Adolis Garcia is the PERFECT FIT for the Chicago White Sox

Adolis Garcia is the PERFECT FIT for the Chicago White Sox

There are not many free agents out there who’d be a perfect fit for the White Socks like Adelise Garcia. You are locked on White Socks, your daily Chicago White Socks podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Hello, I’m Todd Welter. Welcome to Lockdown White Socks, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network. I’m a lifelong socks fan. I’ve been podcasting here for over a year and a half and covering the team well before then. And also, I’ve cover Major League Baseball for outlets such as the Associated Press. Well, I’m going to get to your mailback questions and comments surrounding Cory Lee possibly playing left field and your reactions to the White Sox possibly targeting Luis Rise after I discuss how the recently acquired Tanner Murray, top 30 prospect Sam Atanachi might fit on the 2026 White Sox if they do make the opening day roster. But first, let’s discuss how Adeliss Garcia is likely the perfect fit for the White Socks on the free Asian market since it’s likely the most realistic signing the club could make. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fanuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. So, I still think in a dream situation, Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonzo, Munitaka Marakame, or Kazuma Okamoto are the perfect free agent fits for the White Socks. But remember, you have to be cautious when it comes to dreaming about the White Socks and realistic when it comes to the players they pursue in free agency. That’s why I do agree with MLB.com’s Mark Fine said when he suggests recently Adelise Garcia and the White Socks are the perfect free agent fit. And Jordan Leandre of just baseball.com, he also suggests the White Sox are one of the teams that it makes sense for Garcia to join and sign with this offseason. I mean, it just makes too much sense that both would not come together. I mean, they should come together and work out a deal. I mean, Garcia, he needs a second chance to prove his power skills are not declining. And the White Socks, they need at least a short-term right fielder along with power in the lineup. It’s a match made in heaven, even though there’s some risk that Garcia’s skills are in fact declining. It’s one of the reasons why he was non-endered by the Texas Rangers. And the thing that you want to hope for though is can he recapture some of the magic that he had like for example in 2023 cuz those days are kind of gone but there’s a possibility he you know still put up some decent numbers. I mean, obviously those days of having a 4.7 F4 like he had in 2023, along with a career-high 39 home runs, a career-high 128 WRC plus, a career-high slug 508, and a career-high O on base percentage at 328. Yeah, that that’s probably not going to happen. But you know what it did happen? It did happen again in 2023 when White Sox current manager Will Venal was the Rangers bench coach. And I’m not saying Venibal gets all the credit for Garcia having that year. I don’t know if he gets any of that credit, but the White Socks current manager is familiar with Garcia’s work. And hopefully they had a good enough relationship that they may they maybe want to work together again. But it just makes too much sense since the White Socks are looking for short-term veteran options on the free agent market. At least that’s what’s being speculated and that’s what’s being rumored. And basically that’s what the GM has flat out come out and said. You know, if you want improvement, it’s going to be coming from the young core that just emerged from this past season, them getting better. But he knows that he has to make enhancements. And it sounds like Garcia is looking for a short-term deal or that’s probably what he’s going to get. Here’s what uh Feinad recently wrote on MLB.com. Garcia became a free agent after the Rangers non-tenered him. And although he hasn’t looked like the two-time all-star who averaged 32 homers and 99 RBI’s and 77 OPS between 2021 and 2023, Garcia still averaged 22 home runs and 80 RBI during the past two seasons. Elabet with a 675 OPS. Garcia could look to sign a one-year deal in an effort to reestablish his value. Then Leandre wrote this on Just Baseball. There’s still a lot to like about Garcia, even coming off consecutive bad seasons. Offensively, he still hits the ball very hard and at above average rate to the pull side. Last season, he ranked in the 73rd percentile for barrel rates and 89th for average exit velocity. The barrel rate was down from 2024, but the average exit velocity was closer to 2023 levels. A big red flag was his dramatic drop in bat speed from the 71st in his career year two years ago down to the 49th percentile. He’s still a quality defender, so there’s no real fear of him being a net