Since signing pitcher Mike Clevinger before the Winter Meetings, the White Sox have been rather quiet in free agency and in the trade market. However, those in the industry still see them as a good landing place for some of the top playrs still available.
In an article about finding the right landing spots for the remaining free agents, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN listed the White Sox as the best fit for infielder Brandon Drury. The article is protected by ESPN+, but the link can be found here:
Here is what McDaniel had to say about the Drury-White Sox fit:
“If they don’t land Correa, there’s a case here for the Giants to leave Brandon Crawford at shortstop and add a multi-role infielder like Drury. The Detroit Tigers have Ryan Kreidler and Jonathan Schoop slated for prominent roles, but a lefty complement would work better as cover for those spots. The White Sox don’t seem to have a ton of money to spend but could use a righty platoon bat for Oscar Colas and Gavin Sheets that could also compete at second base with Romy Gonzalez. A right-handed utility type like Drury fits that role well.”
Drury had a breakout season in 2022 where he felt, for the first time, that he was able to show people the type of baseball player he truly is. In doing so, he likely earned himself a pretty nice contract after a pretty pedestrian start to his career.
Drury is versatile defensively, playing all four infield positions in 2022. He was relatively average at all of them, posting +1 OAA at 1B and -1 OAA at 3B. He also did a lot of his damage against LHP (160 wRC+) but did post respectable numbers against RHP (109 wRC+). It may not be the improvement against RHP that the White Sox are looking for (Harrison posted a 99 wRC+ against RHP in 2022), but it is indeed still an improvement.
The warning signs are there for Drury, however. His .OPS against RHP pales in comparison to his OPS against LHP – and the White Sox need someone who can hit right-handers. These trends don’t change when you look at the entirety of his career either. He has a career .720 OPS against RHP and just a career .770 OPS versus LHP. So, essentially, any team who signs Drury is paying for one breakout season. The difference between this season’s wOBA (.350) and xwOBA (.316) is large enough that it causes some hesitation to buy fully into what Drury did in 2022. However, at the end of the day, a 3.0 fWAR season will likely be hard for teams to ignore.
While it is unclear what sort of deal Drury might be looking for, it would make sense that he would seek a three-year deal at the very least. FanGraphs roster resource projects him to make about $10M AAV, which would make sense given his limited track record.
With the White Sox currently relying on Romy Gonzalez, Lenyn Sosa, and Leury Garcia at second base heading into 2023, it makes sense that the team would look to upgrade at second base. However, with a limited budget and just one true outfielder on the roster, Rick Hahn and the rest of the front office may find it wiser to spend what they can in the outfield and see if a trade develops at second base.
As more information becomes available this offseason, we will continue to provide updates.
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Featured Image: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
I’ve been saying this since Brandon Drury was declared a free agent. He was on my Fantasy Team last season and did very well for me and he covers all the positions we need.
No. This smells as a typical White Sox addition wherein a mediocre player is rewarded for one season and then plays awfully poorly at a salary that becomes untenable immediately.
Awfully poorly?? Umm no, he is a solid addition that any team will be lucky to aquire.