3 Chicago White Sox players whose futures with the club are up in the air
Garrett Crochet wants an extension, but he might be more valuable to the team on the trade market.
The Chicago White Sox's miserable season is over. There are players on the team the franchise is certain to move on from this offseason.
There are a few whose future with the team seems cloudy.
Specifically, the White Sox have three players whose futures with the team are up in the air.
Garrett Crochet
He is open to signing an extension. However, USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the unofficial mouthpiece of the White Sox front office, reports the team plans to trade him this offseason.
The last time general manager Chris Getz commented on Crochet's future, he said he was not going to actively shop his ace. However, he also did not say he would not listen to offers.
Chris Getz said today that Garrett Crochet “is not a player we’re actively shopping” but cited rebuilding Sox’ need to “see what the market holds” as they look to improve organization. Re: contract extension, he said Sox “will have those conversations” with Crochet’s camp.
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) September 9, 2024
It makes sense that Getz would rather trade Crochet, considering he was the only player on the roster with an fWAR over two. He proved he could stay healthy during his first full season as a starter. In addition, he still has two years left of club control.
He will come cheap, effective, and left-handed. Most importantly, he is also still relatively young. A contender like the Philadelphia Phillies would love to acquire him on the cheap at the cost of prospects rather than a pile of money.
At the same time, he is still 26, and he would be a long-term anchor for a rotation that has two talented left-handed prospects in Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith who are close to the big leagues. Also, he can be the ace for a rotation that will include Jonathan Cannon, Drew Thorpe, Davis Martin, and Sean Burke next season.
Those five give the Sox a chance to maybe win 60 games next season. Also, having that much pitching depth gives Getz the excuse he needs to trade Crochet.
It is well known the owner loathes to pay pitchers, and since Crochet only has two offseasons of club control left. This offseason means his trade value will be at its highest much like Dylan Cease's was last spring training.
So far the return on that has been very good, so it makes sense to see if another haul of promising impact prospects can be received for Crochet.
Andrew Vaughn
It might be a bit surprising that the team's leader in batting average and wRC+ among qualified batters has an uncertain future.
Since his average was just .246 and his wRC+ was 97, you can start to see why.
It does not help that he turned in another replacement-level season when more was expected from the team's former top-five pick.
Even though he will be 27 next season, the Sox could get that kind of production from Josh Bell or other first base options that might cheaper.
I’m very surprised by some of the Andrew Vaughn discourse on this website. He plays first base and was a negative fWAR player this year. The #WhiteSox shouldn’t tender him and that’s not controversial.
— James Fox (@JamesFox917) September 29, 2024
The Sox could get the same production from what they got from Vaughn in prospect Tim Elko at a much cheaper price than whatever Vaughn will get through arbitration. Since the Sox are cutting costs this offseason, it would not hurt to shave off Vaughn's potential couple million dollars in salary.
Still, he is 27, and it is not like he is going to break the bank. That is why his future is up in the air.
Gavin Sheets
Injuries to Eloy Jimenez allowed Sheets to get into the lineup regularly. Trading Jimenez away at the trade deadline allowed Sheets to play 139 games.
He was decent at getting on base as he was one of two players on the Sox with an on-base percentage above .300. It was not by much.
Otherwise, he was a -0.9 fWAR player with an 88 wRC+ and just 10 home runs.
His pop off the bench has been overrated for years. Once he became an everyday player, he was unable to prove he was a replacement-level player.
The Sox could get that kind of production from Elko or a host of other bargain basement free agents. That is why it would be easy to non-tender him to continue to save on costs.
He is left-handed and will be 29 next season. His numbers are not going to earn him a huge reason so there is logic in keeping him.
However, the Sox should reserve the designated hitter spot for top-five prospect Edgar Quero to get at-bats on days he is not catching next season.
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