The White Sox are reportedly in agreement with free agent infielder Nick Senzel on a major league contract. Senzel, a client of the Boras Corporation, was released by the Nationals last week. Chicago will need to open space on the active and 40-man rosters once the move is finalized, which might not happen until after the All-Star Break.
As MLB’s clearest rebuilding team, the Sox are a sensible fit for Senzel. No team has gotten less from its third basemen this year. Through 371 plate appearances, Sox third basemen are hitting .206/.246/.315 with six home runs and a 4.6% walk rate. That’s in part because Yoán Moncada has been on the injured list since the second week of the season. Yet even with Moncada on a minor league rehab stint and nearing a return, there’s ample opportunity for Senzel around the Chicago infield.
The Sox have turned to Nicky Lopez, Paul DeJong and Lenyn Sosa as their primary options alongside first baseman Andrew Vaughn. DeJong has popped 16 homers and would certainly be dealt if the Sox can drum up any level of trade interest over the next two weeks. Sosa and Lopez have been well below-average hitters.
DeJong and Moncada are impending free agents. (The latter has a $25MM club option that certainly isn’t getting exercised.) Lopez would be due a raise on this year’s $4.3MM salary in his final year of arbitration, so he could be a non-tender candidate. Chicago’s infield could look quite a bit different next year.
Senzel is a long shot to emerge as a key piece himself, but there’s minimal risk for Chicago in taking a look at the former #2 overall pick. The one-time top prospect hasn’t met expectations on either side of the ball over his five-plus MLB seasons. He’s a career .235/.302/.368 hitter in just over 1600 big league plate appearances. Most of that came in one of the sport’s most favorable home hitting environments in Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park.
Injuries perhaps played some role in diminishing Senzel’s production. He has never topped 420 plate appearances in a season and battled knee and toe issues during his time with the Reds. Cincinnati also bounced him around the diamond without much success in trying to expand his defensive versatility.
After the Reds non-tendered Senzel last winter, he landed with the Nationals on a $2MM free agent deal. Washington moved him back to his customary third base position in the hope that a more stable defensive setup could allow him to unlock some of his offensive upside. That’s not how things played out. Senzel hit .209/.303/.359 with below-average defensive grades over 64 games. Washington decided to move on and turn third base over to rookie Trey Lipscomb.
The Nationals are on the hook for the majority of Senzel’s contract. The White Sox will only pay him the prorated portion of the $740K minimum for any time he spends in the big leagues (which comes out of Washington’s obligations). Senzel surpassed the five-year service threshold earlier this season. That means he can no longer be sent to the minor leagues without his consent. He would be eligible for arbitration for the 2025 campaign if he plays well enough to hold a roster spot down the stretch.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported Senzel was signing with the White Sox. James Fegan of Sox Machine reported it was a big league deal.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Let’s how it goes, wishing the best
How bad does your team have to be that Senzel would be an upgrade and better than your minor league options?
How was your career in MLB?
Statistically, by not playing professional baseball, most people have had a better career than Nick Senzel. My career WAR of 0.0 greatly overshadows his -2.2.
But he’s quite a bit richer than you & is a MLB baseball player compared to you being a little leaguer. So in my eyes he’s much more than you’ll ever be
I don’t measure my value in dollars. If you do, then I feel sorry for you.
Worst WAR of all time was -14.85…. So if you’ve never made it to MLB, that’s your floor.
-2.2 is quite a bit better than that, to your point!
So if I understand you correctly @baseballandbrews what you’re saying is that dude (probably from like 1910-1940) could single-handedly beat an entire team of Nick Senzels?
Pretty disrespectful for DeepDownSouth to cheapen the game to dollars and cents when his golden boy, Nick senzel, couldn’t beat a single depression-era baseball player if he there were 9 of him.
On a note to the OP
Nick Senzel is probably an upgrade for the White Sox, considering how some of their players are performing right now – Andrew Benintendi comes to mind.
Except that you do not have a WAR of 0.0.
A player with a WAR of 0.0 would add the same number of wins as a replacement-level player. A non-player is NOT a replacement level player.
I am bequeathing you bonus WAR for your creative username.
I am retired and my capital gains this year will surpass his career earnings
Which was pretty much my point. Senzel is below replacement level as a player and the sad sack southsiders have no one better than him.
So in your eyes does that make me much more than he’ll ever be?
Wtf does that have to do with my comment.
Building groundwork for DeJong trade
Sure. Someone will give up a longer shot development project (maybe bullpen type poor command arm) for the veteran IF.
Or having a replacement on hand if Luis Robert is traded
Rsox: IF Robert is traded? The question is, when? Robert, Crochet, Fedde (and his whopping $7M salary), deJong, Kopech and Eloy are gone. Possibly Vaughn and Sheets as well.
