I have a ton of thoughts on this eventful offseason the White Sox have had so far, and unfortunately I'm writing late enough in the day that everything I've wanted to say has already been said on the blogs, radio, and social media. I'm going to put some twists on some of the ideas you've already heard, though.
First, am I excited about the 2015 White Sox? Yes! I think Matt Spiegal of the 670 AM mid-day show put it best today. "Are the White Sox favorites? No, are they contenders? Are they Wild Card contenders? Hell yeah!" This team still has holes that need to be filled if the Sox have serious expectations of advancing deep into the 2015 postseason, but there's time, and the front office appears to be willing to part with resources (money and prospects) to make it happen.
I'm most excited about the Jeff Samardzija and Zach Duke acquisitions. I liked Duke as a prospect coming up with the Pirates, and he reminds me of former Sox pitchers Matt Thornton and Gavin Floyd in that they were high draft choices for other teams whom Kenny Williams handed to Don Cooper who then subsequently saved a player's career. Duke had some success in recent history, so he differs from Thornton and Floyd in that he isn't a reclamation project. Duke is just a solid pitcher who fills a big need for the White Sox.
Adam LaRoche doesn't do a whole lot for me, but he again fills a need. I'm skeptical that he's worth the $12+ million the Sox will pay him the next couple of years, but some think he's a great fit for US Cellular Field and will produce hefty power numbers. My skepticism arises from his age, he's 35. If LaRoche can match his 2013 output of .259 with 26 homers and 82 walks, then the money is well spent.
I agree with most of the bloggers and Tweeters that few closers are worth the $11 million Chicago is giving David Robertson; however, he also fills a huge need and the White Sox apparently had a ton of money available to spend, so why not? What I like about Robertson is that he succeeded under stressful circumstances, last season. He took over the closer's duties for Mariano Rivera. To take THAT role, taking over for THAT player, in THAT city, for THAT team AND having a solid season is noteworthy. I like a closer with moxy, who can handle stress, and evidently Robertson fits the bill. Plus, he mitigates a Sox weakness (defense) with a high strikeout ratio in a hitter's park.
That brings me to Samardzija, the greatest of all these new players. I thought the White Sox had a really nice 1-2 punch in the pitching rotation with Chris Sale and Jose Quintana, but by adding Samardzija, the White Sox, on paper, have one of the best rotations in the American League. They didn't give up much to get him, either. They were able to keep 2013 top pick Tim Anderson and incumbent SS Alexei Ramirez, an All-Star and 2-time Silver Slugger who also possesses a positive Defensive Wins Above Replacement (dWAR) rating. As many have pointed out, even if the White Sox aren't competitive, they can flip him in July for prospects, and if they aren't able to meet his salary demands and re-sign him, they'll receive draft pick compensation in 2016 when he signs elsewhere. I fully expect the team and Samardzija to reach common ground and agree to an extension, however.
Here's my twist: I'm going to talk about some of the negative things now, but I'll suggest some ideas to fix them. First with their new starting pitcher, Jeff Samardzija. Billy Beane doesn't often lose trades, and the common consensus seems to me that he lost this trade heftily. The A's gave up a top 10 Baseball Prospectus prospect (Addison Russell) to get Samardzija last season, and then flipped him for a few second and third tier prospects. It doesn't make much sense, but I don't doubt that Billy Beane knows what he's doing. I fear this trade could be remembered as yet another time Beane fleeced the White Sox, with trades involving Billy Koch and Nick Swisher also joining that company. Do the A's think Samardzija is due for a down season, or do they see something spectacular in Marcus Semien? I don't know, but I suspect at least one of those is the case.
The White Sox still have uncertainty at middle relief, the 5th starting spot, LF, 2B, and most likely 3B and C. Conor Gillaspie figures to maintain his grip on the 3B spot, but he can't be the longterm answer. Can Matt Davidson impress the White Sox enough to supplant him? It seems unlikely. Tyler Flowers can at least manage a pitching staff, so it may be ok to keep him as the every day catcher for now. But if the Sox are going to keep an automatic out in their lineup at catcher, they cannot also afford to do the same at 2B and LF. So they absolutely must upgrade at least one of those positions. Second base could be filled by soon-to-be-24-year-old Micah Johnson, who stole 84 bases across three leagues in 2013 and was hitting .275 in AAA last year before sustaining a serious leg injury. I'm willing to give Johnson a chance at 2B, but not willing to assume he's both healthy and competent, so that means the White Sox have to upgrade at LF.
So, what else needs to be done? LF has to be the top priority at this point, along with middle relief, and if possible, another SP and/or 2B. Melky Cabrera is the only solid FA OF left unsigned, and I'm not sure he fits given his lack of power. Rumors abound that John Danks could be on the move to the Dodgers with the return being either Carl Crawford or Andre Ethier. If those rumors are true, I'd love to see Chicago jump on Crawford, who has three years remaining on a terrible contract (he'll make $20,500,000, $20,750,000, and $21,000,000 in 2015, 2016, and 2017 respectively). If Los Angelos wants to trim salary and open up an OF spot, they could do worse than adding a southpaw like Danks. If Williams and Rick Hahn can somehow pull that off, and replace Danks' spot in the rotation by signing Ervin Santana, then I'll truly be drinking the White Sox Kool-Aid. Here, I must channel my inner 12-year-old, so just for giggles, here's how the roster MIGHT shake out:
CF Adam Eaton (R)
LF Carl Crawford (L)
1B Jose Abreu (R)
DH Adam LaRoche (L)
RF Avisail Garcia (R)
SS Alexei Ramirez (R)
3B Conor Gillaspie (L)
2B Micah Johnson ( L)
C Tyler Flowers (R)
SP Chris Sale (L)
SP Jeff Samardzija (R)
SP Jose Quintana (L)
SP Ervin Santana (R)
SP Hector Noesi (R)
Setup Nate Jones (R)
Setup Zach Putnam (R)
Setup Zach Duke (L)
Closer David Robertson (R)
The Tigers are about to lose Max Scherzer and the Royals will soon lose James Shields. With a few more tweaks, the AL Central Title is on the table for the White Sox.
