Rick Hahn and others addressed the media at this week’s GM Meetings as the rumors have begun to fly. Here’s the latest…
White Sox Name Scott Coolbaugh as Assistant Hitting Coach
After hiring Frank Menechino as the team’s next hitting coach last month, the organization announced another addition to the coaching staff. Scott Coolbaugh has been named as the club’s assistant hitting coach, replacing Greg Sparks. Last season, Coolbaugh was the hitting coach for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City. He also was the hitting coach for the Baltimore Orioles from 2015-2018.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) November 12, 2019
Latest on Jose Abreu and Contract Talks
Jose Abreu is yet to make a decision on his $17.8 million qualifying offer. Should he opt to decline, it is believed by many insiders that the team is working on a long-term deal to keep the veteran on the South Side for a few more seasons.
The White Sox and Jose Abreu have discussed a long-term deal. Abreu, 32, is facing a tough market for aging first basemen — and has a qualifying offer attached to him. Teams already are loath to go in big at that age and position. The QO could make it even tougher.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 8, 2019
White Sox continue to talk about a multiyear with Jose Abreu. Undetermined whether he’ll takes the $$17.8M qualifying offer. But either way talks for a longer deal could still continue. Best guess would be 3 years.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 13, 2019
The Marlins are said to like Jose Abreu very much. However, the loss of a draft pick that would come with an Abreu signing is a big consideration for a team like the Marlins. Easier to see Abreu winding up back with the White Sox.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 13, 2019
As for Rick Hahn, he is playing the waiting game along with the rest of us to see which path the first baseman decides to go down. He had this to say today:
Nothing new on Abreu at this point from Hahn: “he’s got a decision to make tomorrow”
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) November 13, 2019
Rick Hahn Addresses the Media at GM Meetings – Tuesday
Speaking of Rick Hahn, the White Sox GM addressed the media yesterday. Here’s his top quotes and talking points:
Hahn on Moncada’s position: “we’re not looking to move him again,” but said he’s athletic enough to handle multiple positions if they needed him to
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) November 12, 2019
Hahn said Michael Kopech is going into the offseason as a healthy player, but did not want to anoint him as a member of the 2020 White Sox rotation just yet, citing his long layoff since last facing big league hitters. Spring training will be an important for him.
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) November 12, 2019
Rick Hahn, to reporters at the GM Meetings today: “In the end it’s kind of my experience people aren’t too interested, maybe outside this room, people aren’t too interested in hearing about the labor. They want to see the baby.”
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) November 12, 2019
More Hahn at the GM Meetings: “If we wind up converting on any of these potential free agent targets or via trade then we will happily go into great detail about how it came to be. Until we have a closed deal to talk about, not too much to say along those lines.”
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) November 12, 2019
White Sox GM playing things close to vest re free agents at GM meetings pic.twitter.com/dGnsjltVqc
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) November 12, 2019
White Sox GM playing things close to vest re free agents at GM meetings pic.twitter.com/TkMs4WWixx
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) November 12, 2019
“We’ve won the offseason before,” Hahn said. “You know, we we’ve taken home the offseason championship belt a few times. So it really doesn’t do a whole lot of good if those guys don’t perform in July.”
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) November 12, 2019
“If it turns out once Carlos is healthy or how Michael shows up in spring training that, lo and behold, we have too many quality starters, we’ll deal with that problem as it arises.”
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) November 13, 2019
Scott Boras Comments on South Side as Landing Spot for Top Free Agents
Scott Boras had some interesting comments regarding the South Side of Chicago that should give fans some hope this offseason.
Boras on if Sox are a free-agent destination: “They have a lot of great young talent. It’s a great city. Certainly players look at the White Sox in a very different way than they did two years ago, no question.”
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) November 13, 2019
Boras on Sox: “Well certainly the White Sox need veteran players, because they have such great young players, and you’re trying to create that mix all the time. So I readily foresee there’s a lot of fits that could go in there and really advance what they’ve built to date.”
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) November 13, 2019
Rick Hahn Addresses the Media – Wednesday Edition
Rick Hahn said it’s fair to expect Andrew Vaughn to move as quickly as Nick Madrigal did. Madrigal started this season at High-A and finished in Triple-A.
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) November 13, 2019
Hahn sounded more hesitant about trading significant assets for a player with one year of control left, even with the White Sox having room in their budget for extensions. He said teams agreeing to exclusive windows to negotiate pre-trade extensions are rare these days
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) November 13, 2019
“If you’re talking about a guy on one-year basis, we’re not to that point yet, and if we do get to that point, that’s going to be a tough trigger to pull because we’re trying to build something sustainable for extended period of time. Quick hits don’t necessarily do that.” (2/2)
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) November 13, 2019
Rick Hahn, asked what’s going to happen re: Jose Abreu and the qualifying offer by tomorrow’s deadline: “I don’t know. It’s kind of unknown. We’ve had some dialogue over the course of the last several days. And he’s got a choice to make tomorrow, and we’ll see what happens.”
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) November 13, 2019
Hahn on C: “One more yr of control on (McCann), so until potentially come to agreement, hard to say that’s a long-term answer. Between Collins, Zavala, Mercedes, might be able to piece together pretty solid corps.
