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Yolmer Sanchez Clears Waivers, Elects Free Agency

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Nov. 27: Sanchez went unclaimed on waivers and will become a free agent, Rosenthal tweets. A formal announcement from the club should follow.

Nov. 25: The White Sox have outrighted infielder Yolmer Sanchez from their 40-man roster, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). MLBTR had projected him to earn $6.2MM in arbitration.

While he has at times been a solid contributor in Chicago, Sanchez is coming off of a rough 2019 season at the plate. There are quite a few veteran alternatives available in free agency, making it tough to pay that kind of cash to retain him.

Sanchez has been trusted with quite a lot of playing time on the South Side of late, appearing in over 140 games in each of the past three seasons. But his offensive output has declined steadily in that span, dropping from a .267/.319/.413 batting line and 95 wRC+ in 2017 — that is, five percent below league average — to last year’s .252/.318/.321 slash and 74 wRC+.

While Sanchez has maintained the same general strikeout and walk levels all along — he’s a bit below the league average with both his career 7.5% walk rate and 21.0% strikeout rate — his power has fallen off a cliff. Sanchez went from a dozen home runs and a .147 isolated power mark in 2017 to just two dingers and a .069 ISO in 2019.

What hasn’t changed is Sanchez’s excellent glovework. Whether utilized at second or third base, he has graded as a top-notch performer — even winning a Gold Glove Award for his work at second base in 2019. That makes him a strong candidate to find a landing spot as a utility piece. Barring a big upswing at the plate, however, it’s hard to imagine Sanchez as a regular lineup piece on a team with designs on immediate contention. If and when he does land elsewhere, he’ll be controllable through the 2021 season via arbitration.

Offseason Outlook: Chicago White Sox

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MLBTR is publishing Offseason Outlooks for all 30 teams. Click here to read the other entries in this series.

Having completed a three-season rebuilding period, the White Sox must make significant additions and field a competitive team in 2020.  With the Yasmani Grandal signing, they’ve already got a strong early start.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Yasmani Grandal, C: $73MM through 2023
  • Jose Abreu, 1B: $50MM through 2022.
  • Kelvin Herrera, RP: $9.5MM through 2020.  Includes club option for 2021.
  • Eloy Jimenez, LF: $37MM through 2024.  Includes club options for 2025 and ’26.
  • Tim Anderson, SS: $21.75MM through 2022.  Includes club options for 2023 and ’24.

Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

In the three weeks since the World Series ended, the White Sox have already made several notable offseason moves.  The first was to ship catcher Welington Castillo to the Rangers, giving up $250K in international bonus pool space as a way of saving $500K in real money in the form of Castillo’s buyout.  As James Fegan of The Athletic wrote, the question is “why a seemingly paltry amount of the major-league payroll is being prioritized over a significant portion of the international bonus pool,” as this is not the first time the White Sox have done so.  To hear White Sox Senior Vice President/General Manager Rick Hahn tell it, the team’s international staff did not have any further signings they wanted to make, so he then set out to exchange the club’s bonus pool space for some benefit.  The shedding of international bonus pool space invited skepticism in some corners, including from Jim Margalus of Sox Machine.

As this outlook was in progress, the White Sox signed the #7 free agent on the market, catcher Yasmani Grandal, to a four-year, $73MM deal.  The contract surpasses Abreu for the largest in franchise history, a major commitment to a player who fits the team like a glove.  The Sox have added perhaps the best hitter and pitch framer among all MLB catchers.  And unlike last year’s failed pursuit of Manny Machado, Hahn and company proved that they actually are willing and able to win the bidding on a top free agent.  While he’s not a $300MM player, Grandal offers a huge boost behind the plate over incumbent James McCann, perhaps on the order of four additional wins in 2020.  McCann could stay on as a somewhat overqualified backup for Grandal (he did make the All-Star team this year), but he becomes a pretty clear trade candidate, especially given Zack Collins’ bond with Grandal.

