3 free agent pitchers that could help the Chicago White Sox in 2024
Three free-agent pitchers that the Chicago White Sox should be interested in.
Honestly, the free agent surface in baseball has just barely been scratched as there is a lot of talent out there yet to be had. The Chicago White Sox, if they are willing to take a crowbar and pry open their rusty wallet, could have their choice of almost any pitcher out there not named Yoshinobu Yamamoto (who just signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers). There are several free-agent pitchers out there who are available that could help fit the White Sox needs.
For this article, I looked at three free agents that might be able to be grabbed by the White Sox during the offseason. Nothing is impossible and signing any one of these three is certainly not out of the question. It’s just a matter of whether the free agent would want to come to Chicago to wait to win and wait for that wallet to be pried open to get that money out to pay the free agent.
Michael Lorenzen
The first free agent on the list to consider is right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen. Lorenzen is coming off a season that saw him start 25 games with nine wins and nine losses. His ERA, in 2023, was 4.18, and his WHIP was 1.209. This 31 (almost 32) year-old starting pitcher might just be what the White Sox need to add another good arm to their pitching rotation. I think that Lorenzen has a lot of good left in him and can bring that to Chicago and have some success.
Seeing Lorenzen in a White Sox uniform would certainly be a welcome sight. Maybe ownership and management can make that happen.
Sean Manaea
The second free-agent pitcher we will look at and maybe hope that the White Sox bring to Chicago is left-hander Sean Manaea. Manaea, formerly of the Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres, had a decent season, playing in 37 games with ten starts. He won seven contests and lost six, earning himself an ERA of 4.44 and a WHIP of 1.241 with the San Francisco Giants in 2023. Manaea is 31 (he’ll be 32 on the 1st of February) and has quite a bit of experience behind him. He would look good in the White Sox rotation and give them some left-handed help which they could use.
The 4.4 ERA was a bit inflated, shown by his 3.9 FIP in 2023.
While Manaea could've been better in 2022 and 2023, his 2021 season in Oakland should be just what the White Sox are looking for. He tossed 179.1 innings and had a sub-four ERA. At worst, he can be an inning eater. Manaea has thrown in over 144 innings in five of his eight big league years.
Blake Snell
The third and final pitcher that could be considered by the White Sox this offseason is none other than free agent and two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell. Snell was formerly with the San Diego Padres. Now, I can just hear people laughing at me for bringing Snell’s name up but what a rotation it would be if the White Sox could get someone like Snell. He could join Dylan Cease, giving the White Sox a powerful one-two punch in the starting rotation. It would help to make the Sox contenders.
Snell started in 32 games garnering 14 wins and nine losses. His ERA was 2.25 and his WHIP was 1.189. Now, it would take a lot of cash to get Snell to come to the White Sox, but they haven’t had a huge free agent splash this offseason and pitching is where they need to make a splash the most.
If they can force dollars out of Jerry Reinsdorf’s wallet, then getting Snell would be worth it. This may be more of a dream than anything else, but it’s a great dream to have!