Mark Buehrle gets enough votes to stay on the Hall of Fame ballot

Mark Buehrle

For the first time since 2013, nobody got elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America were revealed Tuesday, and no player received the 75% necessary to earn induction.

That doesn't mean that nobody will go into the Hall this year -- the Class of 2020, which includes Derek Jeter, Larry Walker and Ted Simmons, will get its induction ceremony this summer after COVID-19 ruined everything last July.

In this 2021 ballot, pitcher Curt Schilling came the closest. He got 71.1% of the vote, followed by outfielder Barry Bonds (61.8%) and pitcher Roger Clemens (61.1%). Schilling, Bonds and Clemens were all in their ninth year on the ballot, which means they'll get one more kick at the can in 2022. If a player isn't inducted after 10 years, he falls off the ballot.

The biggest takeaway for White Sox fans? Well, good news for Mark Buehrle. He received 44 of a possible 401 votes to lead all first-time candidates. That's 11% of the vote, so it's nowhere near enough to secure induction into the Hall, but Buehrle was comfortably above the 5% threshold needed to remain on the ballot for a second year.

I'm not prepared to say Buehrle belongs in the Hall, but I'm pleased to see him receive a decent level of support. Getting 44 votes means some people outside of Chicago noticed his name on the ballot and voted for him.

At the very least, my hope for Buehrle is that the voters give his career a fair audit in the years to come. How do we judge a starting pitcher's worthiness for the Hall anyway? Most starting pitchers in the Hall have 300 wins; 3,000 strikeouts or both. Almost nobody does that anymore, so new standards need to be applied to starting pitchers.

For Buerhle, let's start with this: Between 2000 and 2015, nobody pitched more innings, and nobody won more games. Buehrle and CC Sabathia both had 214 wins during that period. And as we've noted in the past, Buehrle had iconic moments in his career: two no-hitters, including a perfect game; five All-Star appearances, including an All-Star Game start; and a World Series championship with the Sox in 2005.

It may or may not have been a Hall of Fame career, but it was a career that should not be dismissed easily. I'm happy Buehrle's name will be on the Hall ballot again in 2022.

Catching up on some White Sox news and notes

Lucas Giolito

I've been in a busy stretch at my real job recently, so I haven't had the chance to write about baseball much. 

Any of the things below probably could have been a blog entry, but for the sake of time, I'll just bullet point some of the recent White Sox news and notes:

• The Sox avoided arbitration with ace pitcher Lucas Giolito by agreeing to terms on a one-year, $4.15 million contract. Barring injury, we'll see Giolito on the mound Opening Day.
  
• The Sox also avoided arbitration with right-hander Reynaldo Lopez by agreeing to terms on a one-year, $2.1 million contract. Lopez will be pitching for his job in the spring -- he is projected to compete with Dylan Cease and Michael Kopech for the last two spots in the starting rotation.
• The Sox finalized a contract with right-hander Liam Hendriks. The terms are exactly what we described earlier in the week. Hendriks will be the closer this season.
• The international signing period began Jan. 15, and as expected, the Sox signed Cuban outfielder Yoelqui Céspedes for $2.05 million. They also signed Cuban right-hander Norge Vera for $1.5 million.
• Connor McKnight has been hired to host pregame and postgame shows on ESPN 1000 AM. McKnight will fill in on radio broadcasts with Darrin Jackson when Len Kasper is doing TV work on NBC Sports Chicago. He also will host "White Sox Weekly," which is a one-hour program that airs at 9 a.m. Saturdays on 1000 AM. That show will expand to two hours when the season begins.

OK, I think we're up to date.

For better or for worse, Liam Hendriks is the big White Sox offseason acquisition

Liam Hendriks

Forgive me if this offseason is giving me flashbacks to 2014-15 as a White Sox fan. The players general manager Rick Hahn has acquired this year remind me a little of the guys he brought in that winter.

Here in 2020-21, we've got Lance Lynn starring as Jeff Samardzija, and Adam Eaton as Melky Cabrera. And ... introducing Liam Hendriks as David Robertson!

OK, I think Lynn is a better pitcher than Samardzija. And for all his limitations, Eaton is at least a more economical roster addition than Cabrera was. And Hendriks, the latest White Sox signee, is similar to Robertson in the sense that he was the best free-agent relief pitcher on the market.

Hendriks, a 31-year-old right-hander, was signed Monday to a three-year, $54 million contract. He will earn $13 million in each of the next three seasons. The deal includes a $15 million club option for 2024, with a $15 million buyout -- hence the $54 million in guaranteed money.

