Headlines

  • Kelvin Herrera Announces Retirement
  • Braves Extend Brian Snitker
  • Giants, Scott Kazmir Agree To Minor League Deal
  • Yankees Sign Justin Wilson
  • Braves Sign Jake Lamb
  • Athletics Sign Mitch Moreland
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Indians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2020-21 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2021
    • 2021 MLB Arbitration Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • Last 100 Comments
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Nick Madrigal

White Sox GM Rick Hahn On Potential Offseason Priorities

By Connor Byrne | September 28, 2019 at 12:14am CDT

Starting pitching, designated hitter and right field are among the areas that have been problematic for the White Sox this year, their 11th season in a row without a playoff berth. General manager Rick Hahn could address those spots during the winter, he told James Fegan of The Athletic and other reporters Friday (subscription link).

The White Sox’s rotation has been one of the game’s worst this year, but it’s clearly not a unit devoid of talent. The success of Lucas Giolito, who has given the team long-awaited front-line production, has arguably been the most encouraging development of the season for Chicago. Meantime, although their numbers are below average, there’s vast potential with Reynaldo Lopez and Dylan Cease. The club also has stellar pitching prospect Michael Kopech, who missed all of this year because of Tommy John surgery but could earn a spot in its rotation from the outset in 2020. Carlos Rodon’s another recovering TJ patient, but he didn’t go under the knife until this past May. Consequently, Rodon won’t be an early season option for the White Sox next year. As such, Hahn suggested the team could bring in more than one starter during the winter.

On the offensive side, it seems any moves the White Sox make will be geared toward bettering their paltry on-base percentage. “That’s something we need to improve upon,” admitted Hahn, whose team ranks 22nd in the majors in OBP (.314) and dead last in walk percentage (6.3).

The DHs and the outfielders the White Sox have utilized this year have been some of the main contributors toward their deficient OBP. The club released Opening Day DH Yonder Alonso back in the first week of July after he got off to a terrible start, even though it still owed the offseason acquisition almost $5MM at the time. The White Sox have since turned to a revolving door of players there, including first baseman Jose Abreu, a pending free agent. The 32-year-old Abreu and the White Sox have made their affinity for each other known on many occasions, so it wouldn’t be any kind of a surprise to see a new deal come together between the two.

Meanwhile, in the outfield, it seems left and center are spoken for heading into next season. Prized left fielder Eloy Jimenez will return for the second year of his career, while Hahn “confirmed” standout prospect Luis Robert will be in the majors early enough in 2020 that center won’t be an offseason priority, per Fagan. The White Sox have relied on Adam Engel and Leury Garcia there to mediocre results this year. They’ve been worse off in right, where Garcia, Ryan Cordell, Jon Jay, Charlie Tilson and Daniel Palka have combined for woeful production. Free agents-to-be Marcell Ozuna, Nicholas Castellanos, Yasiel Puig, Corey Dickerson and Brett Gardner would provide easy corner outfield upgrades on paper, though Hahn and the Sox could take the trade route instead.

Second base has been yet another offensive weak spot for Chicago, which has seen Yolmer Sanchez post a .254/.321/.322 line with almost zero power (two home runs, .068 ISO) in 543 trips to the plate. Nevertheless, it doesn’t appear the keystone will be on the White Sox’s offseason to-do list. Just as Hahn looks for Robert to come up in the early going next year, he expects fellow top 100 prospect Nick Madrigal to do the same and help solidify second base.

Thanks in part to the White Sox’s collection of young talent, they’re “very, very pleased with the progress” they’ve made, according to Hahn, who did admit they haven’t won enough games in 2019. Chicago’s sitting on 70 victories with a couple days left in the season, and it’s clear Hahn will have a lot to address in the next several months in order to get the team closer to playoff contention next year.

Share 0 Retweet 7 Send via email0

Chicago White Sox Luis Robert Nick Madrigal

97 comments

White Sox To Sign Nick Madrigal

By Connor Byrne | July 3, 2018 at 3:45pm CDT

TUESDAY: Madrigal receives the full slot of $6,411,400, Heyman tweets.

SUNDAY: The White Sox will sign the fourth pick in this year’s draft, Oregon State infielder Nick Madrigal, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. The exact terms of his deal aren’t yet known, but the selection carries a slot value of just over $6.4MM.

Madrigal is coming off a championship-winning season at OSU, where he overcame a wrist injury to slash an eye-popping .367/.428/.511 in 180 at-bats this year. Thanks in part to his outstanding showing in 2018, Madrigal ranked among the top five prospects entering this year’s draft, according to FanGraphs (No. 2), Baseball America (No. 3) and MLB.com (No. 3), while ESPN’s Keith Law placed him at No. 11.

At 5-foot-7, 165 pounds, Madrigal is diminutive, but prospect experts have high hopes for his offense translating to the majors. BA, for example, contends that he “possesses arguably the best hit tool” in this year’s draft class, and adds that he could emerge as a legitimate stolen base threat in the majors. It’s not yet clear, however, whether Madrigal will line up at second base or shortstop in the pros. He has experience at both positions, but he manned the keystone in 2018 at OSU, which had fellow high draft pick Cayden Grenier (No. 37, Orioles) at short.

Share 0 Retweet 13 Send via email0

2018 Amateur Draft 2018 Amateur Draft Signings Chicago White Sox Nick Madrigal Transactions

41 comments
« Previous Page

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Kelvin Herrera Announces Retirement

    Braves Extend Brian Snitker

    Giants, Scott Kazmir Agree To Minor League Deal

    Yankees Sign Justin Wilson

    Braves Sign Jake Lamb

    Athletics Sign Mitch Moreland

    Yankees Re-Sign Brett Gardner

    Giants To Sign Jake McGee

    Mariners CEO Kevin Mather Resigns

    Athletics Sign Trevor Rosenthal

    Recent

    MLBTR Poll: Shortstop Extension Candidates

    Chicago Notes: Baez, Pederson, Kopech

    Health Notes: Yordan, E-Rod, Bailey, Nottingham, Parra

    Giants Claim Jordan Humphreys

    Minor MLB Transactions: 2/26/21

    Braves Outright Phil Pfeifer

    Angels To Sign Jesse Chavez

    Kelvin Herrera Announces Retirement

    Braves Sign Terrance Gore To Minor League Deal

    Diamondbacks Designate Travis Bergen, Keury Mella For Assignment

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Kris Bryant Rumors
    • Jackie Bradley Jr. Rumors
    • Jake Odorizzi Rumors
    • Taijuan Walker Rumors
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • 2020-21 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2021
    • 2021 MLB Arbitration Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Indians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version