Earlier this month the White Sox made the fairly reasonable decision to give Jose Abreu a qualifying offer, which served the dual purpose of cementing their longstanding interest in retaining him, and of creating a drag on the idea of another team signing him.  The widely expected multiyear agreement didn’t happen by the November 14th deadline for Abreu, so the player chose to accept the strong $17.8MM salary on a one-year deal for 2020.  At that point first base was filled for 2020, and the White Sox didn’t have to commit beyond Abreu’s age-33 season.  Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf can be loyal to a fault, however, and the team chose to overwrite that one-year deal with a three-year, $50MM pact that surely had much to do with Abreu’s clubhouse presence as his production at the plate.  Chalk this one up as a win for Abreu, who was unlikely to find this level of a contract on the open market.  Should White Sox fans complain?  Only to the extent that Abreu’s unnecessary new deal prevents them from upgrading the rest of the roster, which doesn’t seem likely at least this offseason.

One other notable move happened this week, with the club removing second baseman Yolmer Sanchez from the 40-man roster.  Sanchez seemed unlikely to make it past Monday’s non-tender deadline anyway, but now the path is clear for prospect Nick Madrigal.

Due to the team committing over $123MM before Thanksgiving, this is beginning to read more like an offseason review than an outlook.  However, there’s plenty of speculation left to do.  One clear remaining area of upgrade for the White Sox is right field.  While there’s a slight preference for left-handed bats, perhaps the addition of a switch-hitter like Grandal reduces that.  Options in free agency include Nicholas Castellanos, Kole Calhoun, and Yasiel Puig.  Both Marcell Ozuna and Eloy Jimenez seem limited to left field, making Ozuna a difficult fit.  Nor have Corey Dickerson or Brett Gardner played much right field.  On the trade market, one consideration is Mookie Betts, a potentially huge one-year rental if Hahn could pry him loose from the Red Sox.  Perhaps of equal or greater acquisition cost would be the Mariners’ Mitch Haniger, who is under control for three more seasons.  The trade market could also offer Josh Reddick, Nomar Mazara, Stephen Piscotty, and Hunter Renfroe, none of whom would be considered a clear upgrade.

The Sox are also wide open at designated hitter, and a few interesting options abound if the team is willing to use the spot mostly for one player.  Chicago was considered the speculative favorite for J.D. Martinez if he’d chosen to opt out, with the thinking that the Red Sox wouldn’t necessarily have minded gaining relief from Martinez’s contract.  If the White Sox indeed like Martinez, I wonder if they’d attempt to take him and his three-year, $62.5MM commitment off Boston’s hands.  One issue could be Martinez’s ability to opt out after the 2020 season, which brings downside risk for the White Sox.  It’s also plausible that the White Sox could attempt to use their financial flexibility to acquire Khris Davis and most of his $33.5MM commitment from Oakland.  A simpler move would be to simply sign a free agent who could be plugged in as a regular DH, such as Edwin Encarnacion or Hunter Pence.

The White Sox will almost certainly add starting pitching this winter, with Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, and Reynaldo Lopez penciled in plus interesting options like Carlos Rodon and Michael Kopech.  Even with Jake Odorizzi off the board, the free agent market is flush with options.  Though they’ve never given out a $100MM contract, the White Sox have at least attempted to dole out a $200MM deal, and they could certainly compete on Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg if Reinsdorf so chooses.  They’re also viable suitors for Zack Wheeler, Madison Bumgarner, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dallas Keuchel, Cole Hamels, and just about any other free agent.  Signing Grandal early could have a benefit here: the White Sox have signaled they’re not messing around, and presumed “contenders only” names like Bumgarner, Ryu, and Hamels could get on board.  The trade market doesn’t appear overwhelming, but certainly a Matthew Boyd, Chris Archer, or Jon Gray would be attainable for the Sox.  If you want to get a little more fantastical with trade ideas, we can again speculate on financially bailing out the Red Sox, with David Price or even Chris Sale.  The White Sox re-acquiring Sale would be particularly entertaining, but with a $145MM commitment and an elbow injury ending his season in August, it’s the ultimate long shot.

Like most teams, the White Sox could also stand to improve their bullpen.  Colome, Herrera, and Aaron Bummer are guaranteed spots, while Evan Marshall and Jimmy Cordero will surely be in the mix.  It remains to be seen how aggressively the White Sox will address the bullpen given their other needs, though the Braves have already scooped up Will Smith and Chris Martin from the top end of the free agent market.  Plus, the Sox already can expect to pay Colome and Herrera around $19MM for their 2020 efforts.

Even after signing Grandal and Abreu, their projected commitments sit around $80MM.  With so many big-market teams crying poor this winter, the White Sox are in excellent position to add several more impact free agents and make a major push into contention for 2020 and beyond.

