White Sox expected to add Cuban outfielder Yoelqui Cespedes

Some international signing news: The White Sox are expected to add Cuban outfielder Yoelqui Cespedes, according to multiple reports.

The 23-year-old outfielder is the half-brother of veteran MLB outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. Yoelqui Cespedes is ranked No. 1 on MLB.com's list of international prospects. 

Of note, Cespedes is only ranked No. 12 on Baseball America's list of international prospects, which is proof that opinions vary greatly on these guys who we haven't seen play pro ball in the United States.

It's also true that Baseball America tends to favor younger prospects, and Cespedes might be penalized in those rankings because he's a little bit older than the other guys on the list.

In any case, here's what we know: Cespedes will likely sign his deal on Jan. 15, the first day of the international signing period. The agreement is reportedly worth $2 million, which isn't a lot in baseball terms, and that makes Cespedes worth the gamble.

The right-handed hitting outfielder is 5-foot-9, 205 pounds, and like a lot of Cuban players who come to the U.S., he's described as having ample power, with plenty of swing-and-miss in his game. Cespedes has the athleticism to play center field, and the throwing arm to play right field.

If it were to work out for the Sox, Cespedes would probably end up in right field. It's reasonable to believe that Luis Robert is the center fielder for years to come.

Cespedes scores 50 or better in all five tools on MLB Pipeline's 20-80 scale. Do with that information what you will. This is a raw but talented player who needs some time in the minor leagues. For the Sox's sake, let's hope he can get that playing time in a place like Triple-A Charlotte in 2021.

Players coming off mediocre or bad seasons are signing contracts

Michael Wacha

With Christmas only a week away, the Major League Baseball offseason continues to be slow on news. There are plenty of quality free agents still on the market, and, in fact, most of the players who have recently signed contracts are coming off mediocre or bad seasons.

A few examples:

• Pitcher Michael Wacha signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. Wacha was 1-4 with a 6.62 ERA in eight starts and 34 innings with the New York Mets last season.
• Pitcher Jonathan Holder signed a nonguaranteed contract with the Cubs. If he makes the club out of spring training, he'll earn $750,000 in 2021. Holder was 3-0 with a 4.98 ERA in 18 relief appearances with the New York Yankees last season.
• Pitcher Anthony DeSclafani is headed to the San Francisco Giants on a one-year, $6 million deal. He pitched nine games (seven starts) for the Cincinnati Reds in 2020, going 1-2 with a 7.22 ERA.
• Catcher Mike Zunino is staying with Tampa Bay on a one-year, $2 million contract that includes an option for 2022. Zunino batted .147/.238/.360 with four homers and 10 RBIs in 28 games for the 2020 American League champions.
• Pitcher Alex Claudio is headed to the Los Angeles Angels on a one-year, $1.25 million deal. The lefty worked 19 relief innings with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020, posting no decisions and a 4.26 ERA.

It's pretty incredible that guys who are not talked about much are the ones getting contracts, while all the notable names are still unsigned. Just another example of how up is down and down is up in 2020.

The biggest free agent linked to the White Sox is ... Liam Hendriks?

Liam Hendriks

The White Sox are 92-1 when leading after eight innings over the past two seasons. That is good evidence that the bullpen is NOT the greatest area of need on the South Side of Chicago.

Yet, the biggest free agent who has been linked to the Sox is a closer, Liam Hendriks.

Granted, the Sox's incumbent closer, Alex Colome, also is a free agent. As of this writing, it remains unclear who will be tasked with closing games for the Sox in 2021.

We'll also acknowledge that Hendriks is a more dominant relief pitcher than Colome. Based on recent track records, it would be foolish to argue that Hendriks would not help the Sox. Let's take a look at the numbers from these two pitchers over the past two years:

Colome in 2019: 4-5, 2.80 ERA, 30 saves, 61 IP, 55 Ks, 23 BBs, 1.066 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 3.4 BB/9

Hendriks in 2019: 4-4, 1.80 ERA, 25 saves, 85 IP, 124 Ks, 21 BBs, 0.965 WHIP, 13.1 K/9, 2.2 BB/9

Colome in 2020: 2-0, 0.81 ERA, 12 saves, 22.1 IP, 16 Ks, 8 BBs, 0.940 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9

Hendriks in 2020: 3-1, 1.78 ERA, 14 saves, 25.1 IP, 37 Ks, 3 BBs, 0.671 WHIP, 13.1 K/9, 1.1 BB/9

There's no getting around it. Hendriks was the best reliever in the American League in 2020. And he's better than Colome. He strikes out more batters. He walks fewer batters. In general, fewer batters reach base against him. That's exactly what you want in a closer.

