After a dismal season, the White Sox enter the winter with weaknesses throughout the roster. First-year general manager Chris Getz is tasked with turning things around. He may have to do so with a tighter budget than was afforded to the front office last offseason.
According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the ChiSox opened 2023 with roughly $181MM on the books. That’s around $12MM shy of their ’22 figure, the highest in franchise history. Dan Hayes of the Athletic reports that the Sox are unlikely to match the franchise-record mark and suggests they could scale back relative to their ’23 spending level as well.
While that’ll be disheartening news for the fanbase, it’s worth noting that could still leave Getz and his front office with a decent amount of leeway. Chicago has around $84.5MM in guaranteed commitments for 2024. The arbitration class is projected for around $17MM. There’s a significant gap between the roughly $101MM they have committed for next season and the $180-190MM range. Even if ownership is unwilling to push back to those levels, there could be room for Getz to make multiple free agent acquisitions.
How advisable attacking the middle tiers of free agency would be for the organization is another matter. Getz flatly acknowledged the roster is “not a well-rounded club” at this week’s GM Meetings. Dylan Cease is the team’s lone above-average starting pitcher. Michael Kopech is the only other in-house option who seems likely to occupy a spot in the Opening Day rotation. Chicago offloaded a few veteran relievers at the trade deadline. While a sensible course of action, they’re left without much beyond Gregory Santos, Aaron Bummer and Garrett Crochet.
The position player group is similarly top-heavy. Luis Robert Jr. is a star center fielder. Andrew Benintendi is locked into left field for the second season of a five-year contract. Andrew Vaughn figures to get another crack at first base. Eloy Jiménez and Yoán Moncada have had productive seasons in the past but are coming off disappointing campaigns. Chicago could use multiple middle infielders after buying out Tim Anderson. Rookie right fielder Oscar Colás struggled in his first big league action. Korey Lee isn’t likely to provide much offensively if the Sox give him an opportunity at catcher.
Addressing that all in one offseason would be difficult regardless of the budget. It doesn’t appear as if the club will orchestrate a complete teardown and rebuild, although Getz has pushed back against categorizing anyone as truly untouchable. The first order of business was reshuffling the coaching staff under second-year manager Pedro Grifol. With that complete, the front office takes on the much more challenging task of reshaping a very flawed roster.
The white Sox should not match last seasons payroll. They should shed even more and continue to get more prospects.
They should actually add guys on 1-2 year deals with the idea to flip at the deadline. Other than Robert and Cease, no one else is bringing much back at the moment.
They don’t have a clue how to do that. They don’t have a clue how to do anything. .
I don’t disagree but they literally have black holes throughout the team so they gotta gamble.
The Sox have such a long and lackluster history. They started in 1901 and have won the series in 1906, 1917, and 2005. As an M’s fan, I recognize lackluster history when I see it.
Yeah. A few guys are needed to hold slots and be potential flips. But if you deal Robert, Jimenez, and Cease that’s gonna knock their payroll down another $35ish million. I think they can add some guys for around that.
@Bob, if they do go the flip route, they can’t offer any big opt out payments like with Clevinger. He was pitching well enough that another team would have given a decent prospect for him were it not for that $4M they knew they’d have to pay.
Yeah….uh how did that work out the last time we traded for prospects? Moncada was a prospect, Jimenez was a prospect, Cease was a prospect, Kopech was a prospect, Giolito was a prospect, Vaughn was a prospect. Lopez was a prospect. So sure trade Cease for prospects, Trade Robert for prospects.. I am sure it will work out just like the last time we did this. Some of these prospects are gone, and it appears you want to trade even more of these former prospects away…..for what MORE PROSPECTS. We need to spend money on high level MLB players ala the Rangers. Otherwise we are in the endless spiral of prospect that don’t’ pan out or when they do work out we trade them for more prospects.
How’d spending money work out? They almost ran up a $200MM payroll and now they’re stuck with garbage money to Moncada and Benintendi. You’re paying Liam Hendricks until he’s 50. You’d need to run up a $300MM payroll to get this team into the playoffs.
Time to blow it up.
