FanPost

ChiSoxJames' Offseason Plan

Arbitration-eligible (with projected salaries from MLBTR):

Jose Abreu, $17.9M TENDER (extend, 3 years)
Avisail Garcia, $6.7M TENDER
Yolmer Sanchez, $2.1M TENDER
Carlos Rodon, $2.0M TENDER
Danny Farquhar, $1.5M NON-TENDER
Zach Putnam,$1.4M TENDER
Leury Garcia, $1.2M TENDER
Jake Petricka,$1.1M TENDER
Al Alburquerque, $1.1M TENDER

- Extending Abreu seems like almost a must for what he brings to the clubhouse and the production that he still has left in him.

- I say the White Sox give Avi Garcia one more year to prove that he can sustain last year's production before they extend him.

- Farquahar was decent out of the bullpen, but I'd rather make room for Jace Fry or other younger pitchers in the pen come Opening Day.

- Alburquerque was fantastic if anything out of the bullpen for the short time he was with the White Sox and he seems like someone the Sox can count on next year.

Impending free agents:

Geovany Soto: Made $2 million in 2017
LET GO

Mike Pelfrey: Made $8 million in 2017 QUALIFYING OFFER $2 MILLION

- Soto was injured for most of the year, and the front office seems 100% set on a Narvaez/Smith platoon for 2018 which means there probably isn't much use for Soto on the roster next year.

- Pelfrey was paid $8 million to be a starter, but later moved to the bullpen and still often struggled. I think it's reasonable to offer him a smaller amount ($2 million). Plus, he can perhaps be a mentor to some of the younger pitchers coming up to the majors similar to what James Shields is.

Free agents:

Tyler Chatwood, $8 million/1 year
Trevor Plouffe, $5 million/1 year
Jon Jay, $8 million/1 year

- Chatwood is a solid righty who can act as an innings-eater. He's also only 28 years old and coming off a pretty decent season although he did pitch mostly at Coors Field, so the stats are obviously a bit inflated. If he continues to pitch well, he might be able to bring back a decent haul at the deadline.

- Plouffe would serve basically as corner infield depth. With Nicky Delmonico likely not getting many starts at 3rd or 1st bases next year, it'll likely be Matt Davidson, Yolmer Sanchez, and Abreu, so having Plouffe to DH once in a while or even get a few starts at either infield position wouldn't hurt a bit, especially with him only getting $5 million for the year.

- Jon Jay proved in 2017 with the Cubs that he can be a very reliable leadoff hitter and just a solid hitter in general. He can platoon in either left or center field with Delmonico/L. Garcia. Just like Chatwood, Jay can possibly be a trade candidate if he recreates his production from last year. (Also, how many more at-bats do we really want Adam Engel to have?)

- Overall, I don't see a need to sign many free agents other than the ones listed because the rest of the first wave and most of the second wave of prospects will be called up to the majors at some point in 2018.


Trades

I'm choosing not to make any trades because, in my opinion, the Sox are not yet at that point. They need to let a lot of these prospects develop first before trading them off, and I don't see the need to trade any big-league talent yet. Maybe a trade will be made by the deadline if they're somehow in the running for the division or if they have a strong hold on a wildcard spot, but other than that I don't think they need to trade anybody until at least next year.

Opening Day 25-man Roster

Pitchers:
SP - Carlos Rodon
SP - Lucas Giolito
SP - Reynaldo Lopez
SP - Tyler Chatwood
SP - James Shields
RP - Gregory Infante
RP - Aaron Bummer
RP - Jace Fry
RP - Nate Jones
RP - Al Alburquerque
RP - Juan Minaya

Catchers:
Kevan Smith
Omar Narvaez

Infielders:
1B - Jose Abreu
2B - Yoan Moncada
SS - Tim Anderson
3B/2B/SS - Yolmer Sanchez
3B/1B - Matt Davidson
SS/2B/OF - Alen Hanson

1B/3B/OF - Trevor Plouffe


Outfielders:
RF - Avisail Garcia
LF - Nicky Delmonico
CF - Leury Garcia
CF - Adam Engel
RF/CF/LF - Jon Jay

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