Happy New Year from The Baseball Kid

 

Some more free agent signings to catch up on ...

Here's a look at some recent free agent signings:

• Michael Conforto, San Franciso Giants, 2 years, $36 million
• Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers, 2 years, $34 million
• Corey Kluber, Boston Red Sox, 1 year, $10 million
• Jean Segura, Miami Marlins, 2 years, $17 million
• Drew Smyly, Cubs, 2 years, $19 million
• Taylor Rogers, San Francisco Giants, 3 years, $33 million

Segura's signing takes the most prominent remaining free agent option at second base off the board, which caused White Sox Twitter to melt down for approximately the 23rd time this offseason.

You can't really blame the fans, though, since the internal "options" being sold to them by the front office include Romy Gonzalez, Lenyn Sosa and ... gulp, Leury Garcia.

Gonzalez has not shown that he's good enough to start for a team that expects to contend. Sosa has promise, but he's simply not ready yet. The big fear is this road leads back to Garcia. Again.

San Francisco's signing of Rogers had a ripple effect, too, as the Giants designated second baseman Tommy La Stella for assignment to make room for the veteran pitcher on the roster.

Thus, La Stella is a free agent, and some Sox fans are talking about him as a possible option. Buyer beware. 

Injuries limited La Stella to 60 games last season, when he accumulated -0.7 WAR. He's entering his age-34 season, and it's not unreasonable to believe his days as a useful player are past. He doesn't merit anything other than a minor league contract, if that. There's a reason the Giants let him go.

Carlton Fisk, now age 75, was the rare great White Sox free agent signing

It's been almost 30 years since Carlton Fisk was unceremoniously let go by the White Sox in the summer of 1993, and he was age 45 at the time. 

So, I shouldn't be surprised that a player I grew up watching is now 75 years old -- Fisk's birthday was Dec. 26. When I read Fisk's age the other day, my first thought was, "Geez, he's almost as old as Tony La Russa!" 

My second thought: Fisk has to be on the short list of rare great Sox free agent signings. After Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn bought the team, they were looking to make some headlines, so they signed Fisk on March 18, 1981.

At the time Fisk came to the South Side, he was 11 years into a Hall of Fame career, with all of those seasons being spent with the Boston Red Sox. And he had been named to the All-Star team in seven of those 11 seasons. 

The signing paid immediate dividends on Opening Day -- April 10, 1981 -- when Fisk hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the eighth inning in an eventual 5-3 Sox victory.

Fittingly, the home run came at Fenway Park against Boston. Harry Caray's call is now immortalized as part of the introduction to Chuck Garfien's White Sox Talk podcast:

For you kiddos out there, yes, Caray was once a Sox broadcaster.

This home run was the first of 214 Fisk hit over his 13 seasons with the White Sox. He made four more All-Star appearances with the South Siders (for a career total of 11) and was third in AL MVP voting in 1983, which is the first season of Sox baseball that I can remember. 

That season, Fisk hit .289/.355/.518 with 26 homers and 86 RBIs. In 1985, Fisk hit 37 homers and 107 RBIs, both career highs. As late as 1991, at age 43, he made the All-Star team.

Sometimes it pays to sign a premium free agent, doesn't it? 

Believe it or not, it's been almost 23 years since Fisk was inducted into Hall of Fame. He was elected in 2000. Time flies.

Take a digital stroll around the original Comiskey Park

This is a slow time for baseball news, so let's entertain ourselves by watching this video. It allows you to take a digital stroll through the lower concourse of the original Comiskey Park, as it stood at the end of its life.

For those of you unfamiliar, Comiskey Park was home to the White Sox from 1910 to 1990. Watching this video, I'm suddenly 10 years old again. I definitely remember the old picnic area in left field, where you could sit at a table at field level and look out across the playing surface.

Merry Christmas from The Baseball Kid

 

So, Carlos Correa is actually going to the Mets

Carlos Correa

This is a new one for me. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this before. All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa agreed to a 13-year, $350 million contract with the San Francisco Giants earlier this month.

But on Tuesday, the Giants canceled a press conference during which Correa was scheduled to be formally introduced. Apparently, something came up in Correa's physical that held up the deal.

So, Correa reopened his free agency late Tuesday, and by Wednesday morning, he had a 12-year, $315 million deal with the New York Mets. He'll no longer be a shortstop, because the Mets already have Francisco Lindor. Instead, he'll play third base.

On Wednesday, I saw an estimate that said the Mets' payroll would be an estimated $384 million, with luxury tax penalties totaling $111 million. Add it all up, and that equals $495 million.

According to reports late Wednesday, the Mets are trading struggling catcher James McCann to the Baltimore Orioles, so that sheds some payroll. Still, this is one expensive baseball team.

Here are the contracts the Mets have doled out this offseason:

• Correa, 12 years, $315 million
• Brandon Nimmo, eight years, $162 million
• Edwin Diaz, five years, $102 million
• Justin Verlander, two years, $86 million
• Kodai Senga, five years, $75 million
• Jose Quintana, two years, $26 million
• Omar Narvaez, two years, $15 million
• Adam Ottavino, two years, $14.5 million
• David Robertson, one year, $10 million 

That's a total of $806.1 million. 

We've talked about the White Sox giving $75 million to Andrew Benintendi, and how that's the richest deal in team history. For the Mets, $75 million would only be the fifth-highest deal they've handed out this offseason. Forget team history.

No wonder Jerry Reinsdorf voted against allowing Steve Cohen to buy the Mets.

Rumor mill: Mets reportedly interested in Liam Hendriks

This story popped up on MLB.com Tuesday. MLB Network insider Jon Heyman reported the New York Mets are talking to the White Sox about a trade for Liam Hendriks.

I've learned through the years to never say never, but I'm not seeing a match here. Earlier this offseason, the Mets retained their incumbent closer, Edwin Diaz, by signing him to a five-year, $102 million contract. New York does not need a ninth inning guy.

Not to mention, the Mets also signed David Robertson to a one-year deal. Robertson is a veteran reliever with ample closing experience, should Diaz get injured or falter. On Tuesday, the Mets signed reliever Adam Ottavino to a two-year, $14.5 million deal.

It seems to me that the Mets are set for innings 7, 8 and 9. I get that they are looking to accumulate an embarrassment of riches this offseason, so maybe that's why they've inquired about Hendriks.

That said, what is in it for the Sox? As all Sox fans know, the team has holes at second base and in right field. And Hendriks might be their most attractive trade chip. In my way of thinking, that means any trade involving Hendriks has to include a starting-caliber second baseman or outfielder coming the other way.

Are the Mets trading the Sox their starting second baseman, Jeff McNeil? I don't think so. Why would they do that going into a season where they have World Series expectations? Do the Mets have an extra left-handed corner outfielder that could start in right field for the Sox? No, it doesn't look like it to me. Maybe I'm wrong, and someone will correct me.

What's the motivation for the deal here, for either side?

I saw one proposal today that had the Mets acquiring Hendriks for a package of prospects. This also makes little sense. The Sox might be foolhardy in their belief that they can win in 2023, but the signing of Andrew Benintendi this past weekend signals they are still going for it.

And if they are going for it, why wouldn't they want Hendriks to continue as their closer?