3 White Sox players you should be prepared to lose next season
Every season, there is turnover on an MLB roster. A team rarely looks the same from year to year with players leaving in free agency and coming and going via trades. If the trade deadline was any indication, the Chicago White Sox are more than likely to be aggressive this offseason. The White Sox already traded for Cesar Hernadez, Ryan Tepera, and Craig Kimbrel and shipped out Codi Heuer and Nick Madrigal.
Rick Hahn has made it clear that the championship window is open and the White Sox plan on contending for years to come. But part of being successful over a long period is not just about adding talent. It is about knowing which players to move on from before you overpay or their production declines. It’s just the nature of the business.
The White Sox has a handful of players whose contracts expire after 2021. This list includes Carlos Rodon, Leury Garcia, Billy Hamilton, Evan Marshall, Ryan Tepera, and Jimmy Cordero just to name a few. Not all of them will be returning in 2022.
The Chicago White Sox has some tough decisions to make during the winter.
Rick Hahn and the front office will need to decide which guys to part ways with. With this in mind, there are some players fans should be prepared to lose next season. It might be tough for them to get some of these done which might be hard for certain fans to accept. Some of them are players that people like. These are the three players that you should consider candidates to be gone:
Chicago White Sox. Carlos Rodon . 55. player. 128. . SP
The Chicago White Sox might regret it if they lose out on Carlos Rodon this winter.
The White Sox extension of Lance Lynn is a signal that the White Sox may be moving on from Carlos Rodon. Both pitchers are throwing at a Cy Young caliber level, both represented the White Sox in the All-Star Game, and both went into the season set to hit free agency after the season.
The problem with Carlos Rodon is that he is unreliable. Heading into the 2021 season, Rodon had thrown over 100 innings just three times. He has yet to reach the 200 inning mark in his career. While he has been excellent this season, he has not been able to go deep into games. He is averaging under six innings per appearance and has only made it to the seventh inning or beyond four times in 21 starts.
He hasn’t even thrown enough innings this season to be considered a qualified MLB starter, otherwise, his 2.41 ERA would rank near the top in the AL. He also has dealt with a litany of injures. Rodon was placed on the injury list in 2016 because of a sprained wrist. In 2017, he was limited to just 12 stars because of bursitis in his left bicep then was knocked out for the rest of the season due to left shoulder inflammation.
In 2019, he made just seven starts before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery in May. He was only able to pitch in four games for the White Sox in 2020 due to left shoulder soreness and found himself back on the IL for a short stint in 2021.
If Rodon wasn’t so cheap this offseason, there is a very good chance that he wouldn’t be on the team. The White Sox non-tendered him at the start of the offseason only to pull him off the scrap heap. Even then, he wasn’t guaranteed a job. He was forced to compete for the final spot in the White Sox rotation during Spring Training.
Now that he is putting together a career year, he will be looking to cash in. Rodon’s agent is Scott Boras who is notorious for orchestrating huge deals. He should have no problem finding a team to overpay for a hard-throwing left-handed ace-like Rodon. After locking up Lynn, the White Sox may be looking to spend their money elsewhere.
Chicago White Sox. Evan Marshall . 43. player. 128. . RP
Evan Marshall’s time with the Chicago White Sox might be coming to an end.
Evan Marshall has been mostly a disappointment this season but that shouldn’t take away from how good he was the previous two seasons.
Relief pitchers are funny sometimes. You never know how they are going to pan out from year to year. Before signing with the White Sox in 2019, Marshall had a 7.71 ERA in Cleveland. Predating that was a three-year stint in Arizona that saw Marshall bounce between the Diamondbacks and their Triple-A affiliate in Reno.
When Marshall arrived in Chicago, he looked like a stud. He set a career-best in innings pitched (50.2), and ERA (2.49) while matching a career-high in holds with 19. He began the year on an 11-game scoreless streak that spanned 11.1 innings. It took him 18 games to allow his first earned run. In 2020 he tied for eighth in the American League in holds while posting a 2.38 ERA. He limited opponents to a .198 batting average including a .119 mark by left-handed hitters.
However, this season he has come crashing down to earth. Tony La Russa has trusted him in some high leverage situations with mixed results. Overall, it has been a disappointing campaign for the 31-year-old.
Marshall has posted a 5.60 with a 1.35 WHIP. To add insult to injury, he was placed on the 60-day injured list on July 29th with a right flexor pronator strain. Because of this injury, he hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since June 30th.
Evan Marshall has been an excellent reliever for the White Sox for the majority of his tenure here but it is time to move on. It is hard to justify resigning a pitcher coming off an injury that had a bloated ERA before hitting the IL. He is only signed through 2021 so Rick Hahn will likely cut the cord and let him walk.
Brian Goodwin. 18. player. 128. . OF. Chicago White Sox
Brian Goodwin has been sensational for the 2021 Chicago White Sox offensively.
Brian Goodwin has proved to be a steal for the White Sox this season. After getting released by the Pittsburgh Pirates, the White Sox plucked him off the scrap heap and signed him to a minor league deal.
Goodwin has provided some big moments for the White Sox. He hit a walk-off home run against Cleveland early in August. He then hit a go-ahead home run in extra innings at Wrigley Field during the Crosstown Classic. He was the first player in White Sox history to lead off the tenth inning with a two-run homer due to the MLB’s new extra-inning rules.
Goodwin has also flashed the leather a couple of times in the outfield. While Goodwin has served as a nice pickup, the White Sox should be looking to upgrade this offseason. Brian Goodwin is already 30 years old which doesn’t bode well for him being in the White Sox long-term plans. Goodwin is hitting just .236 with eight home runs and 28 RBIs. That is nothing to write home about.
The White Sox also have Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Vaughn who have left field locked down. Goodwin also won’t be pushing Luis Robert out of his spot in centerfield anytime soon. Adam Engel is a superior defender than Goodwin so if he is fully healthy next season he would have the inside track position.
Rick Hahn is likely to test the free-agent market and see if he can find another impact bat to fill the right field hole. If he doesn’t, the White Sox also have Micker Adolfo and Blake Rutherford waiting in the minor leagues for a shot. Gavin Sheets has also shown he is an option in right field. If the White Sox can’t find a better replacement, they may try and bring Goodwin back for cheap but it seems unlikely they would go this route.
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