Here's the problem: To sign Hendriks, it's probably going to take a four-year deal, worth somewhere between $50 million and $60 million. That sort of outlay would probably be the biggest the Sox would make in this most unusual of offseasons.

The question isn't whether Hendriks is good. The question is whether he's the best use of (apparently) scarce resources.

Closer has not been a problem for the Sox. If need be, they could probably retain Colome on a two-year commitment for a lot less -- maybe two years, $20 million. And even if Colome leaves, you still have two left-handers (Aaron Bummer and Garrett Crochet) and three right-handers (Codi Heuer, Evan Marshall and Matt Foster) who can be used in high-leverage situations.

Meanwhile, the Sox had a right fielder last season (Nomar Mazara) who posted an OPS+ of 64. League-average is 100, so that means Mazara was 36% below league average.

They also had a DH (Edwin Encarnacion) who posted an OPS+ of 70, or 30% below league average.

These are glaring, massive holes that are begging to be solved through free agency. Colome is not as good as Hendriks, but he's also not below league average. The closer spot simply is not a liability, while right field and DH are.

The Sox have already strangely plugged right field with Adam Eaton, who had a 76 OPS+ last season -- he should fit right in, LOL.

To the Sox's credit, they plugged a hole in the starting rotation by trading for Lance Lynn, who is both good and reasonably priced. Lynn will earn $8 million in 2021.

That means there still should be room with the payroll to make a significant addition on a multi-year deal. Should that money be spent on an upgrade at closer? Not in my world. A better use of money would be adding an impact bat who can help you each and every day. 

You don't need a $15 million closer to win a World Series.

MLB, MLBPA disagree on whether to play 162 games in 2021

The constant labor disputes in Major League Baseball are so tiresome. I don't even have the energy to comment on this too much, but since it's the news of the day in the sport, here's a link that describes what is happening.

In a nutshell, the owners want players to be vaccinated for COVID-19 before they arrive at spring training, and as far as they're concerned, they don't care if that means backing up the start of the regular season until May.

The MLB Players Association disagrees. Players believe they've proven they can follow the protocols and play a full season -- with full pay, of course.

So, get ready for another knockdown, drag-out taffy pull between unreasonable people.

If I thought owners were legitimately trying to delay the season for health and safety reasons, I could respect that. Alas, I don't buy it. I think owners want to delay the season because they don't want to take the financial hit of more games being played without fans in the stands.

I believe we will see fans in the stands before the 2021 season comes to an end. In fact, I think we'll see it by the summer. But it won't happen in April.

Like any fan, I want 162 games. I will return to the ballpark as soon as it is allowed. Hell, I'd go to the ballpark today, if there were a game to be played. I'm hungry for baseball. I miss it as much as I do in any other offseason.

It's going to piss me off to no end if the season is delayed or shortened because of purely financial reasons.

White Sox manager Tony La Russa to plead guilty to reduced charge, report says

White Sox manager Tony La Russa will plead guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving stemming from his arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol last February near Phoenix, according to a report by James Fegan of The Athletic.

The plea deal stipulates that La Russa be required to serve a day in jail, but the state of Arizona said it is not opposed to reducing that sentence to a work release or home detention, if a judge approves.

La Russa, who is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 21, will also be required to pay $1,383 in fines and perform 20 hours of community service, according to The Athletic.

The general reaction to all this is that La Russa is getting off easy, given that this was his second drunken driving arrest. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI charges in Jupiter, Fla., in 2007, when he was manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.

It's probably a break for La Russa that this arrest comes 13 years later in a different part of the country. It also probably helps him that he's a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Those who are rich, well-known and able to afford good legal representation often seem to fare better than the average person when dealing with the criminal justice system.

Neither the Sox nor La Russa have issued any comment on these reports.

James McCann headed to New York Mets on four-year deal

James McCann

A previous post this week talked a lot about White Sox general manager Rick Hahn's horrible free agent signings, so let's bring up one of his better ones: James McCann.

After two productive seasons in Chicago, McCann is heading to the New York Mets on a four-year, $40 million contract.

This is a really good turn of events for McCann, who was non-tendered by the 98-loss Detroit Tigers after the 2018 season. The Sox picked him up on a one-year, $2.5 million scrap-heap deal, and McCann responded by making the All-Star team in 2019.

In his first season with the Sox, McCann batted .273/.328/.460 with 18 home runs and 60 RBIs in 118 games. McCann didn't have the greatest framing statistics in the world as the Sox's primary catcher, but the offensive production was good.

Still, the Sox were understandably unconvinced that McCann was the long-term answer behind the plate. What if 2019 was just a career year for McCann? So, Hahn jumped at the opportunity to sign Yasmani Grandal to a four-year, $73 million contract last November.

