Non-tender list adds outfield options for White Sox in free agency

Eddie Rosario

Teams around Major League Baseball non-tendered 59 players Wednesday, and some of them are outfielders who bat left-handed. 

The White Sox need a right fielder, preferably one with some left-handed pop, so the speculation only increases as more options become available.

We all know George Springer, a right-handed hitter, is the top free agent outfielder on the market. If the Sox are to sign him, it would require the biggest contract in team history, and the competition is expected to be fierce. Therefore, I'm not expecting it to happen.

In a previous blog, I advocated for signing *both* Michael Brantley and Jackie Bradley Jr. Another free agent whom I haven't mentioned is Joc Pederson, a left-handed corner outfielder who just won a World Series ring with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

However, three other players can be mentioned in this mix after they were non-tendered by their respective teams: Eddie Rosario, Kyle Schwarber and David Dahl. Let's look at how these players could fit in with the Sox:

Rosario: If we weren't in the middle of a pandemic, the Minnesota Twins probably would have tendered Rosario, who batted .281/.317/.493 over the past four seasons. He's a free swinger, as that low on-base percentage suggests, but he produces runs. 

Over those same four seasons, he's hit 96 home runs and driven in 306 runs. For his career, his 162-game averages are 28 home runs and 90 RBIs. And he doesn't turn 30 until next September, so he's a good bet to continue that production for another couple of seasons. The Twins apparently decided, however, that he is not worth his projected $12 million arbitration number.

I don't think Rosario's worth that, either, because he's not a great defensive outfielder. No way would I put him in right field. The Twins have always put him in left field. This player would be a decent acquisition for the Sox, because he can play left field in a serviceable way -- better than Eloy Jimenez can -- serve as a designated hitter most of the time and give you some pop from the left side.

In short, he's a fallback option if the Sox fail to sign Brantley, who is the best player on the market for such a role. It's worth noting that neither Brantley nor Rosario are good enough with the glove to be the left-handed half of a platoon in right field.

Schwarber: The crosstown Cubs are cutting payroll, and Schwarber getting non-tendered is the first domino to fall on the North Side. As Sox fans, we give Cubs fans a hard time all the time for overrating their own players, and Schwarber is a prime example of that, so let's not fool ourselves into believing that this player is a great fit on the South Side. He is not.

Schwarber is a terrible defensive outfielder. Absolutely terrible. Sure, he stands in left field with a glove on his hand, much like Jimenez does, but he's a significant liability out there. Schwarber has to hit in order to be effective, but in 2020, he did not hit. He batted .188/.308/.393 with a 50.8% percent ground-ball rate and a 30% strikeout rate. 

He hit 11 home runs. That's nice. It's way better than Nomar Mazara, but "better than Mazara" is damning with faint praise. That's still subpar production for a designated hitter, and that's all Schwarber is.

If the Sox sign Schwarber, he'd be nothing more than the left-handed half of a DH platoon with ... who exactly? While Schwarber will hit some home runs and take his walks, this doesn't feel like the best fit among the available players.

Dahl: The Colorado Rockies non-tendered Dahl because he had a terrible 2020 season. He batted .183/.222/.247 with not a single home run and nine RBIs. Remarkably, that's below the Mazara line!

An oblique strain and a right shoulder injury limited Dahl to 24 games this year, and injuries have been a recurring theme for him. In his career, he's suffered from a lacerated spleen and a fractured foot, among other problems.

He's only played 264 games for the Rockies over the past four years, but in general, it's been a productive run. For his career, he's batted .286/.334/.494 with 53 doubles and 38 home runs. 

All that said, the injury problems mean he cannot be a Plan A for any team that looks at 2021 as a win-now season, and the Sox are certainly in that camp. I would expect Dahl to sign with a rebuilding team, maybe the Detroit Tigers, on a one-year deal to try to rebuild his value.

From a Sox perspective, he would be the very last option on this list. 

Dodgers stick with their plan, force Game 7

Rich Hill

For the second year in a row and third time in four years, the World Series is going seven games.

The Los Angeles Dodgers forced a decisive game Tuesday with a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 6.

Game 7 is Wednesday night. Yu Darvish gets the start for Los Angeles. Lance McCullers will be on the mound for Houston.

Give the Dodgers credit: They are smarter than me, and they stuck with the plan that has made them successful throughout the season and playoffs. They don't like to allow their starters to go through a lineup more than two times, and they are standing by that belief. I thought they needed six innings from starter Rich Hill to win Game 6. They didn't. I was wrong.

Hill was effective, giving them 4.2 innings of one-run ball, but when he got in trouble in the fifth, manager Dave Roberts quickly went to the bullpen.

