AllThingsWhiteSox offseason plan

PREAMBLE

The Sox are coming off a AL Central title in 2021, but no playoff series wins to show. As everyone knows, the Sox need to improve at 2B, RF, and SP the most. With an already top 10 payroll in the MLB, and an owner who is not known for spending, the Sox are going to have to find a way to fill these spots while getting creative. The good thing about this is there are a lot of different ways for the Sox to go and make this team better for 2022. This is my way on how they will be a world series winning team in 2022.

ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS

Write “tender,” “non-tender” or “rework/extend” after each player and their projected 2022 salaries. Feel free to offer explanation afterward if necessary.

• Lucas Giolito: $7.9M
  • Tender – Tendering Giolito for 8ish million is a no brainer. I would like an extension for him but I think Hahn and co. are focused on other players and are trying to save as much money as possible, and only paying Gio 8 million is a great deal.

• Reynaldo López; $2.8M
  • Tender – Lopez provided good pitching depth in 2021 and looked solid out of the pen and rotation.

• Evan Marshall: $2.3M
  • Rework (2 years/1.5 million) – Marshall was not himself in 2021 and will now not be pitching in 2022 due to injury. Since he is out the whole year only 500k of his contract will be on the payroll for 2022.
• Adam Engel: $2.2M
  • Tender – I think this is a no brainer as well. Engel is a solid bat with elite defense and speed. He is a great 4th outfielder.
• Brian Goodwin: $1.7M
  • Non-tender – Goodwin stepped up for the Sox in 2021, but they can find other options for the bench for cheaper.
• Jimmy Cordero: $1.2M
  • Tender – You can never have enough arms and Cordero has shown when used right he can be a trusted arm in the pen.
• Jace Fry: $1M
  • Non-Tender – I ultimately went with Cordero over Fry. Fry has been up and down his whole Sox career and I think the Sox need someone they can trust to get more than one out.

CLUB OPTIONS

Write “pick up” or “decline” or “rework” after the option.

• Craig Kimbrel: $16M ($1M buyout)
  • Pick up – I am making this after the Sox have already picked up his option, but I would have picked it up anyways…
• César Hernández: $6M
  • Decline – The Sox already declined his option, but I would have declined it as well. He was not what the Sox traded for and I think they need to just move on.

OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS

Try to retain, extend qualifying offer, or let go?

• Leury García (Made $3.5M in 2021)
  • Let go – This one hurts. While I would love for the Sox to retain Leury Legend, I can not see them having the room for the 4ish million he would make.
• Carlos Rodón ($3M)
  • Let go – Making this after the Sox did not offer the qualifying to Rodon. It will hurt to see him go, but with a limited budget and the injury risk still there, the Sox can not afford to throw 15 million plus at one player who may not stay healthy the whole year. Thank you for everything Los.
• Billy Hamilton ($1M)
  • Let go – With having Engel as your 4th outfielder, there is really no point for Hamilton when you can get speed for a lot cheaper.
• Ryan Tepera ($950K)
  • Retain (2 years/10 million) – Tepera was one on the only Sox arms to pitch well in the playoffs. I think bringing him back is a must to help this pen. He will be the only player acquired from the 2021 deadline on the team in 2022.

FREE AGENTS

No. 1: Michael Conforto (three years, $63 million).  The Sox finally sign the right fielder they have been looking for. While Conforto is coming off a down year, I think that is the perfect time to sign him. Most of his expected stats are encouraging signs and he looked much better in the second half. He also had to deal with COVID and a hamstring injury early in the year. He is a lefty bat with power which the Sox have always looked for. Also, I think there will be a fourth year team option on the contract.

No. 2: Mike Foltynewicz (one year, 1.3 million). There were rumors that the Sox almost signed him last year. He was below average with Texas in the 2021 season, but you can always use MLB arms. The Sox get one here and for cheap.

TRADES

No. 1: Craig Kimbrel(Sox pay 4 million of 16) to Toronto for Reese McGuire. The Sox in this trade accomplish two things. They acquire a good defensive backup catcher and they unload Kimbrel’s contract. I have the Sox paying 4 of the 16 million that Kimbrel is set to make next year.

No. 2: Yoelqui Cespedes and Jake Burger to New York for Gleyber Torres and Matt Sauer. The Sox get their second baseman for the foreseeable future in Gleyber Torres. He looked like one of the young superstars of the league after his 2019 season, but very disappointing seasons in 2020 and 2021 have put a question mark on his future. I think a change of scenery for Gleyber would do great. Also, Torres has played shortstop the last two years for the Yankees, when he is a second baseman. The Sox do have to give up two of their bigger prospects. But, Gleyber has already shown he can be an all star player in the MLB and he is only 24 years old.

No. 3 Garrett Crochet, Jose Rodriguez, and DJ Gladney to Baltimore for John Means. The Sox get an above average starting pitcher who can eat innings as well. Means would be a very good number 4 in the rotation, especially while Kopech is figuring things out. He is also only costing you 3.2 million this year and is on contract for 2 more years after 2022.

No. 4 Dallas Keuchel(Sox pay 8 million of 18) and Yoelvin Silven to Arizona for Matt Peacock. This move is all about dumping salary. The Sox unload a lot of Keuchel’s contract and also gain a 27 year old right handed arm. Peacock pitched in 35 games with 8 being starts in 2021 with Arizona.

SUMMARY

Roster first:

LINEUP

SS Tim Anderson
CF Luis Robert
1B Jose Abreu
C Yasmani Grandal
LF Eloy Jimenez
3B Yoan Moncada
RF Michael Conforto
DH Andrew Vaughn
2B Gleyber Torres

BENCH

OF Adam Engel
C Reese McGuire
OF/1B Gavin Sheets
IF Danny Mendick

ROTATION

Lucas Gioltio
Lance Lynn
Dylan Cease
John Means
Michael Kopech

BULLPEN

Liam Hendriks
Aaron Bummer
Reynaldo Lopez
Ryan Tepera
Jimmy Cordero
Jose Ruiz
Anderson Severino
Matt Foster

The payroll for the 2022 season comes in at 175,658,332. This includes money for guys who are not playing this year for the Sox like Marshall, Kimbrel, and Keuchel. This adds in the extra 5 million dollar cushion that we could add.

In this offseason, I have the Sox addressing right field, second base, starting pitching, and backup catcher. I also have them retaining a lot of bullpen pieces and depth and adding starting pitching depth. I think the Sox are obviously tight on budget as they owe a lot of players money for 2022. I think they have to move Kimbrel if they want the team to be better than the 2021 season. You can get bullpen help for a lot cheaper, but it is hard to get right field and second base help for cheap. The Sox need to finally pony up and pay a right fielder or second baseman, I picked right field. I think these moves really stop the bleeding with the positions that were struggling this year. I am expecting a lot of movement in the bullpen this year with guys like Foster, Severino, Ruiz, and Cordero as they have not shown to be consistently good relievers. So lets hope these moves make the Sox 2022 WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!!!!!!

PS I also did way too much math and may have messed up on the payroll so please say something if its wrong lol.

-Nickmugs(also on twitter as @allthingswhitesox)

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