White Sox Outright Daniel Palka

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The White Sox announced today that they have outrighted outfielder Daniel Palka (via MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, on Twitter). He was designated recently to clear roster space for the signing of Yasmani Grandal.

Palka, 28, turned in a solid showing at the plate in his 2018 debut. While he went down on strikes 153 times in 449 plate appearances and ended with a .294 on-base percentage, he delivered enough power (27 home runs, .484 slugging percentage) to be an above-average overall performer with the bat.

Trouble was, Palka wasn’t up to the task in the outfield, where he graded quite poorly. He needed to make further strides in one or both areas to lock up a roster spot. Instead, he struggled badly in limited MLB chances in 2019, posting an awful .107/.194/.179 slash in 93 trips to the plate.

Some team will still gladly offer the powerful Palka a non-roster invitation on a minors deal. Notably, he showed improved plate discipline during his time at Triple-A in 2019. Offense was up everywhere, so there’s no reason to get carried away with the .900 OPS and 27 dingers he delivered at Charlotte. But Palka has never before managed a K/BB mix like the 109 strikeouts and 72 walks he tallied in 471 plate appearances.

White Sox Extend Jose Abreu

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The White Sox announced that they’ve agreed to a three-year, $50MM contract with first baseman Jose Abreu. The 32-year-old slugger had previously accepted a one-year, $17.8MM qualifying offer, effectively making this a two-year, $32.2MM extension.

Jose Abreu | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Under the new contract, Abreu will receive a $5MM signing bonus and an $11MM salary in 2020 before being paid $16MM in 2021 and $18MM in 2022. Four million dollars of that 2022 salary will be deferred, according to the team. Abreu is represented by ISE Baseball.

In signing Abreu to this type of extension, the White Sox are effectively betting (in a fairly substantial manner) on a rebound in his age-33 season next year. That’s not to say that Abreu had a poor 2019 campaign; he batted .284/.330/.503 with 33 home runs and was a decidedly above-average hitter overall. But unlike his 2014-17 production, Abreu’s output in 2018-19 has been more good than it has been great. Park- and league-adjusted measures such as OPS+ (119) and wRC+ (117) agree that he’s been nearly 20 percent better than a league-average hitter in that span, but that’s a far cry from the premium levels at which Abreu produced from 2014-17 — particularly in his brilliant 2014 rookie campaign, when he was arguably the best hitter in baseball.

The open market simply hasn’t rewarded players of this age and skill set in recent years, and it’s unlikely that Abreu would’ve had this type of earning power next winter without returning to his previous levels of excellence with the bat. Given the fact that Abreu has never been rated as a strong defensive first baseman and isn’t likely to make considerable improvements as he progresses deeper into his mid-30s, an uptick at the plate is all the more important.

All of that said, it’s also undeniable that Abreu has emerged as the heart of the White Sox in recent years. The front office, ownership and teammates alike have lauded Abreu for his leadership and the manner in which he mentors young players as they arrive on the scene. He’s also a fixture in the community on the south side of Chicago and is generally beloved by Sox fans. All of that surely factors in when pricing out a deal and is particularly likely to resonate with owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who has been vocal about his desire to keep Abreu in a Sox uniform (as has GM Rick Hahn).

From a financial standpoint, the new structure of the deal does give the Sox a bit of extra breathing room when constructing the 2020 roster. Assuming that signing bonus still counts against the 2020 ledger, they’re now at about $93.7MM in projected salary when factoring in projected arbitration payouts. Parting with either Yolmer Sanchez or James McCann, who was displaced as the team’s starting catcher by yesterday’s Yasmani Grandal signing, would create further flexibility. Sanchez is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $6.2MM in 2020, while McCann’s projection checks in at $4.9MM.

The extent to which Reinsdorf is willing to spend on the 2020 roster isn’t definitively known by anyone outside of the White Sox’ top decision-makers, but they’re currently about $30MM shy of their record Opening Day payroll mark ($128MM in 2011) — a number that could jump to $40MM depending on the fate of Sanchez and McCann. The Sox now have about $46MM in guaranteed money on the books for the 2021 season and about $53MM on the books in 2020

That leaves them plenty of latitude for an additional long-term signing — particularly since key young players like Tim Anderson and Eloy Jimenez are already locked into long-term deals that provide cost certainty. They’ll still need to budget for pricey arbitration salaries for both Yoan Moncada and Lucas Giolito beginning in 2021, however, meaning multiple long-term additions will begin to clog up the books in a hurry. But if ownership is willing to push payroll beyond its previously established heights moving forward, it’s certainly plausible that the Sox could have more than one addition up their sleeve between now and Opening Day. The club is hopeful of adding both a right fielder and a starting pitcher to the mix, so further additions do indeed seem likely, although either could come on a shorter-term arrangement.

