The White Sox remain amidst a full rebuild on the heels of their third straight 100-plus loss season. Unsurprisingly, they don’t seem to be in for an exciting winter.
General manager Chris Getz downplayed the possibility of making any multi-year free agent pickups. “Free agency is an avenue to bring in players to help in the win total, but to go beyond this upcoming season I think would be a little premature considering the state of our club right now,” the GM told Scott Merkin of MLB.com. The Sox gave out one multi-year free agent contract over Getz’s first two offseasons — the two-year, $15MM deal to bring Erick Fedde back from Korea in 2023.
Chicago handed out six major league free agent contracts last winter. They were all one-year deals worth no more than $5MM. The long-term books are wide open. Their only commitments for 2027 are a $14.5MM salary for Andrew Benintendi to close his five-year deal and a $2MM buyout on a $20MM club option to Luis Robert Jr. The White Sox could afford to make multi-year commitments even if they’re obviously not going to be in the Kyle Tucker bidding. It appears they’re content to essentially sit out mid-tier free agency yet again.
Perhaps the Sox will find another situation like the Fedde one that leads them to at least consider a modest two-year offer. Cody Ponce, Anthony Kay and Foster Griffin all pitched in Asia this past season but could explore a return to MLB. Ponce would seemingly have the best chance of that group to land a two-year contract. A rehabbing injured pitcher like Jordan Montgomery, Griffin Canning or Nestor Cortes could pull a cheap, backloaded two-year deal.
Merkin writes in a separate column that the White Sox will keep an eye on the market for a veteran starter who can take a few innings off the plate of their in-house arms. That could simply be on a one-year deal. The Sox tried that route with a $5MM signing of Martín Pérez last winter. It didn’t really work, as Pérez was limited to 10 starts by forearm and shoulder injuries. He pitched well — probably better than the Sox expected — but wasn’t able to eat many innings or net them a lottery ticket prospect at the deadline. Candidates for that kind of contract this winter include Tyler Anderson, Patrick Corbin, Michael Lorenzen and old friend Jose Quintana.
It seems likely to be a quiet winter on the trade front as well. Getz made the biggest move of his GM tenure when he shipped out Garrett Crochet for four prospects last offseason. They don’t have anyone close to that on the trade block now. Robert is their most notable veteran player, but he’s unlikely to move until closer to the deadline. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored when the Sox exercised their option this morning, other teams are unlikely to meet Chicago’s high asking price on the center fielder coming off another inconsistent and injury-plagued season.
Robert showed enough in the second half for the White Sox to roll the dice on a $20MM salary. Getz said this evening that while the front office won’t close the door on any trade opportunities, they’re expecting him to be on the team going into next season. “We’re planning on (Robert) being in a White Sox uniform,” Getz told reporters (via Merkin). “What he did in the second half was very indicative of what he’s capable of doing and how that can impact our team. … If there are opportunities for us to strengthen the organization, we’ll have those conversations. But as it stands today, we’re very much preparing for having Luis Robert play center field.”
If not Robert, there probably won’t be any headline-grabbing White Sox trades. They have an uphill battle finding any interest in Benintendi, who is owed $31MM over the next two seasons. They could find a modest return for veteran corner outfielder Mike Tauchman, utility infielder Lenyn Sosa or third catcher Korey Lee.
Ideally … Chris Getz would declare himself a free agent.