PREAMBLE
The 2023 White Sox were both bad and boring and raised questions like "is there an absolute morality" (no, or we wouldn't have signed Clevinger) and "why does a team in the country's third biggest market act like they play in baseball's version of the Iron Leagues?" With a collective heart the size of Ebeneezer Scrooge before the ghosts came and a baffling inability to perform most basic baseball tasks, the Sox roster was in dire need of a true overhaul.
But I'm forever aware that Sox fans are the Charlie Brown to Jerry's Lucy and so I tried to temper this plan with some realism. We're not getting a Blake Snell or a Cody Bellinger because they want to win and get paid and most years, the Sox tend not to care about either. No-one is taking Yoan off our hands when they can just wait a year for us to buy him out. But there are fixes available that could make the Sox watchable whilst we await the fruit of yet another rebuild.
Come March, I'll be snarling about having to watch Opening Day starter Touki Toussaint, but for now, let's dream (but only a little.)
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Dylan Cease: $8.8M – TENDER (but trade)
- Andrew Vaughn: $3.7M – TENDER
- Michael Kopech: $3.6M – TENDER (and he moves to the pen)
- Touki Toussaint: $1.7M – TENDER
- Trayce Thompson: $1.7M – NONTENDER
- Garrett Crochet: $900K – TENDER
- Clint Frazier: $900K – NONTENDER
- Matt Foster: $740K – TENDER
CLUB OPTIONS
- Tim Anderson: $14M ($1M buyout) – DECLINE (don't let the door hit your glass jaw on the way out.)
- Liam Hendriks: $15M ($15M buyout, paid $1.5M annually over next 10 years) – DECLINE
MUTUAL OPTIONS
- Mike Clevinger: $12M mutual option ($4 million buyout) – Buh bye to one of the most odious creatures to ever darken 35th and Shields.
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
- Yasmani Grandal (Made $18.25M in 2023) – LET GO
- Elvis Andrus ($3M) – LET GO
- Bryan Shaw ($720K) – Re-sign at $800K
- José Ureña ($720K) – LET GO (was this a serious question?)
FREE AGENTS
No. 1: Eduardo Rodriguez (4 years, $80M). He reportedly wants to stay near Detroit, but I don't think Detroit will be too high on bringing him back after he sandbagged the Dodgers trade. I'm guessing the injuries last year and his age by the end of the contract bring the price down enough for us to take vengeance for the Benetti theft and, voila, we have the lefty top of our rotation!
No. 2: Jack Flaherty (3 years, $40) My heart wanted to immediately facilitate a Gio reunion, but my brain said we need to stabilize a rotation decimated by trades and general lousiness. The Flaherty deal puts a lot on Etan Katz to resuscitate a guy whose future only 4 years ago looked limitless. But the price and years are right so that if there's no magic to be worked, we can move on.
No. 3: Yariel Rodriguez (4 years, $30M). This makes almost too much sense not to happen. The Cuban connection lures the righty towards us and then we overpay for a guy who's seen something like 7 innings of international competition. But scouts seem to like him and, importantly for the Sox, his former team, the Chunichi Dragons, granted him his release. So no posting fee. Cuban and comes cheap. Sounds like the White Sox to me.
No. 4: Lucas Giolito (1 years, $13M). A prove-it year for Gio and allows us not to rush Nastrini (or Eder, God help us) to the bigs. Gio is comfortable here and after a tumultuous professional and personal season, he'll appreciate being allowed to fix himself on a team that will be lucky to sniff local, let alone national attention.
No. 5: Teoscar Hernandez (4 years, $80M). He hits for power, plays a passable right, and will finally allow us to ignore the right field position for a bit. Jerry can sell the fanbase on a new record contract, but it's still not $100M, so he can tell himself he held the line. This is my favorite move and will never happen in this reality, but it's my OPP and he's the protection Robert, Jr. needs.
No. 6: Whit Merrifield (2 years, $16M). We all know it's coming and I've decided to embrace it. But y'know what? Having a competent, professional hitter who can run the basepaths and plays good defense isn't the worst thing to have. He'll hold it down while we wait for a certain someone to develop. Plus, when we eventually move on, we can honestly say the Sox don't give a Whit.
No. 7: Paul DeJong (1 year, $5M). The Colson Watch begins and we plug in a warm body who plays the position well, is younger than Elvis, and can run into a few homeruns. Best case scenario, he helps us to a surprising Central title or plays well enough to be traded. Worst case scenario is what we suffered through in 2023 at short. Without the burden of Andersonian expectations, DeJong won't hit the worst case scenario.
