FanPost

smittywhitesox's Offseason Plan



Adam Eaton was 2nd in home runs for the team in 2015..something has to change

Here comes my plan: Sit back, relax, and strap it down

Arbitration-eligible
Tyler Flowers, $3.5M: Tender
Avisail Garcia, $2.3M: Tender
Nate Jones, $900K: Tender
Zach Putnam, $800K: Tender
Dan Jennings, $800K: Tender

Contract options
Alexei Ramirez: $1m buyout: Then try to get him to sign 2/$10M. He will eventually get his $10M but stretch it out over two yrs. I think Ramirez will be loyal and realize how comfortable he and his family is with the organization. Insurance policy in case Tim Anderson isn't ready to start early in 2017.

Impending Free agents
Let everyone go (Shark, Beckham, Soto, Albers)
I really wanted the Shark thing to work out being a ND fan and living in Valparaiso early in my life. But offer him Q/O and hope the Red Sox or someone sign him. Beckham c'ya. Soto hope you get a ML deal. Albers thank you for your sevice.

Trade time!

1. White Sox trade David Robertson, Erik Johnson, Avisail Garcia, and lower level prospects to the New York Yankees for Mark Teixeira, John Ryan Murphy, and Eric Jagielo
OK I might be speculating whether the Yankees would want to ship Teixeira but there is a chance the Yankees will commit to their younger core which means giving the young Greg Bird the keys to first base. The DH slot always seems to be filled with another aging bat like A-Rod or Beltran thus it would be creative way for the Yankees to add another young pticher (E.J), right handed bat to platoon in outfield with Gardner or Beltran (Avisal Garcia), and add a familiar setup arm to Miller and Betances in David Robertson. If it matters, the Yankees are saving about $12M in swapping Robertson ($11) and Teixeira ($23) so they could maybe use those funds for their #1 free agent SP like Greinke. The Sox would do this move because they only have to pay Teixiera for one season testing him out batting clean-up behind Abreu (which will be awesome!) and they can get off the hook for the next 3 yrs of D-Rob's contract. The Sox also are able to slide Montas in Closer role and they get some young pieces like catcher John Ryan Murphy and third baseman Eric Jagielo who is the local kid from Downers Grove and Notre Dame.

2. White Sox trade Melky Cabrera to Astros for Luis Valbuena and Josh Fields (the pitcher)
This trade basically is a salary dump for Sox (to allow for next major move I make) but also allows them to fill a major hole at third base for the short term. Valbuena is a free agent after 2016 so hopefully by then the Sox will have a better idea of what they have in Trey Michalczewski and/or Eric Jagielo (recently acquired). The Astros would do this deal because they have the payroll space to take on the contract (only 2 yrs left on deal) and they may be looking to replace the bats of Colby Rasmus and Chris Carter. Melky might be a good fit w/ Altuve, Correa, and Gomez. *Melky has a limited no trade clause though but I don't know the details


Free Agency
By getting out of long-term deals with Melky and Robertson, the Sox will have room to get the chance to make some long-term moves again. I hope one of these moves happen.
Image result for justin upton padres
1. Sign OF Justin Upton for 6/$138M. This is why I got rid of Melky. Upton should be the White Sox main target. The Sox will have zero chances with Heyward. I was envisioning Cespedes back in May when his price range was between $70-$90M but he has certainly increased his value & expectations since then. I don't think there is a chance of Cespedes duplicating his Second Half and I don't want to be letdown with him. So I am going with Upton because of his age (28) which is different then the Sox signing +30 yr olds who are over the hill. Upton would be a safer signing due to his age and is a possible bounce back candidate. He would fit nicely to the White Sox core.


2. Sign RHP Shohei Otani for 6/$120M. This guy is the next Yu Darvish. This is a pipedream because so many things have to happen like Jerry extedning his check book and giving this young international pitcher a 6 yr deal. But this is the Samardzjia and Tanaka money they were willing to offer in the past. Plus it isn't known if Otani will be posted this offseason and for what amount.
Otani is 21 yrs old and has been playing professionally for 3 seasons. He wanted to begin his MLB career right after high school and urged teams not to draft him. He was drafted #1 overall by Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and after a long-negotiation he agreed to play in Japan for the time being. Also his team allows him to hit and he is like the Japanese Babe Ruth. He was 15-5 with a 2.24 ERA this season while also belting 5 home runs. For the next 4-5 yrs, a rotation of Sale-Quintana-Rodon-Otani-Fulmer would compare if not beat the Mets rotation of Harvey-DeGrom-Syndergaard-Wheeler-Mautz.


OVERVIEW

Lineup

Eaton-L

Ramirez-R

Abreu-R

Teixeira-S

Upton-R

Valbuena-L

Flowers-R

Thompson-R

Sanchez-S

Salary

C Tyler Flowers ($3.5m)
1B Jose Abreu ($11.7m)
2B Carlos Sanchez ($500k)
SS Alexei Ramirez ($5m + $1m for buyout)
3B Luis Valbuena ($4.2m?) i have no clue what he will make in '16
LF Adam Eaton ($2.75m)
CF Trayce Thompson ($500k)
RF Justin Upton ($23m)
DH Mark Teixeira ($23.125m)

At home, hunting with Drake-- Adam LaRoche ($13m)

BENCH

INF Tyler Saladino ($500k)
2B/CF Micah Johnson ($500k)
OF J.B Shuck ($500k)

C John Ryan Murphy ($500k)

ROTATION

SP Chris Sale (L) ($9.15m)
SP Jose Quintana (L) ($5.4m)
SP John Danks (L) ($15.75m)
SP Carlos Rodon (L) ($500k)

SP Shohei Otani (R) ($20M)

BULLPEN

CL Frankie Montas (R) ($500k)
RP Jake Petricka (R)(750k)
RP Zach Duke (L) ($5m)
RP Dan Jennings (L) ($800k)
RP Zach Putnam (R) ($800k)
RP Nate Jones (R) ($900k)
RP Josh Fields (R) ($800k)

Minor league depth: Javy Guerra, Beck, Crain, Gavin Floyd (minor league contract), Webb, Cleto, Carroll, Fulmer (September at latest), they need to find better LHP depth that's cheap

Summary: My budget for the active team is about $137 million (it is $150 including LaRoche's contract which will be bought-out if I cannot get a team to take on any bit of his salary). It is over budget for this season but they will have $51 million off the books after 2016 with the contracts of Teixeira, LaRoche, and Danks ending. I went over the budget because there are a couple long-term pieces I wanted to get now because looking at the 2016-2017 free agents on MLBTR there is no one I would consider other than Teixeira, Prado, Beltre, and Cervelli. It is a pivotal time for the Sox franchise because the Cubs will not be going away. For the next 4 year window, Jerry needs to take crazy pills like Mike Ilitch from the past several years and spend. Plus the jobs of Ventura, Hahn, and Kenny Williams (i hope) are on the line this season. They would be smart to not let a similar, stupid roster of last year control their fate.

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