White Sox: Payroll For 2018 Could Be in $75 Million Range
By Matt Manetti
Daryl Van Schouwen of the Sun-Times details some of the decisions the White Sox have. He writes that the team figures to have a payroll of around $75 million.
Daryl Van Schouwen of the Sun-Times wrote recently about some decisions the Chicago White Sox have. In his story he also mentions the payroll for 2018 could be around $75 million. That means Rick Hahn won’t be looking to spend big during free agency. But that doesn’t mean they can ignore certain areas of the club.
Hahn needs to rebuild the bullpen and add some starting pitching. They could also use some depth in the outfield. Still, the fact that the payroll could drop from $99 million in 2017 to $75 million for 2018 means the organization will look to do without spending a lot of money. That means you won’t see the White Sox pursuing the likes of Yu Darvish and J.D. Martinez.
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What this also tells fans is expect the White Sox to be a bad team in 2018. That was already to be expected but now the team is slashing their payroll. They are not going to spend a ton of money in free agency. And they have holes to fill. This goes in hand with the team’s long-term approach to building a contender. Hahn isn’t going to spend money just to spend money. He’s going to be smart about it.
Sure the team does have some holes to fill. But they are going to do so carefully and not just throw money at prized free agents. You can also argue this team isn’t ready to spend big in free agency. They are not ready to contend and won’t be until 2019 or 2020. So bringing on a big contract at this point just doesn’t make philosophical sense. However, it could make sense after the 2018 season.
That may be the time you see the White Sox take the gloves off and open the checkbook. Not only will there be a loaded free agent class, they should almost be ready to compete. Which means they’ll have an easier sell to guys. Why not come play with Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez, just to name a few, when the window could be opening? Hahn could easily try to sell that and hopefully make a big splash or two.
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For now the White Sox need to stay the course. It doesn’t make sense to spend big right now. And a big name free agent may not be enticed by what the Sox are currently selling. But when their window opens, that could all change.