I didn't think Brandon Morrow had anything left in the tank after his poor performance in Game 5, but he got the biggest out of the game in the top of the fifth inning. He entered with the Dodgers trailing, 1-0. The Astros had the bases loaded with two outs, and Game 5 hero Alex Bregman was at the plate.

Morrow retired Bregman on a routine grounder to shortstop to keep it a one-run game, and the right-hander went on to record the first two outs of the sixth inning, as well.

The Dodgers broke through with two runs in the bottom of the sixth off Justin Verlander, highlighted by an RBI double by Chris Taylor and a sacrifice fly by Corey Seager. They added a third run in the seventh when Joc Pederson homered off Joe Musgrove.

This time, the Los Angeles bullpen was up to the task of protecting a lead, and much to my surprise, the Dodgers used Kenley Jansen for a six-out save. Jansen retired every batter he faced the final two innings, with three strikeouts, and he needed only 19 pitches to get the job done.

I figured Jansen would be good for only three outs in Game 6, but with that efficiency, he worked two innings with ease. It could be key that he kept his pitch count low in closing out Tuesday's game, in the likely event he'll be needed in the late innings of Game 7.

We'll see what Darvish can provide for the Dodgers. He was terrible in Game 3, getting knocked out in the second inning. The leash will be short in Game 7, of course, but that's especially true knowing Clayton Kershaw should be available to relieve at some point.

As for the Astros, they missed a big chance to close it out with their best guy on the mound in Game 6. Now, they'll have to piece the pitching together in Game 7, starting with McCullers. Will we see Dallas Keuchel in relief in Game 7? Probably.

Would Verlander come back for an inning after throwing 93 pitches Tuesday? Doubt it, but you never know. Charlie Morton, Houston's Game 4 starter, might be called upon to work in relief as well.

I'm guessing the Astros are going to need a big offensive night in order to win. In Houston's three victories in this series, it has scored 25 runs. In its three losses, it has scored four runs.

The Dodgers have won two 3-1 games in this series. They have had the advantage in the pitchers' duels. The Astros are at an advantage when the game becomes a slugfest.

Rumor mill links Andre Ethier to White Sox

Andre Ethier

The rumor started with a report by The Score's Bruce Levine, and continued with speculation from MLB.com's Phil Rogers.

Yeah, I know. I should probably stop right there. But the reports from Levine and Rogers have led White Sox fans to ponder whether Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier would be a good fit on the South Side.

On Thursday, USA Today's Bob Nightengale threw some cold water on the rumor, tweeting that there are no signs of a potential match between the Sox and the Dodgers.

My speculation would lean toward agreeing with Nightengale, but speculation is just speculation, so let's talk a little bit about Ethier's situation.

Ethier has a contract that would scare off teams. He's owed $18 million in 2016 and $17.5 million in 2017, and he has a vesting option for $17.5 million with a $2.5 million buyout for 2018. That's a lot of money owed.

The Dodgers likely are motivated to get out from underneath that contract for a couple reasons. First off, they are looking to trim their payroll. Secondly, they have way too many outfielders: Ethier, Carl Crawford, Yasiel Puig, Joc Pederson, Scott Van Slyke, Alex Guerrero, Enrique Hernandez and former Sox outfielder Trayce Thompson. That's eight outfielders. You only need five. Lastly, Ethier will gain his 10-and-5 rights in April, which means he will become much more difficult to trade once the spring is over.

Ideally, the Dodgers would want to get rid of Crawford, but much like Adam LaRoche on the Sox, his contract and recent poor performance makes him an immovable object. The highest-paid guy on that list of Dodgers outfielders who still has value is Ethier.

What skill does Ethier bring? Well, he hits right-handed pitching.

Here are his 2015 splits:
vs. RHP: .306/.383/.517
vs. LHP: .200/.229/.244

All 14 of his home runs, all seven of his triples and 18 of his 20 doubles came against right-handed pitching last year. He obviously can't hit lefties worth a damn, so he's a platoon player at this stage of his career -- he turns 34 in April.

You can see where this could be a potential fit for the Sox. Their only lefty middle-of-the-order bat is, well, LaRoche, and it's not unreasonable to think he's just washed up at this point.

That said, Ethier makes an awful lot of money for a platoon player. The Sox should not be giving up any top prospects for a high-priced platoon outfielder -- especially given that the Dodgers need to act to address their outfield logjam. Los Angeles doesn't have that much leverage here.

If Sox GM Rick Hahn can get the Dodgers to eat some money and take nothing more than middle-tier prospects for Ethier, then he should consider doing this deal. But if the Dodgers want a top prospect, or if they want the Sox to take on all the contract, then Hahn should pass.

I'm guessing that right now the Dodgers are wanting both salary relief and a good prospect in return for Ethier, and that's why Nightengale is reporting there is no potential match with the Sox. That's simply not a move the Sox should make at the moment.