As I see it, the signings and the trades go hand in hand as the Sox spent most of that money on extensions for said traded for players (don’t forget Eloy and Anderson either). The FAs they brought it sure did not help, but its what you get when you cannot spend good money on great players like other orgs who want to win do. I get that owners cannot just have a blank check, but the Sox clearly do not know how to bring in FAs and definitely do not know how to trade for and develop their talent they get. Anyone developed in this org over the past 30 years got here mostly with talent and not tutelage..
@powerofmyth, the problem was never the idea of getting prospects. It wasn’t even a problem of talent. It’s been three issues: they didn’t scout personality effectively (Moncada and his laziness), didn’t keep anyone healthy aside from Cease, and didn’t develop well. Eloy, Cease, Robert, and even Moncada have played at a very high level before, so the raw ability is there. The Sox just suck at bringing it out.
Poverty pathetic franchise
They are essentially the Angels minus Trout.
Luis Robert Jr. has been the statistical equal of Mike Trout since his 2020 White Sox debut. He’s also 6 years younger, healthier (for now), a better defender in CF and a whole lot cheaper. Just saying….
That’s an insult to the angels. The angels are run by an owner who spend big on the wrong players. Like former owner illych of the tigers, though they had more success.
Currently live in chicago, so I have a mild interest in the local fare.
As a lifelong Phillies fan, I can understand the Sox frustrations. On paper the team shouldn’t be as bad as it has been. Hope the Phillies inquire into Cease if he’s made available…
Team looks pretty bad on paper this year. Holes at SS, 2B, RF, and 3B since Moncada forgot how to play baseball. The bullpen is gone and they’re short on starters.
They really need to clean house and reset this squad.
The Mets can help out with those positions: they can trade a SS prospect ( they have a lot of them), McNeil for 2b, Marte and Ramirez for RF the Mets will pay 1/2 of their contracts owed, plus send Megill and Allan to help with pitching for Cease and Robert Jr.
The Mets can use Robert in LF, Nimmo in CF and Gilbert in RF with Acuna playing 2b.
White Sox got maybe the best SS prospect in baseball knocking on the door
Steeler- last I heard, Montgomery was destined for the Hot Corner, no? Maybe the Sox float him at SS for a transitory year or two…
You have to be joking? This is the most ridiculous trade offer ever, dumb on every level. If the Mets made such an asinine proposal, it would elicit much laughter from the White Sox side.
So for Luis Robert, one of the brightest young superstars in the sport and a potential (also young) front line pitcher you are offering basically trash.
Why would the Sox bring in geezers like Marte? McNeill is meh, depth fodder mainly. Megill? Really? And Allan is a prospect who may never make it, what does he have 8 innings in his life?
You offer total junk for one legit superstar and another high impact arm, you make the White Sox older and less good. People on drugs should not post awful trade proposals.
Aside from Moncada’s miracle 2021 season….hes actually been pretty bad. 8 years in the league and a career WAR of 14. A hyped up prospect that could never adjust.
That trade reminds me that not everything the Red Sox have done (or failed to do) was a bad thing
I get the feeling the Red Sox learned all they needed from Moncado’ cup of coffee in 2016 and were happy to deal him. when the WS asked…
There is a big hole behind the plate, too. Lee is strictly backup, and the California Cutie won’t be MLB ready by 2024. So who catches for this TBA starting rotation and pen? Matt Suzuki is still a few years away from being on the Sox radar. They reckon his price will come down by then.
No worries. GM Chris Gets will snag Salvador Perez from his Royals and he’ll be a whole lot more expensive than Suzuki, at least the one named Kurt. Can Ichiro can catch?
Interesting
That rotation has plenty of holes but they don’t need to break the bank to stay competitive in the central. Start with an E-Rod or Gray, then a Lugo, Lorenzen or Wacha. Add a flier on a Mahre or Severino or German. Viola!
Viola is 63
With no strings attached!
I suppose it depends on the bank.
20MM AAV Rodriguez = 5yrs $102MM
14MM AAV Lugo = 3yrs $42MM
9MM AAV Lorenzen = 3yrs $27MM
So $43MM more and you’ve got a competitive rotation.
Then the White Sox just need about 5 good position players and some luck and they could be potential favorites again. So figure about $50MM more AAV. Or, you know, a payroll of about $190MM which they said they’re not doing.
