Minor league affiliates remain the same for White Sox amid restructuring

Minor League Baseball is being restructured and realigned this offseason, causing much confusion and speculation about whether major league teams would be changing their affiliates at multiple levels.

Things are starting to sort themselves out now. On Wednesday, Major League Baseball formally invited minor league affiliates to join the new "system."

Nothing is official yet, because invited minor league franchises need to sign "Professional Development Licenses." The licenses are essentially an acceptance of the aforementioned invitation.

There are 120 minor league teams that received invitations -- four for each major league club. You can find a complete list of invitations here. 

What does this mean for the White Sox? Turns out, not much. The Sox on Wednesday invited Triple-A Charlotte, Double-A Birmingham, High-A Winston-Salem and Low-A Kannapolis to be their minor league affiliates for 2021.

Apparently, Kannapolis is changing its nickname from the Intimidators to the Cannon Ballers, but aside from that, the Sox's minor league affiliates are the same as they were in the good ol' pre-pandemic days of 2019.

As a matter of fact, the Sox are the only team among the 30 to have the exact same full-season affiliate alignment in 2021 that they had in 2019.

Thirteen other clubs maintained their affiliates, but there are changes in hierarchy because of league shifts.

There was some speculation that Winston-Salem and Kannapolis would end up in the same league because of realignments in the East Coast A-ball leagues. If that had happened, the Sox would have had to find at least one new Class-A affiliate.

That ended up not happening, so everything is status quo, and the Sox still comfortably have all their minor league teams tucked in the Southeast.

White Sox trade for pitcher Lance Lynn (OK), sign outfielder Adam Eaton (huh?)

Lance Lynn

We asked for some offseason moves, and now we have two. The White Sox on Tuesday acquired veteran right-handed pitcher Lance Lynn from the Texas Rangers in exchange for right-hander Dane Dunning. 

They also agreed to terms with right fielder Adam Eaton on a one-year, $7 million contract.

Let's start with the Lynn move. The 33-year-old had two good seasons in Texas back-to-back. In 2019, he went 16-11 with a 3.67 ERA and finished fifth in the American League Cy Young Award voting. 

He followed that up in the shortened season of 2020 by going 6-3 with a 3.32 ERA, good enough to finish sixth in the Cy Young voting.

Over those two seasons, Lynn has missed plenty of bats with his fastball-cutter-heavy approach. He struck out 246 batters in 208.1 innings in 2019, and 89 batters in 84 innings this past season. 

Lynn joins Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel at the top of the Sox's starting rotation. In 2020, Keuchel finished fifth in the Cy Young voting, while Giolito was seventh. This means the Sox have three of the top seven American League pitchers in 2020 on their roster for 2021.

And even with the departure of Dunning, there is some depth. Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech and Reynaldo Lopez will be expected to vie for the remaining two rotation spots. Don't be surprised if the Sox add another veteran starter to provide additional competition. (Jose Quintana? Adam Wainwright? James Paxton?)

I like Dunning and thought he showed promised during his seven starts with the Sox in 2020, during which he went 2-0 with a 3.97 ERA. However, he projects as a back-of-the-rotation pitcher over the long haul. Your farm system should be able to churn out pitchers like Dunning regularly, so there shouldn't be a lot of harm in using him as a trade piece for a more established pitcher.

One drawback to this deal: Lynn only has one year left on his contract. He'll make $8 million in 2021, a bargain if he continues to produce in the same manner we saw in Texas. That adds urgency for the Sox next season. If Lynn is your "finishing piece" for the rotation, then you have to do everything possible to win right now.

And since Lynn doesn't make a ton of money, you figured there would be room left in the payroll to sign a high-end right fielder, right?

Well, too bad, we'll get Eaton whether we like it or not. The 32-year-old is coming off a rough, injury-plagued season with the Washington Nationals, in which he batted .226/.285/.384 with four home runs and 17 RBIs in 41 games.

His career slash line is .282/.360/.416, so I'm sure the Sox are hoping he'll bounce back to something resembling that. However, "hope for the best" is not a great strategy in a win-now season. And I'm not really convinced the Sox needed to pony up $7 million to sign this player.

For me, Eaton isn't a guy you sign on Dec. 8. He's the guy you sign when you've whiffed on all your other targets. In short, he's a fallback option. 

