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The Hitch In A Potential Dallas Keuchel Trade

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Almost exactly two years ago, December 30th of 2019, the White Sox signed Dallas Keuchel to a three-year contract that guaranteed him $55.5MM. Keuchel was excellent in the shortened 2020 campaign, throwing 63 1/3 innings with an ERA of 1.99. However, there were reasons to be suspicious of those outcomes, as all of the advanced metrics thought he deserved much worse. (4.30 xERA, 3.98 xFIP, 4.57 SIERA.)

That discrepancy was largely due to his declining strikeout rate, as well as an unsustainable 4.7% HR/FB rate. Keuchel has always been a groundball guy and has never had tremendous strikeout stuff. In his Cy Young season, 2015, he hit his high point with a strikeout rate of 23.7%, just a few ticks above that year’s league average of 20.4%. Since then, the league average has trended north, landing at 23.2% in 2021. Keuchel’s, however, has been steadily dropping and was at 16.3% in 2020.

In 2021, his strikeout rate fell further, landing at 13.2%, and his batted ball luck ran out, sending his ERA soaring up to a career-high 5.28. The advanced metrics felt that was largely deserved, based on the lack of Ks, as evidenced by his 6.20 xERA, 4.74 xFIP and 5.01 SIERA.

With one guaranteed year remaining on his contract, it makes sense for the White Sox to look into trading him for a couple of reasons. First, there’s his diminished effectiveness, as illustrated by those declining strikeout rates and increasing ERA. It’s possible that he could turn things around, but he turns 34 tomorrow, New Year’s Day, meaning he would have to buck traditional aging trends to do it.

Secondly, there’s his salary, as he’ll be paid $18MM in 2022, along with a $1.5MM buyout on a $20MM club option for 2023. The team is in unprecedented payroll territory, for them, having set a franchise record in 2021 by having an Opening Day payroll of $128.7MM. They’re projected to blow way past that in 2022, currently sitting around $180MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource.

However, the problem with that club option is that it’s actually a club/vesting option. It becomes guaranteed if Keuchel pitches at least 160 innings in each of 2021 and 2022. He’s already hit the first of those benchmarks, as he threw 162 innings in 2021. Another season of 160 innings and that $20MM for 2023 becomes guaranteed. That’s not a difficult line for Keuchel to reach as long as he’s healthy. Over the past eight seasons, he reached that threshold in six of them, if we prorate his 2020 innings total. In 2017, he missed some time with neck issues and came just shy, at 145 2/3 innings. And in 2019, he got to 112 2/3, but that was because he lingered on the free agent market until being signed by Atlanta a few months into the season and didn’t make his season debut until June 21st. In other words, apart from that neck issue in 2017, he’s been a fairly reliable innings eater, meaning he has a decent chance of triggering that option.

This is where it gets tricky to line up a trade. A team with some wiggle room in their budget might be willing to take on Keuchel’s $18MM for this coming season, but they would have to also consider the distinct possibility that Keuchel stays healthy and doubles their commitment, both in dollars and in years. It’s possible a team could acquire Keuchel and try to intentionally limit his innings to prevent the option from vesting, but that type of direct manipulation has the potential to lead to a grievance, either an official one or an unofficial one. As an example of how an unofficial grievance could hurt a team, it could reduce their chances of signing or extending players if they have shown themselves to be underhanded in their dealings with players. Perhaps the White Sox could sweeten the pot for the team on the other end of the deal by including a prospect or two, but the trouble is that their farm isn’t in great shape, at least according to Baseball America, who ranked their system dead last in the league in their most recent Organization Talent Rankings.

Perhaps the best move for the White Sox is to stand pat with Keuchel and hope that he has a bounceback campaign. Their starting five rotation looks to be solid, with Keuchel joined by Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease and Michael Kopech. However, teams need more than five starters to get through a season and their depth isn’t terribly strong. Jonathan Stiever and Jimmy Lambert are depth options on the 40-man roster, but neither has more than 15 innings of MLB experience, and even their Triple-A numbers aren’t terribly exciting so far. Even if the club finds the money to add another starter, they might need Keuchel’s help to get through the season in an AL Central that is becoming more competitive.

Offseason Outlook: Chicago White Sox

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With a burgeoning payroll, can the White Sox find a strong replacement for Carlos Rodon and upgrade at second base and/or right field?