negative player as a non-desated hitter. That said, the bulk of his value still needs to come from his bat. Garcia serves as a great buy low option for the rebuilding franchise who can then flip him at the deadline for prospects. While the White Sox won just 60 games in 2025, there’s a lot to like about the direction that they started to move in. Rookies Coulson Montgomery and Kyle Teal flourished in the playing time they received with the former finishing fifth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. Miguel Vargas finally showed why he was so highly touted in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, slinging 16 home runs and flashing 123 WRC plus after the All-Star break. The rotation is also sneaky with Shane Smith and Davis Martin headlining the quintent. Adding Garcia gives him a veteran with a chip on his shoulder. Benendi signed there in free agency and Robert has been stuck there far too long despite often appearing in trade rumors. Garcia though, even for just a short stint, could be tremen could be a tremendous addition to that clubhouse and lineup in 2026. So fully agree with both analysis there. And while I would love for the White Socks to get their, you know, desperately needed power and possibly even get a rebuild shortcut, even though they are in their 30s in Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonzo, the White Sox are definitely shopping in the buy low section of the free agent bin. You know, they’re shopping. Again, my hope is that they’re at least shopping in the bargain bin section. And I still think Garcia still qualifies for that when you again you look at the peripheral numbers. When you look at the n numbers and the margins, he can still barrel up the ball. He can still hit it hard. He can still plenty more home runs than Mike Tman ever could. And while I do think pitching and bull in the bullpen is a bigger need, they still, you know, need something better in right field than Brooks Baldwin. I mean, first Baldwin might be a better utility infielder than outfielder, and I’m going to tackle Baldwin a little bit more in the mailback questions, but he would just he might be better suited to play in the dirt. And I would rather have Baldwin’s adventures in the outfield then, at least being left rather than right. But you are stuck with Andrew Beni just for a bit longer. But the major reason I would prefer Garcia right now over Baldwin is there might be that potential trade value because if he can have a bounceback se season slugging the ball at right field and still play solid defense in right field even though he’s 33 that might be enough to get a decent trade return at the deadline. And you think about it, the White Sox still have to be in trying to acquire as many prospects to help get them to be competitive and even get that second wave when they are ready to be competitive. But they still need to be in asset accumulation mode. But they don’t have many trade assets right now. I mean, you keep seeing the same story over and over again, which I’ll talk about tomorrow with Luis Robert Jr., But even then, we don’t know if he’s going to really fetch a good return. I mean, maybe you bundle Lenin Sosa and Davis Martin, but what is that going to get you? So, you still need to add to the farm system for the next wave of reinforcements and or at least having a farm system you can eventually trade from that could eventually put the team over the top if they are to be competitive by 2027 or 2028. And if he does reach what Fan Graphs projects him to have a 237 271 427 slash line with 24 homers and a 1.1 F4 with a 99 WRC plus that could get you at least something viable. Now maybe there is a downside though because that could be Paul the Young like trade return right now. Yald Rasado not really cutting into the minors, but he did project at least to be a potential bullpen arm. And as I’ve said be I’ll make an exception for this off seasonason to spend some money on the bullpen, but down the road until Justin is buying the team. So 2027, 2028, as long as Jerry’s owning this team, I don’t want to see them invest significant financial resources into the bullpen. So if you can even grab a bullpen art, great. or potential bullpen arm and maybe that piece that you get in a trade projects to be better than Rado and does end up being a piece and at worst if you can’t move him maybe at least he provides some decent power and decent defense during the second half especially if you have traded Louis Luis Robert Jr. and you want Brandon Montgomery to be your center fielder. And if he doesn’t work out, well, if it’s long as a one-year deal, then oh well, it’s a perfect low-risk, high reward ris uh high it’s a perfect low risk, high reward for Chicago to take. Well, Adelise Garcia is a known commodity. Recently acquired Tanner Murray and top 30 prospect Samanachi are not both