At this point, the White Sox are not likely to spend much on any free agent. They are trying to cut payroll and will have to work with a very limited budget. This will mean the Sox will have to find free agents that can provide more value than what they sign for. One of the main ways to do this would to sign bounce-back candidates who have struggled for a year or so, but have show they can play at a high level in the MLB.
Luckily, there are always plenty of these players available, and they are typically willing to sign a one-year deal, so they can get a potentially bigger deal in then next off-season. This could be similar to how Cody Bellinger handled last off-season, although he was a former MVP, so he is a tier above most of the guys that the White Sox could sign. Here are some players the Sox could target this off-season in hopes of a bounce back year.
Alex Reyes
This would be the perfect signing for the White Sox. Reyes was a former top-100 prospect and one of the highest ranked prospects in the 2017 pool, as he was rated #6 overall. He has shown this talent in his major league career, as he has performed well so far in his career. His performance is not the problem, it is staying healthy.
To this point in his five year MLB career, Reyes is 16-11 with a 2.86 ERA in just over 100 games pitched. He has 177 strikeouts in 145 innings, so he is well over a strikeout an inning.
But, he has yet to long an inning since 2021. He has missed the last two seasons due to injury and has been sporadically hurt over 2016-2021, also missing the 2017 season. But, he was an all-star in 2021, showing his potential for being a high-upside signing.
The White Sox have nothing to lose by signing him. They are not likely to compete this year, so if Reyes was to miss time it would not make a big difference. But, if he plays, he would be their best reliever and could fetch a good prospect at the deadline if the Sox wanted to flip him.
Reyes is still just 29 so he is still young. The Sox could sign him to an incentive laden deal, just the way Jerry likes it, and it could be a great deal. The Sox need to focus on players that have shown they belong in the MLB, but have struggled or been injured lately, in hopes they turn it around in a new situation.
Jesse Winker
Unlike Reyes, Winker has played these last few years, but has been unable to replicate his 2021 all-star season with the Cincinnati Reds. He has been on two teams since then, Seattle and Milwaukee, and neither was able to get that same production out of him. Both teams had playoff rosters, so there was pressure to perform, potentially contributing to the slump. Luckily for him, the Sox don't have many expectations this season, so this could be the perfect situation for a player to rebound.
Winker had pretty decent success from 2017-2021, as he hit .288 with 66 homeruns and 190 RBIs on some bad Reds teams. If he can get back to that type of player with the Sox, he would be the best right fielder the Sox have had in a long time. He also is a lefty bat, which the Sox have been looking for.
He has been very bad over the last two years though, so signing him is a bit of a risk. But, it's not like the Sox have anything to lose. He won't be expensive and if he is bad you can just DFA him. But, if he is closer to his 2021 season, you get an above average player for a cheap price. That is exactly what Getz has been doing thus far, and Winker should be one of the next targets.
Kyle Lewis
Lewis is closer to Reyes than he is to Winker, as he has been mainly injured, which has caused his production to fall when he plays. Lewis was the one to beat out Robert for Rookie of the Year in 2020, so the Sox could benefit from signing him and placing him in right field.
Since his great 2020 rookie year, he has just had over 200 at bats, which is hardly half a season's worth. This could be a good investment for the Sox, as for the reasons stated above, this season is not likely to be competitive. If he could get back to his 2020 season where he hit .262 with 11 home runs and 28 RBIs in the Covid shortened season, he would make for a great signing in right field.
The Sox need to continue to sign these players that have the upside but won't break the bank. All of these players were good at one time and have either slumped or been injured as of late. If they sign cheap/incentive laden deals, they could be great investments for the Sox this season.