MLBTR Poll: Grading The Grandal Deal

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Catcher Yasmani Grandal has now been the top backstop available on the open market in back-to-back offseasons. But this winter’s trip to free agency turned out drastically different for Grandal than last year’s. Coming off a prosperous run with the Dodgers an offseason ago, Grandal turned down a four-year, $60MM offer from the Mets before signing a one-year, $18.25MM guarantee with the Brewers. Grandal’s Milwaukee pact was barely more than the qualifying offer he rejected from the Dodgers, but it did give the 31-year-old the opportunity to make a substantial amount for a single season and once again make a case for a lucrative long-term deal. A year later, it seems fair to say things worked out well for the switch-hitting Grandal.

In his lone season as a Brewer, Grandal showed yet again that he’s one of the most well-rounded catchers in baseball. He earned the second All-Star nod of his career, racked up 5.2 fWAR, slashed .246/.380/.468 with a career-high 28 home runs in 632 plate appearances, and ranked near the top of the league as a pitch framer. While Grandal’s stellar 2019 output wasn’t much different than his 2018 production, he wasn’t going to settle for another one-year deal this time.

Grandal officially departed Milwaukee on Thursday to become the highest-paid player in the history of the White Sox, who signed him to a four-year, $73MM deal with full no-trade protection in 2020 and a partial NTC thereafter. It’s an undeniably bold strike by Chicago, which hasn’t finished with a .500 or better record since 2012 and hasn’t clinched a playoff spot since 2008. However, the White Sox are aiming to wrap up a multiyear rebuild and put themselves back on the map in the AL Central division, where they’re wedged between two contenders (the Twins and Indians) and a pair of noncompetitive clubs (the Royals and Tigers).

The Grandal signing figures to help the White Sox move closer to relevance in 2020, as he’s a clear upgrade over their No. 1 catcher from last season, James McCann. Of course, as is the case with all big-money acquisitions, there’s risk involved – especially when talking about a 30-something catcher. To Grandal’s credit, though, he has been eminently durable and extraordinarily consistent to this point. And Grandal’s bat is so sturdy that it should work just fine at designated hitter, where he’ll be able to play on occasion to partially save himself from the wear and tear of catching. If there’s another reason to like this move for Chicago, it’s that the club didn’t give up any draft compensation for Grandal, who was ineligible to receive a QO.

In your opinion, did the White Sox make a wise move in handing Grandal a franchise-record payday? (Poll link for app users)

Details On The White Sox/Yasmani Grandal Signing

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The White Sox made a big early strike in the free agent market, signing Yasmani Grandal to a four-year, $73MM contract that stands as the priciest deal in franchise history.  Here some of the early reactions to the signing…

