Oh, Black Friday. That special holiday shopping spree where people drive themselves crazy hunting for the best deals on older electronic models, $150 laptops with enough RAM to run Google Chrome, and kitchen appliances they can gift that will only collect dust while locked away in cupboards (hello, Instant Pot).
Personally, I have a negative response to this day. My first ever job was at the retail giant K-Mart (R.I.P). I've seen grown men fight over special edition Barbie dolls, customers sprinting like they are running the 100-meter dash to buy an Xbox, and announcing Blue Light Specials over the P.A. system. It doesn't get much better when working in IT. Waking up early from the Thanksgiving food coma just to sit in a Microsoft Teams war room and hoping the company's e-commerce site doesn't have to throttle traffic because of doorbuster sales.
Instead of being like everyone else, waking up too soon to be in public or endlessly browsing Amazon, I usually work. Today, however, I decided to do something different: I wanted to find bargain-free agent targets that Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz could sign.
After all, if you believe in the latest rumors and gossip, we are supposed to see more offseason action after Thanksgiving than last year. It can't be the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers having all the fun. With so many uncertain local TV revenue forecasts, it seems like we could have a Black Friday-type dash for the mid- to lower-tier free agents.
We know the White Sox don't have the appetite to spend a lot of cash this offseason. In this exercise, I rummaged through the recent non-tenders to identify players that I think could sign for $5 million or less on a short-term deal. Of course, with a guaranteed spot on the MLB roster, it's one of the few attractive benefits the White Sox have to entice veterans.
Pitchers
Starting Pitcher: RHP Colin Rea
Seventeen pitchers made starts for the Chicago White Sox in 2024, but Chris Flexen and Erick Fedde made 51 combined starts, meaning that two of the most enduring pitchers are no longer part of the mix. We can foresee the 2025 plan being that the trio of Davis Martin, Jonathan Cannon, and Drew Thorpe will handle at least that missing workload with the hopes of 20-plus starts from each ... except then you have the inevitable trade of Garrett Crochet, which is another 32 starts to make up for, and suddenly, the White Sox's starting rotation looks greener than you think. I’m not entirely confident they have enough in the pitching stables to rely 100 percent on internal solutions.
I assume the White Sox front office brass would say the same thing. So it’s back to the clearance aisles to see if they can luck out again. The first starter I would call is recently non-tendered right-handed pitcher Colin Rea. In 2024, Rea had a career year with the Milwaukee Brewers, appearing in 32 games with 27 starts in those appearances. It may surprise you that Rea pitched 167⅔ innings in 2024 with a decent ERA of 4.29 and a 98 ERA+, which is just 2 percent below league average.
If Rea can repeat his 2024 performance, that’s an upgrade over Flexen (4.95 ERA, 83 ERA+). The Brewers declined Rea’s $5.5 million club option for 2025, which made him a free agent and gave at least one estimation of his open-market value. A veteran stabilizer in the rotation is needed, and Rea can fit that role.
Projected Contract: One year, $4 million with incentives for innings pitched
Relievers: LHP Scott Alexander and RHP Jacob Webb
As we learn about new White Sox manager Will Venable’s ability to manage late-game situations, it might be wise to give him some veteran options to use early in 2025. Getz got a head start on this project by claiming former New York Yankees RHP Ron Marinaccio off waivers, but there are at least one or two bullpen spots available for new faces.
First, Venable could use a more reliable left-handed reliever for medium to high-leverage situations. Fraser Ellard got some run in August and September, but had wild reverse splits. Right-handed hitters batted .114/.268/.273 against Ellard, but lefties smashed, hitting .317/.356/.439. Ellard could use more seasoning before being a permanent fixture in the majors. The other southpaw is Jared Shuster, who is better used as a swingman, but even he had a tough time getting left-handed hitters out with opposing splits of .291/.319/.464.
Scott Alexander intrigues me as a possible free-agent target for the White Sox. Last year, Alexander pitched for the Oakland Athletics, making 45 appearances and pitching 38⅔ innings. He signed for one year and $2.25 million, but ended up making $2.4 million after hitting $50,000 incentives for his 35, 40 and 45th appearances (he came up short of another one at 50).
