White Sox outfielder AJ Pollock is declining his $13MM player option, per Buster Olney of ESPN, instead taking the $5MM buyout and returning to free agency.
The decision comes as something of a surprise since Pollock is coming of a noticeable down year in 2022. Going into 2019, he and the Dodgers agreed to a four-year, $60MM contract that came with a $10MM player option for 2023 or a $5MM buyout. That $10MM salary could be increased by $1MM for Pollock hitting 400, 450, 500, 550 and 600 plate appearances in 2022, maxing out at $15MM. Since Pollock got to 527 plate appearances on the year, he added $3MM to his potential total, though it ended up being a moot point since he is taking the buyout.
For the first three years of that deal, Pollock was excellent at the plate, hitting 52 total home runs and producing a batting line of .282/.337/.519. That production was 25% above league average, as evidenced by his 125 wRC+. The Dodgers traded him to the White Sox for Craig Kimbrel going into 2022, which precipitated a downturn at the plate. For the Sox this year, Pollock hit just .245/.292/.389 for a wRC+ of 92, or 8% below league average.
He also seems to have lost a step, which isn’t surprising as he’s about to turn 35. He’s racked up double-digit steals in multiple seasons, including 39 in 2015. However, his last time getting into two-figure territory was 2018 and he only swiped three bags here in 2022. Advanced defensive metrics like Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating and Outs Above Average also considered him to be average or below in the field this year.
If there’s one thing Pollock has going for him is that he still mashes lefties. His career batting line with the platoon advantage is .285/.335/.533, leading to a wRC+ of 129, compared to a 107 against righties. That split was even more pronounced in 2022, with Pollock hitting .286/.316/.619 against southpaws, leading a wRC+ 161 compared to a 69 against northpaws. 11 of his 14 home runs came against lefties despite getting only about a quarter of his plate appearances against them.
Whether that’s enough for Pollock to come out ahead in the end remains to be seen. Joc Pederson was coming off a somewhat similar down year in 2021 when he had to settle for a one-year, $6MM deal with the Giants for 2022. Pederson also has strong platoon splits for his career, but could play fairly regularly against right-handers since he hits from the left side. If any team has interest in Pollock for a platoon role, he would have less value since there are fewer lefties for him to play against.
For the White Sox, this removes one option from an outfield that’s in flux for 2022. Andrew Vaughn has been playing on the grass a lot despite being a natural first baseman. He had a nice season at the plate but was one of the worst defensive outfielders in the league by most measures. The club is reportedly leaning towards letting Jose Abreu depart in free agency, opening things up for Vaughn to return to first base. Pollock’s departure removes another corner option from the calculus. That leaves the oft-injured Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez as their primary remaining outfielders, though they also have Adam Engel, Gavin Sheets and Mark Payton on the roster. Even with Pollock around, it seemed that the Sox were a good candidate to look for outfield upgrades and his exodus should only increase the chances of them looking for additions there.
Woo hoo! Congratulations, White Sox! This is about the best thing that could have happened to them in this free agency period.
It really is, what a baffling decision on his part.
This is the curse of Julianna Zobrist.
Julianna Zobrist is a demon.
Ben Zobrist goes on the restricted list in 2019 to save his marriage. The money saved burns a hole in Theo’s pocket and he springs for Kimbrel. The Cubs fail to make the postseason since 2014. Kimbrel sucks badly for two years.
Craig bounces back in his contract year and is traded to White Sox. He promptly sucks badly. The White Sox are bounced from the postseason in the ALDS.
The trade return for the Cubs, Madrigal and Heuer, end up spending more time on the IL than the field for the Cubs. (They will probably be tendered contracts this month.)
Hahn inexplicably picks up the option on Kimbrel’s contract and trades him to Dodgers for Pollock who also has a player option for the next season. Both players suck badly. The Dodgers are bounced from their first playoff series.
The AL Central favorite White Sox fail to make the postseason.
Pollock inexplicably declines his player
option. The curse of Julianna will befall the team that signs AJ.
A.J. isn’t the reason why the Sox didn’t make it to the postseason. Even though he had a down year he was still better a healthier than than the corner outside outfielders. Sad. Chicago. Where good careers go to die.
Like the way you think
Pretty sure the cubs were in the post season in 2016 if memory serves lol.
Pollock’s career died in L.A.
Guess he didn’t enjoy his time on the south side
He’s prolly getting real bad financial planning advice. Ah well. Windfall!
I guess he didnt like playing on the south side. He would rather take a chance on getting less to play elsewhere.
Even if he gets one year at $7 million, he would only lose $1 million. He should pick the spot where he is more likely to thrive.
Christmas comes early for the White Sox this year. Hopefully Jerry will allow Rick to spend the unexpected extra $8M savings on roster upgrades this offseason.
