3 free agents who could break the Chicago White Sox contract record
Yasmani Grandal owns the richest contract in Chicago White Sox franchise history. He signed a four-year deal worth $73 million. It surpassed Jose Abreu’s six-year deal for $68 million that he signed before his rookie season in 2014 when he was coming over from Cuba.
The White Sox are not known for shelling out large amounts of cash for free agents. Even Grandal’s $73 million deal is a bargain considering they are paying one of the best catchers in baseball just over $18 million a season. If you look at Grandal’s numbers the past two seasons he has been well worth the investment.
Some call the White Sox smart with money. Others call them frugal. But for whatever reason, they do not like spending huge amounts of money on free agents. Which is one of the reasons they missed out on big-ticket names like Manny Machado and Bryce Harper.
One could argue that this strategy has worked out. Because they did not drop over $330 million on Bryce Harper, they were able to spread their money out and add players like Lance Lynn. They are also not tied to a player for the next 13 seasons. If you look at Albert Pujols with the Angels you can see a perfect example of how these long contracts wind up looking at the end. It can be ugly.
The Chicago White Sox could learn to spend some more money this offseason.
However, the Chicago White Sox has a team ready to compete right now. As the roster is currently constructed they are the favorites to win the American League Central once again. But the goal is to be the last team standing at the end of the year and division titles simply are not going to cut it in 2022. The White Sox need reinforcements and this year’s free-agent class has been signing deals for record numbers.
Corey Seager signed a deal worth $325 million, Marcus Semien inked a deal worth $175 million, while Max Scherzer, Javier Baez, Robbie Ray, and Kevin Gausman all inked deals north of $100 million.
If the White Sox want to compete with the big boys they are going to have to pay up. With most of the good second baseman already off the board, the most likely place the White Sox will spend serious money is in pitching help and or an outfielder. Leury Garica had a higher WAR last season than all the remaining free-agent second baseman.
With this in mind here are three players that could become the highest-paid player in franchise history.
Nick Castellanos
The Chicago White Sox could really use someone like Nick Castellanos.
There is not a more pressing need for the White Sox right now than in right field. The lack of production from their corner outfielders the past two seasons has come back to bite the White Sox. In 2020 the White Sox traded for Nomar Maza.
He hit a woeful .228 with just 15 RBIs and a single home run. In the playoffs, he struck out three times in two games made the final out of the season in the American League Wild Card Round. The White Sox brought in Adam Eaton the following year and he was released before the end of July which sparked a revolving door of mediocrity in right field.
If there was ever a position the White Sox needed to sign a player for a record-breaking contract to solve a problem, it would be in right field. Nick Castellanos is the best offensive right fielder remaining on the board. At the age of 30, he also is coming off of a career year.
Castellanos posted a 4.5 WAR in 2021, which is the highest amongst all free agent right fielders and it isn’t particularly close. The next highest WAR is Avisaíl García’s 3.6 mark, but he has already signed a deal with the Miami Marlins.
Castellanos hit 34 home runs and drove in 100 RBIs. He also had a career-best .309 batting average and .930 OPS en route to his first All-Star appearance. Despite the fact this is the first time he has been recognized as an All-Star, he has been playing at an All-Star caliber level for quite some time.
In 2017, he had 101 RBIs and led the league with 10 triples. In 2018, he batted .298 with 23 home runs. The following season he was traded to the Northside of Chicago midway through the year and dominated.
He nearly single-handily revived the Cubs season in 2018 and carried them to a playoff spot but they came up just short. Castellanos’ hit 16 home runs in 51 games on the Northside while batting .321.
The fit on the south side of Chicago would be perfect as well. The numbers showed that the White Sox won more games when they hit a home run. Outside of Jose Abreu and Yasmani Grandal, the White Sox did not drive the ball out of the ballpark at a prolific rate.
They ranked just 19th in the MLB with 190. Part of that is due to Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert missing significant time but adding Castellanos would make the White Sox the most feared lineup in the MLB.
His .309 batting average would have tied Tim Anderson for the best on the team. The White Sox needed more guys that can hit for average. Over the past couple of seasons, the teams that have done well in the postseason are the ones that put the ball in play and hit for average.
The White Sox lost their best contact hitter at the trade deadline when they shipped off Nick Madrigal to the Cubs. Castellanos would serve as a great replacement to help boost the White Sox team batting average along with providing more power than Nick Madrigal ever could.
