At this point in free agency, there are plenty of players still available. The White Sox roster is not done being constructed for the 2024 season and beyond, so there is a chance that a few more players are added to the roster. There are some nice fits still out there for the White Sox, but there are also a few players that they need to avoid. Here are three players that the White Sox should avoid as the off season continues.
Evan Longoria
While Longoria could add a nice veteran presence to the locker room, there is no need to spend the limited resources on a player for a good locker room guy. Perhaps if this were 10 years ago, but at this point Longoria is not the player he once was.
He was a positive WAR player last year, but at this point in his career, he can easily be negative next year due to his age, as he is 38 years old. The White Sox reasoning for signing him would be insurance for a Yoan Moncada injury, but the White Sox need to see what some of their younger guys can do instead of aging veterans.
Last year Longoria hit .223 with 11 homeruns and 28 RBIs. This was done over 211 at-bats, so he did not have a full season’s worth of at-bats for a variety of reasons. His OBP of .295 is not something the White Sox need, so let’s hope that they stay away from him this off-season.
I would like to see younger players like Bryan Ramos get the opportunity to play at third if Moncada misses time, as it is more advantageous for the White Sox to go that route. They don’t benefit from a 38 year old Longoria taking at-bats.
Michael Brantley
This would be the most White Sox signing of all time. A player that has consistently been linked to the White Sox over his past few free agency stints, it would make sense that they would try to sign him at this point.
At this point, the White Sox need to steer clear. Brantley is 36 but will turn 37 early into the 2024 season. This is the type of player they need to avoid, as they should not be signing 35 year old plus free agents, regardless of the cheaper price tag.
Last year Brantley only had 54 at-bats, as he struggled to stay healthy. At this point, he is likely more of a DH than right fielder, so this would make even less sense if the White Sox were interested in signing him. Maybe when he was a free agent a few years ago and the White Sox were looking to compete, but not now.
Adam Frazier
This one is a bit more tricky. Frazier is the youngest out of the three mentioned here, but he still wouldn’t serve a purpose on the Sox. He is a better hitter than both Paul DeJong and Nicky Lopez but he is a significantly worse fielder.
The White Sox have Colson Montgomery likely making an appearance in 2024 at some point, and they also traded for Braden Shewmake from Atlanta, so it is better for the organization that those two players get at-bats, as they are younger players that could contribute in the future for the White Sox.
If the Sox did not trade for Lopez or sign DeJong, this might have been a decent signing, but after these moves, that doesn’t make much sense.
If the Sox did not trade for Lopez or sign DeJong, this might have been a decent signing, but after these moves, that doesn’t make much sense.