AJ must have hated his stay with the White Sox last season. He also might not have liked hearing the reports about him becoming a part time player in 2023 had he stayed.
Ironically, I recall Joc Pederson turning down a bigger FA contract from the White Sox two years ago because the Cubs offered him a full time gig in their outfield. Some pundits/sites suggest that Pederson might be a strong option for the 2023 White Sox which could have the net effect of him replacing Pollock.
Do the white sox really need another DH though?
@ tstats
Joc Pederson may no longer be the ‘decent’ CF/OF he was as a young Dodger but he’s a whole lot better roaming the grass than Eloy Jimenez, Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets. Perhaps you’re confusing Pederson with Kyle Schwarber who has always been considered a DH first slugger.
The Giants thought enough of Pederson last year to insert him into their starting outfield 96 times, mostly in LF. He was the starting DH in only 9 games. His 12 starts in RF surpassed that figure. Pederson put up his worst dWAR in 2022 but some of that has to be attributed to the spaciousness of Oracle Park. The Giants are also looking to re-sign Pederson this offseason. If he signed with the White Sox he would have less ground to cover at GRF.
Btw: Don’t take these comments as me endorsing a Joc Pederson FA signing for the White Sox. He’d improve over what they had last year but I’d prefer a different addition in free agency or via a trade.
Ironic for Joc like rain on your wedding day
Just happy for the roster spot and budget $ saved.
Nothing against Pollock.
GL to AJ!
Oscar Colas ROY in 2023!
Yep. Hes the real thing.
Maybe he wants a multi-year deal? I doubt he gets 13M AAV though.
He only needs 8 since he already gets 5 from opting out.
lol Who’s going to give 8 million to a 34 year old outfielder who had a 91 OPS+ and negative defensive stats? He’s looking at a minor league invite on a contender or a few million at best on a rebuilder hoping he bounces back and can be flipped. I’m guessing this is a precursor to retirement if he can’t find a team that feels like a good fit. Pretty classy move actually.
He still crushes lhp. I promise you he will get a major league deal. Any team would be interested in him as a 4th outfielder at the very least.
I dunno that’s pretty reasonable. He was borderline All-Star level in 2021. Guys have bad years. And maybe he can get two years at $8m each and that’s better than opting in.
You haven’t been paying attention, @iLikebaseball 2, have you?
Um no.
Yeah he ends up doing the Sox a solid. Seen other people walk away from money to pursue other interests. Maybe AJ just wants to DJ
YourDr
Agree, maybe he only gets $5 to $6 million, but more than ten teams would give him a major league deal to be a backup or platoon outfielder.
Here is a list of 35 year old OF that signed a Free Agent contract and are active (hint: there are none) spotrac.com/mlb/contracts/sort-value/outfield/sign…
It doesn’t matter what he did 2 years ago he is about to be 35. How many 35 year old OF are performing in today’s game?
Um no
Philly would make sense as a platoon with marsh in center. Can spell in the corners
See ya.
Now that’s surprising. Maybe he’s hit a point in his career where the money has been made and now I want to play closer to home.
Or he just didn’t want to play for the Sox anymore.
Or he believes $5m in his pocket plus a two year guaranteed contract for as low as $12m total is better than 1 year at $13m guaranteed. That’s my best guess.
Youre counting the 5m twice. 5M in his pocket makes it an 8M deal.
He lived in my hometown. No major league baseball stadium is within an hour from it.
What? What you say actually makes sense
Maybe he didn’t like it there?
He turned down $13M after a terrible season? I doubt he gets that much in free agency, and he just paid $5M to buy out his contract. Also says something about his really not wanting to be with the White Sox.
He gets paid a $5 Million buy-out, he doesn’t pay them
Thanks for clarifying. I thought it was similar to what you see in the NBA where the player buys out the remaining term of his contract for a discounted price to get out of the situation and take a free agent deal elsewhere.
If he gets $5M to do absolutely nothing then he’s probably borderline on getting a $8M desl elsewhere and could still end up with $13M total
lol why would a player PAY to decline a player option?
Lol give him a break. Astro fans have only been around a few years and don’t understand the system yet.
To get away from that “organization ” and what is most likely a miserable club house.
That’s good. It just frees up more money for free agents. Not a major loss at all.
Could be any reason but the idea of a 2 year deal for maybe 15 along with the 5 totals 20 which is more than 13 is my bet. Another down year and he might struggle to get that extra money next year.
Why would any team give him 2/15?
That’s pretty low for an established OF who was a 3 win player just the year before. I bet he gets multiple offers at that level.
I’ll take that bet.
>corner OF with .681 OPS/91 OPS+ in 2022
>0.4 rWAR
>heading into age 35 season
>opt out of guaranteed $13 million with a team that intends to contend next year
lol wut r u doing aj???
Look at his 2021.
