Shopping in the White Sox Castoff Bin

[Cody Christie]

There have been some significant changes on the South Side of Chicago over the last six months – most recently the decision to part ways with a former franchise fixture in Tim Anderson.

Do any of the White Sox’s castoffs fit with the Twins?

Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, USA TODAY Sports

The White Sox entered the 2023 season with hopes of fighting with Cleveland and Minnesota for the AL Central title. Instead, the White Sox lost 101 games and finished with the second-worst record in the division. There will be some significant changes this offseason for one of Minnesota’s biggest rivals.

Players that have performed well in the past will be available on the free-agent market. Do any of those prominent players fit with Minnesota’s offseason plans?

Lucas Giolito, SP
The Twins are potentially losing two members from their starting rotation, with Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda being free agents. Giolito is a buy-low candidate based on his performance in the last two seasons. Since the start of 2022, he has posted a 4.89 ERA with a 1.37 WHIP while posting a 9.9 K/9. His Whiff% and K% rank in the 67th percentile or higher, but he hardly had a typical season last year. 

The White Sox knew Giolito was heading to free agency, so the club traded him to the Angels. Los Angeles fell out of the race and put him on waivers before the Guardians added him for the stretch run. He performed poorly, but that doesn’t mean his career can't be put back on track. The Twins acquired a different pitcher last winter with a strong change-up (Pablo Lopez), which is Giolito’s best pitch. Could the Twins work their magic and adjust Giolito enough to get him back to his previous form? 

2024 Twins Roster Fit: The Twins require a playoff-caliber starter, and Giolito should be in their price range. Do they have enough faith in him to make improvements?

Liam Hendriks, RP
Twins fans might love the idea of Hendriks finishing his career in the place where it began. He made 30 appearances (28 starts) for the Twins from 2011-13 with a 6.06 ERA, a 1.59 WHIP, and 5.8 K/9. The Twins never gave Hendriks a shot in the bullpen, and they designated him for assignment in December 2013 while he still had minor-league options remaining. It was a frustrating end to his Twins tenure, but his outlook completely changed over the next few seasons.

Hendriks became one of baseball’s best relievers after finding a home in Oakland. In five seasons, he posted a 3.08 ERA with an 11.4 K/9. The White Sox signed him to a three-year, $54 million, and he continued to pitch well. Hendriks faced some health concerns in 2023 as he battled non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He returned later in the season but was limited to five appearances before landing on the IL with an elbow issue. He was forced to have Tommy John surgery and is likely out for the entire 2024 season. 

2024 Twins Roster Fit: Hendriks won’t fit on any team’s roster for the 2024 season, but many players in his position can still find a home. He will likely need to sign a two-year contract that pays him a little for his rehab year and gives the team control for his first year back from Tommy John. The Twins signed Michael Pineda to a deal when he was recovering in 2018.

Tim Anderson, IF
Anderson has caused havoc in the AL Central during his career, including winning a batting title and being a two-time All-Star. There were a lot of things that went wrong for the 2023 White Sox, and Anderson was near the top of the list. He posted a 60 OPS+ with a -2.0 rWAR and -17 Defensive Runs Saved. He was one of the AL’s Least Valuable players, but he isn’t far removed from being great. 

Anderson spent three weeks on the IL with a left knee sprain, and he told reporters that he never felt right for the rest of the season. This injury likely contributed to his poor performance on both sides of the ball, so there is hope he can return to being a leadoff catalyst on a contending team. He posted a 122 OPS+ from 2019-22, which is why teams were interested in him at last year’s trade deadline. Anderson will find a new home, but he might need to move to second base. 

2024 Twins Roster Fit: The Twins have multiple options better than Anderson at up-the-middle positions. He’d love to stay in the AL Central to face his old team more regularly, but he doesn’t fit with the Twins. 

Should the Twins sign any of these players? Which player(s) makes the most sense on next season’s roster? Leave a COMMENT and join the discussion.

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[tarheeltwinsfan]

Maybe Tim Anderson could sign with the Cleveland Guardians so he could play next to Jose Ramirez. 

[pierre75275]

Easily a hard pass on all three of those players. 

I seriously doubt the Twins could call someone up who would do worse than any of those. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

I would absolutely bring on Hendricks for his presence/personality in 2024, and I'd sign him to a 2 year deal so he could be pitching in 2025. That would be the hope.

