The remaining free agent right fielders ... it's better than the second basemen

Michael Conforto

One day, the Major League Baseball lockout will end, and when it does, the White Sox will still need a right fielder.

That's assuming you don't think some combination of Adam Engel, Gavin Sheets and Andrew Vaughn is a suitable solution for the position. (Hint: It's not.)

So, here's a look at the guys who are available in free agency. I apologize in advance if the listing of one of Manny Machado's friends triggers you:

• Andrew McCutchen
• Dexter Fowler 
• Nick Castellanos
• Michael Conforto
• Jon Jay
• Gerardo Parra
• Brian Goodwin
• Nick Martini
• Jorge Bonifacio
• Cameron Maybin
• Travis Jankowski
• Steven Souza

If you want to expand the universe of guys to players who have played more left field than right field, here are some other names:

• Kyle Schwarber
• Corey Dickerson
• Eddie Rosario
• Joc Pederson

I included those four names because I'm presuming the Sox are looking for a left-handed bat. The best hitter on these lists is Castellanos, but he's right-handed, and the Sox are already right-hand heavy offensively. Not to mention, Castellanos is closer to the top of the market than the bottom -- in other words, I expect him to be too rich for owner Jerry Reinsdorf's blood.

The name I keep coming back to is Conforto. I'm not particularly excited about him, but he checks the boxes of playing right field, being affordable and being a left-handed hitter. 

Why is Conforto affordable? He's coming off a down 2021 season, during which he batted .232/.344/.384 with 14 home runs, 20 doubles and 55 RBIs in 125 games. He had a 101 OPS+, which means he was 1% above league average.

There's nothing exciting about 1% above league average, but then when you consider the fact that the Sox have put players such as Jay, Nomar Mazara, Ryan Cordell in Adam Eaton in right field over the past few seasons, maybe anything above average doesn't seem so bad.