* My friend Richard Smiley advised me on this project, and I’m indebted to him for his guidance. (Any blunders are, of course, mine.)
* This was a fascinating project, in that I don’t often pay as much attention to the business side of baseball as I might. I learned a good deal about the arbitration process, in particular.
* I made very few moves during this project, because in general I like the direction the White Sox are going. They have a solid core of young starters, and they have a number of prospects developing into major league roles. I think the White Sox can contend within the next two years, without too many changes.
* I had a budget of $95 million; I put together a 25-man roster with a payroll of $70 million, and have salary commitments of $5 million beyond that. This leaves me with $20 million available. I probably could have been more aggressive in signing free agents, but I didn’t want to spend money on free agents over the age of 30. I did bid on Nelson Cruz, and I did sign reliever Matt Belisle, but for the most part I wanted to keep my team young.
* The main pieces the White Sox need are a) a quality third starter , b) a couple of good bullpen arms, c) a second baseman, and d) a good left-handed bat. I landed Jhoulys Chacin and Jason Hammel as free agents, giving me two quality starters. I added David Hale and Belisle for the bullpen. I will expect prospect Micah Johnson to fill the second base slot. I did not pick up a left-handed bat, but with $20 million in dry powder, I can either make a trade early in the season or I can have some dry powder if I happen to be cotending in late July.
* I also have some room to offer Adam Eaton, Avisail Garcia, and Jose Quintana long-term contracts. (I gave some raises, but would especially try to lock up Eaton and Quintana for the next four or five years if I could (and Garcia, if he takes a step forward this season).
* I had no interest in a big blockbuster trade, and thought some of the ones that took place in this experiment were (to be kind) ill-advised. However, I was dealing from what I thought was a good position, and other general managers might not have had the same advantages. I did give up Marcus Semien to get pitcher David Hale and infielder Phil Gosselin from the Braves; this was hardly a blockbuster trade, but I like Hale as a pitcher and I think Gosselin can platoon with Conor Gillaspie at third base as Semien would have. I received a lot of interest in Semien, as well as my top relievers Zach Putnam and Jake Petricka, but that was about as bold as I cared to be.
* My favorite signing was Chacin; I can’t imagine the Rockies letting him go in real life, but if they did, the White Sox would be fortunate to get him; if he can stay healthy, he can help out any rotation anywhere.
Anyway, here is my 25-man roster:
Pitchers: Chris Bassitt, Matt Belisle, Jhoulys Chacin, John Danks, Javy Guerra, David Hale, Jason Hammel, Hector Noesi, Jake Petricka, Zach Putnam, Jose Quintana, Chris Sale
Catchers: Tyler Flowers, Josh Phegley
Infielders: Jose Abreu, Conor Gillaspie, Phillip Gosselin, Micah Johnson, Alexei Ramirez, Carlos Sanchez
Outfielders: Jordan Danks, Adam Eaton, Avisail Garcia, Moises Sierra, Dayan Viciedo.
Player Salaries
Chicago White Sox