Sure, it\u2019s practically February, but the White Sox promised to be players in free agency.<\/p>\n
All it took was getting Luis Robert Jr\u2019s $20 million salary off the books for the front office to suddenly get \u2018very active<\/a>\u2019 at exploring roster upgrades.<\/p>\n Of course, needing to dump Robert\u2019s salary just to have operating income to acquire talent has led to a new round of criticism toward the franchise. Much of the criticism challenges the notion that aggressive teams like the Dodgers are the \u201cdownfall\u201d of baseball when teams like the White Sox need to give away salaried players just to attempt to be competitive for the coming season.<\/p>\n It is hard to avoid getting frustrated with the team\u2019s frugal ways, considering roster upgrades still could have been made even with Robert\u2019s bloated salary included in the payroll. The club had $87 million committed to the roster per FanGraphs\u2019 RosterResource<\/a> before Robert was traded<\/a> to the New York Mets.<\/p>\n However, we must stop getting upset over or surprised by owner Jerry Reinsdorf\u2019s failure to reallocate revenue into player payroll. It is what it is. The hope is that this current group of talented young players, along with the promising prospects on the way, will allow the franchise to succeed despite the frugal owner.<\/p>\n It has happened before (although the owner eventually finds a way to ruin everything).<\/p>\n At least, Getz immediately reinvested Robert\u2019s salary by signing reliever Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez to a two-year, $20 million contract.<\/a> He is going to be counted on to be the team\u2019s closer, even though he has sporadic experience in that area. At the very least, he is a solid, high-leverage reliever. The bullpen desperately needed an upgrade in that area.<\/p>\n This club could still use a veteran outfielder to provide some cover in case Luisangel Acu\u00f1a or Brooks Baldwin fail to take off with the runway they will be given. A left-handed bat off the bench would be nice to have. Another starting pitcher would be a welcome addition. That would allow the recently-signed veteran Sean Newcomb to be moved to the bullpen, where he has been more effective.<\/p>\n If another innings-eater is not added, then adding another high-leverage left-handed reliever must be a priority. I am not sure I trust Tyler Gilbert or Brandon Eisert to get outs in tight situations, considering they were not very good at it in 2025.<\/p>\n The prevalent thinking is that the White Sox should not shun the idea of acquiring any talent because of the team\u2019s three-straight 100-loss seasons.<\/p>\n That was true when it came to last offseason. The club was coming off the worst season in the 162-game era. When you only win 41 games, any player available was better than what the team had.<\/p>\n Things changed last season when a young, talented core of players emerged in the process of losing \u201conly\u201d 102 games. The franchise now has young talent. It just needs that core to continue to ascend while mixing in additional prospects who are showing promise in the minors. While those prospects are still marinating, effective veterans to bridge the gap must be added (although it seems like the general manager prefers discarded talent that was once highly thought of).<\/p>\n I am actually fine with Getz sticking to his plan of finding former highly-regarded prospects who have not panned out yet due to a lack of consistent playing time. It cannot hurt to search for the next Brent Rooker.<\/p>\n If one does not exist, then Getz should be pursuing veterans where there is a good chance of still squeezing out the last good ounces of baseball<\/a> those players have left.<\/p>\n Getz must also avoid upsetting a clubhouse that is building tremendous chemistry.<\/p>\n All that considered, there are three moves he must avoid making before Spring Training kicks off.<\/p>\n Do not trade for Nick Castellanos The Phillies will likely still try to trade Castellanos<\/a>, even after failing to acquire Bichette. They added Adolis Garc\u00eda in the offseason. The relationship between Castellanos and the organization is strained. Castellanos was benched for a game because of a tirade he had toward manager Rob Thomson over getting pulled for defensive purposes. The relationship continued to deteriorate from there.<\/p>\n The logic behind the White Sox adding Castellanos is that they have the payroll flexibility, so long as the Phillies eat a significant chunk of his $20 million salary. Chicago could use a veteran corner outfielder, and the cost to acquire him will likely be a lowly-regarded prospect.<\/p>\n However, the White Sox must avoid considering adding the combustible and declining veteran. Nightengale pointed out that any team that acquires him must be ready to play him every day, or there will be problems: \u201cIf you bring Castellanos in, you\u2019d better play him every day, or he is going to be upset and could cause you a disturbance in the clubhouse, which is what would happen in Philadelphia.\u201d<\/p>\n Castellanos\u2019 production decline no longer makes him an everyday player, at least not in the field. He is terrible defensively, with a career -90 defensive runs saved in right and -77 outs above average per FanGraphs<\/a>. The White Sox already have one terrible defensive corner outfielder in Andrew Benintendi. They should not be adding another.<\/p>\n The Pale Hose also must keep the DH spot as flexible as possible to make sure young players such as Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, and Lenyn Sosa get regular at-bats.<\/p>\n That means no regular playing time for Castellanos, and opens up a clubhouse cancer to wreak havoc. This young, impressionable roster cannot afford to be exposed to Castellanos\u2019 temper tantrums over a lack of playing time. They need a solid, steady veteran to show the kids how to go about the business, not someone who pouts when he is asked to take a reduced role.<\/p>\n Speaking of younger players, Baldwin provided very similar production last season:<\/p>\n I would rather give Baldwin a runway to see if he can reach the Ben Zobrist ceiling that the front office believes he has, rather than seeing if Castellanos bounces back.<\/p>\n Signing Michael Conforto over Harrison Bader Baldwin appears slated to be the starting right fielder, with Everson Pereira in reserve. Then you\u2019ve still got Benintendi\u2019s atrocious defense in left.<\/p>\n If Derek Hill or Jarred Kelenic make the roster out of Spring Training, they can at least replace Benintendi late in the game for defensive purposes. That will still leave Baldwin or Acu\u00f1a needing to play late as they still adjust to tracking fly balls.<\/p>\n That makes me incredibly uncomfortable, along with only having Benintendi as the only true veteran.<\/p>\n That is why adding another proven veteran to the outfield is a must. Signing Harrison Bader to a short-term contract would have been the ideal solution. It would have lessened the sting of losing Robert\u2019s elite defense. He would still provide that glove to rob some doubles and singles as LRJ did. Also, Bader would have provided a huge upgrade over \u201cLouie\u201d Robert at the plate against right-handed pitching.<\/p>\n The problem with adding Bader is that he could get in the way of the front office wanting to give Acu\u00f1a that runway it so desperately wants to provide. And cost \u2014 Bader signed virtually the same deal as Dom\u00ednguez, getting two years and $20.5 million from the Giants on Monday \u2014 would have been another issue.<\/p>\n
There is no official rumor linking the White Sox to Castellanos. Two brothers in the White Sox content world have floated the idea. It was based on USA Today\u2019s Bob Nightengale\u2019s suggestion that the Philadelphia Phillies would have to dump Castellanos\u2019 salary to sign Bo Bichette.<\/p>\n
It appears the plan for the outfield is to give Acu\u00f1a a runway to prove he can still live up to his highly-regarded prospect status in center field. The Mets at least made sure he got some reps there in the minors, so here is hoping the conversion to the outfield goes better than it did for Andrew Vaughn or Gavin Sheets.<\/p>\n