So $43MM more and you’ve got a competitive rotation.
Then the White Sox just need about 5 good position players
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So the WS only need to sign 8 FAs to be competitive?
@JoeBrady – Probably 10-12 to cover injuries.
That would require spending money. No money will be spent to improve the team.
Any owner having a restriction before the luxury tax has no business owning a team. There should be zero limits before the tax line
It is always easy for fans to spend other people’s money.
It’s also easy for owners to spend their money on stuff that doesn’t improve the ball club, such as nearby property developments. We’re both Rockies fans, so I know you know. Ownership of an MLB franchise is a license to print money – it’s an asset that never depreciates. They’re never spending money they don’t have – at worst, they’re spending money they don’t have yet. Any ownership group with an honest desire to contend could spend to do so (how wisely might vary).
No, owners shouldn’t spend their own money or this would be a hobby not a business. The team is the product and if it isn’t selling than the business isn’t making much money. The Padres had to take out a 50 million dollar loan to cover team cost last year. MLB teams dont print money like some fans want to believe. It’s a long term investment to the owners who know there isnt much short term profits in it for them.
Never say “never depreciates.” Eventually the bubble will burst. Nothing goes up forever. And absolutely no businessman will stay with a business that is losing money. They wouldn’t have ever amassed the wealth to purchase the team if they did. “Nearby property developments” are a constant source of future income, whereas improving the ball club is an asset that only lasts the season. The Rockies are filling the ballpark without really putting a good product on the field, so honestly where is the incentive for ownership to spend more money on the team?
Then maybe the Padres shouldn’t have signed Xander Bogarts despite having multiple all star level SS already on the roster. They had to take out a loan because Preller has a stranglehold on that franchise
Profesional sports is one of the most profitable businesses. This is not the 20th century. All these teams are making money. Go into a hedge fund if you’re just in it for a good balance sheet
Remember you said that in a few years when most of the cable and broadcast TV money goes away and the next generation is more interested in watching idiots doing stunts on Tiktok than watching a baseball game.
How about this? Any city that doesn’t have real fans supporting the team should be forced to relocate?
In the last 11 season, the WS have only hit 1.8M fans twice. Why should the owner spend a nickel on fans that don’t show up? Support is a two-way street.
Interesting to make that comment and not include the previous 8 years where the fanbase was over 2 million. I mean the fans were showing up and in return they signed Adam laroche, a plethora of has-beens cheaply. They traded away Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, prospects such asMarcus Semien and Tatis Jr.
One of 3, I repeat 3 teams in baseball that have never given a player a 100 million dollar contract.
And you attack the fans for not supporting this crap? Sounds bitter…
Over under on former Royals added to the roster this offseason is 2.5. That does not include broadcasters. I hate myself for loving this franchise.
Change Royals to Diamondbacks and this Rockies fan is in the exact same position as you.
And that is why Getz is the GM. Anyone experienced and even more, accomplished would tell Jerry in the interview, “If you want me to fix your team then I’ll need you to commit to spending. ” Why bother interviewing a winning GM just to tell him right away that you’re scaling back the payroll flexibility.
The White Sox did spend plenty of money last year. More than the Diamondbacks and O’s or Rays combined.
What they need is new coaching and a modern analytics department.
Isn’t that what they already had with Hahn? Even when the Sox had a good manager (Renteria) they stabbed him in the back when he finally got the team competitive again.
No, any reasonable GM would look at Jerry and say, you need to burn it down. There are only a handful of players we might be able to count on next year, the locker room and coaching staff is a dysfunctional disaster, and if we did nothing we’d already be at $100MM for a 40 win team.
Don’t show this to Darragh. He has Getz signing half the FA’s out there. He’s gonna be disappointed. Sigh
Yeah they’re also not expected to win either…don’t know what Looney Tune land Getz is living in but they need to unload everyone except maybe Robert Jr. because they have no farm system either
I agree but I would include Robert with the tradeables because he isn’t a cornerstone; he’s a complementary piece. Robert may well go on to have a great career, but he isn’t a leader of men nor an inspirational leader. The Sox tried to make a leader out of TA and that was an outright disaster. TA was more divisive than unifying and soon enough, even the fans started hating his guts. Move Robert while is value is high. Tat return could bring back some key pieces for the newest rebuild. Long winded way of sating the team should hang a “For Sale” on everybody.