I would also absolutely bring on Giolito. I know there is another thread on this, but I feel as if there is a playoff caliber starter in there, and he will be an awful lot cheaper had he not had the last 2 months of production in 2023 after both A) Getting divorced and B) getting traded. 

I also would love it if the Twins kicked the tires to see if Chicago would be open to trading Michael Kopech. He was terrible production wise in 2023, but the arm talent is in there too. Just wanted to add that.

Tim Anderson on the other hand, I will him well, but I don't see a place here.

[terrydactyls]

Ditto

[nicksaviking]

If the Twins don't sign one of the very few bats I'd like, I guess I could roll the dice with Giolito, but ONLY if they also trade for a Sonny Gray replacement. Have to aim higher than this.

As much as I would have liked Hendricks a year ago, I'd pass. There's no telling how he'll return from TJ surgery and he'll be 36 when he does. Seems more like a luxury gamble than a calculated one.

No interest in Anderson. His slugging percentage has fallen off of a cliff since 2021. He just looks like a slap hitter now, and not a very good one.

[Elite Benchwarmer]

Giolito is the best the Twins can hope for in a free agent SP.  I'd go for a deal in the ballpark of 3 years/$45 mil. 

If the bidding for Giolito (and similar SP talent) pushes $20 mil+ and/or 4 years+, we may be settling for Kenta Maeda as our best option. 

Just like me, the Twins are on a budget!

[High heat]

27 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I would absolutely bring on Hendricks for his presence/personality in 2024, and I'd sign him to a 2 year deal so he could be pitching in 2025. That would be the hope.

I would also absolutely bring on Giolito. I know there is another thread on this, but I feel as if there is a playoff caliber starter in there, and he will be an awful lot cheaper had he not had the last 2 months of production in 2023 after both A) Getting divorced and B) getting traded. 

I also would love it if the Twins kicked the tires to see if Chicago would be open to trading Michael Kopech. He was terrible production wise in 2023, but the arm talent is in there too. Just wanted to add that.

Tim Anderson on the other hand, I will him well, but I don't see a place here.

Would love to get a Michael Kopech, Big fastball and arm talent.  A sweeper would do him wonders. I’m guessing the Sox are willing to give up on him and they absolutely won’t trade him to a division rival..

 

Giolito is growing on me. If Twins think they can tweak thing and get him on track.  He would be a guy you Identify early, need to get him signed and into work with some of our staff and teammates.

 

Liam Hendriks on the flip side would be a guy of late in the offseason he is still a free agent and you have $ to spend (get a better TV revenue deal then we think) bring him in on a reasonable 2 year deal.

 

The problem is the front office basically said they aren’t spending any $ until the finance situation get worked out.  Otherwise there budget is what’s on the book.

[Cory Engelhardt]

5 minutes ago, High heat said:

Would love to get a Michael Kopech, Big fastball and arm talent.  A sweeper would do him wonders. I’m guessing the Sox are willing to give up on him and they absolutely won’t trade him to a division rival..

 

Giolito is growing on me. If Twins think they can tweak thing and get him on track.  He would be a guy you Identify early, need to get him signed and into work with some of our staff and teammates.

 

Liam Hendriks on the flip side would be a guy of late in the offseason he is still a free agent and you have $ to spend (get a better TV revenue deal then we think) bring him in on a reasonable 2 year deal.

 

The problem is the front office basically said they aren’t spending any $ until the finance situation get worked out.  Otherwise there budget is what’s on the book.

It may not be a problem to be honest. About 20 or so teams are in the same boat with Bally going bankrupt, so I'd imagine most of baseball is looking at free agency/spending the way the Twins came out and said they were.

[mikelink45]

No - do you realize you are writing about the hated White Sox?  No never is my response.

[Fatbat]

The last time we signed a former whiteys pitcher, he blew so many saves that it was almost as if he was doing it on purpose. Lets not do that again. 

[Patzky]

I'd rather have the Blue Plate Special from McRoyals than anything the Reinsdorf Grill has touched.

[Blyleven2011]

12 minutes ago, Fatbat said:

The last time we signed a former whiteys pitcher, he blew so many saves that it was almost as if he was doing it on purpose. Lets not do that again. 

I think that pitcher was drawing 2 salaries ...

[CRF]

Nah.