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Yasmani Grandal, C: $36.5MM through 2023
  • Dallas Keuchel, SP: $19.5MM through 2022.  Includes $20MM club option for 2023
  • Jose Abreu, 1B: $18MM through 2022
  • Craig Kimbrel, RP: $16MM through 2022
  • Liam Hendriks, RP: $42MM through 2024 (technically through ’23 but the option and buyout prices are the same)
  • Lance Lynn, SP: $38MM through 2023.  Includes $18MM club option for 2024
  • Tim Anderson, SS: $10.5MM through 2022.  Includes $12.5MM club option for ’23 and $14MM club option for ’24
  • Yoan Moncada, 3B: $59MM through 2024.  Includes $25MM club option for ’25
  • Kendall Graveman, RP: $24MM through 2024
  • Eloy Jimenez, LF: $32MM through 2024.  Includes $16.5MM club option for ’25 and $18.5MM club option for ’26
  • Luis Robert, CF: $45MM through 2025.  Includes $20MM club options for ’26 and ’27
  • Leury Garcia, IF: $16.5MM through 2024.
  • Aaron Bummer, RP: $13MM through 2024.  Includes $7.25MM club option for ’25 and $7.5MM club option for ’26

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

Option Decisions

  • Declined $6MM club option on 2B Cesar Hernandez
  • Exercised $16MM club option on RP Craig Kimbrel

Free Agents

The White Sox won the AL Central this year, marking back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time in the club’s storied 121-year history.  Prior to 2020, the team hadn’t even put together a winning record since 2012.  The White Sox are here to stay as a perennial contender, even if they went quietly to the Astros in the ALDS this year.  As you can see in the contracts section above, the team has already locked up core pieces and should have relatively strong continuity for the next several years.

Several significant moves and non-moves took place prior to the December 2nd lockout.  The White Sox made a pair of unsurprising option decisions, cutting second baseman Cesar Hernandez loose and retaining reliever Craig Kimbrel.  I wonder if the Kimbrel decision represents something of a sunk cost fallacy, with the Sox having surrendered former first rounder Nick Madrigal plus reliever Codi Heuer to acquire Kimbrel from the Cubs at the July deadline.  Who the White Sox gave up, of course, should have had no bearing on Kimbrel’s option decision.  The team only had 25 innings in which to evaluate Kimbrel, during which his extreme home run tendencies returned.

Since 2019, Kimbrel has been an effective pitcher for only the 36 2/3 innings at the beginning of the ’21 season.  But in those 39 games, Kimbrel was utterly dominant, allowing only two earned runs.  Even heading into his age-34 season, Kimbrel is undoubtedly one of the top strikeout relievers in the game, ranking third in that metric since 2020.  The question is whether home run and walk proclivities will be an issue in 2022, and I don’t think anyone really knows the answer.  The White Sox, who appear to be bumping up against their payroll limit, gambled $16MM that Good Kimbrel will show up over the next 60 innings or at least that they can unload him to positive effect.

White Sox GM Rick Hahn spoke openly about trading Kimbrel, saying, “We’ve had conversations with other clubs and have a sense of what is potentially available.”  Hahn added, “It’s easy to make the assessment that if you put him back in the closer’s role, it’s what he’s accustomed to and he’s more likely to have success.”  That’s not a particularly reliable assessment: put Kimbrel back in a closer role, and he’ll be good again.

The White Sox struck a pre-lockout deal with one of the top free agent relivers in Kendall Graveman, seemingly only increasing the chances of a Kimbrel trade.  Possible matches for Kimbrel could include the Tigers and Royals, but intra-division trades among contenders can be tough.  The Rangers, Blue Jays, Marlins, and Phillies make some theoretical sense, but it will not be easy for Hahn to find a team willing to take on a $16MM closer and give up a player of value.  Hahn has gambled that whatever he gets back will be better than just paying the $1MM buyout on Kimbrel and spending the money in free agency.

The White Sox also made the curious choice not to issue the one-year, $18.4MM qualifying offer to Carlos Rodon.  Rodon was a surprise Cy Young contender through mid-July, but wore down thereafter and experienced a velocity dip.  Soon after the Rodon decision, Noah Syndergaard, with two innings under his belt from 2020-21, snagged a one-year, $21MM deal from the Angels.  Hahn offered little insight into the team’s decision, saying, “We made the assessment based on everything we know, which includes our needs and our other targets, that that wasn’t an offer we were comfortable making at this time.”