have a shot to make the 2026 opening day roster. So, let’s dive into what these two youngsters can bring to the big league club if they do make the initial man 26 man roster. That’s coming up next. NFL Sundays move fast. One big play and suddenly everything feels different. That’s what makes live betting with FanDuel so exciting. You’re not just watching the game, you’re reacting to it in real time. With FanDuel, you can place bets as the action unfolds. Every drive, every momentum swing, every highlight moment. Live betting is best when the game starts to shift. A receiver gets hot, a defense tightens up, or the momentum flips after a turnover. And my favorite is the same game parlay or the player props. It gives you a chance at a bigger payout. For example, you really think Chicago is going to pound Green Bay by 14 or more points? Well, that is at plus 1300 the last time I checked. So, 10 bucks on that and it hitting could pay out $130. Think it’s going to be the opposite with Green Bay winning by two or more touchdowns. Well, that’s at plus 250 the last time I checked. So, you still got a chance to double your money. So, if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit FanDuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. FanDuel, the game moves fast. So can you. Welcome back to Lockdown White Sox. I’m your host Todd Welter. Thank you for making Lockdown White Sox your first listen of the day. And thank you for making Lockdown the number one sports podcast network. Make sure to hit the like button on today’s episode. Subscribe to the YouTube channel at Lockdown White Sox. And if you can’t get catch on YouTube, you can get the audio version of the show on places such as Apple or Spotify. So make sure to follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Either way, get your 30-minute fix of Chicago White Sox baseball venting with me and maybe some hope. Also, make sure to check out my written content at southidsockoxs.com and on tapportsnet.com. Well, GM Chris gets hinted that top 30 prospect Samanachi could be the left-handed bat he is looking to add to provide more balance to the lineup next season. While he may not provide a ton of power, I do like his upside to be a better bat-to ball skills hitter than Chase Maid. Don’t get me wrong, I still think Chase Maid could be the modern-day Greek god of walks. I just think Sam Atanachi could potentially have a better average. And I’ve always said the best White Socks lineups has a lot of power. And if you look at 2005, they sacked a lot of home runs. Even though they played Aussie ball and the small ball, they still crushed a lot of home runs because they had a lot of power hitters. But they had a couple of bat-to ball skilled guys that could run the bases and myroth possibly could do that, but so can Antinachi. But either way, with Myroth and Antinachi in the fold, I like the White Socks chances of finally having a solution to the team’s eternal problem at second base. I mean, I keep saying it. They are still trying to replace Ray Durham for crying out loud. And he’s been gone since what, 2002. Also acquiring Tanner Murray in the deal that also netted the White Sox Everson Prairia in return for sending you Andre Gomez and Steven Wilson to the Tampa Bay Rays at least gives the club a chance to have an infield utility player who might be able to hit better than say Jacob Amaya or Vinnie Capra. Think about how low that is for the White Sox utility infielder right now. Just can you hit 200 or more? Because that’s how bad Jacob Amaya and Vinnie Capra were. and Josh Rohos. I mean, I never thought I would say the see the day where I’d be like, man, this team could really use Nikki Lopez off the bench, but Murray might be able to be a better version than any of them. And while I’m not expecting him to rake, he does have a solid glove and possibly some potential to not hit under his weight and actually hit this thing called home runs because Amaya and Capra, they didn’t have much pop. But Murray has a little bit and also he can play the outfield. Is he Leori 3.0? If Baldwin’s Leori 2.0 or as uh our guy Beo from from the 108 likes to call him, White Leori is Murray Leori 3.0. I don’t know. And it could be possible Murray and Antinachi could be the infield depth on opening day because the vibe I get from reading White Sox on SI’s Jack Aanes piece on Tanner Murray and Chicago Sun Times beat reporter Kyle Williams’s recent write up on Sam Antanachi, I get the vibe that they might be the bench guys in the infield next season. And I’m fine if Murray is a utility guy. I would still prefer Antinachi still get every a day at bats in the minors over being a backup to start his career because if my droth can’t be that bat-to ball every day sec second baseman at least we know he can still be that viable utility player and then you got Antinachi ready to be given his run