Three hitters White Sox should try to sign

3. Jason Kipnis

This one might feel out of place as Kipnis is not really known for his bat at this stage of his career after hitting .245/.304/.410 with 17 homers and 65 RBI to give himself a 82 wRC+ and 1.1 fWAR in 2019 (FanGraphs).

However, he was one of the top second basemen in baseball only three years ago as he had a 4.7 fWAR in 2016.

Since then, he has seen a decline in his production, including an injury-plagued 2017 season in which he only played in 90 games.

After starting the 2019 season on the disabled list with a mild calf strain, Kipnis struggled to get his bat going.

His splits this past season suggest a possible resurgence could be coming for Kipnis, though, as he hit .250/.309/.455 with 10 homers and 31 RBI in the second half after having a lowly .677 OPS prior to that.

Kipnis also fared better against right-handers (.756 OPS) than left-handers (.633 OPS) which could simply suggest he needs to be used in a platoon role.

The 32-year-old’s .265 BABIP could suggest he ran into some bad luck this past season as his career number for that is .302 which is much closer to the mean around the league.

With all of that being said, the biggest reason to pursue Kipnis might be that the positions he knows how to play second base and center field which are expected to be occupied by Madrigal and Robert.

While Kipnis has not played center field since 2018, his ability to go play there in a pinch is valuable as the team needs an insurance policy there and at the keystone in case either of the two rookies falters.

If neither does, Kipnis could always serve as a utility infielder/outfielder and DH. He brings leadership and postseason experience too which would be a plus for a young White Sox team especially considering he’ll likely only get a one-year deal.