The (virtual) Winter Meetings are underway and the Chicago White Sox wasted no time improving their roster. Late Monday night, the White Sox reportedly agreed to acquire right-hander Lance Lynn in a three-player trade with the Texas Rangers. Righty Dane Dunning and lefty Avery Weems are heading to Texas in the deal, which has not yet been officially announced.
Lynn reunites with Tony La Russa, his former manager with the Cardinals, and joins Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel to form a strong 1-2-3 rotation punch. Chicago made the transition from rebuilder to contender this past season -- they went 35-25 in 2020, which is a 94-win pace in a 162-game season -- and now they're trying to position themselves for a World Series run.
With the caveat that spring training is still two months away (or more given the pandemic), the White Sox currently look like the AL Central favorite, at least on paper. They have a powerhouse offense, an improved rotation, and Cleveland and the Twins have lost more than they've added this winter. If nothing else, Chicago is closer to a division title than it was two months ago.
The White Sox are not without their warts, of course. No team is perfect and Chicago still has some roster needs to address in the coming weeks. Here, in no particular order, are three areas the White Sox must improve prior to start of the 2021 season.
1. Add an outfielder or DH
It makes sense to lump these two together seeing how Eloy Jimenez has been a DH masquerading as an outfielder the last two seasons. Eloy can really hit -- he slugged 14 homers in 2020 and owns a career 123 OPS+ -- but he is a major liability defensively. One of my favorite subplots the last two years is Chicago's other fielders never letting Jimenez catch a ball if at all possible.
On Tuesday, the White Sox reunited with outfielder Adam Eaton, signing him to a one-year deal worth $7 million. The contract also includes a club option for 2021. Eaton will presumably step into right field to replace Nomar Mazara, who was non-tendered last week. Chicago's options in left field include Jimenez, Adam Engel, Leury Garcia, Micker Adolfo, and Luis Gonzalez.
It seems unlikely the White Sox will stick with their in-house options, however. They didn't trade for Lynn or give Keuchel and Yasmani Grandal all that money only to skimp on their final outfield spot. Even after bringing Eaton back, they have room to add another outfielder, or a DH if they're willing to play Jimenez in left field. The current lineup looks something like this:
- SS Tim Anderson
- 3B Yoan Moncada
- 1B Jose Abreu
- C Yasmani Grandal
- DH Eloy Jimenez
- CF Luis Robert
- RF Adam Eaton
- 2B Nick Madrigal
- LF ???
For what it's worth, ESPN's Jeff Passan says the White Sox are "extraordinarily unlikely" to sign George Springer, and The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal says they're in the mix for Joc Pederson. That was prior to the Eaton signing, however. Other unsigned free agent outfielders include Jackie Bradley Jr., Michael Brantley, Brett Gardner, Eddie Rosario, and Kyle Schwarber.
Schwarber certainly knows Chicago, though I'm not sure signing him solves the whole left field defense problem. Keep in mind top prospect Andrew Vaughn is not far away and, realistically, the only way to get him into the lineup long-term is DH. Vaughn is a first baseman and Abreu's not going anywhere. Chicago may seek short-term help to keep a path clear for Vaughn.
Point is, the White Sox have an opening for another position player, either in left field or DH. Their offense is so good as it is -- Chicago averaged 5.1 runs per game in 2020, fifth most in baseball -- that they can afford to emphasize defense in left field with, say, Bradley or Gardner or Kevin Pillar. The White Sox aren't desperate, but this is an area that can be improved.
2. Upgrade the bullpen
La Russa is a Hall of Fame manager partly because he revolutionized bullpen usage. He popularized the dedicated one-inning closer and the left-on-left matchup specialist, among other things. If nothing else, the man knows how to optimize his bullpen. He was mixing and matching his way to pennants when most current managers were still early in their playing careers.
