Southside Showdown
Fansided

Chicago White Sox: Three best offseason moves

By Joshua Finkelstein

(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – AUGUST 13: Yasmani Grandal #10 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates following a three run home run against the Minnesota Twins during the seventh inning at Miller Park on August 13, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – AUGUST 13: Yasmani Grandal #10 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates following a three run home run against the Minnesota Twins during the seventh inning at Miller Park on August 13, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

1. Yasmani Grandal

This move was probably the most obvious one the White Sox made this offseason to pick given just how significant of an addition Grandal really is.

The switch-hitting catcher signed a four-year, $73 million deal in late November to join the South Side.

As detailed in my article on Sunday, Grandal was named the best catcher in all of baseball by MLB Network.

Grandal, 31, lives up to that hype given the fact that he’s coming off a season in which he hit .246/.380/.468 with 27 home runs and 77 RBI to give himself a 121 wRC+ and 5.2 fWAR.

James McCann provided solid offense behind the plate, but struggled mightily in the second half with a .695 OPS.

His defense was a big reason for the White Sox making this move as well since McCann ranks towards the bottom of the league behind the dish while Grandal ranks towards the top-tier of MLB.

Having a presence as stable as Grandal’s behind the plate for young starters like Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Dylan Cease, and Michael Kopech in 2020 could pay major dividends. Adding Grandal is especially important given the team’s defensive struggles in 2019.

Yasmani Grandal, in my opinion, was the big move they needed to add credibility to the organization going forward.

Home/White Sox News