McCann was brought back on another one-year deal, and he and Grandal formed an effective one-two punch behind the plate for the Sox in 2020.

Even with limited playing time, McCann produced. He batted .289/.360/.536 with seven home runs and 15 RBIs in 31 games. He did not complain about his diminished role and often was praised for his leadership. And he became the personal catcher for Sox ace Lucas Giolito, who provided a 2020 season highlight by throwing a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 25.

But with Grandal in the fold for the long haul, the writing was on the wall for McCann. He sees himself as a starting catcher, and he's proven over the past two years with the Sox that he deserves a shot to be the No. 1 guy. He was not going to get that in Chicago.

He'll get that opportunity in New York. As Sox fans, we wish we could have the Grandal-McCann tandem behind the plate for another few years, but realistically, that was never going to be cost-effective.

You're not going to pay McCann $10 million a year to catch twice a week, and you can't blame the Sox for not being interested in matching an offer like that. You simply thank McCann for a job well done and wish him well with the Mets.

In the meantime, the Sox need a second catcher. The internal options are suspect: Zack Collins, Yermin Mercedes and Seby Zavala. We talked about these guys before: Collins and Mercedes have hit at the Triple-A level, but both are subpar defensively. Zavala is a good receiver, and a good catch-and-throw guy, but it's unlikely he'll ever hit well enough to stick in the major leagues.

So, do the Sox go outside the organization? If the answer is yes, here are your options in free agency: Jason Castro, Robinson Chirinos, Tyler Flowers, Sandy Leon, Yadier Molina, Kurt Suzuki and Mike Zunino.

Do we like anybody on that list? 

White Sox GM Rick Hahn shouldn't be counting on guys on 1-year deals

Adam Eaton

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of White Sox GM Rick Hahn. I think he's replacement level, and I've never understood the irrational love he receives from some segments of the fan base.

I don't think his track record in free agent signings is good, and a lot of that stems from the massive failures we've seen the Sox have over the past six or seven years shopping at the bottom of the market.

And by the bottom of the market, I mean guys who are signing one-year deals. The latest Sox signing, Adam Eaton, comes on a one-year deal and is being sold to fans as a right field solution for a "World Series or bust" season.

Color me skeptical. Kudos to Jim Margalus over at Sox Machine for putting together a list of previous Hahn one-year contracts. It's every bit as bad as you think it is. Let's take a look at some of these names, and the WAR of those players:

2014:

• Felipe Paulino, 0 WAR
• Scott Downs, -0.5 WAR
• Ronald Belisario, -1.5 WAR

2015:

• Geovany Soto, 1.0 WAR
• Emilio Bonifacio, -0.8 WAR
• Gordon Beckham, 0.7 WAR

2016:

• Dioner Navarro, -0.7 WAR
• Alex Avila, 0.3 WAR
• Austin Jackson, -0.1 WAR
• Jimmy Rollins, -0.1 WAR
• Mat Latos, 0.4 WAR 

2017:

• Derek Holland, -1.6 WAR

2018:

• Miguel Gonzalez, -0.7 WAR
• Hector Santiago, 0.7 WAR 

2019:

• Jon Jay, -0.8 WAR
• James McCann, 1.0 WAR
• Ervin Santana, -0.4 WAR

2020:

• Gio Gonzalez, -0.3 WAR
• Edwin Encarnacion, -0.5 WAR
• Steve Cishek, -0.2 WAR

As Margalus notes, that's a total of -4.1 WAR for players that the Sox invested a total of $78.25 million in. Take out the two successes -- McCann and to a lesser extent Soto -- and it's $74.25 million invested for a -6.1 WAR.

So, you can understand the skepticism whenever the Sox sign a one-year stopgap. I'm a fair man, so let me say this: There's a lot of below-average or bad players on this list who were brought on with low expectations. Some of these signings were made to fill gaps in rebuilding seasons.

You can make an argument -- and a good argument -- that a lot of these players were available on one-year deals for a reason. 

That being said, I can retort by saying that Eaton is available on a one-year deal for a reason. He's 32 years old. He's often injured. He's been injured three of the past four seasons, in fact, and he's coming off a down year. His best years were from 2014 to 2016 with the Sox, and he hasn't been the same player since.

These kinds of "take a flyer" signings were fine during a tanking period, but this isn't rebuilding anymore. By the Sox's own words, this is time to win a championship.

So why is the front office still aiming low in free agency? Just asking.

C'mon, Hahn. C'mon, Jerry Reinsdorf. Step up, prove me wrong and sign a difference-making free agent. There are good fits out there.