The 2020 White Sox were one of the more fun teams in recent memory, but they still showed they’re a few pieces away. Right field is the most glaring hole in an otherwise dominant lineup. They tried to tap into Nomar Mazara’s potential and failed, so they need to go out and find a legitimate option to hold down the corner for the foreseeable future. They could find their guy via Free Agency or a trade.
1. George Springer
Springer and the rest of the Astros have gotten A LOT of hate recently due to their sign stealing scandal, and rightfully so. Many members of that team saw themselves have horrible numbers in 2020 (see Jose Altuve), but not Springer. He still batted .265/.359/.540. Good for a 146 wRC+ (compared to Mazara’s 68 wRC+), and had a .899 OPS. It’s not crazy to think that with everything the Astros have gone through within the last year that he might want to get out of there. One snag is that the White Sox lineup is already littered with right-handed hitters, so they might be looking for some left-handed balance. Springer is also already 31, so the front office might not feel comfortable giving him what would almost definitely be the biggest contract in the history of the franchise only to see his numbers drop in a couple years with age. But if the Sox want to go with a younger left-handed bat, there’s a name that’s available.
2. Joc Pederson
It seems like Pederson has been linked to the White Sox for the last 4 years. He’s an unrestricted free-agent this off-season, so he’s free to sign with any team. On paper, Pederson is exactly what the Sox are looking for. He’s young (28, will turn 29 in April), athletic, and is a left-handed bat. Now, his numbers this year were, well, horrible. But in a 60 game regular season, players that got off to slow starts didn’t have the time to dig themselves out. Numbers don’t lie, and Pederson had a wRC+ of 100 or higher in every season from 2015-2019. He also walks at a good clip at 12.1% for his career, which is another factor the Sox are desperately missing. Now that the Sox can go out and freely sign him, it almost makes too much sense that we’ll be seeing Joc as the White Sox starting right fielder in 2021.
3. Michael Brantley
Michael Brantley will turn 34 next season, but the guy still possesses a phenomenal bat. This season he slashed .300/.364/.476 with a wRC+ of 134. He’s a left-handed bat but at this point in his career is not the greatest outfielder. His power also dipped a bit this year to the tune of 5 home runs in 46 games played. He walked at a 9% clip and only struck out 15% of the time, so you can trust him to make a good amount of contact. However, at the end of the day I think his age and declining power are enough for the White Sox to look in another direction.
Trade Scenario
Sometimes teams address needs via trade so they have more money to fill other holes. This is a potential scenario for the White Sox. One name they could trade for that makes a lot of sense is Mets OF Brandon Nimmo. His career on-base percentage of .390 is exactly what the Sox could use. He’s also a left-handed bat with a decent power stroke that could translate to 20-25 home runs a year if he played half of his games at Guaranteed Rate Field. He does strike out a lot (career 25%) but as long as he is still taking his walks, that’s okay. As far as who would be on the move, the White Sox might have to bite the bullet and center a package around Dylan Cease. That would only work if the front office adds pitching to the tune of a Trevor Bauer or Marcus Stroman. I still believe Cease has some of the nastiest stuff in baseball though and it would be unwise to deal him at such a young age with not a lot of big-league experience. But trade scenarios like this one are at least worth discussing.
Prediction
The Nomar Mazara experience is done, that I can almost certainly guarantee. The Sox will have options to fix right field both via free agency and a trade. At the end of the day, I think Joc Pederson is the guy the Sox bring in. He checks every box and won’t be ridiculously expensive. The Sox can keep their trade pieces for a deadline deal if they’re a piece or 2 away, and the right field position gets a much needed upgrade.