Now a free agent, Alexander fits the White Sox budget cost-wise, and can help face tough left-handed hitters in high=leverage situations. In his nine seasons, Alexander has always been tough against lefties with a career slash line against .211/.266/.298, but he was even better in 2024, as opposing left-handed hitters batted just .161/.209/.210.
Going back to the non-tender well, it surprised me when Baltimore released reliever Jacob Webb. He doesn't possess an overwhelming fastball, but he still produced good results thanks to his excellent changeup, which ranked in the 91st percentile according to Baseball Savant with a Run Value of +6. That offspeed pitch worked wonders against left-handed hitters, who posted a .108 average and a woeful .135 slugging percentage against Webb’s changeup.
Making 60 appearances in 2024, Webb finished with a 3.52 ERA and a 125 ERA+ covering 56⅔ innings. I was surprised Webb was let go because he only made $1 million in 2024, and MLB Trade Rumors was projecting just $1.7 million for his arbitration in 2025. Webb seems like a solid reliever who can be had on the cheap if he’s looking for a steady opportunity. There’s still room in this bullpen for the more exciting but volatile arms to make appearances. Venable could use as many steady relievers as Getz can provide.
Projected Contract for Scott Alexander: One year, $2.25 million with incentives for appearances.
Project Contract for Jacob Webb: One year, $1.5 million.
Position Players
Catcher: Carson Kelly
I still don’t know what to make of Korey Lee’s future outlook. In 125 games last season, Lee hit .210/.244/.347 with 12 home runs, adding to a 64 wRC+. Defensively, Lee is well-known for his strong arm and incredible pop time (1.85 seconds), which is very handy against basestealers. But Lee was at the other end of the leaderboard in blocking (-8 runs, 8th percentile) and framing (-7 runs, 7th percentile). Lee is either a work in progress or, at best, an MLB backup catcher. Incoming bench coach Walker McKinven has his work cut out in helping Lee be a better blocker, framer, and game-caller.
Edgar Quero is promising, but a back injury forcing him to miss the last five weeks of 2024 may have him start 2025 in Charlotte again. Chuckie Robinson is the other catcher currently on the 40-man roster, and he had a -5 wRC+ in 76 plate appearances last season. The White Sox could use help behind the plate, regardless of how bullish you might be for Lee or Quero.
With Venable taking over managerial duties, former Texas Rangers catcher Carson Kelly is a fit, as many of you have pointed out in the Sox Machine Offseason Plan Project. In 2024, Kelly was solid defensively, posting positive run values in blocking, called strikes, and framing. He doesn’t have Lee’s pop time, but Kelly still had the same caught-stealing percentage, nailing 31 percent of base stealers at second base. In that regard, both Lee and Kelly ranked in the Top 5 for catchers in MLB.
Also, Kelly was a much better overall hitter than Lee in 2024, batting .238/.313/.374. Bringing in Kelly can help Lee learn more from another veteran catcher while applying the adjustments McKinven asks. It also buys Quero more time to work on his defensive craft.
Projected Contract: One year, $4 million.
Outfielder: Austin Hays
It wasn't made public until this week that former Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Austin Hays battled a serious kidney infection that impacted his performance on the field. Before getting traded to Philadelphia, Hays had a career slash line of .262/.314/.433 with 66 HR and 121 Doubles over 557 games with the Orioles. From 2021 to 2023, Hays accumulated 8.1 WAR, according to Baseball Reference. He played at least 130 games each season, and he even started ahead of Luis Robert Jr. in center field for the American League in the 2023 All-Star Game. But in 2024, Hays could only muster 85 games and 255 plate appearances, hitting .255/.303/.396 with just five home runs.
Even though Hays is more of a doubles power hitter than a home run basher, the White Sox need all the extra base pop they can get their hands on. Only three hitters hit more than 20 doubles for the 2024 White Sox: Andrew Vaughn, Andrew Benintendi, and recent non-tender Gavin Sheets. If Hays can pass a physical and the kidney infection is truly behind him, he’s a better defensive option in left field than Benintendi and adds more pop to a weak lineup. Despite signing Slater and having other younger outfielders on the 40-man roster, I still think Hays could be a good fit for the White Sox. Both parties are looking for an opportunity to create a spark, and a strong first half could merit a trade by the deadline.
Projected Contract: One year, $4 million plus incentives for plate appearances.
