Three Outfield Bats The White Sox Could And Should Be Targeting

The White Sox are one of the best teams in all of baseball. That much has been proven through the first month and a half of the 2021 season. Even without young stars Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert, the Sox have the best run differential and overall record in the MLB. However, a championship-caliber team cannot afford to continually trot out Billy Hamilton and Leury Garcia every day. They're valuable as bench pieces or for late-game defense, but prove to be a weakness if they play any more than that. Far too many times already have we seen Leury up to bat in a critical moment, only to see him ground out to second base. And we have yet to mention Adam Eaton, who after his fast start has plummeted hard. Rick Hahn needs to make a move sooner rather than later. Luckily there are a handful of pieces that would fit perfectly with this squad.

Joey Gallo

This is a name that seems to pop up around White Sox nation daily. It's not hard to understand why. Gallo has 40+ home run power, is an on-base machine, and plays a Gold-Glove caliber Right Field. On the negative side, he does strike out a lot, but that is mitigated by his 15.5% walk rate. He is also a left-handed bat, which always plays well at Guaranteed Rate Field. Imagine opposing pitchers having to go through a middle of the order that includes Jose Abreu, Yermin Mercedes, Yasmani Grandal, and Joey Gallo. Those are 4 tough outs all in a row, and that's not even counting Yoan Moncada and Andrew Vaughn, 2 others that tend to get on base at a high clip as well and would bookend the aforementioned 4 players. Gallo is controlled through 2022 as well, but his price still shouldn't be astronomical. A few lower-level arms with upside and someone like Gavin Sheets could probably bring Gallo to the South Side. When it comes to fit, I think he's one of the better ones out there.

Mitch Haniger

Haniger is having a very productive year for the Seattle Mariners. He was an All-Star a few years back, but injuries and last year's 60-game season slowed him down. Now, the 30-year-old is back and slugging the hell out of the baseball. He carries a slash-line of .268/.320/.575. Good for a .895 on-base + slugging%. His wRC+ is sitting at 148, meaning he is 48% better at his position than the league average. Like Gallo, Haniger is also controlled through next season as well. The biggest thing with Haniger is that there doesn't seem to be a future with him in Seattle's outfield thanks to Kyle Lewis, Jared Kelenic, and top prospect Julio Rodriguez. The Mariners could always move Haniger to 1st base or DH, but he may prove most valuable to them in a trade for more assets.

Kris Bryant

I know, I know. The Cubs would have to be absolutely blown away by an offer for KB, given the season he's having, and the fact that the Jose Quintana/Eloy Jimenez/Dylan Cease deal looks like robbery for the White Sox. What the Cubs SHOULD do is resign Bryant and keep him as their franchise cornerstone. But if ownership refuses to give him his well-deserved payday, they'd at least want to get something in return. The N.L. Central is going to be a grind this summer, and as it stands, the Cubs are in fourth place, but just 3 games out of first. If a Bryant trade were to happen, it probably wouldn't be until the Cubs fall further back, but that might not happen at all. What I do know is that between Bryant's production and versatility, he would fit in perfectly on the South Side. Hell, he'd fit in perfectly anywhere. If the Cubs do trade Bryant, it would likely signal a rebuild just like the White Sox did with Chris Sale. We've already seen the Padres trade for Yu Darvish for essentially nothing, so it's not out of the question that the Sox could get Bryant for an affordable price. If the Sox were able to pull off this trade, they could go from a World Series contender to a co-favorite with the Dodgers and Padres. At worst they'd be the American League favorite.

Any of these three players would instantly make the White Sox immensely better and more balanced. Kris Bryant would only be a rental, but in turn, would give you the best chance to go win a World Series this year. Gallo and his left-handed bat would play perfectly at Sox park, and Haniger has shown no signs of slowing down when it comes to slugging the baseball. I do think that the Sox will eventually trade for an outfield bat. It could be one of these three, it could be someone else. But imagine one of these three in the White Sox lineup and then getting Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert back in September? The lineup would strike the fear of God into opposing pitchers. Rick Hahn has a job to do, let's see how big of a splash he's willing to make.