The Chicago White Sox could use an upgrade at first base, but Anthony Rizzo would not provide that.
Andrew Vaughn has produced at a replacement-level standard for four seasons. He is projected to earn $6 million through arbitration.
The White Sox could find better production for that kind of money. Rizzo would not be the player to provide it.
His value numbers have been in decline over the past three seasons. He has gone from a 2.5 fWAR player in 2022 to a -.2 in 2024. His wRC+ has declined over that time from 131 to 84. He is only getting older.
His advanced numbers are all poor in the areas you want to be great in and bad in the areas you want to avoid being terrible in.
Wanting to move on from Vaughn is not a bad idea since he was supposed to be a cornerstone player when he was taken third overall in the 2019 draft. All he has been is somewhere between not very good and average at best.
Vaughn's fWAR and Rizzo's were the same this year, so you would not be getting much of an upgrade other than Rizzo is an icon in Chicago. Considering Vaughn is still in his 20s, you take Andrew over Anthony if it did not come down using past performance as the deciding factor.
Rizzo was once a great player, but now he is starting to get beaten by Father Time.
Thinking Rizzo could be a viable clubhouse leader is not a terrible idea since he has been through an extensive rebuild once before when he was with the Cubs. Plus, he comes with a World Series ring.
Am I absolutely insane for wanting to sign him to a one year deal as a veteran presence and potential trade chip? https://t.co/ikz6956frG
— Mike (@ChiSoxFanMike) November 2, 2024
The problem is his skills are diminishing, and it would be hard to see him reviving his career on the Southside, let alone being good enough to yield a nice return on the trade market come July of 2025.
If the Sox wanted some left-handed pop off the bench, they would be better off staying young with Gavin Sheets and probably a fraction of the cost.
The better idea is just to move on from Vaughn and Sheets while not signing Rizzo. Instead, Josh Bell would make more sense as he is 32 and still can produce some power. The hope would be he produces a bit better to yield more than a player to be named later, as he fetched this past deadline. Then Tim Elko could take over after the deadline.
The logic to move on from Vaughn makes sense. Replacing him with Rizzo does not.