In what has become a bit of a surprise, AJ Pollock will not be back on the South Side next season.
According to Buster Olney, AJ Pollock has opted out of his contract for the upcoming season. Pollock originally joined the White Sox on April 1st as part of the Craig Kimbrel trade with the Dodgers and will now become an unrestricted free agent.
Pollock originally had a $10 million player option for the 2023 season with a $5 million buyout. This past year, his deal had $1 million escalators for a given number of plate appearances, and based on Pollock’s 489 plate appearances, he earned an additional $3 million to bring his 2023 contract to $13 million. However, Pollock has opted to take his $5M and look for more on the open market elsewhere.
The 34-year-old had an underwhelming season on the South Side, hitting .245/.292/.389 (120-for-489) with 14 home runs, 56 RBI, 92 wRC+, 0.5 fWAR. Like the rest of the team, Pollock dealt with a couple of injuries but nothing significant enough that can be attributed to his down year.
Had Pollock returned in 2023, he likely would’ve returned to the team as a platoon partner who can hit against left-handed pitchers and play corner outfield positions when the situation allows. The White Sox will now instead look for someone who can really fill the position long-term and will have an extra $8M financially to do it with.
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AJ must have hated his stay with the White Sox last season. He also might not have liked hearing the reports about him becoming a part time player in 2023 had he stayed.
Ironically, I recall Joc Pederson turning down a bigger FA contract from the White Sox two years ago because the Cubs offered him a full time gig in their outfield. Some pundits/sites suggest that Pederson might be a strong option for the 2023 White Sox which could have the net effect of him replacing Pollock.
Wow! Christmas comes early for the White Sox this year. Hopefully Jerry will allow Rick to spend the unexpected extra $8M savings on roster upgrades this offseason.
What a relief. Nothing against AJ. Seems like good guy and a decent player. But he was, frankly, a huge disappointment most of the season. He got injured early (not his fault) but then went through a horrific slump when the team desperately needed somebody to pick up the offense. He was not particularly disciplined at the plate, was behind in the count 0-1, 0-2 way too often, and did not exactly sparkle defensively. Also, he just never seemed to bring any energy, almost like he wasn’t that excited about being in a Sox uniform for some reason. At any rate, wish him luck in the future. But Sox fans should be happy. Now management just needs to use some of that money they saved to find a better player.
I guess this means we can **finally** make a move for an everyday lefty bat that can actually play RF, get on base, and hit a few HRs here or there–something we should have sought last year…or 2021…or 2020. There’s a few out there. I’d love to see it be Nimmo. Or Benintendi, even if he lacks pop. But we will probably just take a flyer on Conforto or keep hoping Sheets turns into something he’s not.
Well going into 2023 with the same issues in the outfield and at second base so are we going to tap into our minor league players to fill it or spend some money
This is good news.
So Hahn, Williams, Reinsdorf get nothing for the Kimbrel trade when it’s all said and done. They are the gang that can’t shoot straight.
Now we need an outfielder and a second baseman.