PREAMBLE
This 2026 White Sox team was unexpectedly and amazingly fun. I want the fun times to last. We've learned as an organization what goes wrong when we don't land the big fish. And since I own this team, I've got one big pole with a line in the water. Our farm system still needs to develop and improve, so I'm not going to touch the cupboard. This team is going to have the opportunity to dump salary at the end of the 2027 season with Benintendi ($15.1m), Castillo ($24.15m), and if he happens to (which I hope he doesn't) fall off a cliff, Murakami ($17.5m). That's ~$57m in potential flexibility for the '28 White Sox team (even before I increase payroll for the 2028 season), which I think bodes extremely well for the long-term outlook, especially since we are now drawing more fans, viewers, and international followers. I also think that there is a clearly-defined need, and that is pitching. Yes, we can talk about the strikeouts of Colson and Mune, but we still need time to evaluate what we've got in those two and they are both cheap for the production. So let's roll.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Miguel Vargas: Tender
- Brenton Doyle: Tender
- Joey Bart: Non-tender
- Huascar Brazobán: Tender
- Jordan Leasure: Non-tender
- Chris Murphy: Tender
Vargas - no brainer - no extension, this year. Brenton Doyle - I'd still like to see what he can bring over the long haul. Brazoban - I could go either way, but he's fine for now and relievers are finicky. Murphy - I'd still like to see what he can bring as well, it's $100,000 extra, I'm not Jerry, so who cares.
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
- Erick Fedde
- Randal Grichuk
- Sean Newcomb
I like Fedde, he's cool seems to be a great teammate and is crafty enough to be a bulk guy or occasional spot starter. Grichuk and Newcomb are really just placeholders - I'd probably rather shake things up a bit and part ways - but for budgetary purposes I'm considering them really as an allowance.
Fedde - 1/yr - $2m (might be an overpay, but I like paying people that I enjoy working with)
Grichuk (allowance / placeholder 1) - 1/yr - $2.5m
Newcomb (allowance / placeholder 2) 2/yr - $6m ($12m total)
FREE AGENTS
No. 1 and ONLY for this year - Tarik Skubal - 10yr ($400,500,000) broken down as follows:
- $38,000,000; 2) Opt-Out or $50,000,000; 3) $55,000,000; 4) Opt-Out or $50,000,000; 5) $50,000,000; 6) Opt-Out or $40,000,000; 7) 35,000,000; 8) Opt-Out or $30,000,000; 9) $27,500,000; 10) $25,000,000
This gets Skubal paid over the long haul with (4) opportunities to make himself wealthier if he performs at peak levels or if he just doesn't like the team at a given point. This move gets us the bona fide Ace that the rest of the young guys can look up to. Again, with Beni, Castillo, and potentially Mune coming off the books after next year, we remain flexible.
TRADES
None - keeping our guys one more year to see what we've got. I want to make more informed choices on Colson, Mune, Chase, Sam, Caleb, Roch, and Billy after next year.
SUMMARY
1 big free agent and a couple of place-holder/allowances gets us to around $136,550,000, which I think is a deal of the century considering what will be coming off the books next year and adding a major star to the team. Yes, I'm over by $6,550,000 - but I own the team.
