PREAMBLE
Manny Machado and Bryce Harper are going to be filthy rich this offseason. Unfortunately for the White Sox, while the money might be there to spend on them the rest of the on-field product isn’t good enough to seal the deal. It would also look exactly like the Marlins ill-fated spending spree that brought in Jose Reyes, Heath Bell, Mark Buehrle and others only to fail spectacularly in a fire sale a year later. The White Sox aren’t going to benefit from a wave of talent arriving all at once the way the Cubs did, and Yoan Moncada’s uneven development is a reminder that projections aren’t guarantees. But this is a franchise looking at a miserable division with plenty of potential wins with an immediate infusion of major league talent. And I’m going for it.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Jose Abreu, $16M - Tender
- Avisail Garcia, $8M – Non-Tender
- Yolmer Sanchez, $4.7M- Tender
- Carlos Rodon, $3.7M- Tender
- Matt Davidson, $2.4M- Non-Tender
- Leury Garcia, $1.9M- Tender
- Danny Farquhar, $1.4M- Non-Tender
CLUB OPTIONS
Nate Jones, $4.65 million/$1.25M buyout - Decline
James Shields, $16 million/$2M buyout - Decline
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
Miguel Gonzalez (made $4.75 million in 2018) – Let Go
Hector Santiago (made $2 million in 2018 — added) – Let Go
FREE AGENTS
A note about all of my contracts: everything is front loaded.
OF Andrew McCutchen, 1 year $17 million Not much explanation needed other than locking in a former All Star who still has plenty left in the tank.
DH Nelson Cruz, 2 years $38 million. I changed my mind, we’re going for it. And Nelson Cruz still has monster power, and an immediate difference maker in our lineup.
SP Dallas Keuchel, 5 years $110 million. Ok, I’m really kicking the window open here. $22 million annual average value,
SP James Shields, 1 year $6.5 million. Add it on to the $2 million for the buyout and you have a nice contract for Shields. Rotation back end.
TRADES
The Carlos Rodon Trades:
Trade 1: Carlos Rodon to Colorado for Brendan Rodgers and Riley Pint. Colorado made the playoffs in a tough NL West, and would probably love to extend Nolan Arenado. Unfortunately for my 2019 wish list, I think they will extend him, which frees up Brendan Rodgers to dangle for a win-now piece and 4 years of a starter who’s flashed solid #2 potential seems about right. Rodgers might never exceed a Bregman-lite ceiling, but that’s still a darn good ceiling. I’m excited to see him play once the super-two passes. Pint is a hard-throwing lotto ticket.
OR
Trade 1: Carlos Rodon, Luis Basabe and someone from the 11-20 of our prospects for Nolan Arenado with an extension worth $180 million over 7 years ($25+ million per year, front loaded). If Colorado doesn’t feel they can extend Arenado, then it’s hard to argue that Carlos Rodon doesn’t get the White Sox’ foot in the door. The only way this works is if they’re granted the ability to negotiate an extension before the trade,
Trade 2: Leury Garcia, Blake Rutherford and Spencer Adams to the San Francisco Giants for Brandon Belt and cash. Belt is making $16 million annually for the next four years, has struggled to stay on the field for the last two years, and still put up 4 WAR. He’s worth the gamble, if the Giants will agree to pay down $2 million per year.
Trade 3: Jose Abreu and Nate Jones to the New York Yankees for Clint Frazier, Sonny Gray and a PTBNL. What the White Sox do here is basically try and lock in their outfield of the future and a good season from a free agent in one big move.
SUMMARY
This is an expensive roster, and runs head-first into my fear of being the 2012 Marlins. But hot damn if this isn’t a contender for the AL Central immediately, while retaining most of the top-talent in the system. I’m assuming that Colorado keeps Nolan Arenado which frees up $ in the budget and opportunity to grab Rodgers. My total payroll goes overboard should the Sox trade for and extend Arenado, but he’s a legitimate superstar on the scale of Machado and Harper.
Roster Sneak Peek:
C Wellington Castillo
C Omar Narvaez
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Brandon Belt
1B Daniel Palka
2B Yoan Moncada
3B Nolan Arenado
SS Tim Anderson
IF Yolmer Sanchez
LF Andrew McCutchen
RF Eloy Jimenez
CF Clint Frazier
SP Dallas Keuchel
SP Sonny Gray
SP Lucas Giolito
SP James Shields
SP Reynaldo Lopez