at second because that’s kind of what the projections I mean Antonachi can play third there’s some then he might be able to play short in a pinch but second or third base but again he doesn’t have a ton of top. So, you probably want to put him at second base. But why do I get that feeling? Well, here’s what Williams pointed out in his recent work on the Chicago Sun Times. And make sure again you sign up for like a donation or a subscription to the Sun Times. Help Kyle Williams out. You know, support his work, support the great work of a lot of local journalists at the Chicago Sun Times. And this is what he writes. Balancing the lineup will be a priority for the White Sox this off season. Quote, “We’ve gotten a little right-handed, redundant on the infield.” General Manager Chris Gat said this month at the general manager meeting in Las Vegas, “Sam Antinachi comes to mind as a left-handed bat that can be inserted into the infield to help attack that.” End quote. Was that slip intentional or unintentional? Antonachi, the socks fifth round pick in the 2024 draft, has risen rapidly through the farm system. He finished a regular season at DA Birmingham where he batted 292, 435, 381. And Gat said he has quote been outstanding and quote MLB.com lists Anonacci as the 11th ranked player in the sock system. It’s notable that Gats mentioned Antinachi 22 as a potential solution given that he hasn’t even had an at bat in triple A. Antonachi’s set continued in the Arizona Fall League where he slashed 378, 505, 541 in 19 games. He showed impressive contact skills and played multiple positions, though second base has been his priority. Now, I’m skipping ahead. Antoni rarely chases pitches out of the strike zone. Though he doesn’t have much power, the Socks could use his bat-to- ball skills in the lineup. Socks left-handed hitters batted 230, 317, 385 in 2025. The Socks seem to be invested in the continued development of corner infielders Miguel Vargas and Curtis Meade, a left-handed hitter would be brought in to complement the two, get said. But given how frequently manager Well Venal uses his bench, a left-handed hitter could see quite a bit of playing time. Quote, “It can come in different forms,” Gat said when he asked whether there’s a preferred position the left-hander hit, the left-handed hitter would play. “Versatility is great. it would be nice if they could play a little bit of third base, but we’ve got some flexibility with Coulson Montgomery being able to play some third and Chase Maid can play all over. End quote. Given that the Socks are aren’t likely to be huge spenders in free agency, Antinachi could be an intriguing in-house option. He wouldn’t bring the certainty an established veteran would, but he’ll provide a cheaper option that would allow the socks to spend money in other areas. Cheap utility player might be mind. So that is why if Chase fails to produce a solid average in the first half, that’s again why I go back to you want a willing and ready Antonachac. But I also see the logic that Williams pointed out like I’m not going to be like, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that Samanachi made the opening day roster in a utility role because again of what he can bring, but maybe you cover the utility spots with Murray and Brooks Baldwin or even Brian Ramos as he still does exist and he’s on the 40man roster in terms of what Murray can bring. Here’s what Anen Ankeny writes. Roughly 65% of Murray’s minor league experiences come at second and third base, but he’s played all over the diamond throughout his career. Just last season, he played at least 18 games at second base, shortstop, third base, left field, and right field for the AAA Durham Bulls. He’s also played first base and center field earlier in his career. Skipping ahead, Murray maintained a high batting average with little power early in his minor league career, but his 2025 season came with a notable statistical shift. He hit between 276 and 329 in his first four minor league seasons, but his average dropped to 240 in 2025 with the AAA Durham Bulls. However, Murray sacrificed part of his batting average for more power as he slugged a career-high 18 home runs in 137 games during the 2025 season. Murray more than doubled his previous career-high home run total of seven during the 2024 season while also increasing his walk and strikeout rate. And then he did add what uh GM Chris Gats thinks of Murray. quote, “Tanner Murray is a versatile infielder, versatile player, gets set on November 19th. He’s played a little bit of outfield as well. He can play shortstop at their base. He has some power. So to be able to acquire him and add him to the 40man roster is something that excites us as we look to bring in as many premium position versatile players as we can.” Tanner brings that to the table. So very excited to bring him on board aboard.” End