Chicago White Sox: Three Atlanta Braves free-agents to add

The Chicago White Sox could look to the Atlanta Braves for some help.

The Chicago White Sox are really hoping that they can evolve into what the Atlanta Braves have evolved into. They started pretty much exactly where the White Sox started just a few years prior. They have young talent that came up through their organization and helped turn the franchise around. They are now putting it all together on the field and seem to get better every year. If there was a team to hold your hopes on right now, it is the Atlanta Braves.

They were just defeated in seven games by the Los Angeles Dodgers in game seven of the National League Championship Series. The Dodgers went into this crazy year as the undoubted favorites to win the National League so there is nothing to be ashamed of if you are the Braves. When Los Angeles added Mookie Betts, it seemed like a lock that they would get this far and they did.

Despite the bright future of the Atlanta Braves, they do have a few minor moves that will be made this offseason. They are going to need to try and retain a few free agents but the White Sox would be smart to jump in and try their hands at a few. Some of them would be more for depth but there is one that would really help them in their quest for greatness.

The Braves aren’t going to be willing or even able to keep everyone and that is where the White Sox could come in. They have a bright future themselves so maybe some of these free agents would really consider it. These are the three that the White Sox should look at this winter:

Shane Greene was one of the best relief pitchers in all of baseball for 2020. He helped Atlanta win a lot of baseball games this year. He didn’t make any saves because he wasn’t the closer this year but he did have a 2.60 ERA with a 1.120 WHIP. He had a 1.0 WAR in 27.2 innings pitched which isn’t bad. A guy like him would be perfect for a team like the Chicago White Sox. He would bring that multitalented relief mindset to a team that needs as much pitching help as possible.

Green started his career with the New York Yankees where he was a starter. He then went to the Detroit Tigers where he eventually moved from a starter to a closer. He didn’t record any saves in 2020 but he didn’t have the closer roll in Atlanta that he did in Detroit. With the Tigers, he racked up a bunch of saves (65). In 2019, the same season that he was traded from Detroit to Atlanta, he was an All-Star. The talent is there and the White Sox could really use him.

We don’t know if Alex Colome will be back but if he isn’t, this guy could be that good closer they need. If he does come back, he can be a platoon closer or a good reliever in the bullpen. Either way, the fact that this guy is a free agent right now makes him a perfect addition to the White Sox. All of that familiarity playing in the AL Central would help as well. This addition would be a home run for the Sox if they could pull it off.

Imagine the thrill of playing baseball so close to where you grew up. Minooka, Illinois was the home to Mike Foltynewicz for a good portion of his life before making it to the Major Leagues. He went to Minooka High School so you would have to think that lacing them up for the Chicago White Sox would be the experience of a lifetime for him. With that said, he isn’t the same as the other free agents on this list.

The Atlanta Braves DFA’d Foltynewicz early in the season. He made one start for them early on and got shelled so they let him go that night. It showed how committed the Braves were to win this year and you can’t argue with it because they came so close. He isn’t a straight-up free agent like the rest of them until 2022 but Atlanta is surely going to non-tender him this season. That is where the White Sox would come in to give him his chance.

He isn’t going to be that expensive so it could be a low risk/high reward move for them. If he stinks, they could cut him right away or send him down to the minors. There is no doubt that he has a talent which is why the Houston Astros took him with the 19th overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft. He wound up having a nice career so far which included an appearance in the 2018 All-Star game. His hope is that he can get back to that level with a new team in 2021 if the Braves non-tender him and it would be awesome to see that with the Sox. At 29 years old, it is well worth the risk.