White Sox: Three starting pitchers they can still go after this offseason
The Chicago White Sox are looking to add some pitching and although the two best on the market are gone there are still some legit options out there.
The Chicago White Sox need some pitching. They aren’t as desperate for it as like some people make it out to seem but there is no doubt that a few more arms would go a long way. They are likely going to use Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, and Dylan Cease to rely on with guys like Carlos Rodon and Reynaldo Lopez to remain in the mix. If they could add one more starter to the rotation it would be very good for the organization.
It would also show the fans that this team is committed to winning. Those who pay attention closely and know how baseball works know that they are already committed to winning but a pitching signing would definitely impress a lot of fans. The White Sox know they need to spend some money to see this rebuild through, but they need to find the right guys to take their money.
The two best free-agent pitchers this offseason were Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg. Cole signed a massive deal with the New York Yankees and Strasburg opted to go back to the Washington Nationals. Those guys are out and Cole Hamels decided to go to the Atlanta Braves while Zack Wheeler is a Philadelphia Phillies pitcher now. Those guys would all have been so sweet in black and white but there are still some nice options out there for Rick Hahn to look at. These are the three best free-agent pitcher options for the White Sox are:
40. . SP. San Francisco Giants. Madison Bumgarner . 1. player
Madison Bumgarner was one of the best pitchers in San Francisco Giants history. The future Hall of Famer is a one time World Series MVP while winning the World Series three times, a four-time all-star, and an NLCS MVP. He is one of the best postseason pitchers of all time along with having a great regular season career with him as well. He is looking for a new home and his time in San Francisco is likely up.
He is 30 years old so there is still a lot of good pitches left in Bumgarner’s arm. He would be a great addition to the White Sox because of what he would bring to the team. He would be their version of that veteran presence that announces to the rest of Major League Baseball that the White Sox are coming. He has been a Giant his whole career but coming to the White Sox would be a great move for both him and the organization.
He would come in and be at or near the top of the rotation. The rest of the guys in the White Sox rotation are all very young. He would be able to mentor them all and show them how to win. He might even have an effect on the position players as well because of his leadership and experience. He has done just about everything there is to do in baseball from a team aspect so his knowledge would go a long way for the White Sox. If they have a chance to get this done they really should.
71. . SP. Los Angeles Dodgers. Hyun-Jin Ryu. 2. player
From one former NL West pitcher to another, Hyun-Jin Ryu is a free agent. He sometimes got lost in the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation because of guys like Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw. Those guys get a lot more recognition sometimes than Ryu does but you can argue that he had the best year of the three. The Dodgers are certainly going to miss him if he goes but the Chicago White Sox would be smart to bring this guy in.
Like Bumgarner, Ryu has some experience in the big games. The one-time all-star has been a part of some deep playoff runs with the Los Angeles Dodgers. They never got over the hump but they have been so close multiple times. If he wants to come to prove that he can be a leader on staff and the White Sox could learn a lot from him if he did. He also probably has some chemistry with Yasmani Grandal who just signed a four year deal with the White Sox from their time together in Los Angeles.
Ryu won the ERA title in 2019 which led to him coming in second place in the National League Cy Young voting. That would mean that whoever signs him would be hoping that he carries that type of performance into 2020. If he came to Chicago and did some of that for the White Sox that would be so good for a team that is going to be able to score some runs.
Atlanta Braves. Dallas Keuchel. 3. player. 17. . SP
Dallas Keuchel is an interesting option for the Chicago White Sox. He spent his entire career before last year with the Houston Astros. He then signed with the Atlanta Braves halfway through the year after he wasn’t able to get a deal done. He sort of fell victim to a hard offseason led by Bryce Harper and Manny Machado taking forever to sign with their new teams. He had a pretty good year with the Braves who went on to win the National League East.
He has a lot of career accolades for a guy who might not be as highly touted as some of the other starters on the market. He won the Cy Young in 2015, is a two-time all-star, and a 2017 World Series Champion. He is also a superb defensive pitcher as he has won the Gold Glove for the position four times. This is a good pitcher that would look really nice on the White Sox.
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With his experience, he would be able to come in and help the White Sox get to the next level. He knows how to pitch in a big game so he can help some of the younger guys who don’t know how to handle the pressure yet. Veteran starters are very important and a guy like Keuchel coming to this young team would really help. Maybe the White Sox have a chance at some of these guys and maybe they don’t but the bottom line is that any of them would come in and bring some deep playoff experience to a young team.