Even if the Sox aren't in the bidding for George Springer, I'd still have Michael Brantley, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Eddie Rosario ahead of Eaton on my board -- and maybe the Sox will still sign one of those guys. 

It's just a weird business strategy to make a secondary free agent signing your first offseason move. It's early in the offseason at this point, so maybe as time goes along, we'll see how Eaton fits into the big picture.

I'm OK with the Lynn move, but not overly impressed with settling for Eaton right now.

Dick Allen, who should be in baseball's Hall of Fame, dies at 78

Dick Allen

Dick Allen, one of four players to win an American League MVP award in a White Sox uniform, died Monday at age 78.

The right-handed-hitting slugger played in the majors from 1963 to 1977, mostly with the Philadelphia Phillies. He played three seasons with the White Sox from 1972 to 1974, and his first year on the South Side was the best of his career.

Allen won the 1972 American League MVP award, batting .308/.420/.603 with 37 home runs, 113 RBIs and a ridiculous 199 OPS+. He led the league in home runs, RBIs, walks (99), on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and OPS+ in what was without a doubt one of the best single seasons ever posted by a White Sox player.

In 1974, Allen's last year with the Sox, he again led the AL in home runs with 32. All total, Allen batted .307/.398/.589 with 85 home runs and 242 RBIs in three years on the South Side.

We mourn the loss of Allen, while also pointing out that this man was very clearly a Hall of Fame player. He should be in Cooperstown, but isn't, and while he still might get there one day, it's unfortunate that he won't be around to receive that honor.

Allen was a seven-time All-Star, who won the National League Rookie of the Year award with the Phillies in 1964. He finished in the top 10 of the MVP voting three times in his career, and during his 11-year peak from 1964 to 1974, he led the league in offensive categories 19 times.

During those 11 years, his offensive WAR was 68.5, better than any other player of that time. That's no small statement, because Allen's contemporaries included Hank Aaron (63.9), Frank Robinson (59.0), Carl Yastrzemski (56.3), Joe Morgan (55.4) and Pete Rose (52.4).

Allen's OPS+ of 165 was also best during that 11-year peak, meaning he was 65% above league average for players at his position.

During that same time period, Allen ranked fourth in baseball in runs created and on-base percentage, fifth in home runs (with 319), sixth in WAR, seventh in RBIs, ninth in walks, 11th in batting average and 12th in doubles. 

Allen probably isn't in the Hall because he wasn't a good defensive player, and he wasn't well-liked by writers. To which I ask, who cares? Allen had a period of dominance that lasted more than 10 years, during which he was one of the best hitters in the game by any measure. That, to me, makes him a Hall of Famer.

In 2014, Allen fell one vote short of being elected to the Hall by baseball's Golden Era Committee. The committee was to meet and vote again this winter, but that meeting was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (You mean to tell me they couldn't have met on Zoom like everybody else does these days?)

There was a chance Allen could have gotten the call this year, had that meeting happened. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. It's a shame. 

Len Kasper named White Sox radio play-by-play announcer

Here's the biggest surprise of the offseason so far: Longtime Cubs TV announcer Len Kasper is moving to the South Side. He will become the radio play-by-play voice of the White Sox on ESPN 1000.

Kasper will join Darrin Jackson as the permanent replacement for Ed Farmer, who died April 1 at age 70. Andy Masur filled in throughout the 2020 season, and I figured he was the front-runner for the job. 

Not so. Turns out, Kasper says he sought the Sox out because he's always wanted to work on the radio. Interesting. 

The general rule of thumb is TV jobs are better and more high profile than radio jobs, and certainly, there are few TV gigs more high profile than the Cubs. But hey, if Kasper wants to work on the radio, welcome to the South Side, Len!

Sox fans have said for years that the radio booth could benefit from a true play-by-play voice, and Kasper is that. I can't say that I have a strong feeling about Kasper's ability one way or the other -- I don't watch many Cubs games -- but I do like that the Sox are adding an experienced broadcaster to their booth.

It's better than hiring a former player, or some other "Reinsdorf favorite" for the job. Like most Sox fans, I look forward to the day when the phrase "Reinsdorf favorite" is put into retirement.

In any case, Kasper won't exclusively do radio work. We'll see him in the TV booth on NBC Sports Chicago for 20 to 25 games a season. He'll fill in alongside Jason Benetti when Steve Stone takes a few games off.

