The White Sox took a "win now" approach into this off-season, just as they did last winter. Last winter the Sox made plenty of splashy moves including the signings of Melky Cabrera, Adam LaRoche, and David Robertson. They also acquired Jeff Samardzija in a trade with the Oakland Athletics. After all of those moves last winter, the White Sox sputtered all summer long to a sub .500 record again. Even after a massively disappointing 2015 season Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn felt this off-season that they're just a few pieces away from winning now, and they took the same method this winter as the previous.
The White Sox addressed the biggest positions of concern going into the off-season exceptionally by upgrading the third-base, second-base, and catcher position before Christmas even rolled around. Hahn and company acquired all-star slugging third-basemen Todd Frazier from the Reds in a three team deal with the Reds, and Dodgers. In return for the 2015 Home Run Derby champion Hahn sent a package of prospects including Frankie Montas, Trayce Thompson, and Micah Johnson to the Dodgers who in turn sent a package of prospects to the Reds. A year to the day after the Samardzija trade with Oakland, the two clubs struck another deal sending Brett Lawrie to the south side in return for J.B. Wendelken and Zack Erwin. The White Sox also upgraded the catcher position with free agent signings of Alex Avila and Dioner Navarro.
Rick Hahn reportedly took a modest run at the signing of free-agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes over the past month, which thus far has been to no avail. The Sox aren't willing to go past 2-3 years on the Cuban slugger, while his agent has expressed that he is looking for at least 4-6 years. While that would be nice, and certainly help on both sides of the ball that's in flux right now. With pitchers and catchers reporting on February 19th, the likelihood of that deal getting done fades with each day. That's a topic for another day though, let's take a look at who's in, and who's out as of today;
Acquisitions
Player / Position / Former Team / Method of Acquisition
Todd Frazier 3B Reds Trade
Brett Lawrie 2B A's Trade
Alex Avila C Tigers Free-Agency
Dioner Navarro C Blue Jays Free-Agency
Daniel Fields OF Dodgers Waivers
Jerry Sands OF Indians Waivers
Departures
Player / Position / New Team / Method of Departure
Alexei Ramirez SS Padres Free-Agency
Gordon Beckham 2B Braves Free-Agency
Jeff Samardzija SP Giants Free-Agency
Tyler Flowers C Braves Free-Agency
Geovany Soto C Angels Free-Agency
Frankie Montas SP Dodgers Trade
Micah Johnson 2B Dodgers Trade
Trayce Thompson LF Dodgers Trade
Zack Erwin P A's Trade
J.B. Wendelken P A's Trade
There's a few things there that concern me, such as the departure of outfielder Trayce Thompson. In a small sample size down the stretch in 2015 Thompson showed promise both offensively and defensively. As well fan favorite and long time short-stop Alexei Ramirez departed this winter after signing a contract with the San Diego Padres this past week. While Ramirez wanted to stay in Chicago, his asking price was too far apart from the amount that the White Sox were looking to spend on retaining the veteran. As much as I cringe at losing the prospects in the Frazier deal, it addressed some gaping concerns from last year. Todd Frazier will anchor the hot corner, and the middle of the lineup in 2016 for the White Sox. He will also hopefully end the carousel of third-basemen that have occupied that position since Joe Crede left the team for free-agency, in case you're wondering there has been 22 different starting third-basemen since that time. Most people see U.S. Cellular Field as a hitters park, and that will hopefully translate to an increase in power numbers for the defending Home Run Derby champion Frazier. Brett Lawrie will fill the void at second base this season if he can stay healthy for the duration, and Alex Avila will be a much welcomed upgrade over Tyler Flowers offensively.
With the exception of LaRoche who had a horrendous season in 2015, and garnered zero trade interest this off-season the 2016 White Sox look pretty good on paper. The new additions to the lineup will increase the run production much to the benefit of a promising pitching rotation that sorely lacked run support in 2015. I would love to see the Sox bring in another right-handed starter for the bottom end of the rotation, and an outfielder with some power acquired before the trade deadline. But unless the White Sox can move the dead money that is the contracts of Adam LaRoche and John Danks, I don't see them addressing both of those concerns. This team looks really competitive on paper, but I'm holding my breath on getting extremely excited after last seasons disappointment. Here's to hoping that the expectations come to fruition on the south side in 2016.
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