PREAMBLE
The White Sox have very top-heavy major league talent, with a lack of organizational depth that can step in in the event of injury or poor performances. My plan is to fortify the rotation, fix the DH shit-show and provide high minors depth that can be called upon to keep a winning effort on the field for a full 162. Time to win a ‘ship.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Nomar Mazara:$5.9M – Non-Tender, at least until he hits another 500-foot home run against a bad White Sox pitched and Hahn feels the need to trade for him again.
- Carlos Rodón: $4.5M – Non-Tender, with the bigger contracts I’m shooting for this offseason $4.5M will need to be saved for elsewhere.
- Lucas Giolito:$5.3M – Tender, Giolito comes from decent wealth and thus will be less inclined to take a team-friendly deal early in his career. I imagine Hahn will have a good line of communication with him and both sides will understand that if the team goes on a deep playoff run there will be extra payroll that can be used to negotiate a larger extension.
- Reynaldo López: $2.2M – Tender, see trades below.
- Evan Marshall: $1.9M – Tender, solid BP arm for affordable price. No-brainer in my thoughts.
- Adam Engel: $1.4M – Tender, Engel showed last year that he is a VERY serviceable outfielder if platooned and deployed correctly. Engel’s speed, defensive versatility and ability to hit lefties make this an easy tender.
- Jace Fry:$1M – Tender, might not be what he hoped he would be, but for $1M a lefty BP arm is worth the investment.
- Yolmer Sánchez:Uncertain – Non-Tender, but give a MiLB contract if there are no other takers in the market. The cynic in me knows damn well that he’ll somehow get 70+ at-bats for the Sox next September.
CLUB OPTIONS
- Edwin Encarnación:$12M – Decline, very well done by Hahn to negotiate the team option on this. A lot of money here that can be used for free agents.
- Gio González:$7M ($500K buyout) – Buyout, not worth $7M. Potentially worth bringing him back if this number goes below $3M on the open market.
- Leury García:$3.5M ($250K buyout) – Buyout, this is a tough one. Leury has been a swiss army knife for several years, but he doesn’t do anything particularly well enough to warrant a $3.5M contract. I’m sure he’ll find a job somewhere with his skillset.
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
- Alex Colomé (Made $10,532,500 in 2020) – Let go. $5M will be saved with my trade for a new closer below.
- James McCann(Made $5.4M in 2020) – Let go. The cost will be too high to retain him as solely a backup catcher. He’ll command $10M+ annually and anyone not getting JT Realmuto will home in on McCann. I’m very happy for McCann and his ability to turn his career around, he’s earned his big pay day.
- Jarrod Dyson(Made $2M in 2020) – Let go. Can get his services for cheaper elsewhere.
COACHING STAFF
- Manager: AJ Hinch
- Pitching coach: Ruben Niebla
Hinch is self-explanatory. He paid his price and took the blame for his players actions, which should take the sour taste out of fans’ mouths with this hire. While players got to keep playing with no punishment, Hinch lost a year of his career. Time to put this behind him and get another ring.
Ruben Niebla was the Cleveland Indians minor league pitching coordinator from 2013-2019 and was the assistant pitching coach last season. We’ve all seen Cleveland’s success in developing pitchers in their system, which the White Sox desperately need help with to sustain their upcoming success. Niebla will be an upgrade over Coop and will help the Sox with their young pitchers who are still trying to get their footing (Cease, Kopech, Dunning, Foster, Heuer, etc.)
FREE AGENTS
No. 1: DH/LF Michael Brantley (two year, $26M, third-year mutual option $13M). I don’t want to see Brantley in the OF unless there’s an emergency, which will help keep his questionable health record in check. His consistent offensive abilities from the left side of the plate will be a perfect fit for the Sox’s DH void.
No. 2: SP Jose Quintana (one year, $5M). Quintana gets to come back to the last team where he had sustained success on the mound, and once again isn’t forced to move from Chicago. Quintana gets a one-year show me contract to try and get another extended contract heading into 2021, and gives the Sox another lefty in the rotation.
No. 3: SP Marcus Stroman (three year, $57M, fourth year mutual option $19M). I would prefer Bauer here, but his short-term dollars don’t fit with the Sox’s payroll ceiling for 2021. Stroman is the next best option.
No. 4: C Jeff Mathis (one year, $1M). Mathis is a veteran catcher known for his defensive abilities and desire to mentor young players. With the youth on this pitching staff a year with Mathis as backup catcher will be very beneficial to the team.
No. 5: IF Eric Sogard (one year, $3.5M, second year team option $3.5M). Veteran depth that can play around the infield and handle high pressure situations. This alleviates the need for Danny Mendick to be overexposed.
TRADES
No. 1: Trade Gavin Sheets and Lenyn Sosa to Cincinnati for Archie Bradley. Bradley has one year on his contract for $5M but is more affordable than Colome and will give other potential closers (Bummer, Crochet, etc.) a year to develop in high-leverage situations. Sheets and Sosa are expendable at this point with Grandal, Abreu, Vaughn and TA7 around for several years.
No. 1: Trade Reynaldo Lopez, Ti’Quan Forbes, Harvin Mendoza and the choice of Zack Collins, Seby Zavala or Yermin Mercedes to Seattle for Mitch Haniger and Ty France. Haniger is coming off an extended injury that has sidelined him for much of the last two seasons. So I think the Sox could swoop in on a buy-low candidate while giving the rebuilding Mariners some much needed prospect depth (specifically at catcher, which they’ve struggled with developing) and a young major league arm to work with. Ty France is a utility infielder with 5 years of control who has shown promise in his limited time in the majors. He will start in AAA with Eric Sogard in the mix and is reliable to be called up in case of injury or poor performance.
SUMMARY
26 Man Roster:
Pitchers:
RSP – Lucas Giolito ($5.3M)
LSP – Dallas Keuchel ($18M)
RSP – Marcus Stroman ($19M)
RSP – Dane Dunning ($0.6M)
LSP – Jose Quintana ($5M)
LRP – Garret Crochet ($0.6M)
LRP – Aaron Bummer ($2.0M)
LRP – Jace Fry ($0.9M)
RRP – Jimmy Lambert ($0.6M)
RRP – Jimmy Cordero ($0.6M)
RRP – Codi Heuer ($0.6M)
RRP – Matt Foster ($0.6M)
RRP – Evan Marshall ($1.5M)
RRP – Archie Bradley ($5M)
(Kopech and Cease begin season in AAA)
Lineup:
SS R: Tim Anderson ($7.3M)
DH L: Michael Brantley ($13M)
C S: Yasmani Grandal ($18.3M)
1B R: Jose Abreu ($17.7M)
LF R: Eloy Jimenez ($4.3M)
3B S: Yoan Moncada ($6.8M)
CF R: Luis Robert ($3.5M)
RF R: Mitch Haniger ($3M)
2B R: Nick Madrigal ($0.6M)
Bench:
C R: Jeff Mathis ($1M)
OF R: Adam Engel ($1.2M)
IF L: Eric Sogard ($3.5M)
Total Payroll: $140.5M
