PREAMBLE
The White Sox are in a great spot to finally spend and push the team from rebuilder to contender. With that being said, I still don’t expect that the Sox will go out and get Gerrit Cole or Anthony Rendon. However, there are still many guys that could take the Sox over that hump.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
Write “tender” or “non-tender” after each player and their projected 2020 salaries. Feel free to offer explanation afterward if necessary.
- Alex Colomé, $10.3M - tender
- Yolmer Sánchez, $6.2M - non-tender
- James McCann, $4.9M - tender
- Carlos Rodon, $4.5M - tender
- Leury García, $4M - non-tender
- Evan Marshall, $1.3M - tender
- Josh Osich, $1M - non-tender
- Ryan Goins, $900K - non-tender
CLUB OPTIONS
Write “pick up” or “decline” after the option.
- Welington Castillo: $8 million/$500,000 buyout - Bye beef
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
Try to retain, or let go?
- Jose Abreu (made $16M in 2019) - Retain (2 years, 20 million)
- Iván Nova (made $9,166,167 in 2019) - let go
- Jon Jay (made $4M in 2019) - let go
- Hector Santiago (made $2M in 2019 on split contract) - let go
FREE AGENTS
No. 1: Stephen Strasburg (6 years, 200 million) - Assuming he opts out of his current contract with the Nats, Rick Hahn and company should be handing Strasburg a blank check. He is the perfect guy going forward for the team: He’s been teammates with Lucas Giolito, is experienced in the playoffs, has been through tommy john surgery and can give Michael Kopech feedback on his recovery. Not to mention he’s one of the best pitchers in the MLB.
No. 2: Kole Calhoun (2 years, 18 million) - A right fielder with good defense should be near the highest priority
No. 3: Dellin Betances (3 years, 26 million) - One of the best relievers in the game when healthy. If he’s fully recovered by the start of the 2020 season, he should definitely be considered by the front office.
No.4: Brock Holt (2 years, 10 million) - He can replace Leury as the utility man of the team at a more affordable cost going forward
No. 5: Cole Hamels (2 years, 20 million) - We need a lefty in the rotation until at least Rodon gets back, and Reynaldo Lopez needs some competition to see whether he’s a starter or reliever.
No. 6: Tony Sipp (1 year, 1 million) - Not a sexy signing, but Sipp could have a bounce-back year and the Sox will need another lefty in the bullpen to pair with Bummer.
TRADES
No. 1: Trade Jace Fry, Luis Gonzalez, and Seby Zavala to the Chicago Cubs for Kyle Schwarber. Hear me out on this one. As a DH, Schwarber is a career .299/.367/.678 hitter with 9 homers in 98 at-bats. The man is destined to be a designated hitter, and the White Sox badly need a power-hitting lefty. This is a perfect combination that both teams would be wise to consider.
SUMMARY
Lineup (After they inevitably get the 7th year of control on Madrigal)
CF - Luis Robert
SS - Tim Anderson
3B - Yoan Moncada
LF - Eloy Jimenez
DH - Kyle Schwarber
1B - Jose Abreu
C - James McCann
RF - Kole Calhoun
2B - Nick Madrigal
Rotation
1 - Stephen Strasburg
2 - Lucas Giolito
3 - Cole Hamels
4 - Dylan Cease
5 - Michael Kopech
Bench
Utility - Brock Holt
C - Zack Collins
INF - Danny Mendick
OF - Adam Engel
Bullpen
Jimmy Cordero
Kelvin Herrera
Alex Colome (Setup)
Dellin Betances (Closer)
Evan Marshall
Aaron Bummer (Setup)
Reynaldo Lopez
Tony Sipp