I don't want to make the same argument twice, so I'll refer everyone back to my previous comments on Hendriks. Hey, the guy has been an elite relief pitcher the past two seasons. It's reasonable to believe he makes the Sox better. He brings swing-and-miss stuff to the closer's role --13.1 strikeouts per nine innings in both 2019 and 2020 -- and that's an element the Sox bullpen has been lacking.

On paper, Hendriks is a better closer than Alex Colome, and I would never argue otherwise. Thing is, at $54 million, it's likely that Hendriks will be the biggest free-agent addition this offseason, and my concern overall has been whether closer is the appropriate position to spend money on. I felt as though starting pitching and right field were bigger needs. 

The Sox filled those two spots with cheaper acquisitions in Lynn and Eaton.

Am I the only one who finds it fascinating that the Sox are willing to shop at the top of the market for relief pitching, while being unwilling to do so at any other position?

They ponied up for Robertson back in 2014-15, and now they made Hendriks their top target. However, they seem uninterested in George Springer, the best outfielder on the market, and uninterested in Trevor Bauer, the best starting pitcher on the market. It's frustrating and baffling to see the Sox not pursue those guys.

But, let me say this for the Sox: Who else in the American League is doing ANYTHING this offseason? Nobody, really. 

Aside from the San Diego Padres and New York Mets, two National League clubs, the Sox are the only team that appears to actively be trying to get better. 

Even though I wish they were doing more, they are at least doing something, so there's that.

Indians trade Francisco Lindor, Carlos Carrasco to Mets

Francisco Lindor

The complexion of the 2021 American League Central race was altered Thursday as the Cleveland Indians traded the face of their franchise, plus a starting pitcher, to the New York Mets.

Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco are on their way to New York, and in return, the Indians received two middle infielders -- Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez -- and two prospects -- pitcher Josh Wolf and outfielder Isaiah Greene.

A trade of Lindor has long been rumored, and with him entering the last season of his contract, the Indians finally swung a deal. In doing so, their chances of winning the AL Central are greatly diminished. 

In truth, Cleveland has been subtracting talent for a while. In recent times, we've seen the Indians trade Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger. They also cut ties with reliable closer Brad Hand because of money. 

In 2020, most of the Cleveland offense came from four guys: Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Carlos Santana and Franmil Reyes. Santana is gone, having signed a free-agent deal with the Kansas City Royals, and now the perennial All-Star Lindor is out the door as well.

Ramirez is a great player, arguably as good as Lindor, but now he's going to have to carry the Indians' lineup by himself. I'd be pitching around him a lot in 2021. 

Cleveland's starting rotation will not be crap, even with the subtraction of Carrasco -- a respected 11-year veteran who is 15 games over .500 in his career. The Indians still have the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner in Shane Bieber, plus Zach Plesac, Triston McKenzie and Aaron Civale.

There's enough there to stay competitive most nights, but now it would be a surprise if the Indians are able to hang with the Minnesota Twins and White Sox all season in the AL Central.

That said, I can't say the Indians did poorly in this deal. Everyone knew they had to trade Lindor, so it was unlikely they were going to get a king's ransom in return. What they did get is two players who will start for them immediately. Rosario figures to be their shortstop. Gimenez will likely play second, with free agent Cesar Hernandez unlikely to return.

Wolf was a second-round draft pick of the Mets in 2019. Greene was a second-rounder in 2020.

The return could have been worse for Cleveland, but I'm sure that's of little consequence to their fans, who have to be saddened to see two solid performers walking out the door -- one of which has been the franchise cornerstone through some very good years.

White Sox, Evan Marshall agree on one-year contract, avoiding arbitration

Evan Marshall

Holiday weekend roster news: Right-handed relief pitcher Evan Marshall and the White Sox agreed on a one-year, $2 million contract, avoiding arbitration.

Marshall has worked out of the Sox's bullpen the past two seasons, and they've pretty much been the two best years of his career. Combining his 2019 and 2020 numbers, Marshall has gone 6-3 with a 2.45 ERA in 78 appearances.

The 30-year-old struck out a career-best 11.9 batters per nine innings in 2020 and limited opponents to a .198 batting average. Thanks to Marshall's outstanding changeup, left-handed batters managed only five hits in 42 at-bats against him last season.

The Sox have now signed three of their five arbitration-eligible players: Marshall, Adam Engel and Jace Fry. The remaining two are starting pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez.

The bullpen is one area of the Sox's roster that figures to be stable going into the 2021 season. Here's the projected relief corps right now:

Right-handers: Marshall, Codi Heuer, Jimmy Cordero, Matt Foster

Left-handers: Fry, Aaron Bummer, Garrett Crochet

That's seven guys out of a projected eight-man bullpen. Alex Colome remains a free agent. You figure the Sox will add one more veteran relief arm this offseason, whether it's bringing back Colome or signing someone else.