The implication is that the White Sox felt that A) there was a real chance of Rodon accepting the QO and B) that would have been a bad thing for the team.  On both fronts, the team has more information than we do.  We don’t know exactly how Scott Boras played it and if maybe he bluffed his way out of the QO by intimating they might accept.  Afterward, of course, Boras acted as if there was never a chance Rodon would accept.  Additionally, no one knows Rodon’s health better than the White Sox.  Health concerns are one potential justification for not offering the QO to Rodon.  If the club thought Rodon is likely to provide even 100 innings of 3.50 ball in 2022, the QO is an easy yes.

There’s also the chance that the White Sox budgeted $20MM+ for a potential frontline starter, and they wanted to keep their options open and attempt to acquire someone they feel is better than Rodon.  Case in point Justin Verlander, in whom the Sox “showed strong interest” prior to his re-upping with the Astros, according to Bob Nightengale.  The White Sox already have a projected rotation of Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, Dallas Keuchel, and Michael Kopech.  Allowing that they could attempt to dump Keuchel’s salary, there’s generally room for only one addition.  Save for perhaps Clayton Kershaw, who’s unlikely to sign in Chicago, free agency doesn’t offer anyone of Rodon’s caliber.  The post-lockout trade market, however, could be robust.  If Hahn were to come up with, say, Frankie Montas, the Rodon decision would look reasonable.

Second base remains a clear area of need for the White Sox.  Nick Madrigal is now across town, and the club declined Cesar Hernandez’s option after he posted a 70 wRC+ for them.  The White Sox have Leury Garcia back in the fold as a fallback, but they could consider acquiring Jean Segura, Ketel Marte, Josh Harrison, DJ LeMahieu, Jeff McNeil, or Jed Lowrie.  Also consider the summer report that the White Sox were interested in acquiring Trevor Story and playing him at second base back in July.  If multiyear offers are not to Story’s liking, he could land in Chicago on a one-year deal and attempt to pull a Marcus Semien.  I don’t think a Semien reunion was ever a consideration for the White Sox, but they have seen a few more affordable second base options come off the board in Chris Taylor and Eduardo Escobar.

Since the White Sox non-tendered Avisail Garcia three years ago, they’ve been searching for a solution in right field.  In the three years that followed, Ryan Cordell, Nomar Mazara, and Adam Eaton were their innings leaders at the position.  Aside from Leury Garcia, the club has solid internal options for ’22 in Andrew Vaughn, Gavin Sheets, and Adam Engel.  Vaughn, the most promising hitter of the bunch, spent most of ’21 filling in at the other outfield corner with Eloy Jimenez out.  The club is not in desperation mode here, but they figure to monitor the market.  What the White Sox do with right field might depend on the caliber of player they add for the rotation and second base.  Available right field-capable players could include Kris Bryant, Nick Castellanos, Michael Conforto, Wil Myers, Max Kepler, Cody Bellinger, Joey Gallo, Jorge Soler, Andrew McCutchen, and Manuel Margot, though not all of those would be upgrades over internal options.

Along with all these permutations, the team’s payroll must be considered.  The White Sox’ 2021 Opening Day payroll of $128.7MM was an all-time high, just a hair above where they peaked a decade prior.  The team currently has 13 players under contract for 2022 at a total of $152.75MM, plus a projected $12.9MM for their arbitration eligible trio.  That brings the total to around $165MM for 15 players, with an MLB-wide expected minimum salary increase on the way.  It’s unclear how far owner Jerry Reinsdorf is willing to go and how much of Kimbrel and perhaps Keuchel’s salary can be cleared.  Abreu, Keuchel, and Kimbrel are off the books after ’22, though the club figures to attempt to extend Abreu.  Plus, the club has scheduled or expected raises to Moncada, Anderson, Giolito, Robert, Jimenez, and Bummer in ’23.

Rodon was the top White Sox pitcher by WAR in 2021 in just 132 2/3 innings, so replacing his production will not be easy.  Though the team’s four division-mates didn’t put up much of a fight in ’21, the Tigers have already made major additions.  All five clubs now fancy themselves contenders.  While the White Sox are still the AL Central favorite currently, there’s work to be done once the lockout ends.

Roland Hemond Passes Away

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Longtime major league executive Roland Hemond passed away last night at age 92, the league announced. Hemond served as a big league general manager for more than two decades between 1970 and 1995, leading the White Sox’s and Orioles’ baseball operations departments over that time.

