In 2019, the Chicago White Sox were one of six MLB teams that had a payroll south of $100 million – four of those six teams did not make the postseason, with the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays being the two exceptions. For a team that plays in a large market but is overshadowed by its National League brother, the White Sox have a ton going right for them already.
A solid core of players centralized around pitchers Lucas Giolito and Michael Kopech, outfielders Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert, and third baseman Yoan Moncada, the American League’s Chicago franchise went into the 2019 – 2020 offseason with a huge shopping list chocked full of expensive targets. Having signed their catcher of the future, a number two starter, a slugging designated hitter, resigned their franchise first baseman, and traded for an upstart corner outfielder, it is safe to say that the White Sox revamped their roster in a major way this offseason.
With their 2019 payroll coming in as the 26th highest in the league at just under $91.4 million, moving into 2020 sees the White Sox putting much more money where their mouth is, having climbed up to be the 18th highest in payroll with $118.2 million on the books.
Four free agent acquisitions, including the resigning of Abreu, represent the four largest commitments of salary on this team’s roster moving forward, a sign that the front office is ready to shed the label of being a middling franchise.
Catcher Yasmani Grandal, coming off of a superb season with the Milwaukee Brewers, finally found the four-year deal that he should have signed last offseason. Having joined the Brewers for a one-year deal that had an option was declined for 2020, Grandal put together a very solid season on both sides of the game, which was all that the Brewers could ask for on a one-year deal.
Southpaw Dallas Keuchel was brought in for three years and $55.5 million after having signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves last year, and he, just like Grandal, looks to have finally found his long-term deal that he was frozen out of. Alongside Giolito, free-agent signee Gio Gonzalez, Dylan Cease, Reynaldo Lopez, and Kopech, Keuchel is a solid veteran presence for a team looking to make that leap into the postseason.
If the White Sox want to show that their offseason spending spree was justified, they need to rely on their strengths of young talent and pitching to get them back into contention in the AL Central division, which is looking to be a much more difficult division than in years past.
With the Minnesota Twins winning the Central last year, the dethroned Cleveland Indians had a very interesting end to their season that saw them send out Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer while still keeping the mindset of wanting to compete in the division, which is a very tough equation to form. Even as the Twins have gotten better with their signing of Josh Donaldson, there is no time better than right now for the White Sox to throw their hat back into the ring and compete.
Offensively, their batting order should be one of the toughest to handle this season, as Grandal, Edwin Encarnacion, Abreu, Jimenez, Moncada, Nomar Mazara, Tim Anderson, and Robert all offer difficult offensive approaches to handle. On the bench, James McCann, Adam Engel, and Leury Garcia all offer solid depth behind the starting unit that can easily make efficient spot starts and still help at the plate.
Last year, the White Sox had the eighth-highest batting average as a team at .261, led by Anderson at .335, which also led the AL. If they can continue their hot-hitting ways, then the offensive pressure can be passed across all starters, helping keep everyone fresh.
Pitching wise, reliever Steve Cishek may end up having a larger impression than Keuchel will, when considering the talent of pitching that surrounds each player in each facet of the team. Keuchel is surrounded by multiple generations of talent in the rotation, but Cishek’s companions out in the bullpen do not have that type of pompous circumstances surrounding them.
Outside of Cishek, incumbent closer Alex Colome (30 saves in 2019), righty Kelvin Herrera (57 games), and lefty Aaron Bummer (58 G) represent the biggest names in the ‘pen right now. Cishek’s $6 million deal may look a bit expensive at the moment, but he is a solid arm that the White Sox can utilize in almost any situation.
With how their rotation is currently built, there will need to be an arm that is pushed into the bullpen, giving them a long-innings weapon that can help the rest of the ‘pen not get stretched out. The likelihood of the team going with a six-man rotation is nearly zero, but having that option available helps narrow down the responsibilities of each and every arm in their bullpen.
As rudimentary as it may seem, the White Sox will enjoy the most amount of success if they just understand the roster that they have, not try to accomplish too many things too early on in their rebuild process, and ultimately rely on the talent that they have developed to get to this point. Teams tend to press when they can see a rebuilding process getting close to being complete, and that is the moment that truly shows how ready a franchise is to being complete and ready to compete.
Even as the White Sox look to find the best way to get back into the postseason, the 2020 season does not necessarily have to be that year that sees them reach that cusp. If this team is developing and putting themselves on an efficient path back to the playoffs, then 2021 works just as well.
Their core is looking to be in very safe hands for years to come, with Jimenez, Kopech, Robert, and Giolito safety entrenched in this team’s future. Combined with the recent additions of Grandal, Keuchel, Encarnacion, Mazara, and Cishek, this team looks to be at least a fun team to follow as 2020 progresses. A postseason berth is definitely in their future, but not rushing into that may end up being the key to this team’s success now and in the future.
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