PREAMBLE
The last era of White Sox teams that had some star power were desperate for depth to properly insulate them. Here we are 5 years later and the White Sox are in the same place, but with a few more "stars" and slightly more "depth". The minor league system isn't quite ready to provide the amount of depth needed to make it through 162 as a playoff team if basically anything goes wrong. I think 2021 is the year to solve short-term problems and add at the margins to insure this good core....alright, enough blabbering, LFG.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Nomar Mazara: $5.6M | $5.9M | $5.7M NON TENDER
- Carlos Rodón: $4.5M | $4.5M | $4.5M NON TENDER
- Lucas Giolito: $2.5M | $5.3M | $2.5M TENDER
- Reynaldo López: $1.7M | $2.2M | $1.7M TENDER
- Evan Marshall: $1.3M | $1.9M | $1.4M TENDER
- Adam Engel: $1M | $1.4M | $1M TENDER
- Jace Fry: $800K | $1M | $800K TENDER
- Yolmer Sánchez: Uncertain NON TENDER
CLUB OPTIONS
- Edwin Encarnación: $12M DECLINE
- Gio González: $7M ($500K buyout) DECLINE
- Leury García: $3.5M ($250K buyout) PICK UP
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
- Alex Colomé (Made $10,532,500 in 2020) LET GO
- James McCann (Made $5.4M in 2020) LET GO
- Jarrod Dyson (Made $2M in 2020) LET GO
COACHING STAFF
- Manager: AJ Hinch
- Pitching coach: Ruben Niebla
FREE AGENTS
No. 1 - Matt Shoemaker - 1yr $5M - The White Sox have several starting pitcher options, but they just aren't quite ready to be trusted. This is a low cost option with a potential high payout. Basically the kind our current GM rarely hits on, hopefully he hits one this year.
No. 2 - Anthony Bass - 1yr $2M - This guy was a set up man for the Jays this past year and was very good. He throws a million groundballs, so he'll be cheap af. The Sox need some cheap, reliable bullpen arms, so they don't end up with Bernardo Flores and other such characters in that bullpen. We don't want to expose our shiny new, high priced manager to having to pitch such guys.
No. 3 - Greg Holland - 1yr $1M - He pulled a Jimmy Cordero last year and pitched quite a bit and I'd like to keep Jimmy Biceps a little cleaner this year, so I figured we needed a guy like this to pick up the DJ Carrasco role from yesteryear.
No. 4 - Michael Brantley - 2 yr $26M - He's here to play some OF & some DH. I still think he can handle RF, he didn't need to in Houston because they had better options and he mainly DH'd this year because Yordan Alvarez got hurt. He's the kind of guy that smashes RHP, but does it in a way where he makes a fair amount of contact.
No. 5 - Wilson Ramos - 2 yr $10M - I did some research before the season even ended, sort of thinking through what the needs are for 2021 and backup catcher is definitely up there. Look Ramos was a very good hitter in his prime and he's still a pretty decent framer of the high strike and that's what some of our young lad pitchers have needs with, so why not bring him in and add a back-up catcher that could give you starter level production for a month or something if Yas got hurt.
No. 6 - Jonathan Villar - 1 yr $2.5M - I just fear our quick twitch infielder guys being banged up quite a bit over 162, so I wanted to reinforce the bench with a guy that can handle all the infield spots. Now you already have Leury Garcia here too, but I think having two guys with big flexibility is optimal. Also, Villar runs well, so he can be used late in games to make sure Eloy doesn't spike himself on the bases.
TRADES
No. 1: Trade Reynaldo Lopez and Yermin Mercedes to Arizona for David Peralta Peralta also covers all 3 OF spots if you need him to, he's a platoon partner for Adam Engel, so you can play him everyday in RF or LF or whatever. He's cheap to acquire and salary wise (he'll make $7M in 2021 and $7M in 2022). Please don't turn into Jon Jay!!
No. 2 : Trade Zack Collins, Micker Adolfo and Jonathan Stiever to Colorado for Antonio Senzatela Senzatela throws tons and tons of groundballs, he's team controlled through 2023 and he's seemingly durable. He's the least flashy of the Rox SP's as he'll give you like 5K's per 9 IP, but the White Sox need someone to take the damn ball and not be horrible. That's what this is and you trade 3 of your top 12 prospects or whatever, but so what, you need an arm. Also, the Rox are soooo bad on offense, they had an 80 OPS+ last season. They know how to develop these groundball pitchers and they have a good defense, but their offense is horrible, so I could see this as a gamble they'd be willing to take. I mean their catchers OPS'd like .600 last season. I would think full-time Zack Collins could help.
| Starters | Players | $$$ | Condition |
| C | Grandal | $ 18.25 | Contract |
| 1B | Abreu | $ 17.66 | Contract |
| 2B | Madrigal | $ 0.57 | League Min |
| SS | Anderson | $ 7.25 | Contract |
| 3B | Moncada | $ 6.80 | Contract |
| DH | Brantley | $ 13.00 | NEW |
| RF | Peralta | $ 7.00 | NEW |
| CF | Robert | $ 3.50 | Contract |
| LF | Jimenez | $ 4.33 | Contract |
| Bench | |||
| C | Ramos | $ 5.00 | NEW |
| IF | Garcia | $ 3.50 | Option (Pick-up) |
| OF | Engel | $ 1.40 | Arb 1 |
| Other | Villar | $ 2.50 | NEW |
| Pitching | |||
| SP | Giolito | $ 5.30 | Arb 1 |
| SP | Keuchel | $ 18.00 | Contract |
| SP | Dunning | $ 0.57 | League Min |
| SP | Senzatela | $ 4.90 | NEW |
| SP | Shoemaker | $ 5.00 | NEW |
| CL | Bummer | $ 2.00 | Contract |
| Setup | Heuer | $ 0.57 | League Min |
| Setup | Marshall | $ 1.90 | Arb 2 |
| RP | Cordero | $ 0.57 | League Min |
| RP | Bass | $ 2.00 | NEW |
| RP | Foster | $ 0.57 | League Min |
| RP | Fry | $ 1.00 | Arb 1 |
| Long | Holland | $ 1.00 | NEW |
| Buyout | $ 0.50 | Gonzo buy-out | |
| Totals | $ 134.66 | ||
| Soft Cap | $ 135.00 |
I included Dunning in the rotation, but that could be Cease or Kopech or whoever wins that battle in spring training. I also left Crochet off the 26 man roster because I am unsure what the White Sox will do with him at the start of 2021. If he's going to be in the bullpen, you can send Matt Foster to his summer home in Charlotte.
-BeefLoaf