Kasper and Benetti are friends, and word is they will be creating "several multimedia projects" throughout the year. Not sure what that means, but I'm intrigued, and I'll be listening. It sounds as though Kasper and Benetti are planning to start a podcast as well. Once again, I'll be listening.

And I guess that's the point, to get people to listen, right?

Non-tender list adds outfield options for White Sox in free agency

Eddie Rosario

Teams around Major League Baseball non-tendered 59 players Wednesday, and some of them are outfielders who bat left-handed. 

The White Sox need a right fielder, preferably one with some left-handed pop, so the speculation only increases as more options become available.

We all know George Springer, a right-handed hitter, is the top free agent outfielder on the market. If the Sox are to sign him, it would require the biggest contract in team history, and the competition is expected to be fierce. Therefore, I'm not expecting it to happen.

In a previous blog, I advocated for signing *both* Michael Brantley and Jackie Bradley Jr. Another free agent whom I haven't mentioned is Joc Pederson, a left-handed corner outfielder who just won a World Series ring with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

However, three other players can be mentioned in this mix after they were non-tendered by their respective teams: Eddie Rosario, Kyle Schwarber and David Dahl. Let's look at how these players could fit in with the Sox:

Rosario: If we weren't in the middle of a pandemic, the Minnesota Twins probably would have tendered Rosario, who batted .281/.317/.493 over the past four seasons. He's a free swinger, as that low on-base percentage suggests, but he produces runs. 

Over those same four seasons, he's hit 96 home runs and driven in 306 runs. For his career, his 162-game averages are 28 home runs and 90 RBIs. And he doesn't turn 30 until next September, so he's a good bet to continue that production for another couple of seasons. The Twins apparently decided, however, that he is not worth his projected $12 million arbitration number.

I don't think Rosario's worth that, either, because he's not a great defensive outfielder. No way would I put him in right field. The Twins have always put him in left field. This player would be a decent acquisition for the Sox, because he can play left field in a serviceable way -- better than Eloy Jimenez can -- serve as a designated hitter most of the time and give you some pop from the left side.

In short, he's a fallback option if the Sox fail to sign Brantley, who is the best player on the market for such a role. It's worth noting that neither Brantley nor Rosario are good enough with the glove to be the left-handed half of a platoon in right field.

Schwarber: The crosstown Cubs are cutting payroll, and Schwarber getting non-tendered is the first domino to fall on the North Side. As Sox fans, we give Cubs fans a hard time all the time for overrating their own players, and Schwarber is a prime example of that, so let's not fool ourselves into believing that this player is a great fit on the South Side. He is not.

Schwarber is a terrible defensive outfielder. Absolutely terrible. Sure, he stands in left field with a glove on his hand, much like Jimenez does, but he's a significant liability out there. Schwarber has to hit in order to be effective, but in 2020, he did not hit. He batted .188/.308/.393 with a 50.8% percent ground-ball rate and a 30% strikeout rate. 

He hit 11 home runs. That's nice. It's way better than Nomar Mazara, but "better than Mazara" is damning with faint praise. That's still subpar production for a designated hitter, and that's all Schwarber is.

If the Sox sign Schwarber, he'd be nothing more than the left-handed half of a DH platoon with ... who exactly? While Schwarber will hit some home runs and take his walks, this doesn't feel like the best fit among the available players.

Dahl: The Colorado Rockies non-tendered Dahl because he had a terrible 2020 season. He batted .183/.222/.247 with not a single home run and nine RBIs. Remarkably, that's below the Mazara line!

An oblique strain and a right shoulder injury limited Dahl to 24 games this year, and injuries have been a recurring theme for him. In his career, he's suffered from a lacerated spleen and a fractured foot, among other problems.

He's only played 264 games for the Rockies over the past four years, but in general, it's been a productive run. For his career, he's batted .286/.334/.494 with 53 doubles and 38 home runs. 

All that said, the injury problems mean he cannot be a Plan A for any team that looks at 2021 as a win-now season, and the Sox are certainly in that camp. I would expect Dahl to sign with a rebuilding team, maybe the Detroit Tigers, on a one-year deal to try to rebuild his value.

From a Sox perspective, he would be the very last option on this list. 