“Roland Hemond was one of the most respected executives that our game has ever known,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “He served the Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles as general manager, was a staple of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ front office throughout their history, and also worked for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves, the California Angels, the Commissioner’s Office and USA Baseball during his exemplary career.  Roland was a pivotal figure in the formation and growth of the Arizona Fall League.  Most importantly, he mentored countless people in our sport and found ways to make our game stronger.  Roland Hemond was a great gentleman whose contributions to our National Pastime will never be forgotten.”

In addition to his time in Chicago and Baltimore, Hemond worked in various scouting and advisory capacities throughout his career. He began his front office time with the Braves in 1951, collecting a World Series ring five years later for his role as the team’s assistant scouting director. He held that role in Milwaukee (where the Braves played from 1953-66) through 1960, then spent the next decade as the Angels’ scouting director.

By 1970, Hemond was leading the charge with the White Sox, a stint that partially overlapped with Tony La Russa’s first run as Chicago manager. His clubs won one division title over that stretch, a 1983 season that saw Chicago win 99 games but drop a four-game AL Championship Series against the Orioles. In 1986, Hemond made the jump to the commissioner’s office, a position he held for a bit more than a year before taking over baseball ops in Baltimore.

Hemond ran the O’s from 1988-95. Baltimore didn’t make a postseason appearance during Hemond’s tenure, but a few players whom his front office group had acquired (i.e. Rafael Palmeiro, Brady Anderson and Mike Mussina) played key roles on the ’96 squad that went to the ALCS. Hemond spent 1996-2000 as an executive with the D-Backs, then spent the better part of the next two decades in advisory capacities with the White Sox and Arizona before retiring in 2017.

In 2011, the Baseball Hall of Fame presented Hemond with the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award. He’s one of five all time honorees (joining O’Neil himself, Joe Garagiola, Rachel Robinson and David Montgomery). Hemond was twice named the league’s Executive of the Year, winning the award in 1972 and 1989. Unsurprisingly, given his decades of experience in high-level front office positions, Hemond had personal ties to many key front office execs and coaches who continue to hold influence today — including La Russa and Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who got his start in professional baseball with the White Sox during Hemond’s tenure as Chicago GM.

MLBTR joins countless others around the game in expressing our condolences to Hemond’s family, friends and loved ones.

Yoan Moncada, Second Base Option?

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Second base stands out as the most glaring area of need in the White Sox lineup, yet the idea of moving Yoan Moncada back to the keystone doesn’t seem too likely, NBC Sports Chicago’s Vinnie Duber opines.  Moncada began his career with regular second base duty in 2017-18, yet has played exclusively as a third baseman over the last three seasons, posting very solid defensive numbers along the way.  Beyond just the improved glovework, the position change also seemed to spark Moncada towards better numbers at the plate.  As White Sox GM Rick Hahn told Duber and other reporters last month, Moncada is “a pretty darn good third baseman. He’s comfortable there….I don’t know if you want to upset the apple cart of something that’s working.”

That said, Hahn also twice said “never say never” about the possibility of a Moncada position change.  The logic would be that the White Sox could be able to address a third base vacancy more easily than their second base vacancy, as many of the winter’s top available second basemen are already off the market.  Moncada also wouldn’t have to stay at second base forever, if the Sox acquired a third baseman on a relatively short-term deal.  Hypothetically, Kyle Seager could be open to a one-year deal to join a contender, or a trade candidate like the Athletics’ Matt Chapman is under team control only through 2023.

White Sox Sign Brandon Finnegan To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox have signed lefty Brandon Finnegan to a minor league contract.

Chicago will look to unlock Finnegan, who hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2018. And yet, Finnegan is still just 28 years old. Remember, he debuted with the Royals at the tender age of 21, working out of the bullpen for the Royals as they won the pennant in 2014. He made seven appearances out of the pen during that playoff run.

Finnegan was shipped off the Cincinnati as part of the package for Johnny Cueto the next season, however. He was converted into a full-time starter for the 2016 season, making 31 starts and tossing 172 innings with a 3.98 ERA/5.19 FIP, good for 2.1 rWAR. He made just nine total starts over the next two years, however, and hasn’t returned to the Majors since. From 2014 to 2018, he posted an overall 4.11 ERA/5.12 FIP over 260 2/3 innings with the Royals and Reds.