  • Grandal and White Sox GM Rick Hahn spoke with reporters — including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin and The Athletic’s James Fegan — during a conference call today today, detailing how the two sides came together.  The White Sox quickly reached out to Grandal’s representatives as soon as free agency opened, and met with Grandal and his team during last week’s GM Meetings.  Manager Rick Renteria was a familiar face to Grandal from their time together in San Diego (when Renteria was the Padres’ bench coach), and Grandal was impressed by Chicago’s core of young pitchers.  “If I see that I can help that pitching staff, for me that’s pretty much No. 1,” Grandal said.  “So, their sales pitch was, ’Look at the young arms we have, look at the guys we have coming up. We have an opportunity here to win, and we think you can help them out.’ ”  To that end, Hahn said that two days after the get-together at the GM Meetings, Grandal asked to see video of Sox pitchers to get more information about his future teammates.
  • The White Sox were perhaps something of a surprise suitor for Grandal, given that Chicago was thought to be relatively set behind the plate after James McCann’s solid 2019 season.  Since Grandal could see time at first base or DH, however, there appears to be a path for McCann to still receive a good chunk of playing time.  “Having too many guys who are quality big leaguers is a good thing, not something we view as a problem,” Hahn said.  “We want to provide Rick [Renteria] with enough flexibility and different options to set a quality lineup each day.”
  • More roster holes need to be filled before the White Sox can call themselves contenders in 2020, as Hahn was quick to downplay the Grandal signing as a big statement.  “There certainly is a level of excitement of what we had done even prior to this signing today, but until we actually convert on some of these targets, the words are just that,” Hahn said.  “I leave it to [the media] to interpret messages and all that stuff….If, in fact, other free agents see this move today as reinforcement to some of the things they’ve heard from us over the past several weeks or even going back to last year, that’s great. Hopefully there will be further moves over the course of the next several months that will continue that positive narrative.”
  • While the White Sox were the most ardent suitor, Grandal noted that his latest trip through free agency drew much more interest than last winter, when Grandal settled for a one-year deal with the Brewers.  “Quite frankly, unlike last year around this time when the market was kind of completely non-existent, this year, it was slightly different,” Grandal said.  “It seemed like there were several teams that were working hard within their limits to be able to compete and there were thorough teams that were really interested.”
  • The Brewers and Blue Jays were previously known to have interest in Grandal this offseason, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required) adds that the Reds, Angels, and Braves were also among the top suitors, though Atlanta may have just “checked in” on Grandal’s status.  Cincinnati was MLBTR’s predicted landing spot for Grandal, as the Reds as known to be willing to spend in pursuit of a postseason berth in 2020 and Grandal represented a clear upgrade over Tucker Barnhart.  Catcher was also a glaring area of need for the Angels, while the Braves have one capable regular in Tyler Flowers but are in need of a complement after Brian McCann’s retirement.

Latest On Zack Wheeler

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The White Sox made the biggest splash of the young free agency season on Thursday, signing the best catcher available, Yasmani Grandal, to a long-term contract. The four-year, $73MM guarantee the White Sox handed Grandal stands as the largest deal in franchise history, but it might not be long before the team doles out an even richer pact. The White Sox remain among those after free-agent right-hander Zack Wheeler, per reports from Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Jon Morosi of MLB.com (video link) and Andy Martino of SNY. They first showed interest in Wheeler well before signing Grandal.

If MLBTR’s five-year, $100MM prediction proves accurate, Wheeler could become the first nine-figure player in White Sox history. The longtime Met and former Tommy John surgery patient made a case for that type of payday during the previous two seasons with 8.9 fWAR over 377 2/3 innings, thereby putting three straight injury-ruined years behind him. Along the way, Wheeler recorded a terrific 3.65 ERA/3.37 FIP with 8.91 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 and averaged a blazing 96.8 mph on his four-seam fastball.

Now, should Wheeler end up on the South Side of Chicago, he’d give the club at least two frontline-caliber starters from the get-go. Although 2019 was yet another dismal season in the standings for the White Sox, they did see Lucas Giolito emerge as a star atop their rotation. And Giolito’s hardly the lone promising starter on hand, as Chicago also boasts Reynaldo Lopez and Dylan Cease. Meanwhile, Michael Kopech could factor into the club’s rotation from the outset of next season after missing 2018 because of a Tommy John procedure, and fellow TJ patient Carlos Rodon figures to return at some point in 2020.

Considering the 29-year-old Wheeler is the third-best starter on the open market, trailing only Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg, there’s predictably substantial interest in him so far. The Angels, Padres and Twins are also among those who have been connected to him thus far. Anybody that signs Wheeler will have to surrender draft compensation, as he rejected a $17.8MM qualifying offer from the Mets a week ago. The White Sox and Angels would each give up their second-highest pick in 2020 and $500K of their international signing bonus pool, while the Padres and Twins would lose their third-highest selection.

White Sox Sign Yasmani Grandal

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The White Sox announced that they’ve signed free-agent catcher Yasmani Grandal to a four-year contract. He’ll be guaranteed a hefty $73MM, the team announced, which will be paid out evenly at $18.25MM per year.  As per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link), Grandal’s deal includes a full no-trade clause in 2020 and partial no-trade protection for the remaining three seasons.  To make room on the 40-man roster, the White Sox designated outfielder Daniel Palka for assignment.

Readers will recall that the 2018-2019 offseason marked a much more frustrating pass through the free agency turnstiles for the now-31-year-old Grandal. After spurning a reported four-year, $60MM offer from the Mets last winter, the former Hurricane bet on himself by agreeing to a one-year, $18.25MM deal with the Brewers.

