2023-2024 Offseason Plan
PREAMBLE
Hello and welcome to SoxMike’s 2023-2024 Offseason Plan, buckle up because we are going on a wild ride.
First things first obviously the majority of us didn’t like the Getz hire, but here we are, and he is the man to take us to the promise land. So, what I am going to do is hire Kim Ng as President of Baseball Operations. With Kim overseeing the front office of Getz, Barfield, Bannister and Watson I finally feel confident with this group.
We all know with Jerry being 87 years old and not getting any younger he’s going to want to win before his time is up. In order to do this with status of the 2023 roster he’s going to have to open up his check book and let Kim and company go to work.
I feel with the moves I have made and keeping the team salary at $201,060,000.00 for the 2024 season. Not only can the Sox compete in the AL Central, they should be able to compete for an AL Pennant.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Dylan Cease: $8.8M – Tender
- Andrew Vaughn: $3.7M – Tender
- Michael Kopech: $3.6M – Tender
- Touki Toussaint: $1.7M – Tender
- Trayce Thompson: $1.7M – Non-Tender
- Garrett Crochet: $900K – Tender
- Clint Frazier: $900K – Non-Tender
- Matt Foster: $740K – Non-Tender
CLUB OPTIONS
- Tim Anderson: $14M ($1M buyout) – Pick Up
- Liam Hendriks: $15M ($15M buyout, paid $1.5M annually over next 10 years) – Decline. Thank you for your service Liam. You can stay on and rehab at our facility and once healthy we’d love to have you back.
MUTUAL OPTIONS
- Mike Clevinger: $12M mutual option ($4 million buyout) – Takes Buyout
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
- Yasmani Grandal (Made $18.25M in 2023) – Let go
- Elvis Andrus ($3M) – Let go
- Bryan Shaw ($720K) – Let go
- José Ureña ($720K) – Let go
FREE AGENTS
No. 1: Jordan Montgomery, LHP (5 Years, $115M; $23M per year). Starting Pitching is the number one priority for the White Sox. Montgomery has been a model of consistency over the last 3 years, posting a 3.48 ERA and a 3.62 FIP. I am expecting a BIG bounce back year from Cease so Jordan would slot in at the #2 starting pitcher.
No. 2: Cody Bellinger, RF (7 Years, $175M; $25M per year). I know what you’re thinking Jerry has never given out contracts to players for over $100M and all of a sudden, he does two!?!? YES! RF has been a sore spot for the White Sox for so long, not only can Cody play RF he can slide over to CF as well as 1B when needed. With his bat protecting Robert in the lineup that gives the Sox a great 3-4-5.
No. 3: Jack Flaherty, RHP (1 Year, $5 Million). Jack being reunited with his Highschool pitching coach. Hopefully Katz can resurrect his career and make him the pitcher he once was.
No. 4: Kenta Maeda, RHP (1 Year, $10 Million, 2025 Club Option). Again, starting pitching is the Sox biggest need. Bringing in Maeda solidifies the rotation as he slides into the #3 spot.
No. 5: Gary Sanchez, C (1 Year, $6 Million, 2025 Club Option). At the moment Korey Lee is a defensive only catcher, so the Sox need to bring in a bat if they want any offense from the catching position.
No. 6: Jordan Hicks, RHP (4 Years, $32M, $8M per year). The Sox bullpen is missing a leader. Hicks has an electric arm and coming off solid year with STL & TOR, he solidifies the bullpen as the closer.
SUMMARY
Starting Pitchers ($52.1M): Cease-$8.8M, Montgomery-$23M, Maeda-$10M, Flaherty-$5M, Kopech-$3.6M, Toussaint-$1.7M. Wow a six-man rotation, no. Jack, Michael & Touki battle it out for the last two spots. The odd man out goes to the bullpen.
Relievers ($17.36M): Hicks-$8M, Santos-$740K, Crochet-$900K, Bummer-$5.5M, Scholtens-$740K, Banks-$740K, Ramsey-$740K
Infield ($48.24M): Vaughn-$3.7M, Sosa-$740K, Anderson-$14M, Moncada-$24.8M, Sanchez-$5M
Outfield ($68.4): Benintendi-$17.1M, Robert-$12.5M, Bellinger-$25M (Eloy DH-$13.8M)
Bench ($2.96M): C-Korey Lee-$740K, OF-Colas-$740K, UTIL-Remillard-$740K, UTIL-Romy-$740K
Buyouts & Dead Money ($12M): Leury-$5.5M, Liam-$1.5M, Clev-$4M, Abreu-$1M
Line Up:
Anderson-SS
Moncada-3B
Robert-CF
Bellinger-RF
Eloy-DH
Benintendi-LF
Vaughn-1B
Sanchez-C
Sosa-2B
Author
I like this one. Jerry said he wanted to win this year. The only way he has even the slightest chance is to spend big. The rotation looks decent. Obviously, need big bounce back years from TA, Yoan and Eloy, and to some extent Benintendi and Cease.