The White Sox are showing interest in free agent Alex Gordon, sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Gordon has appeal for the White Sox since he’s already familiar with the AL Central, offers left-handed hitting, and solid defense.
However, it’s unclear whether the White Sox could pay Gordon enough to pry him away from the Royals (link). To free up room on the payroll, the White Sox could conceivably move Melky Cabrera, Adam LaRoche, or Avisail Garcia, with their preference being to move LaRoche. However, with Pedro Alvarez and Chris Carter available on the open market, Chicago might not find a strong market for those players.
In November, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes projected a five-year, $105MM deal for Gordon. Given the money that Gordon could command coupled with the draft pick compensation attached to him, it’s not surprising to see that he’s still without a deal as we head into Christmas.
Gordon missed nearly two months with a strained groin this season but enjoyed a characteristically strong overall campaign both at the plate and in the field. The lifetime Royal hit .271/.377.432 with 13 home runs and was seven runs above average in left field despite the layoff, according to both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating.
That is a massive upgrade.
Nothing has happened. It’s just talk.
I’m sure they would love to move Laroche.
The problem is, to move him, there won’t be much savings as they’ll have to eat at least 60% of that horrible contract.
Cabrera is about in the same boat.
My gut tells me if not him, either Upton or Cepedes will be signed by Mr. Ilitch
If Detroit got Gordon or Cespedes I’d be sooooo happy. I prefer Gordon.
Boras pithed Mr Illitch off during the Scherzer negotiations. I wouldn’t be surprised if his calls are not being taken, like they once were. Unfortunately, I am beginning to believe they are done with the offense, and any further moves will be due to injury, or at the trade deadline. I was hoping for a leadoff hitter, like Denard Span.
If Scott Boras’ client, Mike Pelfrey, hadn’t been signed this year; I would’ve thought the same. However, 86 year old Mike Illitch wants a WS ring and will continue to deal with that devil for it.
The Tigers are going for speed and defense. Although Anthony Gose and Nick Castellanos don’t seem to fit this team, the cost for Alex Gordon and Yoenis Cespedes is unreasonable..
If we get rid of Laroche (throwing some money in) we should be able to get gordon this move would hugely impact the chi sox chances and lineup majorly
What are the odds of Melky, Avi, or Laroche having a bounce back season. I mean one of those guys has to have a decent season out of the three, right? Even Adam Dunn had one good decent year for the pale hose.
In Avi’s case, it wouldn’t be a bounce back year… it’d be a breakout year. He’s never actually done anything at any level to make anyone think that last year was a ‘down year’ for him.
Melky wasn’t THAT bad to be included in that group. He had a horrific start to the year that dug him into a huge hole numbers-wise, but he bounced back nicely during the year. He just can’t field his position at all.
Melky had a really off first half but he was actually one of the best offensive players in the second half of the season. If he can play that way all next season, he’ll be a great asset to the team.
In reality, he had a better second half than Abreau. He fizzled as the season went on and then Ventura started batting him second which made zero sense.
Prefer Cespedes to Gordon (younger, no compensation pick attached, more power, albeit not as strong defensively), but understand that a left bat would work better in the line-up. As for cost- Laroche and Danks both come off the books next year, so just need to convince Reinsdorf to spend this year is Laroche cannot be moved. A lineup of Eaton, Cabrera/Lawrie, Abreu, Cespedes, Frazier, Lawrie/Cabrera, Garcia/Laroche, Navarro, Saldino/Sanchez is pretty tempting- very right heavy, but still tempting.
Just bite the bullet and pay cespedes what he wants and keep the draft pick
Nothing wrong with Gordon Cespedes just has a fiercer bat
Cespedes provides real support batting behind abreu
Not going to be able to trade laroche for anything Hahns worst move.
wow! okay, not like most cubs fans but I have mad respect for Rick Hahn. If he is able to pull off Cespedes or Gordon, don’t think they like upton much, they are going to be VERY hard to beat. About to get scrutinized by cubs fans but I’d much prefer a team of veterans with proven production v. our current team because the White Sox know what they are going to get out of their product, or at least potential outcome. We still have to wait and see if Schwarbs can play a full season, if Bryant can continue his season or blow up like Soto did after his rookie year, we just don’t know what will happen which is good and bad but still much love to the White Sox for having the cajones to do this!
