White Sox pitchers and catchers report to spring training one month from now, and it's still possible that the Sox could add one of each to the ranks. Some notable options for each position fell off the board this week, so let's take inventory of who else is out there this winter.
Coming off surgery for a torn shoulder muscle, Corey Kluber threw a showcase on Wednesday in front of a couple dozen teams, then signed a one-year, $11 million deal with the New York Yankees on Friday. If only every free agent's offseason were as tidy.
Of course, Kluber benefited from seeking a one-year make-good deal, which are moving at more or less their usual pace this offseason. It's the bigger names in search of longer deals that have the winter all constipated.
To that point, Alex Wood also signed a one-year deal, landing in San Francisco for $3 million. Neither pitcher seemed all that likely to fit with the White Sox, so even when removing them from the list of available arms, plenty of intriguing names remain. In order of FanGraphs projected WAR:
- Trevor Bauer (3.8)
- Masahiro Tanaka (2.9)
- James Paxton (2.3)
- Jake Odorizzi (1.8)
- Rick Porcello (1.8)
- Chris Archer (1.8)
- José Quintana (1.6)
- Garrett Richards (1.5)
- Matt Shoemaker (1.5)
* * * * * * * * *
Likewise, Kurt Suzuki's decision to sign with the Los Angeles Angels removes one plausible option from the list of backup catchers. Suzuki is pretty much a right-handed, lower-profile A.J. Pierzynski. He doesn't offer any strengths on the defensive side, but he keeps hitting into his late 30s (.269/.328/.457), so he keeps finding good jobs.
The list of projectable catchers is shorter, and even heavier at the top:
- J.T. Realmuto (4.1)
- Yadier Molina (1.4)
- Wilson Ramos (1.2)
- Jason Castro (1.0)
- Tyler Flowers (1.0)
- Alex Avila (0.8)
And while Tony La Russa's presence gives Yadier Molina a non-negligible reason to consider the White Sox, it doesn't sound like that's going to be enough of a pull.
Molina, 38, repeatedly has made clear his preference to return to the Cardinals. He’s seeking a two-year contract, but recently acknowledged with the sluggish offseason that if an appealing offer isn’t there he’ll consider retiring.
“Getting ready as always and God will tell,” Molina said in an interview with Cardinals broadcaster Polo Ascensio set to run Thursday at noon St. Louis time on La Vida Baseball’s Facebook page. The interview was done in Spanish. “If God wants me to come back, then I’ll come back. And if not I will retire happy with my head held high.”
(Photo by Erik Drost / Flickr)
