Tag / Yonder Alonso

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Over, Yonder


Yesterday, the White Sox designated Yonder Alonso for assignment, ending a painful half season for the veteran slugger on the South Side.  In 251 plate appearances, the 32-year-old slugger has struggled to a career-worst .178/.275/.301 slash line, with 7 homers and 27 RBIs in 67 games.  Acquired in December in part to attract his brother-in-law Manny Machado to sign with the White Sox as a free agent, Alonso was also expected to add some left handed pop and potentially be a bridge to the future if Jose Abreu, a free agent after this season, moves on.  Unfortunately, none of those things worked out.

Alonso’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

2019 Batting
BA AtBats Runs Hits RBIs Walks StrikeOuts Doubles Triples HomeRuns StolenBases GIDPs Errors Games
0.094 32 1 3 3 3 6 0 0 0 0 2 0 11
0.178 219 23 39 27 29 53 6 0 7 0 8 2 67

 

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Manny Machado

The first domino of the frozen free agent class of 2018 has fallen, and the White Sox, one of the reported finalists, are left on the outside looking in.  Manny Machado, the 26 year old superstar who, along with fellow free agent Bryce Harper, was the cream of this class, decided to hitch his wagon to the Padres, signing a 10 year, $300 million contract, with an opt out after the fifth year.  Reports say that the White Sox final offer was $250 million over eight years, with incentives and options that could have driven the value to $350 million.

Senior Vice President Kenny Williams, trying to defend the fiasco, said that the contract total of $300 million “wasn’t feasible to us because we still have to project putting together a total winning roster and keeping the young players that will ultimately earn into greater dollars themselves.”  Which is, of course, ridiculous.  The team projects to have an $80 million payroll this year, low enough to be the 25th-highest total in the majors.  The contract could have easily been front-loaded to pay Machado now, while they have no other major expenditures, while offering relief in the later years when today’s prospects may looking for their own payday.

With Machado off the board, and the White Sox not reportedly still in contention for Harper, 2019 may be another tough year, despite the additions of Machado pals Yonder Alonso and John Jay and the expected arrival of Eloy Jimenez sometime in April.

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Retooling For 2019

The White Sox made a trio of acquisitions over the past week, bolstering their roster for 2019.  Things started on Tuesday, when a trade with the Pirates netted the Sox right hander Ivan Nova in exchange for minor leaguer Yordi Rosario and international bonus money.  Yesterday, it was reported that the White Sox came to an agreement with free agent catcher James McCann.  Finally, the White Sox announced earlier this morning that they had acquired first baseman Yonder Alonso from the Indians for minor league outfielder Alex Call.

Nova, signed through 2019, basically steps in to the James Shields role as innings eater and mentor, though he should offer better results on the mound.  Over the past 3 years, Nova surpasses Shields in games, innings pitched, HR allowed, ERA, and FIP.  While he has given up more hits, that should be more than offset by a drastic reduction in walks.  Rosario is a lottery ticket at this point and, due to the Luis Robert signing, the White Sox couldn’t use the bonus money anyway, so the cost to get Nova was minimal.

With Omar Narvaez and Kevan Smith off to other organizations and Seby Zavala and Zack Collins still a year or so away, the White Sox needed a catcher to team with Welington Castillo for 2019.  McCann will fill that role, though he rates as sub-par both offensively and defensively.  His main pluses are the occasional home run and a strong arm to control the running game.

The trade for Alonso, at first glance, is a bit of a head scratcher.  Assuming there is nothing in the works on the Jose Abreu front, the two will split time between first base and designated hitter.  Another reported use is recruiting, as Alonso’s brother-in-law just happens to be Manny Machado, one of the two biggest fish in the free agency pond.  Who knows if it will help, but the White Sox reportedly have a meeting set with Machado for next week.  If that doesn’t pay off, then the move basically helps a division rival clear salary space in exchange for someone who isn’t likely to be a long term part of the rebuilding process.