PREAMBLE
I had some faith that this team was going to be better than most anticipated. I imagined challenging hard for .500 but definitely didn't think it was going to result in a playoff berth and the first playoff series win in 21 years. This team has arrived and we need to make sure that this wasn't a flash in the pan by reenforcing the weak spots this team showed.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Miguel Vargas: Tender
- Brenton Doyle: Tender
- Joey Bart: Non-tender
- Huascar Brazobán: Tender
- Jordan Leasure: Non-tender
- Chris Murphy: Non-tender
Vargas, Doyle, and Brazobán I feel are straight forward tenders for me.
Joey Bart isn't strictly better than what we've seen from Quero/Romo/Rogers/McGuire that we suffered through with Teel on the IL. Having Romo or Quero in AAA is good depth that should be with Michael Turner or Calvin Harris as the other option.
I went back and forth on Chris Murphy and ultimately landed on non-tendering him. If he had options, he would be here especially given that he's the White Sox player rep. I toyed with tendering him and out righting him later but this is cleaner. Pitching depth is going to be a theme this offseason which brings us to Jordan Leasure. With how late in the year he had his TJ surgery I do not believe we will be seeing him pitch this upcoming season I opted to nontender him, with a minor league deal if he doesn't sign elsewhere.
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
- Erick Fedde
Fedde deserves another go around especially with how he handled himself in the second half and his playoff performance. I'd go a little higher on the dollar figure and make him a high leverage bullpen arm, with the door open for long relief or opening*.
1/$3 Million
Its not that I don't want to retain Newcomb, I absolutely do, I feel he's going to get paid and instead of matching that I would rather allocate that money to shoring up the starting pitching depth. The amount the bullpen was asked to cover this season was very impressive but ultimately not something I believe any of us want to see happen again.
Lets remember Grichuk for what he was and not tempt fate on it. This is the type of gamble that tends to blow up on us. Thank you for your service to the cause, but go get your money elsewhere and we will keep in touch. Grichuk's replacement is coming up later . . . .
Just no on Rogers and Richards. Unless Rogers wants to come back on the minimum I am not completely sick to my stomach with Romo being the backup. We didn't trust Richards in the playoffs so I don't see why we would retain him.
A few other roster cleanup notes to further pare down this mess.
DFA
Jonathan Cannon
Bryan Hudson
While Bryan Hudson served us very well in the beginning of the season he became pedestrian to liability from June onwards. The stuff is huge but we need something more than that now that we have actual aspirations. The next two are a study of contrasting sentiments. While there isn't a useful place for either of them on the 26 or 40 man roster, I wish Jonathan Cannon luck a trip across the Pacific. B
Save the tomato's for later.
FREE AGENTS
Time to set Jerry's money on fire with the blessing of Justin Ishbia
Freddy Peralta
5/$185 Million with an opt out after year 2 (30/30*/37/38/40)
I didn't think to entertain the idea of pursuing Peralta this time last offseason or even at the midway point this past season for wildly different reasons. If anything it shows that the Mets really can ruin anyone if given the chance. Arguably the largest strength of this free agent class is the starting pitching, especially at the higher end premium arms. And as luck would have it this is by far our largest need. Up until ;his stint with the Mets he showed that he's a great starting pitcher that can give you innings, especially considering this current playoff run. I think its more probable that Michael King is more reasonable and likely with this but thinking big here. I wanted to delude myself into dreaming for Skubal but I don't know how that will work in this massively vibes based team, maybe he's just mad no one in his club house has a magic wand. . . .
"Saint" Seiya Suzuki
5/$125 Million
I'm not sold with adding another three true outcome player from Japan so lets pony up for the one that's proven himself against stateside competition. Getz has stated that he wants to improve the outside and I feel this is probably the most direct option. The Cubs giving him a QO might completely derail this but its possible the QO system is gone when the season gets underway. I wanted the Sox to pursue him the first go around as more bats than spots is important, but we were far too right handed then. Now, a right handed power bat in a corner outfield sound exactly like something this team could use. Is it an overbid, probably but looking at the other starting outfielders on the market we will have to outbid to make this work.
