Vaughn and Bernardo Flores to the Giants for Mike Yastrzemski.

People are not going to like this trade and also be confused by it. Here is my rationale. The Giants are a very far 3rd place in their division for the next couple years at best and Yastrzemski is 30. He likely is leaving his prime when they are competing. He was an extreme late bloomer and who knows how long it will last. The Giants should try to avoid a Whit Merryfield situation where a good cheap older player is on teams that have no chance of contending. I don’t really get the point of that. Extended playoffs might have an impact on this but I still think the Giants have little chance of making the playoffs in 2021. The Giants are still paying a bunch of the old heads on the team in 2021 also and one of those guys is Brandon Belt who will come off the books after that and would work nicely for Vaughn to take that spot. Yastrzemski is on a league min salary until 2022 and team controlled until 2025 which lined up very nicely with other guys on the White Sox and matched up with their window compared to the Giants. For this cheap control Yastrzemski has a lot of value now and is why he should be moved and why the White Sox should want him. He can play all 3 outfield positions and did so in SF which is not easy. He is a lefty bat who has been great since coming up as a 28 year old. Over 2 partial seasons which combine for 161 games he has slashed .281/.357/.535 with an OPS of .892 and OPS+ of 137. He has been a 5WAR player. Andrew Vaughn will have to hit like Abreu did this past year to have that kind of impact at his position. I think Vaughn will be a good player but will he be that good? And that good immediately? I also hate that the White Sox constantly have these 2 blocks of 1B/DH on their rosters constantly. It allows for no lineup fluctuations and allows for no one banged up or needing rest to use that DH spot. I also think Grandal, Abreu, and Eloy should all see some DH looks regularly, especially moving forward with age. I had a discussion about Eloy and Abreu not liking to DH with my friends Nick and George the other day which they felt was a factor. Do we know Vaughn likes to DH? There are few guys who want to DH and are at their best at that spot and it seldom is a young player. I am not suggesting anyone is the full time DH is the point. I want it to be a position that can be fluid. With Vaughn and Abreu on the team it can not be. Also this can deter older FA’s to sign with the Sox bowing there isn’t at bats to be had at the position. Realistically the DH position should be easier to fill then a RF who can hit and field. Now the Sox have stunk at filling both for years so what do I know. End of rant and crush me in the comments.

Stole this setup from BeefLoaf because it made it easy to visually see the math I needed to do and limit the amount of work I needed to do for contracts. Thanks pal!

I finished almost 5M under the budget which would make this owner very proud but part of it is by design. I expect injuries and other signings needing to happen. Also I do not feel happy about Collins being the backup catcher. I do think they need to give him a shot though and see what he really is. True backup catchers (Don’t think McCann last year) are not that hard to find and get moved every trade deadline for minimal returns. Some of the $ I saved will probably be for that. Also I expect an arm injury and needing to fill that spot whether that be a SP or RP veteran. I think Crochet isn’t a starter personally and think he is a multi inning reliever who throws a couple times a week. Kopech will be in the mix after he throws some in the minors after such a long layoff. Lopez would be good depth and maybe new coaches can change something that works for a few of these guys. I love this lineup offensively. The mix is much better then last year. Losing Vaughn would stink and I don’t think they will move him but I would for that deal. I have wasted enough of your time with my ramblings.