Some updates on the White Sox roster

Tim Anderson

The Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, which means the 2022-23 offseason can finally begin.

Let's go over some of the roster moves the White Sox have made thus far.

Shortstop Tim Anderson, who is coming off an injury-plagued season, had his $12.5 million contract option exercised.

However, it looks like his double play partner will be someone new. The Sox declined a $5.5 million club option on second baseman Josh Harrison, instead opting to pay him a $1.5 million buyout for a savings of $4 million.

The Sox cleared additional space on their 40-man roster by outrighting relief pitcher Kyle Crick and outfielder Adam Haseley. Look for those two players to have their jerseys on the clearance rack at the garage sale if the Sox ever host a SoxFest again.

First baseman Jose Abreu, shortstop Elvis Andrus, and pitchers Johnny Cueto and Vince Velasquez have elected free agency.

That leaves the Sox roster at 35 players, although they will have to reinstate infielder Danny Mendick and pitchers Garrett Crochet and Jonathan Stiever from the 60-day disabled list at some point. That would take the roster to 38 players, so there's still room.

The most notable of these moves is the decision to cut ties with Harrison, who played 119 games and batted .256/.317/.370 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs in 2022. The veteran basically met expectations. Maybe Harrison wasn't part of the solution, but he wasn't a problem either. He essentially earned his salary.

Had the Sox picked up that option, they probably could have gotten similar production next season. But perhaps they are looking to cut costs, figuring they can get the same numbers for less money from other internal options. Those options include Mendick, Romy Gonzalez and ... gulp ... Leury Garcia.

OK, actually Garcia makes $5.5 million, so he's making the same money as Harrison would have. But the two are somewhat redundant on the roster, so it makes little sense to carry them both.

Perhaps the Sox intend to fill second base via trade, since the free agent market at the position is thin. We'll find out in the coming months.

3 good changes Miguel Cairo has made to the White Sox lineup

Miguel Cairo

The White Sox are 13-6 since Miguel Cairo took over as acting manager on Aug. 30. Tony La Russa remains sidelined while dealing with a heart problem, and while I wish La Russa all the best with his health, there's no getting around the fact that the Sox have played much better baseball under Cairo's direction.

That said, the Sox remain in dire straits in the AL Central Division race. Their hot streak has coincided with a hot streak by the Cleveland Guardians, who have won 12 of their past 15 games.

The Guardians (80-67) come to Chicago for a three-game series that starts Tuesday night, and they own a four-game division lead over the Sox (76-71) with 15 games left in the season. 

Yes, it feels like a must-sweep for the Sox, especially since the Guardians own a 9-7 edge in the season series, and they will secure the division tiebreaker with just one more win over Chicago.

That means any Sox loss to Cleveland, in effect, is like losing two games in the standings.

As Sox fans, the only comfort we can take is that team is playing as well as it's played all season right now, and focusing on some positives, here are three things Cairo has done with the batting order that have really helped:

1. He made Eloy Jimenez the full-time DH. Jimenez remains a prodigious offensive talent, and he's a destructive force in the middle of the lineup when he's healthy. The problem is he's rarely healthy, and many of his injuries have occurred during his misadventures in left field.

What's the answer to this problem? Get Jimenez the hell out of left field, where he's a hazard to himself and everyone out there. Yes, birds too. Cairo has done just that. Jimenez has started 18 games at DH and zero games in the outfield since Cairo took over the team.

In those games, Jimenez is batting .348 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs. That is excellent production. Jimenez's job is to hit, and he's getting it done right now.

There's always the chance Jimenez will hurt one of his balky hamstrings when running the bases, but keeping him out of the outfield maximizes his chances of staying in the lineup. When he's in the lineup, he hits.

2. Yasmani Grandal does not DH anymore. Putting Jimenez in the lineup as the DH means that Grandal cannot DH anymore. ... Praise Jesus!

We've heard Sox GM Rick Hahn talk a lot this year about expecting players to "play to the back of the baseball card" over a 162-game schedule. Well, anyone who is watching Grandal's at-bats knows that he's not going to finish anywhere near his career norms this season.

He's batting .202/.305/.274 with only five homers and 26 RBIs. Inexplicably, La Russa started him as the DH 24 times this season, even though those offensive statistics are terrible.