This past season, Finnegan converted back into a reliever, spending the entire season with the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate in Louisville. Finnegan logged 55 1/3 innings with a 5.53 ERA, never getting a call-up to return to Cincy.

White Sox Sign Yacksel Rios To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox have signed right-handed reliever Yacksel Rios to a minor league deal, according to the transaction tracker at MLB.com. The ongoing lockout and transaction freeze doesn’t prevent teams and players from agreeing to minor league contracts.

Rios was selected by the Phillies in the 12th round of the of the 2011 draft and made his major league debut with the Phils in 2017. After two-plus seasons in Philly, he was claimed on waivers by the Pirates in 2019 but was outrighted after the 2020 season. 2021 saw Rios sign a minor league deal with the Rays, get traded to Seattle, selected to the big leagues, then traded to Boston.

Overall, Rios has 96 2/3 career innings in the big leagues over the past five seasons, with a 5.77 ERA, 21% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk rate, all of which are a bit worse than league average. He finished 2021 on a fairly positive note, as he had an ERA of 3.70 with the Red Sox over 24 1/3 innings. However, his strikeout and walk rates still held close to his career marks, coming in at 21.4% and 14.3% during that stretch. That coincided with .169 BABIP for Rios during his time with Boston, suggesting that the low ERA likely wasn’t sustainable, and the Red Sox designated him for assignment in September.

Rios, 28, will add some depth for a White Sox bullpen that features a number of high-profile righties, headlined by Liam Hendriks, Craig Kimbrel and recent addition Kendall Graveman.

Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva, Buck O’Neil Elected To Baseball Hall Of Fame

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Six legendary names have been inducted to the National Baseball Hall Of Fame, as per the results of today’s special selection committee meetings.  Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva, and Buck O’Neil have all been elected to Cooperstown, and will be officially inducted on July 24 along with any players voted in by the regular writers’ ballot.

Often referred to as “veterans committee” selections, the Baseball Hall Of Fame now organizes an annual panel with a differing membership that focuses on a rotation of different eras in the sport’s history.  The Early Baseball (covering candidates from 1871-1949) committee meets once per decade, the Golden Days (1950-1969) committee once every five years, and the Modern Baseball (1970-1987) and Today’s Game (1988-present) committees meet twice each during every five-year period.

Last year’s vote was postponed due to the pandemic, so this winter saw both the Early Baseball and Golden Days committees each meet, resulting in 20 possible candidates for Cooperstown.  Each committee was comprised of 16 members, and each member can list as many as four names on their voting ballot.  Candidates must receive at least 12 votes to receive induction into the Hall of Fame.

Minoso, Hodges, Kaat, and Oliva were inducted on the Golden Days ballot.  Minoso received 14 votes, while Hodges, Kaat, and Oliva all received 12 votes apiece.  Dick Allen fell just short with 11 votes, another unfortunate close call after Allen also missed out on the 2015 ballot by a single vote.  Other candidates on the ballot included Ken Boyer, Roger Maris, Danny Murtaugh, Billy Pierce, and Maury Wills, who all received three or fewer votes.

O’Neil and Fowler were inducted via the Early Baseball ballot, with O’Neil receiving 13 of 16 votes and Fowler receiving 12 votes.  Other candidates on the ballot receiving votes were Vic Harris (10 votes), John Donaldson (eight), Allie Reynolds (six), Lefty O’Doul (five), and George Scales (four), while Bill Dahlen, Grant “Home Run” Johnson, and Dick Redding received three or fewer votes.

This edition of the Early Baseball ballot put a renewed focus on the Negro Leagues.  Donaldson, Johnson, Redding, and Scales were all star Negro League players, while O’Neil both played and managed in the NAL before becoming a coach with the Cubs and a longtime scout in the Cubs and Royals organizations.

In addition, Fowler was arguably the first black professional player, an accomplished second baseman who spent his career barnstorming around North America playing with many all-black teams and some integrated amateur teams.  Fowler also founded and organized several teams and leagues both during and beyond his playing days, with his influence as an early pioneer helping set the stage for what we now recognize as the Negro Leagues.  Fowler, whose birth name was John Jackson in 1858, also spent part of his childhood growing up in Cooperstown.

There has been perhaps no greater ambassador for either the Negro Leagues or even baseball itself than O’Neil, one of the game’s most beloved figures.  Beyond his on-field success as a player, O’Neil helped scout and then shape the careers of countless players during his long career, and he became the first black coach in MLB history when hired by the Cubs in 1962.

