The Chicago White Sox can still sign free agents in spite of the Liam Hendriks contract.
The MLB hot stove has been moving at a glacial pace. The Chicago White Sox have been one of the few teams that have been able to peak any sort of interest. On Monday, Rick Hahn and company made their third big splash of the offseason by signing Liam Hendricks to a 54 million dollar deal.
That is a high price to pay and it left some fans worrying that the White Sox would be unable to make another move. While $54 million is a lot to pay any player it was still a great move by the White Sox. For starters, they are getting a great player. Liam Hendricks has enjoyed a career resurgence over the past two seasons. In both 2019 and 2020, Hendricks finished the season with a sub-two ERA (1.78 & 1.80 respectively).
He also managed to finish 9th in the AL Cy Young Voting, giving the White Sox four players to finish in the top ten. Hendricks accumulated 39 saves over the course of the past two seasons. MLB Network even named him the best reliever in baseball hours before news broke that he was coming to the Southside. Even with all the accolades $54 million may sound like a lot on the surface. Jeff Passan broke down the contract on Twitter:
If the White Sox decline the option, they will be able to pay the $15 million buyout over the course of multiple years. But the incentive certainly is there for the team to pick it up. And by going that big, the White Sox get the best closer in baseball the last two seasons.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 12, 2021
They only have him for $13 per year for the next three seasons. This allows Rick Hahn some wiggle room to add another impact player. Despite the fact that they have already added Lance Lynn, Adam Eaton, and Liam Hendricks, they have only added $28 million added to the payroll.
Seeing that the White Sox are pushing all their chips to the center of the table now would be a great time to cross designated hitter off of the to-do list. A Micheal Brantley perhaps? The White Sox could also sign a player like Jose Quintana to a Gio Gonzalez type deal. Either way, Rick Hahn has plenty of options to put the finishing touches on a team poised for a World Series run.