[Jocko87]

Dang it, the one I would have wanted was Jason Benitti.

[RaoulDuke]

Hard no on Anderson, zero interest.

No on Giolito unless he is a cheap vet back end of the rotation add, he is not as bad as he was last year for sure but he also is not as good as he was at his peak.  He used to get so much use out of the high changeup, a ****** pitch that no one was looking for to be thrown intentionally.

Hendriks would be cool because of the history but I can't remember a club signing a free agent reliever to a "get better from tj" multiyear contract yet.  I think that play works better for starters you can get excess value from.

They would never trade him to us but I would like to see what this pitching lab could do with Cease.

 

[Karbo]

Giolito only if they can stay under 15mil would be a gamble worth taking. So in other words no.

[TopGunn#22]

Ditto Cory Englehart.  I'd be interested in Giolito at the right price.  Is that 3 years $12-13 million per year?  Probably.  $15 million for 3 years seems JUST a BIT too high.  But pitching is going to be at such a premium for so many teams that $15 per season might end up being a bargain.

Kopech has always intrigued me.  I see such great raw stuff but it just doesn't translate to production.  But for an arm like that, I'd be willing to gamble.  Kopech is 28 y/o with a negative -3.6 value.  Edgar Quero is a 20 y/o catching prospect they are high on, but other than him, the White Sox have very little at the major league level for catchers.  Maybe you could swap Vazquez in a package for Kopech and promote Camargo saving $9-$10 million??? 

[Finlander]

Nothing seems to fit. Much rather sign someone like Wacha than Giolito. 

Regarding trading with them, they really don't seem to have much in their system that we'd be interested in. A shame, as I think we could toss a couple players their way that they'd like, and we could shave salary. They've needed a RF for ages. Kepler? Farmer could be their short term veteran SS. Maybe Vasquez at C...any of these, toss in a couple minor leaguers to maybe pry a pitcher from them. Beyond that, I don't see any moves with White Sox players, current or castoffs.

[Jeff K]

21 hours ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I would absolutely bring on Hendricks for his presence/personality in 2024, and I'd sign him to a 2 year deal so he could be pitching in 2025. That would be the hope.

I would also absolutely bring on Giolito. I know there is another thread on this, but I feel as if there is a playoff caliber starter in there, and he will be an awful lot cheaper had he not had the last 2 months of production in 2023 after both A) Getting divorced and B) getting traded. 

I also would love it if the Twins kicked the tires to see if Chicago would be open to trading Michael Kopech. He was terrible production wise in 2023, but the arm talent is in there too. Just wanted to add that.

Tim Anderson on the other hand, I will him well, but I don't see a place here.

My response to the 3 players mentioned is no, no & no.

[Twodogs]

I don't know, I mean Giolito wasn't terrible before he got traded.  I mean he went 6 - 6 with a 3.79 era with a crappy white Sox team.  121 innings with 131 K's in like 20 starts.  So the Twins could do a lot worse than Giolito.  Granted his 2 - 9 after the trade is not good, in fact really bad.  But it raises the question why did he fall off the cliff?  Might not be stuff related.  Could be other factors where he was just not at his best.  Again if he is not expensive then I think he'd be a decent #4 behind Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, and Bailey Over.  Now if you guys think he or the Twins are going to get someone to lead the rotation, well keep dreaming.  The Twins are going to sign a #4 or 5 to add depth.  To me Giolito is a good get at #4 spot in the rotation.  

[Cory Engelhardt]

47 minutes ago, Twodogs said:

I don't know, I mean Giolito wasn't terrible before he got traded.  I mean he went 6 - 6 with a 3.79 era with a crappy white Sox team.  121 innings with 131 K's in like 20 starts.  So the Twins could do a lot worse than Giolito.  Granted his 2 - 9 after the trade is not good, in fact really bad.  But it raises the question why did he fall off the cliff?  Might not be stuff related.  Could be other factors where he was just not at his best.  Again if he is not expensive then I think he'd be a decent #4 behind Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, and Bailey Over.  Now if you guys think he or the Twins are going to get someone to lead the rotation, well keep dreaming.  The Twins are going to sign a #4 or 5 to add depth.  To me Giolito is a good get at #4 spot in the rotation.  

He got divorced the month he was traded. That’s a factor. But yeah, if he is healthy and right, I’d argue he wouldn’t be behind anyone on the twins other than López