The Chicago White Sox have replaced one aging first base/DH type on their roster with another, signing former Washington National Adam LaRoche to a two-year contract worth $25 million.
The Chicago #WhiteSox just signed 1B Adam LaRoche to a 2 year, $25 million contract.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 22, 2014
Of course, I doubt the White Sox will play LaRoche in the field all that much because of the presence of reigning AL Rookie of the Year Jose Abreu. The 27-year old Abreu had a monster year in 2014, hitting .317/.383/.581 with 36 homers in 145 games. However, the White Sox did caddy for him, letting veterans Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn each long some playing time at the position while Abreu earned some playing time at DH. I assume that would be the plan once again this season, but with LaRoche serving as the team’s DH when he’s not in the field.
Chicago definitely needed the upgrade at designated hitter. Dunn was the team’s primary DH in 2014, but he was shipped to the Athletics in August, and retired after the season. Konerko also got some playing time at the position, but couldn’t hit at all before his retirement at the end of the year. Before signing LaRoche, Chicago’s projected Opening Day DH was Dayan Viciedo, who has hit .254/.298/.424 in parts of five seasons in the majors. Viciedo had poorly masqueraded as an outfielder and third baseman in his career, and could be non-tender material after the signing of LaRoche. He’s entering his second year of arbitration this winter, and MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projects him to earn $4.4 million. That’s a lot of money to pay for a guy who could simply be a bench player now, depending on how Chicago feels about their complicated left field situation.
Up until now, I’ve barely mentioned LaRoche. In 2014 with the Nationals, he hit .259/.362/.455 with 26 homers, another fine year at the plate for him. However, he did struggle against left-handers, putting together a .204/.284/.336 line. Hitting southpaws has always been difficult for LaRoche, but the AL Central only has one dominant lefty starter: David Price of the Tigers. That weakness could be Viciedo’s gain – he’s been traditionally strong against lefties in his career, hitting .291/.331/.507 in his career (though over the past two seasons, his splits are just about equal).
When it comes down to it, however, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer a younger Billy Butler for three years and $30 million. LaRoche is a decent enough player, and the fact that he can play the field is a good way to maintain Abreu’s health, but LaRoche’s age and erratic production during his time in Washington makes me feel like this could go poorly for the White Sox.
