Spare Parts: MLB non-tender list gives White Sox more options
The White Sox used up all their roster space to accommodate the five players they received from the Atlanta Braves in the Aaron Bummer trade, but there were already about five or six players who could be cut without thinking twice, so the Sox have plenty of ways to add any recently non-tendered players.
MLB.com has the list of 63 players were weren’t offered a contract for the 2024 season, and while all of them have issues that prevent their projected performances from meeting their projected salaries, there are a handful that could pique the White Sox’s curiosities.
Catchers: As bad as Jacob Stallings, Andrew Knizner and Austin Nola have been, Korey Lee could make them appealing if he’s truly Plan A.
Former prospects: Nick Senzel would add to the White Sox’s collection of top prospects from 2017, while Kyle Lewis never could follow up on his 2020 Rookie of the Year season due to injuries.
Old friends: Codi Heuer never fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, so Nick Madrigal is the last player left standing from the Craig Kimbrel trade.
Brandon Woodruff: He’s kinda in his own category, given that he’s 46-26 with a 3.10 ERA and the peripherals to support it over seven seasons with Milwaukee, but durability has been the knock, and any John Danks will tell you that shoulder capsule surgery is no joke. Still, the Sox have as much flexibility as anybody when it comes to what kind of pitchers can fill a rotation, so they can’t afford to not do due diligence on any potential affordable quality option.
They’re all as free as any free agent now, and the Sox struck oil with James McCann several years ago under such circumstances, and they have plenty of reason to take some more swings at it.
Spare Parts
The headline’s a little trite, but this column by Tim Keown does a good job of explaining that the owners threw their support behind the flimsiest of plans to send the Oakland A’s to Las Vegas. They haven’t yet produced a feasible rendering of the potential ballpark or a plan for what the A’s are going to do before it’s build in, what, 2028? And that’s if the public financing actually goes through.
When talking about Benetti’s appearance on Richard Deitsch’s Sports Media podcast, I didn’t include a part about Benetti talking about somebody who made a “disqualifying comment” about respect because I couldn’t tell when it happened.
On the podcast, he said “Deep into my TV career,” but the tweet made it sound rather early on, so I couldn’t quite square it up. Media reporter Jeff Agrest did, and said that Boyer was the one who made that comment.
Baseball Prospectus tends to have more outliers among its top 10 prospect list — most noteworthy last year was its No. 5 ranking for Norge Vera, and Ben Spanier can’t quite bring himself to give up on him (he’s 20th here). He and Jeffrey Paternostro have Nick Nastrini as a reliever and Jacob Gonzalez sixth in this system, and I’m looking forward to seeing whether those views are in or out of the consensus as other lists roll in.
The Orioles are the front-runner in the Offseason Plan Project, but Nick Deeds list six teams alongside them, plus another seven teams he considers a step down, but still plausible.
Jayson Stark provides the rundown of the ways the new rules affected the average MLB game, both in the regular season and offseason. I didn’t realize that Fox didn’t show the pitch clock during the World Series, which is what everybody should want.
- With Padres, Peter Seidler set himself apart in many ways as the ideal owner — The Athletic
- The choice is yours — The Joe Sheehan Newsletter
The death of San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler, who invested eye-popping amounts into the Padres payroll because he saw it as a social institution, is hard to square up against the ongoing greed of John Fisher. It’s hard to understand how some people can have so much and choose to do so little with it, and it’s such a waste.
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I could see Andrew Knizner catching with the White Sox in 2024. He’s known to be a vocal clubhouse leader, adequate defender and a good handler of pitchers. Given Korey Lee is currently catching option #1, Knizner doesn’t look too bad.
Sox need to go after some of these non-tenders. 2024 is already shot, so they should take flyers on injury and bounce back candidates, preferably with team options that have low buyouts (i.e., not like Clevinger’s $4M). Trade the ones who are doing well and reload the farm. Might even do the same for 2025, but then trading Cease and even Eloy becomes a practical necessity.
Speaking of Cease, I could be ok with them holding on to him this off-season in the hopes he can rebuild some value in the first half of next year. If they do trade him, they need to get more than the oft-proposed Jonathan India.
Penn Murfee could be an appealing piece for 2025. Posted VERY STRONG Stuff+ metrics over the past two years. Will miss this season with TJS. Need to eventually build a bullpen for cheap.
I would also have interest in Spencer Turnbull, if healthy.
Cole Waites is an interesting bullpen piece
I also would have claimed Jeremiah Estrada (144 Stuff+) and I don’t know why they didn’t. Again, you need to build a bullpen for cheap.
Amazing how bad the roster is that you can look at the non tender list and easily want to add 4 or 5 pieces….. sick
Not only the roster. The farm is also barren of talent which is in itself incredible if you think the reason of such bleak state is because of promotions or blockbusters trades. Hahn/KW’s legacy is just that bad.
Despite of our lack of outfielder’s options (in the Majors or the Minors), I would stay away from Kyle Lewis. Not that young (will be 29 next July). He is not a good defender. That K ratio is ugly. Does not run well. Hard pass.
