Chicago White Sox: Three more cheap starting pitcher depth options
The Chicago White Sox are going to have, when healthy, one of the best rotations in all of baseball. Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, and Lance Lynn are going to for one of the league’s best trios. Michael Kopech and Dylan Cease are both guys who have incredible talent who just need to find their game at the Major League level. They just resigned Carlos Rodon to a one-year deal so he and Reynaldo Lopez are going to try and make an impact as well.
The Chicago White Sox could look at one more starter on the cheap for depth.
Michael Kopech may start the year in AAA. It has been a long time since he pitched in a professional game between his Tommy John surgery and opting out of the COVID-19 shortened season. There is absolutely no reason to rush him right now. This team was a 100 loss team when he made his short stint. Now they are entering a season with aspirations of winning the American League and possibly even the World Series.
In the event that he takes a bit of time to get his call-up or injury to someone else, they might want to have as much depth as possible. When you want to win the World Series, that makes it even more important. When it comes to pitching, especially starting pitching you need as much depth as you can get.
The White Sox have an awesome bullpen. It would get even better if some of their starters have to come to the bullpen. There are some really talented players out there looking for one more shot at a Major League team. There are some that were so good for so long but have fallen on hard times. These are three pitchers in that category that the White Sox should consider:
Atlanta Braves. Mike Foltynewicz. 26. player. 17. . SP
A Mike Foltynewicz could be something so special for the Chicago White Sox. This is a guy who was an all-star in 2018. In 2019 he was okay and was given up after one start for the Atlanta Braves in 2020. There is plenty of talent inside this guy and he is only 29 years old. He has a lot of good baseball in him if he can find the right organization to help him.
He is from Minooka Illinois so a local kid coming to play for the White Sox would be so special. Any kid growing up would want to play for his World Series contending local team which is exactly what the White Sox are for him.
The cool thing about the White Sox right now is Ethan Katz. He is their newly hired pitching coach that has helped so many guys reach their potential in the Major Leagues. He has also had success with guys who were struggling. Katz was the guy that Lucas Giolito went to after 2018 when he was statistically the worst starting pitcher in all of baseball.
Giolito was closer to rock bottom at that point than Foltynewicz needs to be right now. If he came to the White Sox right now, they have the tools to help him get his career back on track. He would also be a cheap option too that could turn into a longer-term piece if it works out.
. SP. Pittsburgh Pirates. Chris Archer. 24. player. 4
Chris Archer is the type of signing that the Chicago White Sox could make that could really help them. The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Archer from the Tampa Bay Rays in July of 2018 in exchange for Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows. It clearly benefited the Rays to make that deal but that doesn’t mean that Archer was bad or anything. The Pirates were just no good around him and it would have been better to keep the young guys.
Archer was getting ready to play the full 2020 season when he decided to undergo surgery that would end his season. This all came before the pandemic but it clearly made it possible that he played his final game with the Pirates when that decision was made. The fact that he didn’t play in 2020 is sad for the Pirates but he is almost certainly going to go to a new team now.
If he wants to go to a contender, the White Sox would love to add a cheap pitcher like Archer. He is 32 years old and would make a great mentor to some of the younger pitchers that the White Sox have. He also might be able to learn a thing or two from Katz that could help him on his road back to the big leagues. This is a player who has been an All-Star twice and has finished as a top-five Cy Young guy in his career. If they brought him in, there is a good chance he would be their fourth or fifth starter.
17. . SP. Atlanta Braves. Cole Hamels. 32. player
Cole Hamels didn’t play much in 2020. He only made one start (3.1 innings) for the Atlanta Braves before being shut down for the entirety of the shortened season. Atlanta signed Hamels to a one-year deal at 18 million dollars but it didn’t work out for either side as he had left triceps tendinitis and left shoulder fatigue. The word now is that he is healthy and ready to sign with someone for 2021. The Chicago White Sox would be perfect for the 37-year-old veteran for many reasons.
For one, he has some familiarity with the city of Chicago. The first ten years of his career were spent with the Philadelphia Phillies followed by parts of four years with the Texas Rangers. In 2018, the Chicago Cubs acquired him and he pitched there for parts of two seasons before signing with Atlanta as a free agent. If he liked Chicago, the White Sox would be a good spot for him because he can actually win with them.
Hamels knows what it is like to win. He won the World Series with the Phillies in 2008. He was so good in that series that he was named to be the 2008 World Series MVP. He was also the NLCS MVP one series before that and has four all-star selections as well. He has four top-ten finishes for the National League Cy Young during his great career.
Hamels isn’t the same pitcher now that he was back then but he does have something in his back pocket that not many do and that is experience. The deep postseason run in which he played well can help him help others. This White Sox team is so young and could use as many experienced players as possible.
Related Story. Carlos Rodon is back with the Chicago White Sox. light
There is no guarantee at all that the White Sox add another pitcher but it is possible. All of these guys would be super cheap and could provide tremendous results. In the case of Foltynewicz and Archer, they could even be brought in on cheap one-year deals with the thought of it being longer if they perform well. No matter what, we just hope the White Sox have enough depth for 2021 when it starts.