White Sox announce players and prospects scheduled to attend SoxFest 2020

The White Sox on Thursday announced a preliminary list of players and prospects who will attend SoxFest 2020.

The event is scheduled for Jan. 24-25 at McCormick Place West.

The list of current players includes pretty much everyone fans would want to see: Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, Lucas Giolito, Yasmani Grandal, James McCann, Tim Anderson, Michael Kopech, Dylan Cease, Aaron Bummer, Zack Collins, Leury Garcia, Evan Marshall and Danny Mendick.

The list of prospects includes the two big draws, Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal, both of whom will probably be in the big leagues before the All-Star break, if not before May 1.

Other prospects scheduled to attend include Andrew Vaughn, Steele Walker, Dane Dunning, Blake Rutherford, Luis Gonzalez, Tyler Johnson and Micker Adolfo.

You have to give Adolfo some credit. He's played only 379 games in the six years he's been in the organization, yet he still seems to be considered a good enough prospect to earn an invite to SoxFest every year.

Robert, Madrigal and Rutherford have been at SoxFest in years past, but it will be a first-time experience for Vaughn, Walker, Dunning, Gonzalez and Johnson.

There will be more "special guests" coming to this event, and more information will be announced in early January, according to a news release from the Sox.

Former White Sox catcher Omar Narvaez traded to Milwaukee

Omar Narvaez

The Milwaukee Brewers moved to fill a hole at catcher Thursday, acquiring former White Sox backstop Omar Narvaez from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for pitching prospect Adam Hill.

Yasmani Grandal was Milwaukee's primary catcher last season, and obviously, he is now with the Sox. Enter Narvaez, 27, who is coming off a stunning offensive year with the Mariners in 2019.

In 132 games and 428 at-bats with Seattle, Narvaez batted .278/.353/.460 with 22 home runs and 55 RBIs. I never anticipated that kind of power coming from Narvaez's left-handed bat -- over parts of three seasons in Chicago he totaled 12 home runs in 634 at-bats.

Maybe this power surge from Narvaez can be attributed to the juiced ball, but he did hit 20 of his 22 home runs and had an .836 OPS against right-handed pitching last year, so the Brewers are hoping he'll be the left-handed half of a productive platoon with Manny Pina.

I don't envy the Milwaukee pitchers, however, because Narvaez is a huge defensive downgrade from Grandal by any measure. Narvaez's -20 defensive runs saved ranked second-worst among MLB catchers in 2019, and he threw out only 18 percent of would-be basestealers.

Over the past five years, the Sox have had their share of catchers who give away strikes, but perhaps none were worse framers than Narvaez. He's among the worst I've seen in that area.

But, Narvaez was the fourth-best catcher in baseball in terms of weighted runs created plus (119), and he wasn't too far behind Grandal (121) in that area.

The Brewers need to hope Narvaez keeps knocking balls over the fence to make up for his lackluster defense.

White Sox swing and miss on Zack Wheeler, Cole Hamels

Zack Wheeler

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn has said the team intends to sign two free agent starting pitchers this offseason. However, two pitchers the Sox were linked with signed elsewhere Wednesday.

Zack Wheeler agreed to a five-year, $118 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, while Cole Hamels joined the Atlanta Braves on a one-year, $18 million deal.

According to a tweet from MLB Network's Jon Heyman, Wheeler was the Sox's top target in terms of starting pitchers. Apparently, the Sox front office doesn't believe it can land either Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg, the two elite aces on the market, so the Sox set their sights on the best pitcher in the "second tier" of available starters.

That would be Wheeler, but as per usual, the Sox are the bridesmaid and not the bride. The Phillies beat out the Sox, the Minnesota Twins, the Cincinnati Reds and the Texas Rangers in this pursuit.

According to a tweet from MLB Network's Ken Rosenthal, the Sox's offer to Wheeler was for *more* than $118 million, but Wheeler's wife is from New Jersey and proximity was important.

OK, not sure if I buy that. It's all speculation, but for me as a Sox fan, the bottom line is the Hahn regime continues to come up short far more times than not, and the team still has much to prove in terms of its commitment to winning.

As for Hamels, just days ago he was on the White Sox Talk podcast with NBC Sports Chicago's Chuck Garfien to express his interest in possibly coming to the South Side.