No. 8: Victor Caratini (2 years, $12M). I'd talked myself into a trade that would bring back James McCann to fill the spot for one year, but my gut tells me that Quero is at least two years away. Here's hoping a bidding market doesn't open up, because we won't swim in those waters.
No. 9: Andrew Chafin (2 years, $7M.) Since none of us know what Crochet will be, we'll need a lefty reliever we can count on. Chafin fits the bill and is predicted to be available at a reasonable price, but his moustache would warrant consideration no matter what.
TRADES
All trades run through baseball trade values trade simulator.
No. 1: Trade Dylan Cease, Aaron Bummer and Ryan Burrowes to Baltimore for Heston Kjerstad, Connor Norby, Dylan Beavers, Cade Povich, and Bryan Baker. (BAL 49.10/CWS 47.3) This trade is predicated on a few salient facts. The Sox will never offer Dylan a reasonable contract (Cease any such thoughts.) We're not winning anything over his next two years. Baltimore is cheap, has already said it won't pay all of its young core, and needs a front-of rotation starter while its current window is open. Cease gives them an ace at non-ace prices and they should've grabbed him last year. In Kjerstad and Norby, we get two top prospects who (ideally) continue to develop over the next year or two while Benny and Whit finish their starting days, or (far more unlikely) force the issue in spring training. Beavers gives us a guy who could conceivably patrol center when Luis Robert Jr. abandons the Bad Ship NeverPop and Povich could be a lefty back of rotation guy. Bummer is the fly in the ointment of this trade, but to get an Ace, sometimes you have to take a Bum.
No. 2: Trade Eloy Jimenez and Oscar Colas to Boston for Alex Verdugo. (CWS 5.0/BOS 4.3). It's a sad commentary on the Big Baby that I had to throw in Colas to make this trade work, but that's why it has to be done; Eloy just hasn't worked out. In what amounts to a swap of expiring contracts, Boston moves on from Verdugo (whom they're actively shopping) and sees if they can fix Eloy and give them a power bat to pair with Devers. If they can't, well, move on to Oscar. The Sox get another professional, competent hitter who plays defense and can rotate with Hernandez between RF and DH. At this point, I'd take a Donnie Hill baseball card for Jimenez, that's how much I think he needs to go to change the clubhouse dynamics. This team needs a massive shakeup and this trade certainly does that.
2024 Starting Lineup and Bench $108.9 Million
- Andrew Benintendi LF $17.1M
- Whit Merrifield 2b $8M
- Luis Robert Jr. CF $12.5M
- Teoscar Hernandez DH $20M
- Andrew Vaughn 1B $3.5M
- Alex Verdugo RF $9.3M
- Yoan Moncada 3B $24.5M
- Paul DeJong SS $5M
- Victor Caratini C $6M
Bench C Korey Lee ($750k), OF/1B Gavin Sheets ($770K), OF Adam Haseley ($770k) and IF Romy Gonzalez ($750k)
Starting Rotation $54.5 Million
- Eduardo Rodriguez L $20M
- Lucas Giolito R $12M
- Jack Flaherty R $13.3M
- Yariel Rodriguez R $7.5M
- Touki Touissant R $1.7M
Bullpen/Arm Barn $11.09 Million
Gregory Santos R($770k), Andrew Chafin L($3.5M), Bryan Baker R($770k), Garrett Crochet L ($900k), Matt Foster R($740k), Michael Kopech R ($3.6M), Bryan Shaw R ($800k) Jordan Leasure R ($750k)
2024 Payroll $174.5 million dollars.
Summary.
This isn't a team that's going to beat the Rangers, Rays, Phillies, or Braves. Hell, it might not beat most teams in the Central. The rotation is spotty, the pen could be an absolute mess and the less said about the bench, the better. But, unlike Hahn, I'm not putting the bullpen cart before the horse. The purpose of this plan is to slowly mold us into a more athletic, fundamentally sound team that has an actual future at key positions that it can hold out to the fans. We're probably not winning 82-88 wins, but we also won't lose 101 this year either. And with Moncada's money coming off the books in 2025 (we're 100% buying him out) we'll have flexibility to address other needs going forward. Only for once, we won't have to worry about RF or 2B. At least for a little while.