quote. So if he can provide a good glove and some power off the bench, fine. I would prefer him in the utility role over say Ben Collins, which I still don’t get why he’s on the 40man roster. And my hope is that the White Sox still view Antinachi as a potential everyday player. Let’s go with that before trying to fit him into the utility role. And that’s why again, I’m fine with giving Chase MRO another runway. If he can prove he’s healthy, we’ve seen that he can hit 290. And if he can hit 290, then fine. But maybe we might want to see if Samanachi then can be like Murray and play him in the outfield. Maybe he can be an everyday outfielder with his bat ball skills, you know, um, ability. And I’m also fine with the White Sox wanting versatility, but he might be one of the three bats this club needs to provide a good bat to ball hit tool lineup. So, I just want him to get as much at bats as he can, whether it’s at double A or AAA to be ready if he does need to take over or again if there’s an injury. But Murray, I am fine if he’s the backup. Well, let’s get to your mailback questions and comments regarding Cory Lee in left field and your reactions to the White Sox possibly targeting Luis Rise and in free agency, and that’s coming up next. Welcome back to Lockdown White Sox. I’m your host, Todd Welter. Shout out to all the everyday. I appreciate your loyalty. Please hit the like button on today’s episode. Lockdown is rolling out the Everydayers Club which will feature a whole bunch of neat stuff like a Discord chat with me and fellow White Sox fans. Uh we’re going to have an ad free audio podcast and so much more. I’m still waiting for the final pricing for the subscription, but once I get that, I’ll let you know. But once it comes out, I really hope you’ll join. And again, we can interact on Discord and you can interact with fellow White Sox fans there as well. So, um add free audio, too. So, kind of a neat thing that’s coming down the pike. We’ll talk you off Tuesdays here or just plain old mailbag Tuesday. I’m going to get to it. Uh, as again, I want to give you guys a chance to have at least your voices read and give you guys a forum to be heard on this show because again, we’re all in this together as White Sox fans. And I got a few comments from yesterday’s show on Luis Our Rise that provides kind of mixed commentary. Some of you didn’t agree with my point and that’s fine. We can disagree. It’s okay. And we’re having a healthy conversation. in the YouTube community page and hopefully we can have healthy conversations. If you become an everydayer or if you join the everydayer club and on the discord chat, we can have that. But I do like uh the first comment that addresses, you know, Luis Arise. But most importantly, what about Corey Lee playing him left? And I would be on board for that. Uh this is from John Deetszman 6022. He put this in the comments on the YouTube page. uh on yesterday’s episode. I’ve got the uh comments up for those watching on YouTube. I would take Arise and never look back. How many times do we have men on second and third or the bases loaded and couldn’t get a hit? A rise will get clutch hits when we need them. Your dream of Okamoto is just that, a dream. We will never spend the money to get them. We’re dumpster digging for a diamond like Walker once top prospect and I don’t have any faith in that. Todd, I love your show. I look forward to it every day. How about Cory Lee at left field? He’s our He’s in our system and a high octane guy. Benit attendy is done. His Achilles is going to tr be keep troubling him. And I’d rather see a young guy out and left. Peace. Well, um, John, first of all, appreciate that, you know, the compliment that you love the show. Look forward to it every day. I really appreciate you being an everydayer. Um, I did say though, to be fair, I I did say Arise would actually provide value with runners in scoring position during yesterday’s show. So, I’m not disagreeing with you on that and I never said like it’s the end of the world, but the thing is he’s only going to provide value by hitting singles and hitting with runners in scoring position. That’s the only value he’s going to bring to the White Sox. That’s what I was bringing up. And I think you can get more. I think you can get a guy who can hit for power. I mean, again, these there these players exist that aren’t just one trick ponies. And yes, my dream for Okamoto I did bring up in the show when the White Sox were scouting him that he is kind of probably one of the reasons why they are, you know, sniffing around him is they could afford him since his projected cost would be in line to kind of what they gave Andrew Benendi. I mean, I’ve seen again the projections as low as 3 years 36 million and as high as 5 years 75 million possibly. You know, obviously if it went beyond that maybe 90 million. You’re right. You