Look at his 2022 and his age.
Planning to contend? They are letting their best hitter walk, need 2 OF, a 2b, and a C and have little money to spend. They also have a rookie manager on a team that didn’t respect/respond to a HOF manager. Please explain how contending is on the table?
I don’t know if he was their best hitter. Abreau hit over .300and Vaughn led team and rbi, though Abreau was an rbi or two right behind him.
I think he meant that they are letting Abreu walk by their “best hitter”
When I read he opted out I figured he was retiring. Expect White Sox to sign Tyler Naquin, another corner outfielder via sign or a trade and to promote a rookie after spring training. Abreu not asked back as they have Jimenez and Vaughn for DH and 1b. Sox really caught a break with AJ leaving. Frees up a lot of money for the two new outfielders and a replacement for Cueto if they can’t resign him.
I could see him possibly getting 2 years/$15M or something like that from a team with money. He might not be a bad fit for the Rangers to replace Kole Calhoun. He had a good 2021 with the Dodgers.
Christmas came early this year. See ya
Wow, Sox save 8 million. I guess Kimbell trade didn’t work out for either team.
He’s basically betting he can beat $8M on the open market and you know what, with his overall numbers? He probably can. I don’t blame the guy. Even if it’s for less AAV but for 2 guaranteed years, it’ll be worth it to risk the open market.
All he really needs to earn to justify opting out is a guarantee of $8.1M, which he will get. I think he may gets as much as $10M on a one year deal or as much as $16M on a two year deal.
1 year/$10M now equals $15M with that opt out.
2 years/$16M now equals $21M with that opt out.
Etc.
Smart move for him.
Yea he can play for your trillion dollar team. No sane MLB GM would pay a 35 year old outfielder after the worst year of his career that much money let alone a 2-year deal. Maybe he disliked the White Sox so much that he’d rather earn less and play somewhere else or possibly retire.
Might have wanted a clearer path to playing time as well. Sox have a pretty big list of corner guys likely higher on depth chart.
I think A.J. was tired with the enthusiasm-zapped attitude that LaRussa created. he dragged the whole team down. Hopefully Grifol can some life back into them.
Getting a 1/8 or more deal this winter at his age and that season is a big gamble.
That’s nothing in the modern MLB.
Modern MLB does NOT pay for aging outfielders who don’t perform. Regardless what they did in the past (see Carlos Gonzalez)
Ok, one year $7 million, which outfielder do you prefer: Pollock, Myers, Profar, Bellinger, or Wendle? With inflation, $7 million does not buy what it used to.
Bellinger will easily top 7.
As bad as he’s been—he’ll get 15.
I think I’d take all of them over Pollock. Definitely taking Bellinger first unless my team already has a legitimate CFer.
He turned down a 1 year contract of 8 million dollars. Maybe he’s looking for a full time gig and is betting on himself.
Its an $8 million decision for Pollock. Going into his age 35 season he must think he can get a deal that pays him more than $8 million.
If he is trying to convince teams that he can be the player he was with the Dodgers, then that would be a good argument.
After last season with the White Sox I am not sure that he can be that player anymore.
His age and 2022 production say he isn’t worth $8M a year.
If this is about playing where he wants to play but for less money I can buy that. Perhaps a low base salary with incentives that are achievable.
The White Sox should have tried to keep him around. They are desperate for outfielders.
I doubt this is a financial decision as I seriously doubt Pollock believes he can make more money on the open market. The guy probably just really hated playing for the White Sox and after making a good amount of money figured it wasn’t worth being unhappy (purely speculation on my part).
Am I crazy for thinking he might not get 8 million in free agency? Weird choice.
He lives in Phoenix and signed with LA. Has a 1 year old daughter too.
He never wanted to be in Chicago & just got 5 million bucks to do nothing this year.
He might be done or just wants to go back to the West Coast.
People on here just assume its the White Sox culture but don’t know his daughter was born premature at only 24 weeks in 2020 and spent over 100 days in the hospital. Odds are Pollock wants to be close to home.
AJ got the second most ABs among Sox outfielders. Even though it was somewhat of a down season he stayed healthy which can’t be said for the other White Sox brittle outfielders, excluding Vaughn who’ll be at first base next year. Take the $5 million and try to find a team where the window is opening
AJ Pollack used his Get out of Jail card. Good for him. Bad culture there I’m thinking.
It’s an interesting choice. Maybe he thought he wouldn’t get the playing time, and then might not have a market in 2024. This isn’t a bad bet, but it’s not assured.
Whoever his agent is must be a pretty good con man to convince Pollock to give up $8 million more guaranteed dollars to test free agency. Said agent must also be telling him he can still play CF (he can’t) and that has to be the angle here; the weak CF market
Or…..Or.. he wanted out Chi town he was willing to risk making less $$$
Maybe he doesn’t want to play baseball anymore. He gets 5 million dollars to sit on his butt and call it a career if that’s what he wants.
could be a good back up plan for the mets if they lose nimmo. pollock is from CT. i could easily see this happening
This makes me think…huh!?!?!?
