Teburg’s 2025 AL Central Champions
PREAMBLE
The White Sox are not going to be competitive in 2024. I see a lot of cancers on this team and poor work ethics all around. My first move would be firing Pedro Grifol, but as he is set in stone, I’m going to construct a roster that will hopefully band together as a team and outweigh his hatred for Oscar Colas.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
Write “tender,” “non-tender” or “rework/extend” after each player and their projected 2024 salaries. Feel free to offer explanation afterward if necessary.
- Dylan Cease: $8.8M tender
- Andrew Vaughn: $3.7M tender
- Michael Kopech: $3.6M tender
- Touki Toussaint: $1.7 tender
- Trayce Thompson: $1.7M non-tender
- Garrett Crochet: $900K tender
- Clint Frazier: $900K non-tender
- Matt Foster: $740K non-tender
CLUB OPTIONS
Write “pick up” or “decline” or “rework” after the option.
- Tim Anderson: $14M ($1M buyout) decline
- Liam Hendriks: $15M ($15M buyout, paid $1.5M annually over next 10 years) decline
MUTUAL OPTIONS
Write “exercised” or “takes buyout.”
- Mike Clevinger: $12M mutual option ($4 million buyout) takes buyout. I don’t see him again well or replicating his performance. The injury risk also worries me.
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
Try to retain, extend qualifying offer, or let go?
- Yasmani Grandal (Made $18.25M in 2023) let go
- Elvis Andrus ($3M) let go
- Bryan Shaw ($720K) retain: 1 year, 1 million
- José Ureña ($720K) let go
FREE AGENTS
No. 1: Eduardo Rodriguez (4 years, 90 million) This staff needs lefties and more control. I think Rodriguez will bring valuable innings and a variety to this current pitching staff.
No. 2: Lucas Giolito (2 years, 25 million with player opt-out) Lucas will come back to familiarity with a drive to prove he is worth a larger contract. Gio is a dependable arm and I believe he can reinvent himself as a pitcher, especially with the hiring of Bannister.
No. 3: Isiah Kiner-Falefa (1 year, 8 million) We jump the market and get 2024’s starting shortstop. Kiner-Falefa will play a lot of games and provide good defense up the middle. He also has defensive versatility and is cheaper than Anderson while providing around the same offensively. Stopgap for Montgomery.
No. 4: Eric Lauer (1 year, 6 million) I was surprised to see Milwaukee cut him after two decent years. I add another lefty with upside and can eat innings to our staff who is still only 28.
No. 5: Gary Sanchez (2 years, 20 million) I really thought we were going to add him last year and I wish that we had. Sanchez provides power and competition for Lee and Perez.
TRADES
No. 1: Eloy Jimenez to CIN for Jonathan India. I am done with Eloy on this team. A 1-for-1 swap with a team full of young infielders and could use some power. India is league average, but Eloy is too, and India is better than anything we’ve had at second since… Yolmer? India and Eloy both have 3 years of control and although Eloy is more expensive, he does have higher upside. Eloy may certainly reach his 40 homer potential, but it won’t be with this team.
I would love to get rid of Yoan and Kopech but I don’t think I could possibly entertain that.
SUMMARY
26-man roster:
C: Korey Lee, Carlos Perez
1B: Andrew Vaughn
2B: Jonathan India, Lenyn Sosa
SS: Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Romy Gonzalez
3B: Yoan Moncada
LF: Andrew Benintendi
CF: Luis Robert Jr.
RF: Oscar Colas, Adam Haseley
DH: Gary Sanchez
SPs: Dylan Cease, Eduardo Rodriguez, Lucas Giolito.
I am starting Crochet in triple-A to build up as a starter. Touki Toussaint/Sean Burke/Nick Nastrini/Eric Lauer/Michael Kopech/Jake Eder will compete for the 4 and 5 and any bullpen spots.
RPs: Bryan Shaw, Aaron Bummer, Jimmy Lambert, Jordan Leasure, Gregory Santos
This team is built with some 1-2 year deals as we enter the Montgomery, Ramos, and Quero era while also not completely giving up. We need to build a culture
Author
After checking the budget, I would have plenty left to sign Adam Duvall to be RF/backup CF/1B/DH.
So much IKF love in these plans. We all know he’s bad, right?
Also, I like the idea of signing Sanchez, but to me the whole point would be to keep Korey Lee out of the lineup. His primary value would be as a catcher – to sign him, use him at DH, and still have to watch Korey Lee attempt to hit major league pitching seems totally illogical.
Don’t have many other options. And IKF is a good defender and can play anywhere. It’s a 1 year deal for a team that’s gonna be bad
Elvis can produce more or less as IKF and likely cheaper. There appear to be some intangibles with Andrus that the White Sox could benefit from.
Honestly, I’d keep Elvis, too, and jettison TA. 2B and SS will still be holes, especially on offense, but these guys will be placeholders until Sox make a splash or Montgomery / Gonzalez are ready to fill these spots. I think the Jimenez for India deal isn’t gonna work. Per BTV, you’d have to add in Ramos to make it equal, and that’s not something I’d do.
Reds are more interested in pitching anyway, so there’s the option of trading Cease for India and also getting Collier and Petty and maybe a throw-in (if we take BTV values as accurate). Sets up the IF if they pan out and gives Sox a pitching prospect. Eloy has negative trade value right now; I doubt they get a player of India’s caliber for him. Great if it happens, though.
IKF is only 1 season removed from putting up 2 straight seasons at shortstop with a defensive bWAR of 2.0 and 1.9… given the terrible defense we’ve seen at shortstop of late, he would be potentially huge upgrade at one of the most important positions j the field …
I also sign him and I also have the same trade with the Reds—both to jettison Eloy and to get a major league second baseman for the first time in 4 seasons..
Like this plan and agree that the goal should be to be solid in 25 and good to very good in 26.
My man 🙌
I disagree on IKF and TA providing the same offensive value. Last year, yes, but that was TA’s worst offensive season in his career. Defensive edge is undeniably IKF, though. Wouldn’t mind that signing, but I think someone will offer him two years, or at least one year and a vesting option.