Sure, Grandal was a dangerous hitter the second half of 2021 -- he hit 23 home runs last season, which is terrific production for a catcher. However, injuries have taken their toll on Grandal in his age-33 season. His swing has been all upper body all season. His legs aren't helping him, and his power is gone. In other words, his bat is a minus, and if he's not catching, he's not helping.

As a matter of fact, Grandal's defense has suffered this season, too. He's a -1.2 WAR player, and Seby Zavala, an average defensive catcher, is arguably a better option behind the plate at this point. But kudos to Cairo for not trying to force-fit Grandal's struggling bat into the lineup at the expense of the team.

3. Leury Garcia is stapled to the bench. It truly boggles the mind that La Russa found a way to pencil Garcia into the starting lineup 71 times in the first 128 games of the season.

Under Cairo, Garcia has started only five times in 19 games, and he's started only once since Sept. 4. In other words, Garcia has been picking splinters out of his ass ever since Yoan Moncada came off the injured list.

You might say, "But Garcia had to play because of all the injuries!" To which I reply, "You know damn well that Garcia would be playing second base right now if La Russa were managing the team."

Cairo has wisely alternated between Josh Harrison and Romy Gonzalez at second base -- both of those two players have simply outperformed Garcia, who is batting .211/.234/.268 for the season and is a -1.0 WAR player. Garcia's OPS+ is 42, which means he is performing 58% below league average.

Garcia is another one who simply isn't going to perform to "the back of his baseball card" this year. He's rightfully taken a seat as the Sox fight to stay relevant in the AL Central.

Dylan Cease vs. Justin Verlander: No-decisions for both

Dylan Cease

The top two contenders for the American League Cy Young Award squared off Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, and ... neither one of them got a decision.

Dylan Cease and Justin Verlander both gave up three earned runs, and although Verlander pitched deeper in the game that Cease, the White Sox bullpen was better than the Houston Astros bullpen, as the Sox rallied for a 4-3 victory.

For the Sox, it is their fifth straight win, and it brings them within one game of the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central heading into Wednesday's play.

Final line on Cease: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 Ks, 3 BBs.

His season ERA is 2.09. His record remains 12-5.

Final line on Verlander: 7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 Ks, 1 BB

His season ERA is 1.95. His record remains 15-3.

You have to believe Verlander is the front-runner for the Cy Young at this point. The 39-year-old has better numbers than the 26-year-old Cease at this time. And Verlander has the name recognition that goes with past accomplishments, and he plays for the team with the best record in the American League.

But on this night, Verlander could not hold a 3-1 lead. The Sox rallied against him with two runs in the seventh. Josh Harrison singled, Seby Zavala walked, and Gavin Sheets ripped 1-2 Verlander slider into the right-field corner to tie the game.

The Sox grabbed the lead in the eighth against Houston right-hander Hector Neris. Eloy Jimenez walked, Jose Abreu singled, and Yasmani Grandal grounded into a slooooooooow-developing 3-6-1 double play. That left pinch-runner Adam Engel at third with two outs, but Yoan Moncada delivered an RBI single to put the Sox ahead.

Closer Liam Hendriks earned his 27th save of the season by retiring the top three batters in the Houston lineup in the top of the ninth, punctuating his outing with a strikeout of Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez.

That capped a strong performance for the Sox bullpen, as Jose Ruiz, Vince Velasquez, Jimmy Lambert and Hendriks all recorded scoreless innings -- with Lambert getting the win.

The Sox have two more games on this homestand against Houston, and will look to extend their winning streak Wednesday with Michael Kopech on the mound.

Lucas Giolito (finally) slays the Guardians

Lucas Giolito

Monday night's loss to the Cleveland Guardians was probably the worst one the White Sox have endured in nearly six years. (Think May 28, 2016, in Kansas City.)

If nothing else, the fan base needed a win Tuesday night, because we might have all slit our wrists if we had to watch another game like Monday's.

Fortunately, Lucas Giolito (2-1) came up with his best outing of the season so far, and the Sox beat the Guardians, 4-1.

