PREAMBLE
Woof. That was quite honestly one of the most infuriating seasons I have ever had to watch in my 20 years of life. So, how do we fix this mess? Is there a way to even fix this mess? I honestly have no clue. A lot of the 2023 season will unfortunately be relied upon bounce backs. Restructuring this roster to still be a contender will be Hahn's and William's biggest task. But alas, Jerry has hired me and made Hahn my assistant, so lets see if things can get back on track.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
Write “tender,” “non-tender” or “rework/extend” after each player and their projected 2022 salaries. Feel free to offer explanation afterward if necessary.
- Lucas Giolito: $10.8M - Tender. Look, selling low on Giolito would be dumb. Yes I know he's in a contract year. But would selling low on an already thin SP core be smart?
- Dylan Cease: $5.3M - Tender. Don't think I need an explanation here. He isn't going to be taking any extension however (Thanks. Scott Boras)
- Reynaldo López; $3.3M - Tender. Reylo finally was given the full time chance to be a reliever and shined. Maybe some fatigue at the end of his season. Looking forward to giving him a shot at the closers role.
- Adam Engel: $2.3M - Non-tender. Sadly, Engel is having a hard time staying on the field. Whenever he is on the field, the production just is not there anymore. Re-signing him to a minor league deal is what I will do here.
- Michael Kopech: $2.2M - Tender. Michael having such a weird season is so White Sox. However I think people were more hard on him than Gio. He has not pitched this many innings in his career. This to me feels like a prime breakout opportunity, if he can develop a third pitch.
- Kyle Crick: $1.5M - Non-tender. Thought the Katz lab could fix you, but elbow issues decided against that.
- José Ruiz: $1M - Non-tender. Not exactly sure what the reason is for having someone who absolutely cannot pitch in high leverage innings. Especially making $1M.
- Danny Mendick: $1M - Tender. He looked really good before you-know-who decided to take his legs out. A good bench piece.
CLUB OPTIONS
Write “pick up” or “decline” or “rework” after the option.
- Tim Anderson: $12.5M ($1M buyout) - Pick up. Obvious decision here. Hoping the power returns in 2023 or there might be real issues.
- Josh Harrison: $5.625M ($1.5M buyout) - Decline. Loved revving the engine. Too bad the car sputtered at the start of the year or this might be a different conversation.
PLAYER OPTIONS
Write “exercised” or “takes buyout.” The question here is whether you think Pollock could do better than one year and $8 million on the open market. I’m filling it in with “exercised” unless you can provide a compelling argument against it.
- AJ Pollock: $13M ($5 million buyout) — EXERCISED. I do think there is a slight chance Pollock absolutely hated it in Chicago and wants to go back out to the west coast. But, $13M seems like too high of a number to turn down.
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
Try to retain, extend qualifying offer, or let go?
- José Abreu (Made $18M in 2021) - Let go. It has been one hell of a ride José. Go win yourself a ring. You deserve it after being trapped in this organization for your career.
- Johnny Cueto ($4.2M) Let go. Cueto is due for a raise after having a somewhat strong 2022. I expect him to regress next year, which is scaring me from going back to this well.
- Vince Velasquez ($3M) - Let go. Thanks for, uh, the 8th inning in Seattle? That's about it.
- Elvis Andrus ($14.25M) - Let go. That month and a half was really fun. However he started to look more like the actual Elvis Andrus in the last few weeks of the season. Let's all be happy for the production he brought, and let's not think it's sustainable.
- DFA: Jake Diekman. He just sucked, man.
MANAGER
Name your manager from the available candidates as of Oct. 28. Feel free to offer any rationale, or any other coaching staff adjustments.
My number one candidate is Joe Espada. However, I will listen to the Sox burners of the world (shoutout Portilloshamburger). Kevin Long will be my pick. Quatraro would be my pick, but I think he ends up in KC. It would not be the sexiest managerial pick, but it is different. Something the White Sox do not do. Ozzie would be the worst candidate for this job. I stand by that. Living in the past is the worst idea, because we saw how terrible it ended last year. I would bring former Cardinals hitting coach Jeff Albert in to replace Menechino. Just need a new voice. Promote Justin Jirschele to a base coach, and, why not bring back Cairo as bench coach.
FREE AGENTS
List three free-agent targets you’d pursue during the offseason, with a reasonable contract. A good example of a bad idea:
No. 1: Michael Conforto (Two years, $35M + club option for $14M, $5M buyout). He is still a need. Left handed bats are a must, and I cannot see a world where they sign Nimmo. A healthy Conforto is a really really good Conforto. At minimum, the contract is 2/$40M. I think that's pretty fair for a desperate need.
