White Sox Could Fill Multiple Needs In A Trade With Royals

Fine-tuning time has begun for major league rosters, and the White Sox still have holes to fill despite an Opening Day payroll that projects to be $176 million. The biggest of those could be filled with one trade, acquiring center fielder Michael A. Taylor and second baseman Nicky Lopez from Kansas City.

White Sox General Manager Rick Hahn has indicated he is working the telephones to try to upgrade his roster before spring training begins, and that should mean conversations with J.J. Piccolo, who was promoted to replace Dayton Moore as the Royals’ general manager.

While the White Sox and Royals are both in the American League Central, they project as trade partners because of their disparate situations.

The Sox are trying to get back to the postseason with a veteran roster after a nightmare season in 2022 while the Royals have had six consecutive losing seasons and are in the early stages of trying to build a contender around Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, MJ Melendez and Brady Singer.

Taylor, who is in the second season of a $9 million contract, is a strong defender (+8 Defensive Runs Saved in 2022) with a track record of delivering big hits in the postseason. He led the Royals with a 3.2 rWAR last season but will almost certainly be dealt in 2023, as the Royals have a replacement in hand in Drew Waters, acquired from Atlanta last year.

Lopez, who signed for $3.7 million this season, is a historically sound fielder who is under Kansas City control through 2025. But his bat took a downturn in ’22, opening the door for 24-year-old Michael Massey, who has delivered 42 home runs and an .862 OPS in 228 minor-league games.

Both Taylor and Lopez, a Chicago area native (Naperville Central High School), fit the White Sox’s goal of improving defensively after a season in which they were combined to play at a level of -35 DRS, second-worst figure in the AL. That plan was behind the decision to allow Jose Abreu to leave as a free agent, allowing Andrew Vaughn to move from right field to first base, his natural position.

The White Sox added Andrew Benintendi to play left field but still do not have a concrete plan in right field. They are expected to consider Cuban prospect Oscar Colas but he has played only seven games above Double-A. The default option is to go with a combination of the defensively challenged Gavin Sheets and non-roster invitees Victor Reyes, Jake Marisnick and Billy Hamilton until Colas proves he is ready.

Taylor would join Luis Robert to give the Sox two players who have spent their careers in center field. Both cover a lot of ground but Taylor has an elite arm, suggesting he could make the move to right field easier than Robert (who also has a strong arm).

Lopez would add certainty at a position where the White Sox currently have the unproven Romy Gonzalez slotted, with prospects Lenyn Sosa and Jose Rodriguez in the mix. He would be reunited not only with the White Sox’s new manager, Pedro Grifol, but also his infield instructor, Eddie Rodriguez, who followed Grifol from Kansas City to Chicago as the new third base coach.

With Liam Hendriks’ status for the upcoming season uncertain due to treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the White Sox could seek to make this the rare January blockbuster deal by also seeking Kansas City closer Scott Barlow. He’s two years away from free agency and due $5.3 million this season, and would augment an already veteran-laden bullpen that includes set-up men Kendall Graveman and Joe Kelly.

Barlow, who gets a high chase rate while using his slider and changeup to keep hitters off a 94-mph fastball, converted 24 of 28 save opportunities last season. The Royals have internal options in lefty Amir Garrett and right-hander Dylan Coleman, who has closer stuff but needs to cut down on walks.

Kansas City would want pitching back in any trade, and the White Sox would have to pay a high price in a multi-player trade.

Michael Kopech, with three years remaining before free agency, would be their most likely target from the Chicago inventory. Left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer offers value because of a contract extension he signed in 2020, which runs through ’24 and includes two additional option years of control.

The White Sox do not have any pitching prospects ranked in MLB.com‘s top 100, which complicates the match. Left-hander Noah Schultz and right-hander Peyton Pallette, the Sox’s first two picks in last June’s draft, are high-ceiling arms but likely too far away to headline a deal with the Royals.

Colas may have appeal to the Royals but they already feature left-handed power in Pasquantino and Melendez, with 2022 first-rounder Gavin Cross expected to take the express lane from Virginia Tech to Kansas City.

Keep an eye on this one.