As a White Sox fan, I will be happy to trade you rosters…
Thanks for the love, but I’d take the potential of the Cubs vs 10 years of losing even though the Sox have won many an offseason. We’ll see what happens but I still think there are major holes to even consider them near a contender (Lawrie at D, Melky at the other OF corner, Eaton starting the season slow, number 4/5/Danks starters, and any injuries that may pop up).
Holes to consider? Your SS batting .230, and schwarber batting .240? Laughable.
true, true it is hard to predict but the Sox have made tremendous strides to improve. They’re taking the blue jays strategy which was proven to work last season. Lawrie should bounce back at 2B though I’m not too worried about him for y’all. I’d say more Saladino or Sanchez at ss and the RF spot are true spots of worry but no team is perfect! Melky should be a fine DH if that is where he falls.
Man you made me remember SS, would have been nice to take Starlin to fill that role even though he can be boneheaded at times. The guy can hit and still is growing as a player at his age.
Sorry! At least you know both Saladino and Sanchez are plus defenders and Sanchez has what appears to be a very good hit tool when I’ve managed to see him play its just about him finding consistency in the bigs.
This might be the most ridiculous post in the history of this board… You’d take the Sox roster over the Cubs roster? The Cups won 20 more games a year ago, made it to the NLCS, watched as the majority of their young core hit the ground running and then signed 3 of the top 20 free agents available on the market.
But you’d rather have the roster of Adam LaRoche, Avi Garcia, Melky Cabrera and Tyler Seledino… Wow. You realize you can still respect the White Sox roster without going over board and saying crazy stuff, right?
uhm to rephrase I never said the White Sox roster if you re-read it i said i prefer a team of veterans v. a team of prospects and that I like what the Sox are doing for their team. No where did I ever mention I prefer the Sox to the Cubs.If I could trade our youth for a team built like the Cardinals have been for the past 10 years I would in a heartbeat.
LOL you are nuts.
Cubs potential and age is unreal. No way would I trade that for these so called vets with “proven production” on the Sox.
Also if you haven’t been paying attention the Cubs added three players with plenty of experience to mix in with the young guys. Lackey (proven postseason winner coming off his best season). Zobrist (huge boost versus Castro), and Heyward (proven defensively).
just to reiterate i prefer a team of veterans v. prospects not the white sox v. cubs in terms of rosters. Struggle with crashed expectations with numerous prospects who were supposed to be sure fire all stars will do that to you.
How could you compare Kris Bryant to Soto? Joke!
ugh! emphasis on the strong rookie year that resulted in a roy! I had so many friends that though soto was the second coming of jesus much like most of us treat bryant now.
Soto was a late bloomer. Bryant was a blue chip prospect. Bryant hasn’t peaked yet.
no one knows that though and I absolutely love Bryant! God, do I hope he gets on the same level as a harper or trout but I like to take the hype with a grain of salt due to guys in the past we’ve had.
You are a wise Cubs fan. Knowing many Cubs fans, I know they can be crazy with their optimism. But you are wise. I think Bryant will be better than Soto, but you actually acknowledge the possibility, which puts you at the front of the Cubs-fan class.
@gojira appreciate that. Far too often our fans go crazy with expectations and take it as insult when someone doesn’t buy into the hype. That whole “We Are Good” campaign was pretty annoying though… Hope it doesn’t smack us in the face this season when everyone is gunning for us.
I cant see this being a good fit for the White Sox.
I can, I mean massive upgrade defensively, huge obp skills, and an above average bat. Not sure what else the Sox would be looking at. If they don’t get Gordon I think they grab Cespedes but either or would make the Sox pretty damn scary with an already impressive rotation
I would think Cespedes would be a much better fit.. although Id rather see him in a Cardinals uniform but that seems unlikely.
