The White Sox answered the inital round of offseason questions before free agency opened:
- Yea for Tim Anderson's option
- Nay for Josh Harrison's
- Happy trails, AJ Pollock
- A payroll within the vicinity of last year's ...
- ... or not
So now it's my turn to attempt to answer the initial round of questions now that hot stove season is officially underway.
What is the market for Masataka Yoshida and what do you think his contract will look like? Could he be on the White Sox radar?
-- Tim B.
While starting pitcher Kodai Senga grabbed the early headlines among high-profile NPB players joining the free agent pool, Yoshida is working his way toward that end, as Orix is expected to post him before the Dec. 5 deadline.
Theoretically, he gives the White Sox a lot of what they need, at least offensively: a left-handed batting champ who walks twice as much as he strikes out, and has the power to hit 20 or so homers in Japan. But he doesn't grade out well defensively, and at 29, it's hard to count on him improving, so everything rides on the bat.
I'd be surprised if he got anywhere near the Seiya Suzuki deal (five years, $85 million plus a $14.625 million posting fee), just because Suzuki showed greater power, and nobody doubted his ability to hold down right field. I'd also be surprised if the White Sox showed any interest, because they haven't been connected to any NPB or KBO player in years. I don't think they have anybody in the front office who pounds the table for those players the way they have advocates for Cuban players.
You guys mentioned this briefly in the last podcast, but would there be a trade market for Graveman? If the Sox could move his salary instead of Liam’s, that amount combined with the Pollock savings is similar to Hendriks’ amount. Even if they don’t get anything for him, I’d rather move him, keep Hendriks and use the money on the OF or 2B.
-- Steve Griffin
The trade market for Kendall Graveman improves seemingly by the day, but I think the difference in financial commitments underscores the gap in confidence between Graveman and Liam Hendriks. He was traded with Rafael Montero for Joe Smith and Abraham Toro, and while Graveman was the departure that generated clubhouse drama for Seattle, Montero ended up being the most valuable player dealt, and the Astros retained him on a contract that beats Graveman by better than $3 million a year.
Graveman is fine, especially if his ineffectiveness on back-to-back days was one of the less noticeable byproducts of an inadequate/overwhelmed strength and conditioning staff. I think you're correct in how you're framing it: You deal Hendriks to look for impact elsewhere, even if it takes a bite out of your bullpen. You deal Graveman to reallocate resources, and maybe you get a decent player for him.
I would give up Giolito, Grandal and Hendricks if I could afford Judge. I know it would be nearly impossible to shed Grandal's contract, but would you like to see Judge on the team to fuel a serious run for the WS?
-- Mark R.
The immediate reaction is "of course," because he's the one player who has an MVP case equivalent to Shohei Ohtani. The only reservation I have is that he's 31 years old, and players his size tend to fall off a cliff, so I would not be as excited about giving him a contract toward age 40 as I would have for Bryce Harper. But had we never known the conditions that made a Harper-like star as signable as one would ever get, then perhaps I'd accept those risks a little more gladly.
I seem to recall that Benitendi was high on their list when he was draft eligible. Is this the year that they finally get him?
-- SoxOdyssey2031
Yeah, the Red Sox snapped up Andrew Benintendi one pick before the White Sox selected Carson Fulmer, so there are some elements of "Kenny always gets his man" in play here. Benintendi is also one of those players who does a little bit of everything -- hits OK, runs OK, walks OK, defends OK -- and the Sox tend to gravitate to that profile more than I do. When it comes to the White Sox's track record, I tend to look at that kind of player in terms of "What skill can he rely on if things start to go south?" and I'm not quite sure what that is with him.
Benintendi also has never played a game in right field, which is something considering he's played 71 below-average games in center. Then again, maybe that's because Mookie Betts occupied the other corner during his time in Boston.
If the White Sox are truly sitting out of the higher circles of free agency, then Benintendi is probably too rich for their blood. But here's a case where Pedro Grifol could have something to say about him one way or another.
There's been general positivity around recent news (Grifol, Pollock, Hahn's comments) but I can't help but remember the allegation that Reinsdorf thought 2nd place was perfectly fine and that our Jim once argued that the Machado offer was designed to finish second - Could a $190M payroll be just the right amount to look like they're trying hard? (I agree with Bernstein that this is *exactly* the type of problem situation that a LOT of money could buy the White Sox out of.)
-- Gar Ridge
It kinda feels like it, although not in terms of raw dollars spent. They finished No. 7 in baseball in 2022 according to Spotrac, which is nine spots higher than the next AL Central team. That'd be the Twins, and I'd say they spent money like a team that wanted to finish in second, especially with the way they cheaped out on their pitching staff again. The White Sox's problems stem more from a front office with a limited imagination and a manager nobody but Jerry Reinsdorf wanted around.
Now, if they fall out of the top 10 in payroll while assuming the be-grateful-we're-spending-this-much stance, and moving on from Tony La Russa only cures an insignificant portion of what ailed them, then they can fairly be accused of not wanting it enough. Especially if somebody like James Click is out there, and the White Sox are still forcing Williams and Rick Hahn on everybody.
Could Pollock's opt-out reflect negatively on the Grifol hiring? Is it possible he was considering staying if a more proven manager (or just one with more of a national reputation, like Espada) was hired? And do you think the hiring could also affect a free agent's willingness to sign with the White Sox? Not a knock on the Grifol hire and certainly not upset about Pollock's opt-out, just wondering about possible ramification of a somewhat surprising manager hire.
-- George Martin
I'm not seeing it. Pollock never chose the White Sox to begin with, he had a really disappointing season, it didn't look like a fun place to play before Grifol, and there's a lot of writing on the wall with regards to his playing time, so he might spend yet another whole offseason wondering where he's actually going to end up. It makes a lot of sense for him to pursue the "agency" part of "free agency" even if the White Sox hired Dave Roberts, or somebody else he really enjoyed playing for.
With very few LH starting pitchers in the Sox farm system, I really think they need to pursue one; do you have a preference of the available free agents?
-- SoxOdyssey2031
Normally I would've disagreed with the need to get a left-handed starter because I think handedness takes a back seat to getting through five or six innings at a time, but with MLB banning extreme shifts and encouraging the running game with pitch clocks and larger bases, it probably wouldn't hurt to have a lefty or two in the mix.
That said, this winter doesn't look like the best offseason to address it, especially if Tyler Anderson and Martin Pérez accept their qualifying offers. The only players in between Carlos Rodón and one-year guys are Sean Manaea (a Scott Boras client who gave up a ton of homers in San Diego of all places) and Jose Quintana (who I think benefited from PNC Park being a great place for left-handed pitchers). I'd probably go with Manaea, especially if Ethan Katz had a strong notion about how to fix mechanics that were supposedly out of whack.
Is Yoelqui Cespedes a viable option in the outfield this coming season?
-- Alec S.
Céspedes reminds me a lot of Adam Engel's profile during his minor-league days. There's the idea that his hitting trails the rest of his game in what he offers the team (he can catch, throw and run). Céspedes has a more fluid swing, and he's flashed a lot more power than Engel, who has never reached double-digits in homers in any season. However, I think his entire approach requires just as much work for his bat to be useful at the MLB level.
Engel needed several seasons to shape up his swing to achieve a credible fourth-outfielder profile, and he wouldn't have gotten that kind of runway had the White Sox not had such low expectations both individually and as a team during that time. Here, the White Sox are ostensibly contending, and Céspedes won't have to be added to the 40-man roster until after the season. If he ends up receiving any kind of playing time for the White Sox in 2023, it's either really good or really bad news.