Instead, Hamels will be headed to Atlanta. This loss isn't as big of a deal for the Sox, but let's be honest, Hamels would have been a nice fit as a veteran left-hander in the middle or the back of the rotation.

If the Sox are not in on Cole or Strasburg, and we have to assume they are not until proven otherwise, where does the team go from here? Do they pursue Madison Bumgarner? Dallas Keuchel? Someone else?

The Sox front office continues to earn skepticism from me. I'm not convinced they are going to land the two starting pitchers they need. C'mon, guys, prove me wrong.

White Sox sign James McCann to one-year deal, clear more roster space

James McCann

The White Sox on Monday agreed to terms with catcher James McCann on a one-year, $5.4 million contract.

McCann, 29, had the best season of his career with the Sox in 2019. He batted .273/.328/.460 with 26 doubles, 18 home runs, 60 RBIs and 62 runs scored in 118 games. McCann made the All-Star Game for the first time in his career, and Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito credited McCann's leadership and game preparation in helping him have a breakout season on the mound.

While McCann played well, that didn't stop Sox management from signing Yasmani Grandal to a four-year, $73 million contract last month. With the addition of Grandal, the Sox are guarding against any regression that McCann may have in 2020 -- McCann is a lifetime .247/.328/.460 batter.

With this move, you figure the Sox are set at catcher. For the first time in a long time, they have two competent players ready to man the position.

McCann will become a free agent when the 2020 season ends.

Here are the tender/non-tender decisions

The Sox on Monday also tendered contracts to utility player Leury Garcia and pitchers Carlos Rodon, Alex Colome and Evan Marshall.

Second baseman Yolmer Sanchez and pitchers Caleb Frare and Ryan Burr were non-tendered. Pitcher Thyago Vieira was granted his release, so that he can pursue an opportunity to play in Japan.

These moves reduce the Sox's roster from 40 to 36, and hopefully, a couple of those spots will be used on free agent starting pitchers in the weeks to come.

Happy Thanksgiving from The Baseball Kid

Thoughts on Yasmani Grandal, Jose Abreu and Yolmer Sanchez

Yasmani Grandal

Of all the free agent position players this offseason, I believed Yasmani Grandal would be the best fit for the White Sox. Several of his strengths are weaknesses for the Sox. Consider this:

1. The Sox needed to add more power to their lineup. Grandal hit a career-high 28 home runs last season for the Milwaukee Brewers, and he has hit 22 or more home runs in each of the past four seasons.

2. The Sox needed left-handed hitting to balance out their lineup. Grandal is a switch-hitter who posted an .813 OPS from the left side of the plate in 2019.

3. The Sox need to take more walks. Grandal took a career-high 109 of them last season, and he posted a career-best .380 on-base percentage.

4. The Sox need to be better defensively. Grandal is considered one of top-five defensive catchers in the game. He's strong in the framing department. According to Statcast's metrics, Grandal saved 13 runs with his framing in 2019. By way of comparison, James McCann cost the Sox 16 runs with subpar framing, and Welington Castillo was minus-8 in the same metric.

So, I was happy last week when the Sox gave Grandal a four-year, $73 million contract to be their starting catcher. If he continues to perform at his current level, that's exactly what the Sox need behind the plate.

The only reservation I have: Grandal is 31 years old. And like most Sox fans, I'm always wary of their free agent signings forgetting how to play baseball the moment they put on a Sox uniform. I've been burned before.

However, that line of thinking is irrational fan negativity. This signing should be taken as a sign of hope, so let's try to look at it that way. Grandal checks boxes the Sox needed to check.

Abreu signs 3-year contract extension

The Sox also agreed to a three-year, $50 million deal with first baseman Jose Abreu. Again, the only real concern here is Abreu's age. He'll be 33 when the 2020 season opens, and who knows whether he can continue to perform at a high level?

Obviously, Abreu is the type of player who has to hit to be effective. He's a slow, subpar base runner, and his defense at first base is mediocre at best. However, he's hit 30 or more home runs and driven in 100 or more runs in five of his six seasons with the Sox. And he's coming off a career-high 123 RBIs in 2019.

I would say the Sox need more offense even with Abreu producing at that level, so they really couldn't afford to not bring him back as a middle-of-the-order presence.