I actually have the cardinals getting him if it means anything to ya! If y’all get him or Gordon I think Heywards comments, as innocent as they may have seemed, may bite us in the arse when we play you. Last thing I want is yadi and wainwright gunning for us even more than they probably were
I’m just worried about his age, especially as a speed/defense type player. And that doesn’t even include the fact that all free agents fall off a cliff for some reason when they come to the South side. At the same time I’d prefer him to Cespedes or Upton. Cespedes disappears at times and Upton has never hit his potential.
yeah, they do have bad luck when it comes to free agents unfortunately… All of them have their negatives though just matters what positives the Sox want to pursue
Meh. I’d rather have Upton or Cespedes if we’re willing to go $100M+.
Yeah, I’m looking at those dollars and I just can’t see why they’d throw it at Gordon if they’ve got it. Dudes in his mid-30’s and isn’t an elite offensive player.
Upton is young, has enough power with potential for more, and can get on base. If you’re going to give someone 20+ million a year, it has to be him.
I agree. Don’t get me wrong, Gordon is great but I’d rather have an upgrade in the outfield.
Cespedes makes perfect sense since he doesn’t cost a draft pick. The WhSox farm system needs as many good prospects as it can get. losing a top draft pick doesn’t make sense for a team that wants to win now but still rebuild.
I don’t necessarily think the White Sox need another slugger. That lineup is going to struggle for OBP, and in that case Gordon might be a better fit than Cespedes.
Upton seems like the best possible move. He’s hit 25+ homers consistently in more pitcher friendly ballparks, its not unreasonable to think of him as a decent power guy who hits 30+ at US Cellular. Add to that his OBP skills and that he”s still in his 20’s, it just doesn’t makes sense to give Alex Gordon $100+ million without trying to do so with Upton first.
Go sox
I don’t see this often but what if the Sox threw in a really good prospect with LaRoche in a trade for someone to eat his contract. I wonder why teams don’t pursue this avenue more often.
that’s exactly how the braves got touki from arizona. risky approach though.. 2 years down the line I wouldn’t want to trade someone like gleyber to clear zobrist out and i doubt the sox would move one of their top guys as well
I agree it is risky, for both sides really. I understand the White Sox not wanting to part with one of their top prospects but if this would allow them to clear what 13 mill off their books and sign Gordon, would it be worth it?
I’d bet on not worth it. I would never give up a guy like Fulmer or Adams, who i freaking love, just to get rid of 13 mm when they can do exactly what mike said which is backload the contract or have a money heavy season something like 8 this year then jump up the remainder of the contract will be what most likely occurs if a deal comes to fruition
Because that’s a waste of talent. It’s not like LaRoche is Matt Kemp; he has one year left on his deal. The White Sox can try to backload a free agent contract to get around the $13M they owe LaRoche while they play him in April and hope for a rebound. If it doesn’t work, they cut him loose in May.
I agree and you’re probably right. But nobody is taking LaRoche unless the White Sox take a significant portion of that salary. So the question becomes is your prospect and LaRoche worth say 10 million? Maybe the White Sox don’t think so and throw in a good prospect with him. I’m not saying Anderson but someone significant
It’s an idea. Or they could do a bad contract swap with another team.
Gordon would fit extremely well in the White Sox outfield, but is there a reason that they have done very little to upgrade the rotation? Still stinging from what the Shark did last year?
“Gordon has appeal for the White Sox since he’s already familiar with the AL Central”
I’ve seen that exact wording in multiple posts related to this story, but in what way is that a positive worth mentioning? He’s seen AL Central pitching, perhaps? Is that even an advantage, though? It’s not 1920. These guys have video.
i think cespedes is the best bet although i think he will run over robin and cause problems if things dont go right. i just dont think we are in any position to give out $100mil contracts and lose basically a first round pick for the 3-4best OF FA..maybe use it to sign another top cuban FA
Cespedes won’t cost them a pick which is why he should be there guy. White sox need all there picks. White sox better be willing to increase payroll. The white sox indicated they r going for it when they acquired Frazier. Stop giving the fan base this glass half full approach and either rebuild completely or pony up the cash. It’s one or the other. I’m sick of this clouded path this organization Continues to take, about which way they want to go.