Chicago White Sox: 3 free agent targets to replace Nick Madrigal
In the winter of 2019, free agency became the harbinger in which the front office ushered in a new era of Chicago White Sox baseball. As fans witnessed, Jerry Reinsdorf further opened the checkbook after the Eloy Jimenez contract extension and Rick Hahn went to work, signing Yasmani Grandal, Dallas Keuchel, and Gio Gonzalez in what was thought to be a good omen of what was to come down the road. The team showed signs that they were setting up to go for it.
Since that point, they further used free agency in 2020 to become even more aggressive in bigger name signings. First, In January of 2020, though not a free agent, the White sox made the smart decision to extend Luis Robert to a 6-year deal. In February, they signed Carlos Rodon to a one-year deal while also trading for Lance Lynn.
Lynn paired with Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel, after Keuchel’s superb 2020 season, was thought to give the White Sox one of the best starting rotations in baseball. If that wasn’t enough, the front office then went out and signed all-star closer Liam Hendriks as well, further benefitting the team and fortifying their already exemplary bullpen.
With the recent departure of Nick Madrigal at the trade deadline which brought in Craig Kimbrel, questions have been left regarding second base and who will man up the middle with Tim Anderson during the 2022 season.
The Chicago White Sox has options with their 2022 second base situation.
For one, Cesar Hernandez was acquired at the deadline and does have a club option for $6,000,000 next season. Whether or not the Sox utilizes that option will remain to be seen. Your best intuition would obviously tell you it all depends on how he plays the rest of the season.
Currently, he is only slashing .215/.303/.299 with 3 HR and 5 RBI in a White Sox uniform. If he cannot perform well in the postseason, it will be hard to make a case to keep him. As it sits, there are a plethora of players at the position available this winter that could bolster the Sox line up even more so than it already is.
On the flip side, keeping Hernandez and not having to spend up at the position for an all-star caliber player could open up other avenues in free agency, such as acquiring another starting pitcher. It’s not like this lineup needs much help as it is but acquiring a top name at the position could seriously stack the Sox 1-9.
It’s also not like the rotation needs a lot of help right now either with the exception of Dallas Keuchel, who hopefully can get it together come playoff time if he wants a spot in the postseason rotation.
Therefore, the dollars the White Sox have via free agency could actually be used in a multitude of signings should they go the quantity over the quality route. They also need to make a decision regarding Carlos Rodon, who is set to hit free agency again as well.
Currently, 32M under the luxury tax threshold as it is with another 11.9M set to come off the books this winter with certain players set to depart, the White Sox has the luxury of being able to sign multiple marquee names if they choose to do so. With that being said, let’s that a look at 3 players that will be within the price range of the Sox, should they look to make a big splash in the infield.
Chris Taylor would be a fantastic addition to the Chicago White Sox next year.
Chris Taylor starts off this list due to his unrestricted free agency this winter, ability to play multiple positions at 2nd base, shortstop, the outfield, and for the good year he is having in which he earned his first all-star nod.
He is currently slashing .274/.365/.474 with 19 HR and 67 RBI, accumulating a 3.5 WAR on the season thus far. Fun fact, Taylor has batted .778 for his career at Guaranteed Rate Field. If you consider 7-9 a worthy sample size, then he is pretty much the G.O.A.T of the south side.
A mainstay in LA for the last 6 seasons, Taylor currently earns just 7.8M for the Dodgers in 2021 and maybe looking to test the market this winter. Currently, no rumors have circulated that LA is looking to once again sign Taylor to another extension as they did for a 2-year deal back in February of 2020.
Ultimately, Taylor could now find himself being the odd man out anyway if the Dodgers look to extend Trae Turner as he was acquired at the deadline and still has an extra year of team control before hitting the market in 2023 as it is.
Without a new collective bargaining agreement being put in place between the MLB and the Players Association, it is unlikely the Dodgers will extend him before knowing for a fact that there will be a universal DH in the NL next year, which by that time he would already be a free agent.
Adding a utility man such as Taylor not only gives the White Sox a good depth player who could play multiple positions, including 2nd base if Hernandez’s option isn’t picked up, but he can swing a good bat as well. When he gets hot he is tough to get out and given the fact that he shouldn’t be too expensive this offseason, he should definitely at least be on the White Sox’s radar as an affordable option this winter.
Trevor Story would be a perfect player to be on the 2022 Chicago White Sox.
Trevor Story would fit right in at second base. The two-time all-star and two-time Silver Slugger award winner has been with Colorado his entire career spanning back to 2016 in which he finished 4th in rookie of the year voting. For his career, he has slashed an impressive .272/.340/.521, with his only real down years coming in 2017 where he batted .239, and this year where is only hitting .246.
Story currently earns $18,500,000 in his final year of arbitration before he is set to hit the market in free agency. There is pretty much certain that he won’t be resigning with the Rockies, as rumors swirled at the trade deadline and it was even reported that Trevor Story himself was surprised he wasn’t moved.
The only reason some may balk at Trevor Story is because of his home/road splits. He is a lifetime .303 hitter in Coors Field in 1,368 at-bats, but just .241 away from Coors for his career. That’s somewhat of an eyesore of a split right there. However, he has been a lefty masher, hitting .285 on the road against southpaws, coupled with a 226 ISO and wRC+ of 128.
Where he may slightly lack at the plate, he more than makes up for in other categories. He is a plus-fielding defender and has great speed on the base paths, usually finding himself on pace to swipe 25 bags on any given season.
If hitting coaches feel confident that they can get Story hitting better away from Coors Field, he would definitely be a solid pick-up in the offseason. It would come at a price, but he has proven himself to be an above-average ballplayer. The Sox already stated they were looking at Story for a replacement second baseman at the deadline but ultimately didn’t pull the trigger.
Marcus Semien is a former Chicago White Sox player to consider bringing back.
Another first-time all-star and former Chicago White Sox shortstop that has adapted and has been playing second base this season is Marcus Semien. Set to hit free agency while earning a cool 18 million this year, Semien might be one of the more sought-after free agent bats this winter, especially if he is on board with continuing play at second base.
Currently, be bats .267/.334/.524 while currently experiencing a career power surge, blasting 32 HR in process. That is only one home run shy of his career record and it’s only the end of August. His 5.8 WAR on the year is currently best among all second basemen and is tied for 3rd in the league with Carlos Correa.
Dipping deeper into his advanced sabermetrics courtesy of fangraphs.com, his ISO of .259 is currently a career-high, as noted above with the power spike he is experiencing this year. His wRC+ of 130 is 30 points above league average.
The only red flag before throwing money at Semien would be upon looking at his career slash of .219/.296/.360 at Guaranteed Rate Field. Though, to be fair, most of those 228 ABs came when he was in a Sox jersey in 2013 and 2014 before he really established himself as the player he is today.
He is generally an above-average fielder but he has given up 6 errors in 114 games started at second base this season. Important to note, most of those errors are probably due to not really playing 2B the majority of his career as he is primarily a shortstop and is still adjusting to a new position this season. He would be a solid addition to any team that looks to sign him. Hopefully, when he signs somewhere, it’s in black and white.
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