I notice the lack of outfielders in this non-tendered list. Outfielders are a hot commodity. you have to be very bad to be non-tendered.
A player I find intriguing is Juan Yepez. Mostly a DH. Might be able to fake it in the outfield. Still 25 years old. Decent hitting tool shown in the Minors haven’t been translated in 339 PAs in the Majors. He can put the ball in the air at a decent clip. A walk/K ratio above average. The sample is small. Might be worth grabbing as depth.
Yepez’s primary position in the minors has been 1B. He’s also played some 3B but has played more of those two positions than the outfield. If they’re interested in him as a DH or infielder, maybe. I’ve seen enough of the converted outfielders for now.
Yes. Agree. He should never be thought as an outfielder. He can fake it occasionally. The bat is what I find intriguing. Even more if Getz trades Eloy. I mean, he is there. Available for nothing but money. He could be the next Adolis García that was also non-tendered or DFA’ed (can’t remember) by the Cardinals. If I have to select one of these players, I would pick Yepez and trade Eloy.
I had a dream last night. The Sox were facing a woman pitcher. The final score was 45-1. Sox lost.
Failing foes of femininity.
Great moments in American history:
August 28, 1963 – MLK gives his “I have a dream” speech.
November 19, 2023 – @GrinnellSteve posts his “I had a dream” comment.
Next up: GrinnellSteve federal holiday.
Does it have a parade?
Everyone is free to march around their own home banging on pots and pans.
I know its a little naive to think it but i was surprised the owners just blindly went yes on that A’s to Vegas deal. It just looks so bad on paper and i thought they would see this and go “This is the biggest relocation threat we can dangle when our own teams have to blackmail our fans for a new park and we are giving it up for this deal?” I got a friend who lives in Vegas and he was laughing at what the parking situation will be at that place, there isnt going to be any room for a large lot, and any spots plus hotels will have to be shared with people visiting vegas for all the casinos and such which are already expensive. And to top it off the plot of land they’re working with will be the smallest or tied for smallest with the Twins park and it wont be possible to build a roof for the place. Who the hell wants to sit in a desert summer with no roof? Just a miserable deal for baseball and a waste of the Vegas spot. They could’ve done so much better.
One of the worst parts of it all is Manfred willing to be a shill for this deal by gaslighting the media and blaming A’s fans. When it’s all said and done, I’m convinced he’s going to be remembered as one of the worst commissioners this sport’s ever had.
At least, one of the most owner centric commissars
Nola is off the market, going back to Philly.
The Dodgers are a interesting trade partner for Cease
https://twitter.com/ChiSportUpdates/status/1726229329737114008
Hope this is to pressure other teams to get involved, instead of a real possibility.
Don’t love LA’s current crop of trade fodder.
Coming from nightingale it sure sounds like they are just trying to get other teams talking.
I expect something to happen at the Winter Meetings
I don’t expect Getz to get a great return regardless of with whom he’s dealing. I expect a lot of chaotic roster turnover without any clear direction or improvement.
This article features a very nice photo of the return in the Aaron Bummer deal.
I’m prepared to be crucified for this comment but…
Is it possible that the “normal” comment allegedly made by Brook Boyer was referring to something other Benetti’s disability?
Perhaps a inflated ego?
Steve Stone’s seemingly muted comments regarding his former partners departure makes me wonder that maybe there are 2 sides to this story.
Stoney never been one to hide his opinions. Pretty sure he isnt concerned about his own job security when it comes to speaking out considering his history
So you mean if I reference my wife while talking about plus sizes even though I may not necessarily have been referencing “her” size I should not expect to be sleeping on the couch tonight?
Stone has never had a nice thing to say about Brooks Boyer. Is that his side of the story?
I have been wondering the same thing. That is, “respect” as most people would view respect, or “respect” as viewed by Benetti. Having said that, I know a lot of people who know Boyer, and no one says anything good about him. And Benetti is a mensch. But when Boyer is crucified, I would like it to be for something that is clearly deserved.
It’s entirely possible. I’d maybe even say likely, in the sense that few people would be that callous about such obvious HR land mines.
My guess is that it’s the kind of comment that could be waved away as a poor choice of words if the rest of the relationship was positive enough, but if the relationship is toxic to the point where the other person loses the benefit of the doubt, then perhaps you do think that person is showing his true colors.
One part we do know is that the White Sox didn’t let Benetti’s agent negotiate on his behalf. I’d very much take that as an indication of the company wanting to take advantage of an employee. It might not be “take advantage of the guy with a disability,” but if you’re often viewed as a mark by the way you look and walk, you might not really care to distinguish actions from intentions.
Stoney never been one to hide his opinions.
I would disagree with this assertion. Stone is very slow to take up arms against others, especially his employers. He’s a company man and knows that’s part of his job. He also strikes me as pragmatic and probably doesn’t see an upside to voicing his opinion on this one… At least publicly.
At the very least, he may be keeping his powder dry until they announce the next pbp guy, of which he may have some juice that he doesn’t want to spend on opinions, saving it for hiring influence.