know, I just want to point that out that that’s probably why they’re, you know, sniffing around. Now, I would agree with you if you said it’s a dream because they never win free agent sweep stakes. That’s fair. But cost when it comes to at least my dream, I kind of will push back on that respectfully. Uh Cory Liam left though, let’s do it. If he’s gonna be on the opening day roster next season to give Will Venible that security blanket to have Kyle Teal and Edgar Carroll in the lineup together with one of them dhing one of them catching, let’s have Lee then do more than be a late inning third catcher, pitch hitter runners. You know, he can run. So yeah, why not have him at least be like the fifth outfielder? I’m I’m fine. Love the suggestion, man. I’m on board. All right. Uh Craig Al’s AL ALS uh 2003. He put uh this in the YouTube chat. Everyone loves how sexy home runs are, but damned if it doesn’t get boring sometimes watching a game just waiting on a home run. Bring some more of the small ball back. Doesn’t have to be another dead ball era. Just add a little more play. And that was in regards to a rise. And hey, I agree with you. I mean, because sometimes the home run floods don’t come. That’s why again you do needs to have some bat-ball skill guys, but you need to have those guys that can run the bases. And I know he responded because, you know, we kind of had a respectful back and forth. I know he responded that um when I pointed that out, you know, put Arise six or seventh. But again, if you’re talking about like small ball, bring small ball back. To me, I just I I always think back to that 2005 team when you had Scott Pod Sednik and Tatahitu Aguchi at the top of the order and Teemo Perez and Willie Harris coming off the bench. You need guys in them that can run the bases and Arise can’t run the bases. And also for small ball, guys that can even hit doubles every now and again like Tony Gwyn used to. Fine, sign me up if Arise could do that. But he isn’t very quick. And you basically then would have a Yasmani Grandal situation on the bases except no power. At least Grandondal provided power. That’s basically the situations then when you would need three base hits to get them home sometimes. That’s kind of what happened to Arise. And if you’re going to put them at six or seventh, then you got the guys lower in the order having to hit basically give you three hits. That might not give you the best chance to score runs. And remember, small ball is also meant to score runs just as much as the home runs. So, that’s kind of where I just respectfully disagree. All right. Uh, Chris Gatsky 9837. He disagrees fully with me. This is what he writes. I disagree fully. The White Sox should sign any real major league player. I’m sick of seeing fringe guys. Luis is an actual major league ball player. He has flaws, but he belongs in the majors. Unlike one of the guys who said the Socks have, Brooks Baldwin is a 4A player. He’s not a major leager. Well, the problem is, and again, Bez from ontapsportsnet.com said this on the show last week, the White Sox signed too many big leaguers that can only do like one thing. That’s the one thing though when you if you want to say, well, he’s a big leager. The White Sox need to sign more big leaguers. When the White Sox do signing guys, like even Nick Mton, for example, they’re still trying to see was there something there for that a guy that was once considered, you know, a highly touted prospect. Although I don’t think Mtown was a highly touted prospect, but some of like I know Andrew Andro Andre Lipius was once considered a a like at least a top 30 prospect. Those types of guys, they’re still kicking the tires on guys that might still have some upside, but when you look at for sure bigger big leaguers, the White Sox recently have been signing these one skill guys and Arise just hits singles. While nice thing to have, unless you have these guys with runners and scoring positions, hitting singles is the same as a walk. That’s what I’ve been trying to say. So, you want guys who can also do damage and also then run the bases in field. Basically, a whole array of skills. They do exist. And the White Socks keep not signing those guys because they keep going for these, you know, bargain bin scrappy free agents that have just one skill. It would be nice if they had more skills. Also, Brooks Baldwin and Arise, they play completely different positions. So, I’m not sure how him being a 4A player comes into play with Arise. And also, it’s still a small sample size. We don’t know if Brooks Baldwin is a 4A player. He’s played basically what a full season of at bats, maybe not even. He’s had a few tours, few cups of coffee. So, the juryy’s still out on that. That that I would kind of uh, you know, respectfully disagree. Less Bro 880. No point in bringing in anybody in FA to play first base unless they’re