It was widely expected that O’Neil would receive induction into the HOF back in 2006 when a special committee was formed to focus on Negro Leagues legends, and yet while 17 other illustrious names were given the nod for Cooperstown, O’Neil was surprisingly omitted.  Nonetheless, O’Neil took the decision with his customary grace, and even spoke at the induction ceremony that summer.  O’Neil passed away later that same year.

Minoso also began his career in the Negro Leagues, as the Cuba native spent parts of three seasons with the New York Cubans before debuting in the big leagues with the Indians in 1949.  Minoso played parts of 20 seasons in the majors (12 with the White Sox), hitting .299/.387/.461 over 8223 career plate appearances and receiving 13 total All-Star selections.  Minoso finished as high as fourth in MVP voting on five different occasions, and won three Gold Gloves.

Later generations might remember Minoso for his cameo appearances in 1976 and 1980, as White Sox owner Bill Veeck arranged for Minoso (at ages 50 and 54) to play in five games and thus become only the second player to play Major League Baseball in five different decades.  Beyond that quirky footnote, however, Minoso has an incredible legacy as an icon to both Cuban players in particular, and for Hispanic baseball players across generations.

Speaking of footnotes, Hodges’ status as the player who received the most HOF votes on the writers’ ballot without ever receiving induction to Cooperstown is now a thing of the past.  While Hodges’ initial path to the Hall may have been hampered by a lack of league-leading or even team-leading credentials, Hodges still put together an outstanding career, hitting .273/.359/.487 with 370 home runs over 8104 career PA in 18 seasons with the Dodgers and Mets.

It isn’t as if Hodges was overlooked in his time, as he was an eight-time All-Star and the winner of three Gold Gloves.  He also captured two World Series titles with the Dodgers as a player, and added a third ring as a manager in 1969, leading the out-of-nowhere Mets to one of the most surprising championships in sports history.

A prototype of the old-school workhorse pitcher, Kaat pitched 4530 1/3 innings and 180 complete games over 25 years in the majors, while posting a 3.45 ERA.  One of the best-fielding pitchers of all time, Kaat won 16 Gold Gloves during his career, tied for the second-highest total of GGs for any player at any position.  The southpaw also received three All-Star nods, and won a late-career World Series title while working out of the Cardinals bullpen in 1982.

Kaat played for five different teams over his long career, but spent 15 of his seasons with the Twins.  Twelve of those seasons overlapped with Oliva’s Minnesota career, and now the two former teammates will join forces once again on their way into the Hall of Fame.

Oliva spent all 15 of his seasons in a Twins uniform, beginning his career with a bang by winning Rookie Of The Year honors in 1964.  In defiance of the sophomore slump, Oliva became the first player to ever win batting titles in his first two seasons, and he also added a third batting crown in 1971.  Oliva hit .304/.353/.476 with 220 home runs over 6880 PA, and it is fair to wonder if Oliva could’ve added considerably to this resume had he not been beset by several injuries in the latter years of his career.  His relatively short prime may have been the reason it took so long for Cooperstown recognition, and yet what a prime it was — Oliva was an All-Star every year from 1964 to 1971, and was a runner-up in AL MVP voting in both 1965 and 1970.

The 16 members of the Early Baseball panel were Bert Blyleven, Ferguson Jenkins, Ozzie Smith, Joe Torre, John Schuerholz, Bill DeWitt, Ken Kendrick, Tony Reagins, Gary Ashwill, Adrian Burgos Jr., Leslie Heaphy, Jim Henneman, Justice Hill, Steve Hirdt, Rick Hummel and John Thorn.

The 16 members of the Golden Days panel were Jenkins, Smith, Torre, Schuerholz, DeWitt, Kendrick, Reagins, Burgos, Hirdt, Rod Carew, Mike Schmidt, Bud Selig, Al Avila, Kim Ng, Jaime Jarrin and Jack O’Connell.

LaMarr Hoyt Passes Away

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Former AL Cy Young Award winner LaMarr Hoyt passed away last Monday at age 66.  According to a statement released by the White Sox, Mathew Hoyt (LaMarr’s oldest son) said his father was suffering from cancer.