While i dont think he will beat 8 million guaranteed, but maybe 5 million per year plus incentives based on awards/milestones/stats? Also people might go spend crazy if they dont get nimmo or judge as a secondary guy.
Is he going to get $8M on the open market?
Is he going to get more than $8M on the open market?
Northpaws? Is that seriously a thing? I have never seen/heard the term northpaws. I think MLBTR may have the copyrights to it and are now trying to cash in.
Easily the worst option decision of this off season and I doubt it gets beaten.
Looking at the numbers, Pollock is a guy a team like the Angels brings in on a minors deal with a legitimate shot at earning the left field spot if he has a good Spring.
Dodgers have other terrible outfielders to trade if the Sox are interested
He must hate the White Sox and their new manager Pedro Geritol or whatever his name is.
Grifol
Thanks.
Gift 8 mil net cash dump for Sox….keep dropping the declining vet salaries now via trades! Pollock joked during Yankee dh that he got a little soft playing in the better weather out West. I agree with those who say he chose happiness after making plenty of money…..and will probably sign somewhere back West.
Who can blame a quality guy like Pollock for wanting out of there? Who’d want to play in the toxic environment of the ChiSox? (“ChiTox”?) Just a bunch of individuals who don’t play for each other as a team. They’d underperform with any manager. Tim Anderson’s awful personality says all one needs to know about that club. And there are plenty of teams that can use a quality outfielder like Pollock. Maybe two seasons at a fair market rate plus incentives?
He gone, thanks adios at least we got rid of Kimbrell too in the deal.
So I was eating at taqueria San Jose in Bridgeport and who comes walking in to place an order but Brian Anderson. You have to remember the bust out who couldn’t hit and tried to become a pitcher but sucked at that as well. So he still has his surfer boy locks but a tad bit on the heavier side. So he actually brought up this move to me before it was hot off the presses. So we talked about the whitesox and he claims that Aaron Rowand is getting back into shape for a tryout. Yes you heard it here first. If you get the burrito it’s a little on the greasy side
Man, those PharMor drugs you bought on clearance when they went out of business are way past their expiration date.
blank stare
With his injury history, he’s better off taking the offer.
The Dodgers could actually use him back for the bench and as insurance if the kids aren’t ready
He only needs to beat 8 million on the open market, so not a HUGE risk by him. He must be going for a two year contract which is a better bet than playing out the year and trying to get another one year deal next year.
Probably confident he can get say 2 yrs/$16M on the market. Already getting paid $5M plus the $8M matches the player option salary and guarantees him another year at $8M. Or he just wants out of Chicago lol.
He’d be a really nice fit for the Braves. Rosario needs a platoon mate and he can play all 3 outfield positions.
Works from both parties. I would not take another chance at $13 million. This guy is always hurt, like Madigral, and of course, anybody that we bring over WAS great before we got them. LOL. Moving on…. He was a bad decision and you are just throwing away $5M. Silly. Dude is a walking ER Room,
What a gift for the Sox. Now if only they can spend money wisely for a change…
The only way this makes financial sense to me is if he gets a multi-year contract, which I wouldn’t count on at age 35 (in one month) and coming off a down year. As others have suggested, maybe it’s not about the money. Or maybe his agent is delusional, or he is. I note that his K rate against fastballs was the highest of his career, nearly twice the rate in his best season, 2015. Looks like he’s dealing with declining bat speed, which doesn’t tend to reverse itself with age.
Negative atmosphere clubhouse. He just wanted out. He likely won’t make up the difference on his next deal.
You have inside info on the Pollock and the clubhouse atmosphere?
Odds are Pollock’s decision is more of a personal one than a business one! For those who don’t know in 2020 Pollock’s daughter was born premature at only 24 weeks old. Seems like money is not an issue for the man since he made it his last contract but may want to play somewhere close to home which is Phoenix, Arizona!
Maybe pollack is retiring and just grabbed $5m for doing it
I doubt he gets the $8M, but even if he only got $5M, it might be worth the $3M just to get out of Chicago.
That said, between the $5M buyout, and his $13M salary in 2022, the inexplicable decision to pick up Kimbrel’s option cost the WS $18M for Pollock’s 0.4 bWAR.
“The money will be spent.”
The Sox KNEW this guy was always hurt, why even bother? It’s also amazing how the players we acquire WERE good before coming to the Sox. What’s up with that, Hahn? Hopefully Jerry does what he did with the Bulls and replaces KW and Hahn by 2025. LOL
Hopefully JR will sell the White Sox “by 2025” allowing the new ownership to clean house.