White Sox non-tender Carlos Rodon, Nomar Mazara

Carlos Rodon

Teams had to decide which arbitration-eligible players to offer contracts to by 7 p.m. Wednesday. Right fielder Nomar Mazara and pitcher Carlos Rodon will not be receiving offers from the White Sox, according to a post on the team's Twitter account.

The Sox also announced that left-handed relief pitcher Jace Fry avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $862,500 contract. All other unsigned players on the 40-man roster were tendered contracts.

This means that pitchers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Evan Marshall, and outfielder Adam Engel, have received contract offers from the Sox. 

Mazara and Rodon become free agents, meaning the Sox's 40-man roster now stands at 38 players.

The subtractions of both Mazara and Rodon were expected. Mazara was projected to receive about $6 million in arbitration, an unacceptably high salary for a supposed power hitter who slugged .294 during the 2020 season and managed only one home run in 149 plate appearances. 

Mazara's 2020 OPS of .589 was, umm, slightly below his previous career low of .745. The Sox apparently thought they could unlock Mazara's talent when they acquired him from Texas last offseason. Instead, they found out why the Rangers were willing to give up on him. Mazara turned out to be not even as good as he was in Texas, where he was profoundly mediocre.

Rodon, the team's first-round pick in 2014, simply cannot stay healthy. 

Here are Rodon's innings totals over the past four seasons: 69.1, 120.2, 34.2 and 7.2.

Here are Rodon's ERAs over the past four seasons: 4.15, 4.18, 5.19, 8.22.

Rodon's projected arbitration number is $4.5 million. Given the lack of innings, the injuries and the declining performance, there are better ways to spend $4.5 million -- especially during these financially challenging times associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sox general manager Rick Hahn said the team will stay "in contact" with both Mazara and Rodon, leaving open the possibility that they could be brought back for lesser money.

Frankly, I'd move on from Mazara no matter what. Rodon, I'd be willing to give him a minor-league deal, look at him in spring training and see if he can be turned into a reliever, but I wouldn't consider him for a job in the starting rotation. If Rodon still wants to be a starting pitcher, I'd shake his hand and wish him luck elsewhere. It's time for the Sox to move on.

Among the players tendered contracts by the Sox, Lopez was the only question mark. Giolito, Marshall and Engel all did their jobs in 2020 and earned their offers.

Lopez struggled with injuries and underperformance. He made only eight starts and went 1-3 with a 6.49 ERA. However, his projected arbitration number is only $2 million, and his upside is still greater than a lot of the mediocre retreads you'll find on the free agent market this offseason.

Given the price and the overall landscape, it's not a bad play to see if new pitching coach Ethan Katz has an answer to get Lopez on track. If it doesn't work out in 2021, then it will be time to move on from Lopez, as well, but I'm willing to give him one more kick at the can. Apparently, so are the Sox.

White Sox manager Tony La Russa finalizes 2021 coaching staff

Tony La Russa

It took more than a month for a formal announcement, but new (old) White Sox manager Tony La Russa has his coaching staff in place for the 2021 season.

As expected, Miguel Cairo has been named bench coach, replacing Joe McEwing, and Ethan Katz replaces Don Cooper as pitching coach.

McEwing remains on the coaching staff. He will serve as third-base coach, a role he filled for the Sox during the Robin Ventura era from 2012 to 2016.

Shelley Duncan has been named analytics coordinator. As far as I know, that's a new position on the Sox staff. Duncan is the son of Dave Duncan, who was La Russa's longtime pitching coach with the Sox, the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. 

Shelley Duncan, who played for the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians, has managerial experience in the minor leagues with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He also served as a "field coordinator" with the Toronto Blue Jays. Not sure exactly what that role entailed, but in any case, I'm sure new-school fans will like the idea of the Sox having a coach whose focus is on analytics.

Frank Menechino returns to the Sox as hitting coach. Also returning are first-base coach Daryl Boston and assistant pitching coach Curt Hasler.

The Sox have hired former Toronto infielder Howie Clark to be the assistant hitting coach. Clark was expected to be the hitting coach at Triple-A Charlotte in 2020, before the pandemic canceled the minor league season.

Clark replaces Scott Coolbaugh, who left the Sox organization to become the hitting coach with the Detroit Tigers.