I’m not surprised. You shouldn’t be surprised. The White Sox are withdrawing from pursuing the last white wale on the free agent market, Bryce Harper.
The Chicago #WhiteSox, who are out of the Bryce Harper sweepstakes, still plan to make some smaller improvements to team after Manny Machado chose the #Padres. Versatile infielders Marwin Gonzalez and Josh Harrison, along with starter Gio Gonzalez, still on the free-agent board.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 20, 2019
After Manny Machado dismissed the White Sox offer yesterday, today was supposed to be better. Wasn’t it? Well, snuff those dreams out, my friends. We’ve entered a new level of nightmarish ignorance.
An honest examination of whether Harper fit into the White Sox roster is desperately needed to understand this decision. Harper was always a longshot for the Sox, and that’s why Machado choosing the Padres was such a kick in the pants. With a slew of outfield prospects maturing to the big leagues very soon, chasing Harper for an exorbitant amount of money made little sense.
I don’t blame them for throwing in the towel. It is a good move. The other half of that report by Bob Nightengale is their affection for players like Marwin Gonzalez, Josh Harrison and Gio Gonzalez.
The latter Gonzalez is most appealing to me. He is familiar to the organization and provides a southpaw presence that balances out the rotation. He’s also a veteran that can provide leadership to a young staff and can be snagged with an affordable offer — at least that’s what most of us tend to believe.
Besides the pitching staff, signing an infielder seems important. The other Gonzalez along with Harrison would check these boxes. I’d put Gonzalez over top of Harrison given his playoff experience. His 2017-season was a statistical outlier where he batted .303 with a .530 slugging percentage and .903 OPS, figures he hasn’t sniffed at any point in his career. At 29 years old he will search for a multi-year deal, but the White Sox shouldn’t go too far in their offer if they decide to engage with Gonzalez. I could see a two-year deal as the floor and four years as the limit on a contract with Gonzalez.
As for Harrison? I don’t know. I’m still stewing over whiffing on Machado to give it any real thought.