That gambit appears to have paid off handsomely, with Grandal parlaying his fantastic 2019 into a larger long-term guarantee from Chicago. At $73MM, this contract represents the largest guarantee in White Sox history, surpassing the six-year, $68MM outlay secured by Jose Abreu in advance of the 2014 season.

Yasmani GrandalFrom any vantage, that guarantee should provide the club with one of the very best catchers in the game. Since entering the majors with San Diego in 2012, Grandal has posted a cumulative 118 wRC+ figure, second only to Buster Posey among all catchers with more than 3000 plate appearances in that time frame. Similarly, his .348 OBP is tops among catchers since 2012, while his 141 homers since ’12 rank second only to Brian McCann’s 145. Grandal’s never been a world-beater in the batting average department, but he’s been a consistent source of power and on-base ability for the bulk of his career.

Though his offensive prowess is evident from even a cursory glance at his career numbers, any Grandal evaluation would be remiss to exclude his sterling defensive reputation. Grandal recorded a 20.1 figure in Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric during the 2019 campaign, good for third among catchers in the bigs behind Austin Hedges and Roberto Perez; that the White Sox press release regarding Grandal’s signing made mention of his pitch framing abilities should come as no surprise.

For the Pale Hose, the signing of such a multi-dimensional, high-profile player makes it abundantly clear that their long-running rebuild has come to an end. Last offseason saw the club make a run at third baseman Manny Machado, in a bid that was likely intended to symbolize a similar rallying cry of competitiveness. Though this past season ended up marking their seventh consecutive losing campaign, Grandal’s addition should go a long way toward supplementing a core that showed real promise in 2019.

Though it was White Sox pitchers like Carlos Rodon, Lucas Giolito, and Michael Kopech who were previously thought to be the club’s primary strength, 2019 yielded encouraging breakouts from a handful of South Side swingers. Shortstop Tim Anderson, for one, exploded en route to the 2019 batting title, logging a .335/.357/.508 slash and 3.5 fWAR across 518 plate appearances; 24-year-old infielder Yoan Moncada announced his presence with a .315/.367/.548 line with 25 home runs, ultimately garnering a down-ballot MVP vote in his second campaign of extended MLB action; rookie outfielder Eloy Jimenez was pretty decent, too–all he did was hit 31 home runs in his first 122 games at the sport’s highest level. And this is all before accounting for the impending arrival of uber-prospect outfielder Luis Robert.

All of that said, catcher didn’t, at first glance, appear to be the team’s most glaring need going into this offseason. Incumbent starter James McCann’s 109 wRC+ and .273/.328/.460 slash in 2019 did indeed compare favorably to other catchers around the league, but a deeper look shows why executive VP Kenny Williams and GM Rick Hahn may have been unable to resist Grandal’s well-rounded allure. Firstly, McCann’s numbers were largely the result of a scintillating first half, as his .226/.281/.413 line after the break would demonstrate; add in McCann’s .359 BABIP on the year, while providing for the defensive upgrade Grandal represents, and it’s easy to see how club leadership saw today’s signing as a necessary investment.

The White Sox fielded an Opening Day payroll of $88.92MM in 2019; the club’s ten-year highwater mark for payroll came back in 2011 when owner Jerry Reinsdorf green-lit a $127.78MM outlay. In addition to Grandal, the Sox will have Abreu ($17.8MM), Kelvin Herrera ($8.5MM), and Anderson ($4MM) under contract with significant guarantees next season, while a considerable number of players will either draw raises in arbitration or find themselves non-tendered. Impact contributors like Giolito remain under affordable club control, so there may yet be some wiggle room to make other improvements around the roster.

Regardless of their moves from here forward, the decision by White Sox brass to bring in Grandal may come at an opportune time. The Twins, despite having retained starter Jake Odorizzi, face uncertainty in their rotation, while the rival Indians continue to endure trade speculation surrounding star shortstop Francisco Lindor and lingering questions about the health of several pitchers, including Corey Kluber. Grandal’s addition to Chicago’s blistering young core should make those teams slightly more uncomfortable with regard to their standing in the AL Central.