Final line for Giolito: seven innings pitched, allowing one run on six hits. He struck out five and walked only one. Josh Naylor hit a home run off him in his seventh and final inning, but by then, the Sox already had a 3-0 lead, so no harm, no foul.

Giolito generated 11 swings and misses and got 23 called strikes out of his 91 pitches. That means 37% percent of his pitches fell into the category of either a whiff or a called strike.

The league average at last check was 27%, and I always say if a pitcher is about 30% in that department, that's a strong performance.

The game remained scoreless until the fifth, when the Sox finally solved Cleveland starter Cal Quantrill (1-2). Josh Harrison doubled with two outs and scored on a single by Tim Anderson.

Gavin Sheets added a two-run homer, his third of the season, in the sixth inning to make it 3-0. After the Naylor homer, Anderson's RBI double in the bottom of the seventh scored Adam Engel, who had singled. That brought the score to 4-1. Anderson was 3 for 4. He's now hitting .347.

Jose Ruiz and Bennett Sousa combined to pitch a scoreless eighth inning. Closer Liam Hendriks was given the night off -- he had pitched six of the past eight days, and after five consecutive saves, he contributed greatly to the meltdown on Monday night.

That gave Kendall Graveman a chance for his second save of the season, and he converted -- albeit not without some drama. Graveman got the first two batters out before a walk and a single brought the tying run to the plate.

Andres Gimenez grounded out to Jose Abreu to end the game. It was a bang-bang play at first, and Gimenez was initially called safe. However, the Sox challenged the call, and it was overturned for the final out.

The Sox are 15-14, and they have their first win against the Guardians in five tries.

White Sox add Joe Kelly, Josh Harrison, Vince Velasquez

Joe Kelly

None of these additions are likely to tip the balance of power in the American League, but the White Sox made three moves over the weekend to fortify their depth.

Right-handed reliever Joe Kelly is coming to Chicago on a two-year deal, and veteran infielder Josh Harrison has agreed to a one-year deal. Right-handed pitcher Vince Velasquez also has reportedly agreed to terms. 

A few thoughts on each signing:

Kelly: If it's postseason experience you seek, Kelly has it in abundance. He's pitched in the playoffs for seven straight seasons and eight times in the 11 years he's been in the league. He's appeared in the World Series three times and owns two championship rings. 

Kelly made 48 appearances with the Dodgers in 2021, going 2-0 with a 2.86 ERA. In 44 innings, he produced a ground-ball rate of 58.9% and a strikeout rate of 27.5%. He features a high-90s fastball and a swing-and-miss curve, and he only gave up three home runs last season. The Sox tend to like relievers who throw grounders and suppress home runs, especially playing in hitter-friendly Guaranteed Rate Field. In that context, this addition is not a surprise.

The Sox bullpen is getting a little crowded, however. Kelly joins Liam Hendriks, Craig Kimbrel, Kendall Graveman, Aaron Bummer and Garrett Crochet as relievers likely to make the Opening Day roster -- barring a trade of Kimbrel. That leaves Ryan Burr, Jose Ruiz, Reynaldo Lopez and the aforementioned Velazquez competing for what is likely to be two spots. Burr is the unlucky one with options remaining.

Harrison: I guess the 34-year-old veteran in the starting second baseman? Harrison is probably best suited for a utility role at this stage of his career, but throw him in the mix with Leury Garcia, Danny Mendick and Romy Gonzalez as players competing for playing time at second.

Harrison played decently for the Washington Nationals in both 2020 and 2021, posting a .291/.363/.431 slash over 123 games. The .363 on-base percentage jumps out at me -- I would take that right now if Harrison could provide that. At the trade deadline last season, the Nationals sent Harrison to Oakland as part of a fire sale. He batted an uninspiring .254/.296/.341 as the Athletics missed the playoffs.

Harrison can also play third base and stand in an outfield corner, if necessary. The guess here is he plays a lot at second base. The hope is he'll play good defense and add some on-base ability to the bottom of the lineup. But I've already expressed my skepticism.

Velazquez: Here are Velazquez's ERA for the past five seasons ... 5.13, 4.85, 4.91, 5.56, 6.30 ... yikes. I don't know about this move. Velazquez has what they call "arm talent," meaning he throws hard. But he's never been able to establish a secondary pitch, causing plenty of frustrating for Philadelphia fans over his six years and 116 starts with the Phillies.

