In December 2014, the Chicago White Sox traded Marcus Semien, Chris Bassitt, and Josh Phegley to the Oakland A’s for Jeff Samardzija. This would be one of the team’s worst trades ever and possibly the worst ever.
Samardzija was terrible in his one year with the Sox. Since the trade Semien and Bassitt have become massive stars. For his credit, Marcus Semien has finished in the top-3 in AL MVP voting for two of the last three seasons.
However, the Chicago White Sox have a chance to partially correct this terrible trade during the offseason. The White Sox simply has to sign Semien to be their starting second baseman and the team should have the resources to meet the cost.
Yes, the White Sox do already have a pretty high payroll. According to spotrac, the White Sox already has 156 million committed in payroll for 2022, the fourth-highest in MLB. However, Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel will be gone after 2022, taking 36 million off the books. With already so much committed for this year, the White Sox should sign Semien, even if it means adding up to 30 million more to the payroll.
The Chicago White Sox really needs to consider bringing in Marcus Semien.
While some fans may want the money spent elsewhere, there is no greater need for the White Sox than second base. Their current starting second baseman is Danny Mendick, with alternative options being minor leaguer Romy Garcia.
As for right field, the White Sox can start Andrew Vaughn there. While he may not be a long-term right fielder, I think he’ll be a great hitter and this opportunity gives him a position with Gavin Sheets slotted into the DH spot. There are probably few moves the White Sox could make that would be worse than wasting money on Michael Conforto.
Marcus Semien is one of the best players in baseball and has been for the past several seasons. His being on the team gives the White Sox the best chance to win out of any player available and would help dispel the notion that the White Sox are a “cheap” organization, rather than just one that doesn’t like to give out 10-year contracts.
If the White Sox are able to sign Marcus Semien and trade for Chris Bassitt, it will be like the terrible Jeff Samardzija trade never happened. It will also give the Chicago White Sox the best chance to win the 2022 World Series.
If they are serious about winning the World Series next year as they claimed they were about this year, then they’ll make the move to sign Semien. They can’t afford to miss out on him yet again and let him go to another contending AL team.