Spring training nears, but White Sox offseason is very incomplete
The White Sox could still use an upgrade in the outfield, at shortstop and designated hitter with only a few days in January remaining.
By
Matt Snyder
•
3 min read
The Chicago White Sox have been relatively busy this offseason, swinging deals for Todd Frazier and Brett Lawrie to upgrade them at two problem areas. Alex Avila and Dioner Navarro will help behind the plate as well. Overall, though, the White Sox don't appear to have a roster set to compete in the very tough AL Central.
With Chris Sale (age 27 this year) and Jose Abreu (29) in their respective primes, the White Sox can't afford to keep wasting away as a mediocre ballclub. Having two prime talents like this is something special and they must capitalize.
In order to do that, general manager Rick Hahn needs to have an aggressive final few weeks of the offseason.
First off, they can sign Dexter Fowler. That can move Adam Eaton to left field -- where he should be a very good defender -- and platoon Melky Cabrera and Avisail Garcia in right field. I've noted the platoon splits on the due before, but here they are again:
Melky vs. RHP: .286/.331/.417
Garcia vs. LHP: .293/.353/.407
All of a sudden, that's a pretty great mashup of a right fielder from two underwhelming everyday corner outfielders.
Next up, sign Ian Desmond, who will mark a big upgrade over Tyler Saladino at shortstop. Desmond overall had a rough 2015, but in the previous three years he hit .275/.326/.462 with an average of 23 homers per season. Given the homer-friendly yard in US Cellular Field, Desmond's power would fit nicely down in the White Sox order.
So my proposed everyday lineup would be:
1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Adam Eaton, LF
3. Jose Abreu, 1B
4. Todd Frazier, 3B
5. Adam LaRoche, DH
6. Ian Desmond, SS
7. Garcia/Cabrera, RF
8. Brett Lawrie, 2B
9. Alex Avila, C
Team that with what figures to be a good rotation and solid back-end of the bullpen and it's leaps and bounds better than where things started in the offseason. Of course, it's possible LaRoche is totally washed up (he's 36) and needs to be replaced. It's feasible to use Navarro or even Saladino there some, not to mention the option to use both Cabrera and Garcia if either is playing well.
Regardless, the White Sox by now need to act quickly. If they can't or aren't willing to sign both Desmond or Fowler, perhaps they go cheaper in the outfield with Austin Jackson (who won't cost a draft pick like Fowler would) or trade for someone.
Speaking of the draft pick, though, the White Sox's first rounder is protected, so they'd only have to sacrifice picks starting in round two, when the players are much less surefire. They also have a compensatory pick between the first two rounds for losing Jeff Samardzija to free agency. Simply put, this shouldn't be an issue.
Overall, when I was staring at the remaining free agents Tuesday afternoon, the White Sox were screaming for both Fowler and Desmond in my head. The ballclub just doesn't seem fit to contend right now but can't justify rebuilding with the state of the roster.
In terms of money, the White Sox's opening day payroll last season was just shy of $120 million and that looks to be similar to where they are now. It's possible they aren't wanting to spend any more, but then how does that explain them reportedly being in on the bidding for Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes? If they could afford to throw bids out to those two heavy hitters, they can make lower, even incentive-laden offers to both Fowler and Desmond.
Adding those two players doesn't automatically make the White Sox contenders (they'd definitely need to do something at DH eventually), but they'd be a lot closer -- especially if Desmond bounces back. As things stand, they are probably looking at a last-place finish in the AL Central despite having two of the better in-prime players in baseball. This is unacceptable, especially in a large market like Chicago.
