Heading into the Winter Meetings in San Diego, the Chicago Cubs were the talk of the town, and with good reason. Ready to take their rebuild to the next level, they’ve been mentioned in connection to the top free agent starts on the market, as well as some significant trade pieces. However, through the first couple of days of the the annual meetings, it has been the Chicago White Sox that have completely stolen the show.
A couple of weeks ago, the White Sox went out and signed Adam LaRoche to a two-year, $25 million contract. There were initial questions about how he might be deployed by the South Siders, with Jose Abreu already manning first base, but the expectation is he’ll serve as a DH and get in on the first base action a couple of days a week, which has the potential to benefit both LaRoche and Abreu. Regardless, he adds a steady bat, and a lefty one at that, to a team that sorely needed it.
Where the White Sox have really made the improvements to their club is in their pitching staff. Many balked at the fact that they signed Zach Duke to a three-year deal worth $15 million, but coming off of the season that he is, as well as the going rate for relievers this offseason, that doesn’t seem like an unfair price for the Sox. The term is more of an issue than the money.
Additionally, the White Sox made a tremendous splash when they grabbed David Robertson off the market to add to the back of their bullpen. The best available closer on the market, Robertson signed for four years and $46 million. Again, an extremely high amount, but probably unavoidable, especially considering that Andrew Miller ended up in the same neighborhood and he’s not even a closer. The White Sox poured through closers last season, and Robertson helps to add some stability there. With Duke, he’ll combine to aid a bullpen that was 28th in the league last year, with a 4.38 ERA.
The big fish they went out and acquired was, of course, Jeff Samardzija. After working his way off the North Side, Shark returns to Chicago to the team that he grew up rooting for as a local boy out of Northwest Indiana. He adds an absolutely fantastic complement to Chris Sale, and won’t be relied upon to be the ace that he was while he was with the Cubs. A trio of Sale, Samardzija, and Jose Quintana at the top of the rotation is a terrifying thought for opposing hitters, and you can make an argument for their rotation as one of the best in baseball quite easily.
What it all boils down to is that the White Sox, while not yet title contenders, have put themselves in a position where they could make some noise in a suddenly crowded American League Central Division. The only team that doesn’t stand a chance at taking it home next year is the Minnesota Twins. As a result, it’s difficult to project the White Sox as surefire winners out of the AL Central as early as next year. But a team that has already pledged to continue adding is certainly heading in the right direction.
They’ve addressed their needs perfectly to this point. They needed a left-handed bat, and acquired one in free agency. They needed to seriously address their pitching staff, specifically the bullpen. They did so with Duke and Robertson, and will likely look to add more. They brought in Samardzija without compromising any of their farm system, which is improving although still unimpressive. You really have to like what the Sox are doing these days, and with the team on the other side demonstrating significant improvement as well, it’s going to be a blast to watch these teams square off, especially after the last few years of fighting it out as bottom feeders.