Did the Sox need to make a move to fortify their rotation depth? Absolutely. It would have been nice to see them trade for, say, Chris Bassitt, who was traded from Oakland to the New York Mets, or Sean Manaea, another member of the Oakland rotation who is reportedly on the trade block.

Alas, the Sox have the 30th-ranked farm system in baseball, so maybe they don't have the trade capital to make such a move. Hence, you end up signing a guy such as Velazquez as insurance against injury.

The remaining free agent second basemen ... not enticing

Josh Harrison

One day, the Major League Baseball lockout will end, and when it does, the White Sox will still need a second baseman.

That's assuming you don't think all-purpose player Leury Garcia is the everyday answer at the position. (Hint: He's not.)

So, here is the list of remaining free agent second basemen. Trigger warning: There are some relics from the White Sox rebuilding days on this list:

• Brad Miller
• Donovan Solano
• Niko Goodrum
• Joe Panik
• Brock Holt
• Asdrubal Cabrera
• Hanser Alberto
• Jed Lowrie
• Charlie Culberson
• Josh Harrison
• Chris Owings
• Ronald Torreyes
• Mike Freeman
• Jose Rondon
• Phil Gosselin
• Breyvic Valera
• Kean Wong
• Ryan Goins
• Tyler Ladendorf

See anyone you like there? Me neither, and the thought of Rondon or Goins coming back to the Sox sends chills down my spine.

At least one writer, The Athletic's Andy McCullough, thinks Harrison would be a good pickup for the Sox. He said as much in his "One New Year's resolution for every team" column.

Yikes! This is what it has come to? In the middle of an alleged championship window, the Sox should gamble on 34-year-old Josh Harrison and his career .719 OPS? I'll pass.

McCullough notes that Harrison has been an above-average offensive player the past two years. Not wrong. Harrison posted a 108 OPS+ in 2020, and a 106 OPS+ in 2021.

However, Harrison has struggled with both the American League teams he has played with in the past (Oakland and Detroit). Check out his AL/NL career splits:

National League: .279/.323/.411 in 965 games

American League: .220/.263/.307 in 84 games

Granted, the sample size is much smaller in the American League. And Harrison's prime years were spent in the National League, where he was a two-time All-Star with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

However, Harrison last played at an All-Star level in 2017, and the way he finished the 2021 season in Oakland was not impressive. He batted .254/.296/.341 with two homers, 22 RBIs and 10 doubles in 199 plate appearances after coming over midseason from the Washington Nationals. 

With Oakland, Harrison's OPS+ was 79, or 21% below league average. Harrison will turn 35 next July 8, and I tend to believe his struggles down the stretch in 2021 are the start of a decline at his age.

Of course, that means he's likely available on a one-year deal. ... That's right in the wheelhouse for Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and GM Rick Hahn!

The Sox love giving one-year deals to declining veterans, and if they do sign Harrison, count me among the unimpressed.

The standard here should be "Better than Leury Garcia." I'm not convinced Harrison will be better than Garcia in 2022.

Slow start to the baseball offseason, huh?

Marcus Stroman

So, it's Nov. 30. Thanksgiving has passed, and well, there haven't been any major trades or free agent signings around Major League Baseball.

Here's what has happened so far:

• RHP Marcus Stroman accepted the $18.9 million qualifying offer to remain with the New York Mets.
• RHP Kevin Gausman accepted the $18.9 million qualifying offer to remain with the San Francisco Giants.
• RHP Charlie Morton signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Atlanta Braves.
• LHP Drew Smyly signed a one-year, $11 million contract with the Atlanta Braves.
• LHP Robbie Ray signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.
• RHP Kendall Graveman signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Seattle Mariners.
• RHP Josh Tomlin signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Atlanta Braves.
• Utility player Josh Harrison signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Washington Nationals.

The Kansas City Royals reportedly have a two-year agreement in place with LHP Mike Minor, and a one-year deal in place with outfielder Michael Taylor. Those moves have not yet been finalized.

Not exactly, earth-shaking stuff, huh? I figured maybe if I complain about the lack of news, we'll get some news and something to argue about.