As things stand, La Russa's bullpen looks something like this:
- Closer: LHP Aaron Bummer
- Setup: RHP Codi Heuer, RHP Evan Marshall
- Middle: RHP Jimmy Cordero, LHP Garrett Crochet, RHP Matt Foster, LHP Jace Fry
- Depth: RHP Zack Burdi, RHP Bernardo Flores Jr., RHP Jose Ruiz
Alex Colome is a free agent after going 12 for 13 in save opportunities and allowing two earned runs in 22 1/3 innings in 2020. He turns 32 later this month though, and his strikeout rate has dipped from 25.5 percent to 22.1 percent to 17.8 percent the last three years. Excellent year aside, Colome showed some worrisome trends. Letting him go is justifiable.
Truth me told, Chicago's bullpen is quite strong. Heuer and Foster were excellent this past season -- they combined for a 1.89 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings and have the bat-missing stuff to remain effective -- and Marshall has revived his career with the White Sox the last two years. Bummer is a Zack Britton clone given his left-handedness and extreme ground ball tendencies.
Crochet, the No. 11 pick in the 2020 draft, was electric in his MLB debut, punching out eight batters in six scoreless innings. He also touched 100 mph on the regular.
Crochet suffered a flexor strain in Game 3 of the ALDS but he started his offseason throwing program last month, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin, which is good news. It's unclear how the White Sox will proceed with him. There's a case for sending him to the minors and letting him develop as a starting pitcher, where he has impact potential.
There's also an argument to be made for keeping him in the bullpen. He's dynamic in that role, we've seen it already, and Chicago's window of contention is wide open. Crochet would help maximize it. Also, he has an injury history. Shoulder trouble limited Crochet to 3 1/3 innings in college this spring, then there's the flexor strain. He simply may not hold up as a starter.
The pieces are there for the White Sox to have a very good bullpen, particularly with La Russa pulling the strings. There is always room for improvement though, and with the ChiSox throwing money around, why not make a run at Liam Hendriks or Brad Hand? Maybe go for an upside play like Kirby Yates or Keone Kela? There is no such thing as too many good relievers, after all.
The White Sox are in a very good spot. They don't absolutely need to add a lockdown closer nor are they desperate to add bullpen depth. They're in position to let the market play out, see who's willing to take a one-year "prove yourself" contract, and roll the dice on a veteran looking to join a good situation with a chance to win. Or they could blow it out and sign a top closer. Either works.
3. Keep improving on the margins
In other words, keep adding depth. Backup catcher extraordinaire James McCann is a free agent and very likely to get a starting job elsewhere, so the White Sox have to replace him. Former first-round pick Zack Collins isn't much of a catcher and is penciled in as Plan B behind Grandal. Chicago can do better than that, right? At the very least, sign a veteran to push Collins in camp.
I also think there's an argument to be made for adding another starting pitcher, even after acquiring Lynn. The White Sox's rotation depth chart currently lines up like so:
- RHP Lucas Giolito
- LHP Dallas Keuchel
- RHP Lance Lynn
- RHP Michael Kopech
- RHP Dylan Cease
- RHP Reynaldo Lopez
Kopech remains one of the top prospects in baseball -- MLB.com ranks him the No. 18 prospect in the game -- though he has not pitched since 2018. He missed 2019 with Tommy John surgery and he opted out of 2020 amid the pandemic. As talented as he is, counting on Kopech to be an unrestricted 150-plus innings starter in 2021 is unrealistic.
Cease and Lopez are young and talented. They also haven't been terribly effective in their MLB careers to date -- Cease has a 5.00 ERA in 131 1/3 career innings, Lopez a 4.77 ERA in 490 2/3 innings -- and adding a veteran No. 4 or 5 starter is never a bad idea. The White Sox are set atop the rotation. A low-cost addition like old friend Jose Quintana would help solidify the back-end.
Chicago could also shoot for the moon with a reclamation project. Think Chris Archer or Corey Kluber or James Paxton. Someone who can be an impact starter when healthy. They're all looking at one-year "prove yourself" contracts and the White Sox can offer them a chance to win without the pressure of having to be The Man™. That will appeal to some free agents.
Adding Lynn and Eaton addresses the ChiSox's two biggest offseason needs. Their work is not done though. They still have room for another outfielder (or a DH), plus you can never have enough pitching (starters or relievers), and replacing McCann should be on the to-do list. All in all, the White Sox are in great shape. Only minor adjustments are needed now, not an overhaul.