Playing in Guaranteed Rate with Jose Abreu as lineup protection would set up Castellanos for his best season to date. There are concerns about his defense but Adam Engel is still on the roster and can serve as a defensive replacement late in games if need be.
MLB Trade Rumors projects that Castellanos will sign for $115 million for five years. That would easily make him the highest-paid player in franchise history.
If the rules from the previous CBA carry over to next season, the White Sox would have to surrender their second-highest draft pick in 2022 and have their international signing pool reduced by $500K.
He would be well worth the investment. Adam Engel hasn’t proven that he can stay healthy. Gavin Sheets had a nice season but his defense is limited and he has an unproven track record. Andrew Vaughn is better suited as a backup first baseman/DH.
Kyle Schwarber
The Chicago White Sox would be wise to consider bringing Kyle Schwarber in.
Kyle Schwarber would be a discount version of Nick Castellanos. Realistically he will sign somewhere between the $70-80 million range. The White Sox has shown that they are willing to dip into the $70 million range with the Yasmani Grandal contract.
Like Castellanos, Schwarber is coming off a career year. After spending the first seven seasons with the Chicago Cubs signed with the Washington Nationals. A change of scenery did him good. He hit a career-high .266 and belted 32 home runs. He also made his first All-Star team. Before the trade deadline, he was sold off to Boston and his production increased.
He batted .291 with the Red Sox and had a .435 OBP. What makes him even more attractive to Rick Hahn and Co. is his post-season track record. All of Rick Hahn’s free agent signings tend to have a common theme of post-season experience.
Schwarber is battle-tested and has a ring to show for it. In the 2015 NL Wild Card Game, he went three-for-three with a home run and three RBIs. He batted .500 in the NLDS that season with two home runs and added more two home runs in the NLCS making it a grand total of five postseason home runs in his first nine games.
In 2016, he missed a large portion of the season due to injury, including the first two rounds of the playoffs. He returned for the World Series and had seven hits in five games with three walks and two RBIs. He finished the series with a .500 OPB and helped the Cubs capture their first World Series title since 1908.
In his most recent postseason action with the Red Sox, he had three home runs and batted above .300 in the ALDS and ALCS. He also drove in six. In six seasons of postseason action, he has a .878 OPS and .518 slugging percentage. That will play.
Schwarber has played the majority of his games in left field but has played four games in right field. The Red Sox also used him as a first baseman in 10 regular-season games plus another nine in the postseason. If the White Sox didn’t think his defense was up to snuff they could use him as a DH and have Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets platoon in right field.
Trevor Story
Trevor Story would bring so much power to the Chicago White Sox lineup.
With all the good second baseman gone, the White Sox could get creative and sign Trevor Stroy and see if he will shift over to second base. Story would like to stay at shortstop but ultimately he is going to go where the money goes.
Manny Machado wanted to play shortstop too but once the Padres had Frenando Tatis Jr. he quickly moved over to third base. The difference would be that second base is not Stroy’s natural position.
However, Story is athletic enough that he could make the move work. After playing on some mediocre Rockies teams the past couple of years, he is also probably hungry to play for a contender. Why not become the missing piece in Chicago?
To land Story, the White Sox would likely need to spend over $100 million on a five or six-year deal. Likely around $125 million. At the age of 29, Story still has plenty of good years left so the contract would not be horrible to take on. Story is a two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner. In 2018 he drove in 108 runs and hit 37 home runs while batting .291. He finished 8th in the MVP voting that season.
What Trevor Story provides to an offense is pop. He has hit 20+ home runs in five of his six years in the big leagues. The only year he did not hit 20 was during the shortened 60-game 2020 season.
However, he managed to hit 11 that season while also leading the league with four triples and 15 stolen bases. Speed is something the White Sox have lacked. They do not have many base stealers outside of Tim Anderson. Stroy swipes bags at a prolific rate. He stole 27 in 2018,23 in 2019 and 20 in 2021.
Strikeouts are a concern but he still manages to hit for average despite the high strikeout rate. He is a lifetime .272 hitter with 158 home runs, 450 RBIs, and 100 stolen bases. He has benefitted from playing in Colorado but playing in another hitter-friendly park like Guaranteed Rate Field and having a healthy amount of lineup protection should offset that.
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