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Normanje13's Off-Season Plan

As per the guidelines, I devised a plan that came in only a few million dollars north of $135M. It was an improved team, maybe even one that could sneak into the playoffs if everything broke right. But it seems like we've been saying for a few years now that the White Sox could get into the playoffs if everything broke right. If the competitive window is truly opening in 2016, we need to stop hoping for an inordinate amount of good luck. So, with that in mind. . .

Arbitration-eligible Players

I'm still very annoyed that the White Sox tendered a contract to Dayan Viciedo last year. No, it didn't have an effect on the outcome of the season. But it's frustrating to see a roster spot wasted on a player who basically offers nothing and can actually do you harm when he does play. Sadly, Avisail Garcia is exactly that kind of player. Yes, he'll only be 25 next year and $2.3M isn't a ton of money by MLB standards. But hoping he'll figure it out when he's shown precious few signs of doing so over his first 1000+ plate appearances feels delusional at this point. (Bold prediction: Garcia will be tendered a contract then DFA'd before Memorial Day.)

Contract option

  • Alexei Ramirez - Pick up

It feels really dirty to pay a guy $10M with the hope that he'll be replacement level. But the shortstop free agent market doesn't offer any real alternatives. Ian Desmond and Asdrubal Cabrera might be better players but they'll probably command multiple years. Both players endured struggles of their own in the first half of 2015. Besides, if we really believe that Tim Anderson will be ready by 2017 (or to engage in fervent wish casting, mid-2016), then signing a marginal or declining shortstop for more than one year seems imprudent. If Ramirez struggles, Tyler Saladino will likely receive the bulk of playing time in his place and that's not a comforting thought. But trading away a chunk of your farm system just when it's teetering on the edge of respectability isn't appetizing either. If you were Jeff Luhnow or Andrew Friedman, your asking price for Carlos Correa or Corey Seager would be justifiably exorbitant. Taking on the bloated contract and injury risk of a Troy Tulowitzki or Jose Reyes seems counterproductive. So, just like the American presidential election, we'll have to hold our noses and hope for the best.

Free agents

If Samardzija truly wanted to be a jerk, he would accept the qualifying offer.

Albers is a valuable bullpen arm that I would like to keep around. If he chooses to pursue greener pastures, the free agent marked is flush with quality right-handed arms that shouldn't cost more than $5M.

If Rick Hahn re-signs Beckham, I will not attend a game at Sox Park as long as he is on the 25-man roster. I'm quite serious about this.

If Soto chooses to pursue more profitable alternatives, Chris Iannetta and Dioner Navarro would be suitable alternatives at a similar year/price point.

Free agent acquisitions

Justin Upton, RF, 5 yrs/$125M plus a $30M club option with a $7.5M buyout. The five guaranteed years are paid out as follows: $20M, $22.5M, $25M, $27.5M, $30M - Trayce Thompson is a legitimate major league player but not even his most enthusiastic supporters would dare suggest that he could replicate Upton's production. While this contract would be the largest in franchise history, it would still be a fair amount less than what Jason Heyward will likely command in both dollars and years. As large free agent contracts go, this one is quite reasonable even if it likely won't provide much surplus value. Calling U.S. Cellular Field home should benefit Upton nicely. A good fly ball hitter with pull tendencies should see many of those hits deposited in and beyond the White Sox bullpen. His track record of good health compares favorably to Alexei Ramirez. Upton has played in at least 149 games and made over 600 plate appearances in five straight seasons. Upton is the perfect player to waste our Samardzija compensatory pick on.

Yoenis Cespedes, LF/DH, 4 yrs/$80M plus a $25M club option with a $5M buyoout. The four guarnateed years are paid out as follows: $16M, $18M, $22M, $24M - Strictly speaking, this doesn't address a position of need. But addressing the White Sox' anemic offense is a more pressing matter than any individual position problems. The 2015 Sox finished in the bottom five in home runs, runs scored, walk percentage, ISO power, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, wOBA, and wRC+. Signing Upton alone probably lifts us out of the bottom five in most of these categories. But bringing Cespedes aboard makes the Sox, at worst, a middle-of-the-pack offensive team. No reasonably available third baseman or shortstop will add the offensive punch that Cespedes will provide. Plus, he provides superb defense in left field as both UZR and DRS adore him. Better still, no draft picks will be sacrificed to acquire his services. But most importantly, Cespedes will join Jose Abreu as the kind of slugger that you postpone beer or bathroom runs for. When playing your home games in the band box known as U.S. Cellular Field, it should be state law that two such hitters are always on the active roster.