“But always looking for ways to potentially improve that group.”
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) November 13, 2019
Lucas Giolito Finished Seventh in Cy Young Voting
Justin Verlander edged out (future White Sox?) Gerrit Cole to take home the 2019 American League Cy Young Award. White Sox ace Lucas Giolito finished seventh in the voting after an incredible comeback season. Click here for the full details on this year’s voting.
Eloy Jimenez Finishes Fourth in Rookie of Year Voting
In case you missed it, Yordan Alvarez was named the American League Rookie of the Year. The South Side’s Eloy Jimenez finished fourth in the voting after slashing .267/.315/.513 with 31 home runs and 79 RBIs.
4th in the voting, but Rookie of the Year to us. Who is excited for more Eloy Jiménez in 2020?! pic.twitter.com/AWGfDXwGlL
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) November 12, 2019
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Featured Photo: White Sox/Twitter
Aside from some significant free agent signings, I’m feeling that Rick Hahn will orchestrate a blockbuster trade this offseason.
One possibility that makes sense would be a rare intradivision trade with the Indians. Cleveland is likely to trade SS Francisco Lindor this offseason or next. Lindor has two more seasons of expensive arbitration control before hitting FA in 2022. This very site is projecting Lindor to receive $16.7MM for the 2020 season. (mlbtraderumors.com/2019/10/mlb-arbitration-salarie…). He will likely top $20MM in 2021. Lindor turns 26 on Thursday, November 14th. The White Sox have a 26-year old shortstop of their own in Tim Anderson who is in the midst of a very team friendly 6 yrs/$25M (17-22) & that also includes two affordable team options (23-24). Lindor is a switch-hitter and arguably the best all-around SS in MLB. Anderson is fresh off of a 2019 AL batting crown and is under cheap control for 5 more seasons.
In my mind a trade just involving these two would be a reasonably fair exchange. I’m also guessing that the Indians might get another team to pay even more for Lindor which leads me to the blockbuster element. The White Sox add top 1B prospect Andrew Vaughn to the package while the Indians counter by sending veteran 1B Carlos Santana back to Chicago. Vaughn is rated the #21 prospect in mlb.com’s top-100 list and figures to make his big league debut in 2021. Santana is 33-years old and will earn $20,833,334 in 2020, the final year of a 3 yrs/$60MM contract. Santana’s contract also comes with a $17.5MM team option for the 2021 season. Santana would join likely returning FA Jose Abreu as the White Sox primary 1B/DH tandem in 2020, similar to what occurred last year when Abreu shared those same positions with another acquisition from the Indians, Manny Machado BFF Yonder Alonso. (ouch!)
The White Sox would acquire two prolific switch-hitters in Lindor and Santana, each with 2 years of expensive team control which Chicago can easily accommodate. They would join 5-tool switch-hitting 3B Yoan Moncada in the White Sox batting order. Those 3 bats would balance out a White Sox lineup that currently leans heavily right-handed. I also had the White Sox signing switch-hitting free agent C Yasmani Grandal this offseason. He would be the icing on Chicago’s big batter cake beginning in 2020. Meanwhile, Cleveland would receive a similarly aged athletic SS in Anderson who possesses an electric bat and lightning speed on the bases along with the top 1B prospect in all of MLB who should be ready for prime time in 2021. The financially limited Indians would also assume the last 5 years of a young veteran’s cheap team contract along with all the pre and arbitration eligible control of a top prospect. In order to make all of this more feasible to the White Sox, they would then offer Lindor a contract extension similar to or better than the 8yrs./$250MM one they submitted to Manny Machado last offseason in order for him to forego free agency in two years.
The other potentially significant trade I had in mind would involve the Dodgers. LA has a surplus of left-handed hitting OF’s who can each play CF and RF in Cody Bellinger, Alex Verdugo and Joc Pederson. Bellinger is going nowhere with the exception of a permanent home as the Dodgers CF or RF, especially if they are successful in acquiring one of their two targeted free agent third basemen this winter in Anthony Rendon or Josh Donaldson (mlbtraderumors.com/los-angeles-dodgers). This would enable them to move incumbent 3B Justin Turner to 1B and keep Bellinger in the outfield along with AJ Pollock and one of Verdugo or Pederson.
My preference would be for the White Sox to land Verdugo who is the better all-around hitter and fielder, one who also possesses a cannon arm. He is still just 23-years old and has 5 more years of team control. Verdugo won’t be arb-eligible until 2022 and a FA until 2025. He would fill the RF black-hole for the White Sox as they transition from rebuilders to contenders. Of course, he would be far more costly in terms of assets going back to the Dodgers compared to Pederson who is 27 and only has one more season of arb-eligibility remaining in 2020 before hitting free agency next winter. Pederson does possess more raw power but is prone to striking out and has yet to demonstrate an ability to hit lefty pitching with any consistency. Pederson could probably be had for a package of mid-level prospects and maybe a bullpen arm while Verdugo would require a top White Sox prospect, perhaps a centerpiece like Vaughn who could replace soon to be 35-year old Turner at 1B in a year or two.