Although 59 players were non-tendered across Major League Baseball at the deadline, it wasn't exactly the Wednesday Night Massacre writers and their sources expected.
In the end, a bloodbath wasn't the correct analogy. It looks more like a sinking ship, where lifeboats reduced the number of casualties, but reduced the standard of living across the board nevertheless.
Look at some old friends, for example. Omar Narváez's $3.1 million arbitration projection put him at risk of being no-tendered. He stayed employed by signing a $2.5 million deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, which is a $250,000 reduction from his 2019 salary.
Over in Baltimore, the Orioles non-tendered Hanser Alberto and his $4.1 million salary projection, partially because they signed Yolmer Sánchez (2019 previous arb projection: $6.2 projection) for $1 million. It didn't matter that Alberto offered superior production. Baltimore GM Mike Elias did a bad Rick Hahn impersonation by responding to a specific question with a general summary of the premise.
Outside of former Sox, the Twins signed four of their arb-eligible players for below their projections. These are developments that the basic number of non-tenders can't cover.
Alongside that, the non-tender deadline continued to add useful, proven MLB players to the available talent pool. Back in 2017, the best player non-tendered was Ryan Goins. Maybe that was a particularly arid crop, because Welington Castillo, Chris Carter and Tyson Ross had been non-tendered the year before, but either way, this particular process is now producing almost complete rosters on an annual basis.
This year's group of non-tenders suits the White Sox well, adding three more left-handed bats who can rotate between DH and a corner outfield spot.
*Kyle Schwarber: Unlike other players on this list, Schwarber earned his DFA. His triple-slash line represented career lows in all categories (.188/.308/.393), with his ground-ball rate surging to 50.8 percent, and his strikeout rate jumping to nearly 30 percent. He draws walks and hits the ball hard, so remove outfield and most left-handed pitching from his responsibilities, and he might be highly effective once he puts 2020 weirdness behind him. But it's also worth wondering what kind of player he is when removing the Cubs hype and team success. The numbers never backed up the "Babe" references, and he just might be aging early.
The White Sox have a role for Schwarber's strengths. The White Sox just haven't shown an ability to fix players, or to have enough talent to keep players underexposed. That's why Adam Engel's 2020 season was so refreshing, even if "too much Nomar Mazara" was a byproduct of finally putting Engel in a position to succeed.
*Eddie Rosario: He's one of the leading examples of baseball's new economy. He's averaged .281/.317/.493 over the last four seasons, averaging 33 homers and 103 RBIs over 162 games. The Twins played him only in left field when they could help it, but he was mostly fine there. He didn't walk, but he didn't swing and miss much, either, and he's a lefty who can stand in against lefties. You can replace him, but it's not easy. The Twins are going to try, rather than haggle over a $12 million arbitration projection.
*David Dahl: Playing MLB The Show 17, Dahl was one of the few active players to actually make it into the Hall of Fame. The PS4 version of Dahl actually stayed healthy. The real-life version cna't. He's only played in 100 games twice over his nine-year pro career thanks to an assortment of injuries:
- 2020: Oblique strain, right shoulder issue.
- 2019: High ankle sprain
- 2018: Fractured right foot
- 2017: Stress reaction in rib
- 2015: Lacerated spleen
- 2013: Hamstring injury
It's getting to the point that Dahl's injury history is leading to its own injuries:
Feeling he had missed too much time in his career with injury already, Rockies outfielder David Dahl didn’t report that his right shoulder hurt when he began throwing in January.
“I figured that I’d been on the DL a lot, and I needed to figure this thing out on my own and push through this,” Dahl said.
Well, that injury begat another, then another. But, finally, on Wednesday, Dahl and the Rockies announced that his season is over because of the shoulder issue. He will see orthopedic and sports medicine surgeon Jeffrey R. Dugas at the Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday for a diagnosis.
He hit .286/.334/.494 for the Rockies in the 264 games he could play, which is why he's going to draw interest despite all the issues. The White Sox can't make plans around him, but if he somehow had to settle for a minor-league contract after a .470 OPS in 2020, the White Sox might be able to sell him on it.
On the podcast, Josh asked how we'd arrange all the backup plans beyond George Springer in right field. I still think Joc Pederson and Jackie Bradley Jr. are superior options when paired with Engel, but Rosario adds a capable player to the field, and Dahl might draw the attention of rebuilding teams shopping on the lower tiers. Schwarber doesn't apply to the right field discussion, but the Sox still need a DH and a left-handed threat, and Schwarber theoretically addresses those gaps.
* * * * * * * * *
A few more non-tendered players who drew my attention:
*Curt Casali: He surfaced in the Offseason Plan Project as a second catcher via trade because he was thoroughly blocked by Tucker Barnhart and Tyler Stephenson in Cincinnati. That blocking led to his non-tender instead. The right-handed Casali hit .260/.345/.440 over three years with the Reds and receives well, so assuming his offseason wrist surgery doesn't foreshadow a drop in production, he's a credible candidate for backing up Yasmani Grandal. Hey, a non-tendering is how the White Sox signed James McCann.
*Travis Shaw: He has a .619 OPS over the last two seasons, so he earned his non-tender from the Blue Jays. ZiPS doesn't quite think he's done (.229/.320/.432), and his left-handed power and ability to cover multiple infield positions would make sense on a minor-league deal. With Nick Madrigal's shoulder surgery and Yoán Moncada's post-COVID uncertainty, the White Sox have avenues to playing time.
*Archie Bradley: The Reds non-tendered Bradley after acquiring him from Arizona at the trade deadline, and after Bradley did his job well with the Reds (one run over 7⅔ innings). He was expected to earn up to $5.7 million in arbitration, and the Reds don't have much in the way of proven late-inning options otherwise.
(Photo by Ian D'Andrea)
