3 free agents who could break the Chicago White Sox contract record
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.