clear upgrade over the younger options they already have. Rise definitely isn’t. how good how good players like Sosa or Vargas or even say me could be. It’s not clear at this point. This is the time to find out. Arise would really just be in the way of that. Completely agree. And that is also my point. I’d rather see if Vargas can still get better or Sosa or me rather than take a chance on Louisa Rise being a good flippable assets at the trade deadline. You know, here’s the thing. Yes, he got a good return for the Marlins when they traded on the Padres’s. He got a big league arm and three top 30 prospects, but he came when they hit when you had club control and he was winning batting titles. He was 26. You know, if he doesn’t sign for two years and on a decent deal, then he’s nothing but a rental in the market and you’re not going to get that value. Also, he’s probably only valuable, you know, with his singles ability to the Padres’s, Tigers, Guardians, and Royals as those contenders prioritize bat to ball. But they also want defense running the bases. And also, I don’t think the White Sox will be trading within the division. And I’m not sure the White Sox get this trade return. Um, for example, M. Coacher 3918, he writes this. Who’s a better player, Rise or Vargas? Who who has more trade value by the deadline? I will take Arise all day. Well, first, I don’t think the White Sox would look to flip Vargas right now. Not until they at least get a better gauge on Caleb Bonamer and Billy Carlson’s timeline as you could then have Coulson move to third or first and Bonmer to go to the other spot Coulson doesn’t go to. But also, if you want to talk about basic hitting, yeah, when it comes to average on base, yes, Arise has advantage 292 to 327 last season or um 237 and on base percentage um well, no, I got it mixed up. Arise had a 292 average. Vargas had a 231 on base 327 316. Okay. Everything else though they’re both similar. Slug Vargas is better 401 to 392. OPS Arise 719 Vargas 717. WRC plus Arise 104 Vargas 101. You know the metric that measures the overall value as a hitter. Barrel percentage Vargas has the advantage at 9.3 to Arise is 1.1. But if you want to talk about overall value, actually Vargas was the better player in 2025 with a 1.3 F4 to a rises 0.9. And Vargas projects to have a 2.1 F4 next season compared to a rises 1.5. Well, that wraps up this edition of Lockdown White Sox. Thank you for making Lockdown White Sox your first listen every day. For your second listen, find Lockdown MLB podcast where there’s no offseason, solely keeps you up to date on contract negotiations, rumors, and everything you need to be the most informed MLB fan. to find Lockdown on MLB on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast, part of the Lockdown podcast network, your team every day. I’ll be back tomorrow with a wayback Wednesday segment and to discuss Jeff Pass and forecasting a 60% chance of Luis Robert Jr. being traded. You can leave comments about today’s episode on the YouTube page via email [email protected] on x4 Twitter at lockdown white totub. Have a great day and I will talk to you tomorrow.

Some observers think Adolis Garcia has emerged as the ideal free agent fit for the Chicago White Sox. Can Garcia’s power and defensive skills revitalize right field and deliver a valuable trade asset by the deadline?

While it would be great for the White Sox to sign superstars such as Kyle Schwarber or Pete Alonso, it is more realistic they sign Garcia. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand lists the White Sox being a perfect fit for the former two-time All-Star. Host Todd Welter explains why it makes sense.

He spotlights emerging prospects Sam Antonacci and Tanner Murray, debating their Opening Day roster potential. Listener mailbag questions and comments spark discussion on Korey Lee’s versatility—could he thrive in left field?—and Luis Arraez’s value as a clutch hitter versus Chicago’s need for dynamic, multi-skilled contributors.

0:00 – Garcia a Perfect Fit? Discussion on why Adolis García is considered the ideal free agent target for the White Sox, including analysis of his value, potential contract, fit with the roster, and risks surrounding his declining skills.

10:00 – Murray & Antonacci in 2026 Deep dive into recently acquired Tanner Murray and top prospect Sam Antonacci. Todd Welter breaks down their profiles, projected roles, and the White Sox’s ongoing search for infield solutions, focusing on second base utility and potential opening day roster fits.

19:55 – Mailbag: Lee in LF & Arraez Debate Listener mailbag segment covering opinions on Luis Arraez as a target, Corey Lee’s fit in left field, and broader White Sox roster construction debates. Includes direct read-outs of YouTube community comments and Todd Welter’s responses.

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