Is it a bit of an overpay? Perhaps, but the Sox probably don't look at it that way, considering that Abreu is a beloved player in the clubhouse and the team leader and whatnot, in addition to his offensive productivity.

Sanchez on outright waivers

Yolmer Sanchez won a Gold Glove at second base in 2019, but don't expect him back with the Sox in 2020. Reports indicate Sanchez was placed on outright waivers Monday.

Like Abreu, Sanchez is good in the clubhouse, but that goodwill only goes so far. Sanchez was due a big raise in arbitration, a projected $6.2 million according to MLB Trade Rumors.

No matter how good his defense is, you can't pay that kind of money to a player with a .318 on-base percentage and a .321 slugging percentage. That isn't a small sample size, either. Sanchez played in 149 games in 2019.

He just doesn't hit enough to be an everyday player, and the Sox have a logical replacement in the pipeline with Nick Madrigal poised to take over at second base sometime in 2020.

I have no doubt that Sanchez is a good guy, but he's not the type of player who should be starting for a team that is serious about winning.

White Sox part ways with Omar Vizquel, add 7 to 40-man roster

Omar Vizquel

The White Sox on Wednesday announced that Omar Vizquel will not be returning as a manager in their minor league system for the 2020 season.

Vizquel enjoyed his best success as a manager during the 2018 season, when he led High-A Winston-Salem to an 84-54 record and a first-half division championship. He was named Carolina League Manager of the Year.

In 2019, Vizquel was promoted to manage Double-A Birmingham, but he was unable to duplicate that same success. The Barons finished 64-72.

"We felt that it was best for both sides to make a change," Chris Getz, White Sox director of player development, told MLB.com. "Listen, Omar, ultra-talented player, very good instructor, created a good environment for our players. We just felt with where things are at, our player development system, that it was time to go separate ways. But not only for himself, but for the organization as well and we wish Omar well. He was a positive influence while he was here."

The Sox fan reaction to this news has been overwhelmingly negative, and frankly, I'm a little surprised. Vizquel's team had a subpar year, and several outfield prospects of note -- Blake Rutherford, Luis Gonzalez, Luis Alexander Basabe and Micker Adolfo -- stalled this season. To be fair, Adolfo got hurt again, and what's a manager to do? But expectations were higher for this Birmingham group in 2019.

In general, I think the fan discontent stems from the long-held belief that Vizquel would eventually replace Rick Renteria as the manager in Chicago. I've never quite understood why that was the assumption, nor have I understood why it is just assumed that Vizquel would do a better job than Renteria has.

Clearly, Vizquel had a better playing career than Renteria, but that doesn't amount to a hill of beans when evaluating someone as a manager.

I'm left to conclude that some fans simply want Renteria gone. They believe anyone would be better, and they're just pissed off that Vizquel is no longer an option.

Sox add 7 players to 40-man roster

Rutherford, catcher Yermin Mercedes and pitchers Dane Dunning, Jimmy Lambert, Zack Burdi, Matt Foster and Bernardo Flores had their contracts purchased by the Sox on Wednesday. The seven players were added to the 40-man roster, bringing the roster to the maximum 40.

As a result, these men are not available to other clubs in the Rule 5 draft. Notable players who were not protected included pitchers Alec Hansen, Zach Thompson and Spencer Adams.

Mercedes was the big question mark. He batted .317/.388/.581 with 23 home runs and 80 RBIs in stops at Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte. He can hit, but he's poor defensively, and that seemed to be preventing him from getting a call to the majors.

If he had been exposed in the Rule 5 draft, it seems likely that a rebuilding team would have snagged him and given him a chance as a designated hitter. Now, he'll stay in the Sox organization, but the club has a logjam at catcher.

Even with Welington Castillo gone, there are four catchers on the 40-man -- James McCann, Zack Collins, Seby Zavala and Mercedes. It wouldn't be surprising to see a trade of one of these players who is not named McCann -- who is the presumed starter in 2020.

For me, Dunning, Lambert and Burdi are the no-brainers here. All three pitchers are coming off injuries, yes, but that would be all the more reason for a rival club to snag them in the Rule 5 draft and hide them on the injured list for half a season.

Dunning is the No. 5 prospect in the organization. Lambert ranks 18th and was thought to have a chance to make the majors in 2019 before he got hurt. Burdi is a former first-round draft pick.

Too much has been invested in these three players to risk losing them for nothing.