Robert unfortunately hasn’t played well enough to get the monster return they would need. Maybe in the offseason if he rounds into form and stays on the field rest of way.
Senzel does have experience in CF.
Let’s see if nick can play like an mvp for the next 2 weeks and get traded
That’s how you do it! Then cash in a decent off season payday to set your family up
I hear ghostly strains of Don Henley, when he could still sing, “Desperado, why dont you come to your senses”….
Somebody needs to stand at 2B if they find a buyer for Nicky Lopez. As mediocre as Senzel is, he’s still better than Putin Sosa.
When was last time you been on a MLB roster..Ill wait
The Royals got the Braves to take Lopez last season so you never know…
Nicky Lopez was very good in Atlanta last season.
How sad is it that I was actually hoping for this? And the Sox will need him after the deadline, which is also sad.
I really feel for White Sox fans right now.
They say 1,500 ABs shows you exactly what type of player someone is going to be. This is not a good one!
But it also means the world has no idea what kind of ballplayer I’d be. I’m gonna keep that mystery going a few more years, then retire from the game.
From a White Sox fan for the past 65 years, this team is just so so sad!!
Been a Wsox fan since 2016, have the same feeling bro. They hit rock bottom.
Senzel will fit right in with the current collection of no-name, interchangeable parts, especially in the IF.
Of course WS signed em, probably soon to be batting cleanup. Think they suck now wait till they deal starting pitching in next 2 weeks. Who replaces those quality innings ?
Some guys in the farm. Maybe they put Soroka back in the rotation. The biggest strength of the Wsox farm is pitching and catching. Their starting rotation has been mostly average this season.
Actually above average, top 10 over the last few months
Despite the dreadful record, SP has been getting quality starts, but the reason why the ERA is so high is bc the bullpen is a train wreck and of course the lack of offense.
Major League contract only to be traded for cash considerations on July 29th
GMs love those old Johnny Cash records.
I’m sorry that is the most asinine arguments ever. How much did you play or he made a lot more money than you etc.
Let’s be honest about this guy. He is a bust. He still getting chances because someone is hoping to unlock a mistake the Reds made 8 years ago(When you think about it whiffing this draft might be part of reason the Reds just can’t get out of their own way)
Sorry Zod, this draft is not indicative of the Reds not being able to get out of their own way.
Not a single first rounder from 2016 went on to become an All-Star. It was a bad draft year.
Will Smith.
Senzel needs to quickly have a conversation with Justin Turner to learn how the latter turned around his career. I think advice from Marlon Byrd about swing angle had something to do with it. It isn’t too late, but the window is fast closing…
Boras is like, I wish you would just leave me. You suck and make me no money. I want to cut the cord.
So Boras doesn’t have a minimum requirement from the clients he takes on. He truly believe that he can get blood from a stone. All the credit to him for believing in his charges, or is he like some celebrity lawyer who routinely works pro bono to keep his name in the public eye and craft his philanthropic image as a lover of humanity?
Normally, I would dismiss this signing Getz dumpster diving again and move on, but as the MLB Draft was just a few days ago and Senzel was the second overall pick in his draft year, that’s pause for reflection at just how much of a crapshoot drafting players in any sport is. Is Chicago Senzel’s final stop before heading to the Far East for yet another shot at refloating his once so-promising career?
Getz just stop this never ending signings. Your team as is still keeps on losing. Bring up kids from the minors instead of this constant no no signings . Give us fans some glimmer of hope . Don’t trade Crochet or Robert!
I rather dumpster dive rather than bring up rushed kids tbh.
I agree with you, bmann300. I would think it’s better to let Sosa have all those innings at third to see if he can show any promise at all. It’s hard to imagine Senzel having any kind of future with the Sox. Bringing players up from the minors is not “rushing” them. The trend in the league is to bring players along quickly. This is not an era that patiently awaits the emergence of late bloomers.
I’m not disagreeing with you whatsoever. I rather not see their top prospects sniff one game this season.
Low risk, high reward move.
White Sox are awesome, they are hitting bottom! World Series champs in 2050!!
DeJong was able to revive his career here the first half of the season and is likely to land on a contender in the next few days. Perhaps Senzel can do the same between the second half of this year and the first half of next year. Montgomery and Ramos probably will not open 2025 in the majors, so there should be plenty of playing time available for Senzel if he earns it.
As long as they don’t stupidly allow guys like Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, and Nicky Lopez, who are all out the door anyway this offseason, to keep taking useless plate appearances…
Despite all the down-talk in the comments, I’m actually pretty excited to see what Senzel can do with the White Sox, as he’s someone that always seems to play well whenever I watched him with the Reds and Nationals. Plus, he hits lefties well, something most of the Sox roster can’t do seemingly at all.