Hoyt appeared in parts of eight MLB seasons from 1979-1986, with the first six of those years with the White Sox and the last two with the Padres.  A fifth-round pick for the Yankees in the 1973 draft, Hoyt was dealt along with Oscar Gamble, minor league righty Bob Polinsky, and $200K to the White Sox in April 1977 in what turned out to be a very notable trade for both teams, as New York picked up Bucky Dent in exchange.

It didn’t take long for Hoyt to win over Tony La Russa, whose debut season as a big league manager with the White Sox coincided with Hoyt’s first taste of The Show.

“My first impression of LaMarr was, ’Here is a pitcher.’ He had average stuff but amazing command and tremendous confidence, and he never showed fear,” La Russa said in the White Sox media release.  “We brought him up to the big leagues in 1979 and nothing bothered him.  He had this impressive cool where he believed if he made his pitches, he would get hitters out.  He faced teams multiple times in a season but could change up his looks and keep them off balance.  What a great competitor.”

Hoyt didn’t become a full-fledged member of Chicago’s rotation until 1982, and he immediately made his mark by leading the American League with 19 wins and posting a 3.53 ERA.  This set the stage for Hoyt’s signature 1983 year, which put him alongside Early Wynn and Jack McDowell as the only White Sox pitchers to ever capture a Cy Young Award.

During that dream season, Hoyt led the majors in wins (24) and walk rate (a tiny 3.0%) over 260 2/3 innings while posting a 3.66 ERA and leading the Sox to an AL West title.  Hoyt also threw a complete game to secure Chicago’s lone victory over the Orioles in that year’s ALCS, as Hoyt held the eventual World Series champion O’s to just five hits in a 2-1 White Sox triumph.

After struggling in 1984, Hoyt was dealt that offseason to San Diego as part of a seven-player trade — it was another noteworthy move in White Sox history, as longtime Chicago player and future Series-winning manager Ozzie Guillen joined the Sox in that swap.  Hoyt pitched well in 1985 and earned a spot on the NL All-Star team, but his performance declined in 1986 and he never pitched again in the majors.  The end of Hoyt’s career was hastened by injuries, as well as a struggle with substance abuse and legal problems that resulted in a year-long suspension from Major League Baseball.

Hoyt posted a 3.99 ERA over 1311 1/3 innings with the White Sox and Padres, relying on his excellent control.  Hoyt’s 5.1% walk rate is the seventh-lowest of any qualified pitcher from the 1979-1986 period, and of the six pitchers ahead of Hoyt on the list, only Hall-of-Famer Dennis Eckersley pitched more innings.

We at MLB Trade Rumors apologize for the late date of this post, and we send our condolences to Hoyt’s family and friends.

White Sox Re-Sign Leury Garcia

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11:05AM: The White Sox have officially announced both the signing and Garcia’s $16.5MM salary, with the additional detail that Garcia will receive $5.5MM in each season of the deal.

TODAY, 12:57AM: Garcia receives a $16.5MM guarantee, Heyman reports.

NOVEMBER 30: The White Sox have agreed to re-sign infielder/outfielder Leury Garcia, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). It’ll be a surprising three-year commitment for MDR Sports Management client.

Garcia, 30, tallied 474 plate appearances with the South Siders in 2021 — the second-highest total of his career — and posted a .267/.335/.376 batting line with five homers, 22 doubles, four triples and six stolen bases (in eight attempts). Dating back to 2017, when Garcia established himself as a fixture on the White Sox’ roster, he’s batted .273/.317/.388 while seeing time at second base, shortstop, third base and all three outfield spots.

Despite a need for an everyday second baseman in Chicago, it seems Garcia’s role won’t change much on his new contract. The Athletic’s James Fegan tweets that Garcia will continue as an oft-used backup around the diamond and, when injury necessitates, a temporary everyday option.

The ChiSox already have Yoan Moncada installed at third base, Tim Anderson at shortstop, Eloy Jimenez in left field and Luis Robert in center. Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets saw some time in the outfield this year but are better suited at first base — where Jose Abreu is locked in — and/or designated hitter. Garcia is a competent backup just about anywhere, with 200-plus innings at every position other than first base, catcher and (of course) pitcher. It still seems likely that Chicago will make an addition at second base, and an upgrade in the outfield is also quite possible.

