PREAMBLE
The White Sox are the only good thing that happened this year. I'm not exactly hopeful about the future, but a White Sox team going deep into the playoffs will go a long way towards making 2021 bearable. I'm using the $150M payroll because it's easier and because spending rich people's money is way more fun than spending mine.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Nomar Mazara: $5.9M - Non-tender
- Carlos Rodón: $4.5M - Non-tender
- Lucas Giolito: $5.3M - Tender
- Reynaldo López: $2.2M - Tender; Let another coaching staff take a crack at unlocking his potential
- Evan Marshall: $1.9M - Tender
- Adam Engel: $1.4M - Tender
- Jace Fry: $1M - Tender
- Yolmer Sánchez: Uncertain - Non-tender, but look to resign on a minor league deal
Arb Total: $11.8M
CLUB OPTIONS
- Edwin Encarnación: $12M - Decline
- Gio González: $7M ($500K buyout) - Buyout
- Leury García: $3.5M ($250K buyout) - Buyout
Club Options Total: $0.75M
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
- Alex Colomé (Made $10,532,500 in 2020) - Let go. I went back and forth on this one. I share everyone else's concerns about his peripherals, and there are theoretically a few in-house guys who can take over closing (e.g. Bummer, Heuer, Marshall). But I do think that closing is more mental than physical (although maybe I'm just channeling Steve Stone here), and Colomé certainly isn't afraid of tense situations. Ultimately, I didn't have enough money available to bring him back. Hopefully, one of the in-house guys shares Colomé's killer instinct and selective amnesia.
- James McCann (Made $5.4M in 2020) - Let go. This one hurts. McCann's breakout was one of my top-5 favorite things about the rebuilding years (in no particular order: McCann, Palka-Smash 2018, the emergence of Jason & Stoney as a broadcasting duo, dollar hot-dog Wednesdays, that time Timmy made Brad Keller cry). I would love to keep him, not only because of his telepathic connection with Gio but also because he seems like a good dude and great clubhouse chemistry guy. Alas, he's earned himself a nice payday and the opportunity to be some team's number one catcher. Parting is such sweet sorrow.
- Jarrod Dyson (Made $2M in 2020) - Let go
Internal Free Agent Total: $0M
COACHING STAFF
- Manager: A.J. Hinch. This seemed to be pretty obviously telegraphed by Hahn. I'd be completely surprised if it was anybody else. If it's Tony La Rusa I will join Josh Nelson in the ICU after my brain aneurysm.
- Pitching coach: Whoever Hinch wants. I don't know anything about pitching coaches or what distinguishes a good one from a bad one, so I'm punting this one.
FREE AGENTS
No. 1: Trevor Bauer (1 year, $31 million). Everyone believes Jerry hates big-money contracts, but I think his biggest issue is spending big money on long contracts. I firmly believe that if Bryce Harper or Manny Machado were looking for 3-year deals instead of 10+ years, one of them would be playing on the South Side right now. There is some precedent for this, he was giving Michael Jordan 1 year, $30M+ contracts in the '90s. Trevor Bauer is no MJ, but I think Jerry understands the value of premium talent on short contracts.
No 2: Michael Brantley (2 years, $15 million/year). This is a fairly popular idea that I agree with 100%. In my plan, he replaces Eloy in LF, which allows Eloy to fulfill his destiny as our full-time DH. He's an obvious defensive upgrade and a high OBP bat in a lineup desperate for one.
No 3: Adam Eaton (2 years, $5 million/year). I'm assuming the Nationals will decline his club option since it's $10.5M and he was worth -0.9 bWAR in 2020. However, his decline in production appears to be related to putrid performance against lefties (.103/.186/.179 in 47 PA). He performed pretty well against righties (.267/.318/.450 in 131 PA) and has the potential to play decent defense, which I think makes him a good platoon partner for Engel in RF. He's no George Springer, but he comes cheap and fills a need. The only issue with this idea is that apparently everyone in the White Sox organization hates him.
No 4: Mike Fiers (1 year, $6 million). What better way to keep Hinch honest than by signing the whistleblower! The Sox also need a fifth starter, so this kills two birds with one stone. If the situation would be too awkward for Hahn to pull the trigger, then the Sox bring back my boy Quintana with this contract.
No 5: Erik Kratz (1 year, $1 million). Stolen from Josh Nelson because it fits a narrative I like. Maybe it's because I listen to so much talk-radio, but I've seen plenty of parallels between this rebuild and the one the Cubs went through. From firing Ricky Renteria to manipulating their prospect's service time, the Sox and Cubs have followed a similar script. Erik Kratz is our David Ross, a grizzled veteran who excels at building relationships and mentoring young players. I wish Grandpa Kratzy lots of luck on the 2022 season of "Dancing With the Stars".
Free Agent Total: $58M
TRADES
None. I couldn't even begin to guess our prospects' trade value.
SUMMARY
Projected Lineup
Timmy - SS
Brantley - LF
Jose - 1B
Yaz - C
Eloy - DH
YoYo - 3B
LuBob - CF
Engel/Eaton - RF
Madrigal - 2B
Starting Staff
Gio
Bauer
Dallas
Cease/Kopech/ReyLo
Fiers
Total Payroll: ~$148M