Kaima Taira
3/$39 Million with a player option for $18 and a $5 Million buyout (10/13/16/18*)
I was looking for a second starting pitcher to round and when I came across his pitching videos dear lord I knew this had to happen. A dude that size throwing that gas is downright absurd. The combination of age and results in the NPB gives me some level of optimism that he will stick in the rotation. The 5'8" frame has some concern long term but I am a believer.
Brent Suter
1/$3 Million
Solid bullpen arm that will give you innings with reverse splits. Why not come home and try and win a championship for your home town?
AJ Puk
Minor League deal with incentives
When he's healthy and right, he has the stuff to be an absolute force in the bullpen. He has experience closing games which could be helpful if anything happens to Grant Taylor this offseason no he finally takes the plunge into starting. After spending last season recovering from internal brace on his throwing elbow and shoulder capsule surgery I'm not going high on salary but a very incentive laden contract could do nicely here for a lefty flamethrower with high extension in the back of the bullpen.
TRADES
Andrew Benitendi and $10 Million dollars to whoever will take him
You don't have to go home but you can't stay here. You may have had the ignominy of
having the largest contract in franchise history entering this offseason but its time to further bury that era of White Sox baseball. I will let Kirk van Houten's father in law sum it up for us.
SUMMARY
For lack of a better spot here is where I will put my Rule 5 protections.
William Bergolla Jr (we are sorry)
Jaden Woods
I don't think this is actually going matter at all when all is set and done.
C Kyle Teel
1B Munetaka Murakami
2B Chase Meidroth
3B Miguel Vargas
SS Colson Montgomery
OF Seiya Suzuki
OF Tristan Peters
OF Braden Montgomery
DH Sam Antonacci
Bench Drew Romo
Bench Luisangel Acuña
Bench Brenton Doyle
Bench Brooks Baldwin
SP Sean Burke
SP Freddy Peralta
SP Davis Martin
SP Kaima Taira
SP Luis Castillo
RP Grant Taylor
RP Anthony Kay
RP Jordan Hicks
RP Erick Fedde
RP Huascar Brazobán
RP Hagen Smith
RP Brent Suter
RP Tyler Davis
The goal was to reinforce and retool shudder the pitching staff and supplementing the outfield. With a smart add in the outfield it helps balance out the line up and adding more power in the process. I'm not losing faith in Colson just yet, it was his first full season. However its getting late early for him with the depth getting close and the strike outs piling up. Prove us wrong. The addition of Seiya Suzuki is a partial insulation for Tristan Peters regression, with strong corners around him, Brandon Montgomery can make CF work. Which brings me to Sam Antonacci. I don't know him but I am willing to get that his defense this year is going to be a massive fire lit this offseason and he will be better. But DH? For lack of a better label I want him on the Ben Zobrist plan similar to what We got from Brooks Baldwin. Acuna, Baldwin, and Romo are on thin ice.
The rotation has had had much needed depth added to it because let face it there are three certainties: Death, Taxes, and Pitcher Injuries. We are moving Kay to the bullpen theoretically to start the season. While that isn't what he signed up for but when looking at this splits against LHB's this season, .505 OPS and his stuff ticking up further, his next contract is going to be richer for it. Both Kay and Fedde can be spot start/long relief/opener options for this team and it wouldn't be the worst option, but please knock the opener crap off. Grant Taylor is going to be the closer to start the season and next year will be competing for a rotation spot. I want to see which Davis Martin we get this season and how long we get that one for, because we cannot sustain a second half Davis Martin experience again, there needs to be a shorter hook. We have McDougal, Sandlin, Schultz, Thorpe, and Smith of Shane Charlotte as depth. Luis Castillo, we ate money to get rid of Benintendi, same will be done here as well if the performance matches 2026's.
So final total here is $161,300,000. Bit rich bet not far off from the payroll we were running during our last window. We have post season revenue and enough owners proving that crying poor doesn't work. Lets win this.
