Chicago White Sox: Three Toronto Blue Jays free agents to add
The Chicago White Sox could look to the Toronto Blue Jays in free agency this offseason.
Like the Chicago White Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays surprised a lot of people in 2020. Both organizations have a lot of great young talent as well that are going to make an impact for a long time. There might even be a playoff matchup in the near future between the two clubs which would be so amazing. If each team can continue building up, they will be two of the most exciting teams to watch in all of baseball.
The White Sox need to take advantage of their current core that they have built by supplementing it with more talent along the way. They don’t have to make the biggest free-agent splash each and every year but it would be nice to always be looking to make themselves better. The Toronto Blue Jays have a few players that are probably leaving this offseason and the White Sox should take advantage.
They need bench help and designated hitter help for 2021 and the Jays might have a few names that could be options. Obviously, there are a lot of options out there that could help but the Blue Jays could be losing a few very good players.
If the White Sox want to add some of those guys to be that help that they need, they would be wise. There are plenty of players that are at least considering that are now Toronto Blue Jays alumni. These are the three players that the Blue Jays are losing that the Chicago White Sox should take advantage of:
39. . P. Toronto Blue Jays. Ken Giles. 51. player
Ken Giles was mostly injured during the 2020 season. He would, however, be worth the risk if the Chicago White Sox wanted to add another depth bullpen pitcher. He was very good in 2019 which should be more of what people look at when it comes to evaluating Giles. He is a perfect candidate for a great comeback type player in 2021. At 30 years old, there is still plenty of great production left in him.
Giles, in 2019, was so good for Toronto. He appeared in 44 games which is a good amount of games to evaluate him. He had a 1.87 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP over those 44 appearances that accumulated 53.0 innings. He managed to get to 23 saves on a Blue Jays team that wasn’t very good. Having a good pitcher to close out baseball games for you is very important and Giles should be able to do that next year and beyond.
If the White Sox can’t bring back Alex Colome or land a guy like Liam Hendriks, Giles would be a great alternative. He needs to stay healthy and pitch the whole year for the risk to be worth it but the bullpen wouldn’t look too shabby with him at the end of it.
39. . P. Toronto Blue Jays. Matt Shoemaker. 34. player
Another piece the Toronto Blue Jays aren’t (likely) bringing back is Matt Shoemaker. He has been with the team for two years, following six with the Los Angeles Angels. He has had a pretty nice eight-year Major League career up to this point and is looking to finish strong. At 33 years old, he really might be able to help any team that comes calling. He isn’t going to move the needle or anything like that but he could really help a team that needs to add more depth.
The White Sox have a lot of depth already in the bullpen and the starting rotation but you can never have too much. Adding a pitcher like Shoemaker could really help them in a long season. He has been dealing with some injuries including ACL surgery a couple of years ago but he should be ready to go by the 2021 season.
Adding Shoemaker to this bullpen or rotation would be nice but he is probably looking to be a starter. If they wanted to bring him in to be a backup plan for Michael Kopech (until he is ready), it might not be the worst thing to consider. Having someone who can be both a starter and reliever would really help the White Sox, especially early. A one year deal for him would absolutely work.
39. . P. Toronto Blue Jays. Taijuan Walker. 00. player
You might notice a theme when you see Taijuan Walker on this list to round it out. Yes, all three are pitchers. The White Sox need more pitching and it is that plain and simple. They certainly aren’t desperate as was shown in 2020 but they could just use a little more help compared to the offense. We know they are going to score runs because of the names in the lineup so the pitching just needs to catch up.
Walker has had a pretty nice career so far. He spent his first four MLB seasons with the Seattle Mariners. An offseason trade sent him to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a huge deal. He played there for three seasons before signing back with the Mariners in free agency. He only spent half of that season (2020) with them before a trade to the Toronto Blue Jays. He struggled a little in the early part of the year with Seattle but was awesome once he went to the Jays.
If you combine his efforts with both teams in 2020 you get a 1.3 WAR player that went 4-3 in 11 starts. In 53.1 innings he had 50 strikeouts, a 2.70 ERA, and a 1.163 WHIP. These are all very good stats for a player looking for a new MLB home. At 28 years old, there is still a lot left in the tank which makes him a good option for the Chicago White Sox.
Hot. Ethan Katz was awesome on the White Sox Talk Podcast. light
We don’t know for sure whether or not the Sox are done in free agency this offseason but these are some interesting options to consider. The Blue Jays and White Sox are both going to be good teams in 2021 so it will be interesting to see who is more aggressive for the rest of the offseason.