It’s uncommon, albeit not unprecedented, to see a free-agent bench player of this nature receive a deal of three or more years in length. Ben Zobrist landed four years as a free agent with the Cubs, and the general expectation is that reigning super-utility star du jour Chris Taylor will eclipse Zobrist’s $56MM guarantee. Both Zobrist and Taylor, however, hit the market as above-average hitters with everyday upside; that hasn’t been true of Garcia. The deal is in some ways reminiscent of the Padres’ three-year contract with Jurickson Profar, though Chicago will hope for better results than that deal provided for San Diego in year one.

White Sox Sign Kendall Graveman

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The White Sox continued their aggressive approach to building a late-game relief corps, formally announcing on Tuesday the signing of righty Kendall Graveman to a three-year contract. The Sports One client will be guaranteed $24MM, the team announced.

Graveman spent the first few seasons of his career as a competent but unexciting back-of-the-rotation starter. A quality strike-thrower who induced plenty of ground-balls, Graveman ate a fair amount of innings during his 2015-18 run with the A’s. But he consistently ran one of the game’s lower strikeout rates, capping his overall upside.

That began to change in September 2020, when the Mariners bumped Graveman into short relief stints. The Alabama native took to his new role with aplomb, adding almost three miles per hour to his average fastball and performing quite well down the stretch. That was only a month’s worth of action, but it was enough to convince the M’s to bring Graveman back and install him in a full-time relief role in 2021.

Graveman was excellent this past season, kicking off the year with fourteen consecutive scoreless outings. He sustained his uptick in fastball velocity, averaging a career-best 96.2 MPH on the pitch. With that improved raw stuff came better results, as Graveman generated swinging strikes on a decent 10.7% of his offerings — his first season north of 8% in that regard. He struck out an above-average 27.5% of batters faced, all while maintaining his standout ability to keep the ball on the ground.

Dating back to his bullpen conversion, Graveman has tossed 66 innings of 2.05 ERA/3.17 FIP ball between Seattle and the Astros. He owns solid strikeout and walk rates (25.5% and 8.9%, respectively) in addition to a huge 54.9% grounder percentage. Opposing hitters have managed just a .181/.278/.256 line against him in that time, and Graveman has shown himself capable of thriving in both a traditional closer’s role and as a high-leverage middle innings type.

That level of dominance led MLBTR to project a three-year deal for Graveman entering the winter. The 30-year-old (31 next month) looks as if he’ll come in just a touch shy of MLBTR’s three-year, $27MM projection, but his deal falls right in line with the general area for high-quality setup types of recent offseasons. Will Harris ($24MM in 2019-20), Adam Ottavino ($27MM in 2018-19) and Joe Kelly ($25MM in 2018-19) have all landed three-year free agent deals right around this territory in recent offseasons.

The White Sox have invested heavily in their bullpen over the past twelve months, and today’s strike to land one of this winter’s top free agent relievers is the latest example in that trend. Chicago signed star closer Liam Hendriks to a four-year, $54MM deal last offseason, then traded for eight-time All-Star Craig Kimbrel at this summer’s deadline. Kimbrel struggled down the stretch after an otherworldly showing with the Cubs during the first half of the season. He remains with the White Sox after the club exercised a $16MM option on his services, but GM Rick Hahn has already acknowledged the possibility the Sox try to move Kimbrel this offseason.

Signing Graveman doesn’t necessitate a Kimbrel trade. There are plenty of high-leverage innings to go around, and one of Chicago’s best 2021 late-game options — Michael Kopech — is expected to compete for a rotation role in 2022. The Sox could still elect to roll into 2022 with a three-headed monster for manager Tony La Russa to deploy at the end of games. That said, the Graveman pick-up could give the front office enough confidence in the relief corps that they’re comfortable moving Kimbrel to address other areas of the roster, with second base and a corner outfield spot standing out as potential areas of need.

It’s also worth noting that Graveman’s deal could push the franchise into a level of spending with which they may not be comfortable. Chicago has never had a season-opening player payroll north of $130MM in franchise history, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Jason Martinez of Roster Resource estimates they’ve already got around $168MM in 2022 commitments, though, even before accounting for Graveman’s forthcoming deal.

So while the Graveman addition need not force a Kimbrel trade from a roster perspective, adding that money to the White Sox’s already atypically packed ledger might foretell a money-saving deal of some kind. Moving Kimbrel’s $16MM salary elsewhere would seemingly be the most straightforward way to bring spending closer to the franchise’s previous levels, if owner Jerry Reinsdorf is intent on doing so.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported the agreement and the terms (Twitter links).

Image courtesy of USA TODAY Sports.

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