But what about Melky Cabrera? He still factors into the plans for 2016 but with a more broadly defined role. He'll still see some time in left field to help mitigate the effects of the DH penalty. He'll become the largest head in the new DHydra which will include outfielders and corner infielders who rotate into the DH spot depending on matchups, venues, and minor injuries.

Trades

SP Erik Johnson and RP Maikel Cleto Jake Perticka to the Minnesota Twins for 3B Trevor Plouffe.

EDIT: As larry graciously pointed out to me, Maikel Cleto is a free agent this off-season. My plan is edited to reflect that reality, even if much of the rest of this plan doesn't reality anyway.

I'm as comfortable as one can be about the prospect of Johnson holding down a spot in the Sox rotation. But given his erratic development, we could also be looking at the height of his trade value. I've always liked Cleto but there doesn't really seem to be a spot for him in our bullpen. I hate to part with Petricka but with one pre-arb year he probably is the most attractive of our non-closers. The Twins could stand to add depth to their pitching staff as Ricky Nolasco is still on their roster and Glen Perkins has had health issues as of late.

For the Sox, Plouffe offers the most power among the tier of competent third basemen, posting a career .170 ISO. As yet another pull happy fly ball hitter, a 25 home run season isn't out of the question. He played over 100 innings at first base last year, so he could spell Abreu on occasion. His defense at third is unremarkable but not awful. And depending how the market shapes up over the next year or so, Plouffe could make for a decent medium term solution at a position that has been a black hole since Joe Crede injured his back.

DH/1B Adam LaRoche and $7M to the New York Mets for SP Jon Niese.

Getting rid of toxic assets is a real headache. But I have no interest whatsoever in seeing if LaRoche can enjoy a dead cat bounce or if undocumented nagging injuries were the source of his woes. He seems like a capital human being but it's probably best for all parties involved if LaRoche peddles his wares elsewhere.

Admittedly, the Mets agreeing to take on LaRoche even at a reduced rate might be a stretch. $6M for a lefty bench bat who should only be used as a first baseman in a pinch is a bit pricey. But, so to is $9M for a sixth starter/long reliever which is what Neise will become once Zack Wheeler returns to the rotation. Since that won't likely be until June, that makes this trade a little more difficult to swing. But with Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz as your top four starters, does it really matter who that fifth guy is until June?

As for Niese, his numbers do not remotely compare to the aforementioned Mets' hurlers. In fact, he might remind you a little bit of John Danks except he would be a little cheaper. In addition to his 2015 $9M salary, he also has two club options for $10M and $11M that could turn out to be quite reasonable should Don Cooper's magic rub off on him and if Carson Fulmer and Frankie Montas don't develop as hoped. If not, the $500K buyout option will be painless.

My 25-man roster

Starting Pitchers

Bullpen

Starting lineup

  • Catcher - Tyler Flowers
  • 1B - Jose Abreu
  • 2B - Carlos Sanchez
  • 3B - Trevor Plouffe
  • SS - Alexei Ramirez
  • LF - Yoenis Cespedes
  • CF - Adam Eaton
  • RF - Justin Upton
  • DH - Melky Cabrera

Bench

  • Geovany Soto - Catcher
  • Tyler Saladino - Infielder
  • Trayce Thompson - Outfielder
  • J. B. Shuck/Leury Garcia/Spring Training Surprise - 25th Man

The total estimated cost of this roster is $157M. That would be a franchise record by a comfortable margin. Using 2015 payroll figures, we would rank 7th in MLB. But the good news is the farm system was mostly left untouched, the payroll would remain stable during the competitive window, and home runs will become a far more regular occurrence at the old, taxpayer funded ball park.

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