Well duh they were booty juice last year with that payroll they should trade pieces away
“Doesn’t appear as if the club will orchestrate a complete teardown and rebuild”. If most of your pitching staff and almost all of your good players from 2 years ago are gone or will be soon, and you just lost 101 games, that’s pretty much a rebuild.
Bingo!
They should definitely play Korey Lee as their main catcher. He has a rocket arm and good awareness behind the plate. I was sorry to see him go from the Astros.
I prefer to have a catcher that can hit baseballs.
So, how many wins makes you competitive in the AL Central? Say 82. This roster could win 70….if Jiminez, Robert, B’Tendi, Vaughn and Moncada don’t suck. Can Getz buy 12 wins with that much payroll remaining? Not likely but not impossible either.
2023 87
2022 92
2021 93
2019 101
2018 91
Be pretty tough to expect to win the division with less than 90 wins. Other teams are going to make moves, too.
Yeah, but Minnesota and Cleveland both seem to be moving backwards in payroll. And KC and Detroit would need to make a big jump forward. It’s possible with the Tigers I guess, but health is the big question there.
The White Sox could easily be this year’s D-Backs in 2025. Just win enough to get in and then get hot at the end of the year.
The Twins will probably land in the $130MM range. It’s a pretty insignificant step back, but there could be some big changes to some of the core (Kepler, Polanco, Gray). Regardless, any expectation of winning a division with less than 90 wins is rolling the dice. There will always be a team which outperforms expectations.
The White Sox are an absolute train wreck. I can’t stress that enough. It’s really bad. Chicago had exactly “1” position player above 1.4 fWAR last year. Despite being ravaged by injuries to the point only 1 of their players qualified, the Twins had 9 position players exceed that.
2.0+ WAR is the expectation for a position player over a full year on a playoff caliber team.
3 of Chicago’s main rotation guys are free agents and one of the two remaining is Kopech who looks like a failed experiment as a starter with Cease on borrowed time before free agency. Comparing the 61 win White Sox to the 74 win 2022 Diamondbacks is a stretch. The Diamondbacks were 13 games better and had a solid core of position players with a couple very good starters.
I didn’t compare them to the 2022 74 win Diamondbacks. I compared them to the 2021 100+ loss Diamondbacks team. Notice I said they could be the D-Backs in 2025, not 2024.
As far as WAR goes, that has absolutely no bearing on what will happen in 2024 or 2025. WAR is a fine stat for determining what happened THIS year, but it is not a predictor of future success. WAR fluctuates from year to year just like any other stat.
Missed the comment about 2025. Sure, if the White Sox rebuild their entire roster, they could be competitive in 2025.
WAR is the most valuable stat to every GM in baseball right now in regard to predicting future value. It’s what every GM looks at when determining value for free agency. The only time it wouldn’t necessarily be viewed as predictive is SSS and from players with no or very limited track record.
What huge group of players are you banking on to suddenly become good?
Not banking on anyone. Frankly with the amount of player movement, breakout seasons and regression that takes place in MLB, trying to predict a 2025 record is about as accurate as trying to predict the weather 2 years from now. I just said it could happen mainly because of those reasons.
I agree. Honestly I would put the White Sox at the absolute bottom in terms of franchise health. Even below my Rockies.
That being said, anything can happen because the White Sox still have some good big league players. If they get a handful of surprise minor league break outs and a few good bargain FA signings, in the weak AL Central they are not far off. If they were in any other division, I would agree that they are pretty much done for the decade. But not in the Central where every team is always on the verge of a massive rebuild.
@hiflew – I’m not sure why you think all the teams are on the verge of a massive rebuild. The AL Central doesn’t do a lot of blow it up, rebuild it stuff. The Twins have only done 1 of those (2013-2014) in the past 20 years. The Tigers have done 1 in the last 20 after finally accepting they needed to in (2018-2021) and they’re now building again.