No. 2: Sean Manaea (One year, $11M) Truth be told, I have no idea what Manaea's market will look like. But, I think after coming off a down year, getting him for $11M might not be a terrible gamble. Getting Manaea to stop throwing his sinker is a must, and the Sox were all over him before he was traded to San Diego. I think getting him with Katz would be a huge boost for him and the team.
No. 3: Joc Pederson (One year, $13M + club option for $8M, $3m buyout). Finally, the Joc comes to Chicago. Rick Hahn finally wins. Another much needed LHB, he slots in at the DH/LF mold. He was sooooooo good hitting this year in San Fran. A 144 wRC+ might get him some more dough, however $16M AAV guaranteed is not a bad grab for him.
No. 4: Matt Moore (One year, $5M). Moore was really good for Texas and another left handed reliever wouldn't hurt.
No. 5: Mike Zunino (One year, $4M). Hopefully he is healthy, but he has shown when he is, he's a really good defender and hits for a lot of power. Sounds like something that the Sox could use to ease on Grandal's knees.
TRADES
Propose trades that you think sound reasonable for both sides, and the rationale behind them. A good example of a bad idea:
No. 1: Trade RHP Liam Hendriks and 1B/OF Gavin Sheets to the Dodgers for RHP Ryan Pepiot and OF James Outman. I have seen this idea of Liam to the Dodgers on a few others offseason plans, and let me say I LOVE IT. After having to leave Kimbrel off their playoff roster, and not having the strongest bullpen, I think solidifying the 9th for LA is a must. Also, getting Sheets to play the Cody Bellinger (non-tender candidate)/ Edwin Rios role seems like something they would be interested in. The White Sox get back two top 15 prospects back from the Dodgers, which makes me a bit hesitant to say the Dodgers would do this, but hey, Hendriks contract gets re-worked to 2yrs/$29M, which is $14.5 aav. Pretty good deal for one of the top closers in baseball
No. 2: Trade RHP Lance Lynn and RHP Matt Foster to the Yankees for 2B Gleyber Torres. I know what people are thinking. WHATTTTTTTTT? Here me out. Lynn is owed $18.5M, the highest salary for the 2023 season. The Yankees would reunite with Lynn, with a revamped coaching staff. There has already been rumors that Gleyber was unhappy being mentioned in trade talks for RHP Pablo Lopez, and is unsure about his future with the Yankees. White Sox get their immediate 2B in Gleyber, who posted a 115 wRC+ in the Bronx last year. Getting him with Long and Albert hopefully would boost that production.
No. 3: Trade RHP Joe Kelly to the Rangers for cash or PTBNL. This is just simply a salary dump. Kelly sucked and we all know the Rangers are trying to compete, and were 28th in bullpen production according to fangraphs.
No. 4: Trade OF Eloy Jimenez and Lenyn Sosa to the Marlins for LHP Jesus Luzardo and RHP Anthony Bender. I'm not sure how available Luzardo is, but I know the Marlins want to trade from their surplus of pitching to get hitting. Luzardo broke out in 2022, and the Sox could use another big time LHP. I knowwwww Eloy hit really well for the Sox in the 2nd half, but, relying on his health and his defensive liability should be taken advantage of with his hitting.
No. 5: Trade A.J. Pollock to Diamondbacks for cash or PTBNL. Another salary dump, a nine reunion for Arizona to give Thomas, Carroll, etc. less pressure and a veteran experience.
No. 6: Trade OF Luis Mieses to the Athletics for LHP A.J. Puk. Might have to pay a litttle more but that's okay. Puk is coming into his own as a reliever now and would be useful for the White Sox.
SUMMARY
That brings the payroll right around $188M with a lot of roster revamps. So lets take a look at the brand new White Sox!
C - Grandal, Zunino
1B - Vaughn
2B - Torres, Mendick
3B - Moncada
SS - Anderson, Leury,
LF - Joc
CF - Robert, Outman
RF - Conforto
DH - Colas (see below), Joc, Conforto, etc
SP - Cease, Giolito, Luzardo, Kopech, Manaea, Pepiot
RP - Lopez, Lambert, Bender, Moore, Graveman, Bummer, Puk,
I plan on Oscar Colas coming up at some point in the season, so slot him in that outfield rotation. Engel also is insurance in AAA, and Jesus Aguilar is also 1B depth down in AAA as well for me.
Now, of course this will not happen, because this would actually make the team different. I expect the absolute least from this FO. I would not be surprised to see this team "run it back" because they still believe in talent. Hopefully the FO gives us something to cheer about in the upcoming year.