With Grandal off the board, the free agent catching market is now likely headlined by Travis d’Arnaud, with Robinson Chirinos and Jason Castro representing something of a third tier. While those players offer varying combinations of offensive and defensive ability to interested teams, there’s little doubt that Chicago acted decisively today in securing itself the most complete backstop on the market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

White Sox, Omar Vizquel Part Ways

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Former major league shortstop Omar Vizquel spent the previous two seasons managing in the White Sox’s minor league system, but he and the organization have parted ways on amicable terms, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

After his outstanding playing career came to an end in 2012, Vizquel transitioned to coaching. He wound up spending a combined five seasons as a major league assistant with the Tigers and Angels before joining the Chicago organization prior to 2018. Vizquel managed the White Sox’s Single-A club that season, earning Carolina League Manager of the Year honors, and then worked as their Double-A skipper this year.

It’s unclear why Vizquel and the White Sox are now moving in different directions, but the team’s director of player development, Chris Getz, told Merkin that Vizquel was “a positive influence” during his time with the organization. However, the two sides felt “it was time to go separate ways.”

Vizquel has garnered major league managerial consideration in the past, having interviewed with the Tigers in 2017 prior to their selection of Ron Gardenhire and the Angels in 2018 before they chose Brad Ausmus. Eight teams have sought new skippers this fall, but it doesn’t seem Vizquel has interviewed with any of those clubs (at least not for a managerial job). The Pirates are the only team left without a manager.

Players Added To 40-Man Roster: American League

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We’re going to see a whole lot of players added to 40-man rosters in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. We will use this post to track those contract selections from American League teams that are not otherwise covered on the site.

AL West:

  • The Athletics made just one addition to the 40-man roster, righty Daulton Jefferies, which resulted in the DFA of righty Jharel Cotton (more on that move here).
  • The Rangers will add at least four players to their 40-man, per MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (via Twitter). Infielder Sherten Apostel, outfielder Leody Taveras, and hurlers Demarcus Evans and Tyler Phillips are all reportedly set to get a slot. Taveras is the most exciting name of this bunch; by the reckoning of some observers, he’s one of the club’s best prospects. Apostel came over in the Keone Kela trade. The two pitchers are upper-minors arms who could contribute in 2020.
  • There’s 40-man movement elsewhere in Texas as well. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the Astros have tacked on four players: Taylor Jones, Cristian Javier, Enoli Paredes, and Nivaldo Rodriguez. The last of those is the one that came from the farthest reaches of the prospect map (half a season of High-A ball); clearly, the ’Stros see him as an up-and-comer and were worried other teams would as well. Jones had a strong season at Triple-A and could fight for a bench spot. Javier and Paredes could be in the MLB bullpen mix after running up the farm ladder with high strikeout rates in 2019.
  • The Angels have selected second baseman/outfielder Jahmai Jones and lefty Hector Yan, according to the club. Both players (Jones – No. 6; Yan – No. 17) rank among the Angels’ top 20 prospects at MLB.com. The 22-year-old Jones is a 2015 second-rounder who spent the past two seasons at the Double-A level, where he hit .234/.308/.324 in 544 plate appearances in 2019. Yan, a 20-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, rose to Single-A ball this past season and notched a 3.39 ERA/3.17 FIP with a whopping 12.22 K/9 against 4.29 BB/9 over 109 innings.

AL Central:

AL East:

  • Infielder Santiago Espinal and righty Thomas Hatch were the Blue Jays’ pair of roster additions on Wednesday. Toronto jettisoned Tim Mayza and Justin Shafer from the 40-man roster in a pair of corresponding moves, as explored at greater length here.
  • The Orioles announced that they’ve selected the contracts of left-hander Keegan Akin, right-hander Dean Kremer, infielder/outfielder Ryan Mountcastle and outfielder Ryan McKenna. Mountcastle, a former first-rounder, has long been considered among the organization’s most promising minor leaguers. Akin posted a down year in Triple-A in 2019 but has generally been successful and is viewed as a near-MLB ready arm.
  • The Red Sox have added infielders C.J. Chatham and Bobby Dalbec, outfielder Marcus Wilson, and lefties Kyle Hart and Yoan Aybar to their 40-man, the team announced.The most hyped farmhand there is Dalbec, whom MLB.com ranks as the Red Sox’s second-best prospect. The 24-year-old reached the Triple-A level for the first time in 2019 after obliterating Double-A pitching, and he posted a .257/.301/.478 line with seven home runs and 29 strikeouts against just five walks over 123 trips to the plate.
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