White Sox GM Rick Hahn knows that fans don’t give a shit about anything anyone from the front office has to say. At the same time, every single GM is down in Arizona right now at the GM meetings so of course they’re talking to the media. You’re mostly going to hear general goals for the offseason, needs a team would like to address, but fans will rarely hear their front office publicly talk about players by name.
So, fans are left trying to decode the BS and find what really matters.
That brings me to this week’s highly-publicized rumor from The Athletic’s Jim Bowden, who said that after speaking to all 30 MLB teams he determined what their offseason plans could be. For the White Sox, Bowden specifically said that you shouldn’t be surprised if they go after free agent third baseman Anthony Rendon because the White Sox might have the idea of moving Yoán Moncada from third base.
Again, if Jim Bowden says it, it’s probably not happening.
Of course Hahn wasn’t going to come out and directly say the White Sox aren’t going to pursue Rendon. They’ll at least make a few calls, but it’s pretty clear that the White Sox don’t intend on moving Moncada from third base.
Obviously the White Sox won’t rule anything out this offseason (they don’t have that choice), but White Sox beat reporter James Fegan definitely read between the lines from Hahn’s comments and what it means for a possible Rendon pursuit.
Via The Athletic.
If pushed there, Yoán Moncada could probably do both, but Hahn’s recommendation not to spend too much time focusing on the possibility of Moncada moving off third base was reminiscent of his efforts to try to politely push back on speculation of Matt Davidson as a two-way player before he was non-tendered at the end of last November. It wasn’t stated with rock-solid certainty to guarantee Anthony Rendon will never set foot in a White Sox locker room, but it indicates it’s not a line of thinking they’re weighing heavily.
As a White Sox fan, you might say, fine, don’t move Moncada, just sign Rendon and play him at second base.
Sure, Rendon has started 165 games at second during his MLB career, but half of those starts came in his rookie season back in 2013. More importantly, why would you want to move Rendon from third base, considering he’s the second-highest rated defender at the position since 2016 and ranks fifth among all third baseman in defensive runs saved in the past three years.
So, the goal isn’t to move Moncada from third base and moving Rendon doesn’t make sense either. Hahn’s staying quiet this offseason, which doesn’t mean the White Sox will be silent in free agency, but Anthony Rendon?
Sorry, Jim Bowden, but that would be very surprising.
