White Sox Got Little Return On Twisting Road To Kimbrel, Pollock

Before too long, the only debate about Craig Kimbrel will involve the Hall of Fame. But at the moment there’a different reality: The 34-year-old reliever is back on the free agent market after disappointing teams on both sides of Chicago, in addition to one in Los Angeles.

Thanks to A.J. Pollock’s surprising decision to walk away from $8 million by not exercising a 2023 player option to remain with the White Sox, the door closes on a crazy string of transactions featuring Kimbrel.

While the Cubs and Dodgers were bruised in a string of four transactions involving Kimbrel between 2019 and ’22, it was the White Sox who suffered most — and the toll on them would have been higher had two players they traded to the Cubs in acquiring him (second baseman Nick Madrigal and nasty reliever Codi Heuer) not been limited by injuries.

Kimbrel compiled 333 saves while pitching to a 1.91 ERA in 532 2/3 innings through 2018, his age-30 season. He was an All-Star in seven of his eight full seasons yet a dip in both velocity and command while helping the Red Sox win the World Series in ’18 caused him to linger on the free agent market the next winter. Teams weren’t willing to part with a high pick to sign him.

The Cubs stepped up after the compensation deadline, however, signing him to a three-year, $43 million deal that included a fourth year option. Theo Epstein needed help for Pedro Strop and Steve Cishek in late innings, and paid to get it.

Kimbrel hasn’t been the same guy signing that deal. His ERA was 3.70 over 155 2/3 innings the last four seasons, with his only good run coming in the first half of the 2021 season for the Cubs. His success there overlapped a 61-43 start by the White Sox. General Manager Rick Hahn, with the blessing of owner Jerry Reinsdorf, added him to a bullpen that already had Liam Hendriks in the closer’s role.

It seemed like a master stroke, but Kimbrel was awful (5.09 ERA in 23 games) and the White Sox lost to Houston in the Division Series. That could have been the end to the story, with the Sox adding a $1 million buyout the $5,591,398 they took on from Kimbrel’s salary of $16 million, but Hahn exercised the ’22 option, believing he could get value in a trade.

The White Sox wound up with Pollock, who the Dodgers were offloading at the end of his four-year, $55 deal. He filled a left field need for a Sox team that was expected to win the AL Central but instead went 81-81, and the Sox paid him $10 million. He had a $13 million option for 2023 but accepted a $5 million buyout in lieu of playing.

Pollock, who hit .245 with a .681 OPS, ranked 10th among Sox position players with a 0.4 WAR. Kimbrel had generated 0.0 WAR in his brief stay with the White Sox, so the Pollock contribution makes it a 0.4 total for $20.59 total to the two players.

Pollock’s surprising decision lowers the Sox’s running payroll total for 2023 to about $162 million, per Cot’s Contracts. But it adds the complication of who is going to play left field, as Hahn has stated his desire to make Eloy Jimenez his primary designated hitter. The Sox already had question marks in right field and at second base as they prepare to move on from the reliable Jose Abreu, who heads into free agency.

They arguably should pay up to keep Abreu but the team is leaning toward moving Andrew Vaughn in from the outfield, where he’s played like a fish out of water (-14 Defensive Runs Saved last season). Hopefully the break from Abreu will be cleaner than the long, expensive goodbye with Kimbrel.