Former White Sox outfielder AJ Pollock headed to Seattle

AJ Pollock

Former White Sox outfielder AJ Pollock has agreed to a one-year contract with the Seattle Mariners worth $7 million, according to recent reports. 

You may recall that when the offseason began, Pollock's future was one of the big questions surrounding the Sox. Would the veteran accept his $13 million player option to remain in Chicago? Or would he opt out and take a $5 million buyout?

Pollock opted out and entered free agency. From a purely financial standpoint, he cost himself $1 million with that decision. He's got the $5 million from the Sox. Add the $7 million from Seattle, and that's a total of $12 million -- which is less than $13 million.

But from Pollock's perspective, perhaps the chance to choose his own team was worth giving up the $1 million. He never asked to come to Chicago -- the Los Angeles Dodgers traded him to the Sox for Craig Kimbrel last spring training, in a deal that really didn't pan out for either side. 

Had Pollock opted in with the Sox, there's a pretty decent chance he would have been traded to parts unknown this offseason. He could have ended up on a non-contender in 2023, or in a place where he would have had limited playing time.

After posting a career-worst .681 OPS in his age-34 season with the Sox in 2022, it's not unreasonable to think Pollock wasn't part of Sox GM Rick Hahn's plans for this season.

He probably knew that, so he opted out to keep control of his fate, even if it cost him some money. You can make a case that it worked out for everybody: Pollock chose his landing spot and signed a contract with an AL West contender in Seattle. The Sox saved $8 million when Pollock walked away, and that money was used to sign Andrew Benintendi, an outfielder that appears to be a better fit on the South Side at this time.

We'll see how it plays out as 2023 moves along.