Anything could happen, it’s just the White Sox are probably in the worst position in the AL Central right now. If they blow it up and rebuild, they’ll probably be competitive with the ability to sustain it in 2026. If they don’t blow it up and hope for the best, they could be competitive next year or more likely 2025, but it probably isn’t sustainable and it probably won’t work at all.
Another 100 loss season on tap. Jerry makes out like a bandit.
Hiring Getz was a mistake. I expect the same player evaluation issues will continue.
His press conference was a hot mess. He contradicted himself several times. He’s okay with the roster. He’s doesn’t like the roster. Are you selling off pieces or are you adding to the roster. Dude needs to pick a lane.
Why would they go high payroll? They are not in a good position right now.
Load up on prospects and look to the future. They had a great group of prospects not too long ago, they can do it again.
Neither is anyone else in the AL Central. I would love to swap the Rockies out of the NL West into that division. They’d make the playoffs at least twice as often. Plus division road games would be on two hours earlier.
I don’t think it would help the Rockies much over the long haul TBH. The Central’s been pretty rough over the past 5 years, but it was very competitive before that. Just like NL West was an absolute joke for the chunk of the 2000s.
NL West Division winner
2008 = 84 wins
2007 = 90 wins
2006 = 88 wins
2005 = 82 wins
The AL Central has been to the ALCS
2023 = 87 wins
2022 = 92 wins
2021 = 93 wins
2020 = 36 wins (96 win pace)
2019 = 101 wins
2018 = 91 wins
2017 = 102 wins
2016 = 94 wins – World Series Appearance Guardians
2015 = 95 wins – World Series Winner Royals
2014 = 90 wins – World Series Apperance Royals
Detroit won’t stay stagnant much longer, the Twins are a good team, the Guardians have developed pitching and have been the AL Central Tampa Bay Rays-Lite version for a while.
I do think there will be mashup of teams at the next expansion, and I think Dallas or Houston joining the AL Central is likely.
Did the AL Central GMs agree it’s Detroit’s turn to take the division during the meetings or something? Royals in full rebuild , Guardians at the end of their run, Twins and White Sox claiming payroll will go down
Twins don’t need to add more payroll than last year. They have cheap young guys that can take the space of more expensive vets. They can eliminate a bit of payroll and still be right there.
I though Crochet was destined for the rotation post injury?
For one, Garrett Crochet continues to spend too much time on the IL even beyond his April 2022 TJ surgery and rehab. He can’t get regular work in the bullpen let alone try and build up his arm strength for a regular spot in the starting rotation. Crochet only amassed 12.2 IP in 13 relief appearances last season.
Crochet wasn’t even a full time starter in his three seasons at the University of Tennessee. In his 36 college appearances, only 13 were starts. He also had injury issues at uni. As a sophomore, he missed the SEC Tournament after suffering a broken jaw in his last regular season game. Crochet missed the first 3 weeks of his junior season with a sore arm. He returned to make one start before the 2020 college season was cancelled due to COVID. Later that June, the White Sox selected him in the first round with the 11th overall pick in the MLB Amateur draft.
Amazingly and with no minor league season in 2020, Crochet went on to make his MLB debut as a reliever in September. He was superb down the stretch and in his one postseason appearance versus the A’s before being removed with forearm tightness.
“I owe it to the fans for a quick turnaround.”
Sell the team
I’m confused why everyone seems to think the White Sox are cheap.. they have been pretty free with spending for a while now – with very poor results.
They are in a position where they have way too many holes on the roster to fill via free agency and the farm system does not appear to be in good shape.
They hover around mid pack every year. For Chicago being a top 3 market in the US….just feels like both the White Sox and Cubs should at least be the top 10 in spending
True, it is the 3rd largest MSA.. but a distant 3rd. NY and LA dwarf Chicago in population, density and commerce. Plus, they have to share the market with the Cubs. The Cubs are far more popular.. maybe some of that is sel-inflicted but a sub-.500 Cubs team will outdraw a WS Champion White Sox team. The White Sox seem to be far less popular and serve a less affluent crowd.
To me, middle of the pack seems about right for the White Sox but I think it makes sense that the Cubs should pretty consistently be in the top-10.
