After two years of rumors, Luis Robert Jr. has finally been traded. Regardless of how you feel about the decision or the return, the White Sox are moving forward without him and his $20 million salary. Sporting a roster with noticeable deficiencies in multiple position areas, many folks questioned whether the front office would follow up by investing in other major league players.
We seemed to have our answer after general manager Chris Getz‘s Wednesday presser:
Then we got even more of an answer on Friday afternoon when Chicago inked reliever Seranthony Dominguez to a two-year, $20 million deal. In terms of 2026 money, however, that means there’s still $10 million left from Robert in the bank.
Who knows whether that will be spent, but given Getz’s comments and aggressiveness with Dominguez, I bet it will. Plus, with no star players left on the market outside Framber Valdez, who’s almost certainly out of Jerry Reinsdorf’s rebuilding budget, it’s safe to say the investments will be relatively modest.
In truth, the options are pretty bleak. But there’s a handful of guys left who do still move the needle, so with that in mind, I’ll list six of these free agents for the South Siders. All are pitchers or outfielders, as these are clearly Getz’s biggest needs.
SP Chris Bassitt – 2 years, $30 million
A former 16th-round White Sox draft pick, Bassitt gets to return to his original club much older and much more accomplished. While he’ll turn 37 years old next month, Bassitt is still a serviceable starter in the big leagues, posting a 3.96 ERA and 4.01 FIP this past season with the AL champion Blue Jays.
This deal makes sense for both parties as the aging Bassitt gets two guaranteed contract years, while the White Sox get a new #2 starter at a low price who would be around for a potential contending 2027 season.
CF Harrison Bader – 1 year, $9.5 million ($15 million club option for 2027)
Bader has been one of the best defensive outfielders in all of baseball since coming onto the scene as a heralded prospect with St. Louis in 2017. He’s bounced around since 2021 but took a step forward with the Twins and Phillies last year, putting up a .796 OPS and 3.2 fWAR. There was sizable batted-ball luck involved, though (.346 wOBA vs. .295 xwOBA).
A deal of this structure guarantees Bader a nice AAV for 2026, while giving the White Sox the option to utilize him for an extra year if he can replicate his impressive 2025 production. If Bader performs well but the White Sox don’t pony up the option cash, he can hit the open market with two consecutive impressive seasons under his belt and aim for a multi-year deal.
SP Zack Littell – 2 years, $25 million
Littell established himself as an adequate starting right-hander in 2024 with Tampa Bay, churning out 156 innings of 3.63-ERA ball. The 30-year-old remained effective in 2025 between Tampa and his deadline destination of Cincinnati, but saw his advanced stats falter a bit (4.88 FIP, 4.42 xERA). Considering that and his shorter track record, Littell likely might be a bit cheaper of an acquisition than Bassitt.
RP Andrew Chafin – 2 years, $10.5 million
Chafin gets two guaranteed years of decent money at 35 years old, and the White Sox get a notably consistent left-handed reliever. Chafin has been great across several teams since 2020, recording an ERA below 3.52 in five straight campaigns. The bullpen could still use one more effective left-hander, and Getz would come through here.
SP Martin Perez – 1 year, $6.5 million
Perez missed the majority of the 2025 campaign with an elbow injury, but still managed to put up 56 solid innings for the Sox, notching a 3.54 ERA. The southpaw’s advanced stats were suspect for the third straight year, but depending on which ones you look at (4.24 FIP), he might just be serviceable.
I don’t think this deal makes much sense for Chris Getz and Co. if they expect to utilize new lefty Sean Newcomb as a starter on top of other new southpaw Anthony Kay. However, if Sox brass view Newcomb as a long reliever, Perez would slot nicely as a second LHP in the rotation.
RF Mike Tauchman – 1 year, $5 million
This deal almost certainly isn’t happening because the South Siders declined to enter arbitration with Tauchman or tender him a contract just a couple of months ago. Said contract, arbitration or not, would have been cheaper than this. However, if I’m being objective, the Palatine native is one of the best outfielders available currently after posting a .756 OPS and 1.4 fWAR in just 93 games last season.
Sure, Tauchman is 35 years old and battled injuries this past summer, but he’s worth this money. I did not understand the non-tender decision at the moment, and understand it even less now with the trade of Robert Jr., so consider this my protest and plea for redemption.
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