Don’t get me wrong, I think there are PLENTY of reasons to criticize White Sox ownership and management.
Sox are in 3rd largest market but 23rd avg in attendance. Many fair weather fans. 9th in attendance in 06 after the ws win. Not sure how much tv revenue they get. No longer on free tv.
Cubs have a high attendance, even for the lean years. Not spending by cubs ownership is a poor excuse. Of course the 70s-mid 80s cubs had poor draft picks.
Spending just to spend isn’t helpful.
Getting good players takes multi-year contracts. When you have a dozen holes on the roster, by the time the rest of the prospects are ready, the free agents on long term contracts are in the twilight of their career that you overpaid for.
A franchise-record for a big market team that never even approached the luxury tax threshold.
Thanks Jerry, signed every White Sox fan.
Jerry just laughs and looks at his bank account.
Let’s get that red carpet cleaned before it is rolled out to welcome all the bargain-basement Plus 40s free agents with “free” being the keyword. Wonder how many FAs the Sox are targeting are willing to work for room and board?
White Sox only sign players that nobody else wants. Think about it. Why would any player want to go play there? Even Pollock opted out of guaranteed money and signed for less. The White Sox are only “in” certain free agents because they use their offer to improve the offer with other teams (i.e Zack Wheeler)
The ONLY reason the White Sox didn’t move out of Chicago is that former Mayor Daly and Jim Thompson former Governor gave the White Sox a sweetheart deal that Illinois taxpayers footed the bill. The White Sox even have a clause that states if attendance is low they get more subsidies. BEAT IT your 3 thousand fans will find another team
Jerry will sell the team before the lease is up. He’ll never have that kind of sweetheart deal again. He’s gonna have to pay rent and share the concessions/parking. That’s pure profit for him right now. ..
There is a rumor resinsdorf is pulling a bears ownership and trying for a new stadium. If you ever watch the movie major league, the owner is a composite based on him.
It seems that every team is looking for starters so there should be a good market for Cease in exchange for multiple position players to fill holes at one or more of SS, 2B, RF and C. Then the Sox will have to go with the second tier free agents for a starting staff. Maybe Eloy can be dealt to the Angels as their replacement DH in exchange for a young proven starter like Silseth.
Mike trout has barely played since 2020. When he does he’s one of the best hitters on earth. Roberts also has barely played since 2020 but hasn’t come close to his offensive numbers. Defensively he is definitely better.
Roberts
367 games
Ops +100
Ops + 110
Ops +154
Ops +128
Trout
300 games
Ops + 167
Ops +194
Ops +176
Ops + 131
Robert has one season where he played over 100 games, and his WAR last year was 5, which is his career high. Trout averaged a WAR of 9 over his first 8 seasons, incredibly. Robert is a good player but will never be in Trout’s category, at least not the first half of Trout’s career. I hope Trout stays healthy, would be a shame if an already epic career is obstructed due to injuries. He missed like 70 percent of games over 2021/2023. He could get 600+ homers easily if he stays healthy.
Robert would bring back a haul. Trade him while you can because ChiSox won’t be competitive until Roberts contract is over
Everything the Sox are doing, is consistent with owners who are planning to sell the team soon.
They made a push a few years back with grandad, Hendricks and Lynn that didn’t work out. Try again in a couple more years
Sox should reunite Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas on one year deals to eat innings and hope they can flip one or both at the deadline. Also Renfroe & Aroldis Chapman. This plan might also be total chaos and I could be rooting for that since this year is likely a wash for them already.
I just do not trust this org to make good decisions in FA or to get excellent prospects what what they have, which is what this club needs as they have no development in their org to speak of.. Who was the clown running that show that produced little to nothing? Oh yeah, the new GM of the Sox now… Yeah yeah I guess there are glass half full (of kool-aid) rose colored glasses wearers out there, but I, and others, are not so easily duped with the ‘rah, rah’ garbage. Many of us have seen enough baseball from this club to know a stinker when they see one.
Hahn 2.0 is in a prove it mode right now to me. My last bit of hope for this org is thinking “Lets see if he really has the mettle to work this thing to something positive.” but no way am I going to be like many of these die hard fan boys that expect to see different results with members taking over that were already in the last failed org group.