(670 The Score) The first big decisions for new White Sox general manager Chris Getz have arrived in the form of deciding whether to pick up team options on the contracts of shortstop Tim Anderson and closer Liam Hendriks.
The White Sox hold a $14-million team option on Anderson for 2024 in a deal that includes a $1-million buyout. The 30-year-old Anderson is coming off an injury-plagued, poor season in which he hit .245 with just one homer and a .582 OPS in 123 games.
The White Sox’s top prospect is 21-year-old shortstop Colson Montgomery, but he probably isn’t quite big league-ready yet, so the team will likely pick up the option on Anderson. The White Sox will then decide if it’s best for him to play shortstop or second base for them to open the 2024 season, and they can always look to trade him during the campaign. Anderson indicated late in the 2023 season that he’s willing to play second base, and that will help his chance to return to the South Side.
The gregarious, beloved Hendriks, 34, made a heroic return to the mound in late May after battling Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma but then blew out his elbow after making just five appearances. That led to him having Tommy John surgery in early August, and he’s unlikely to pitch in 2024.
With that in mind, the White Sox have the choice of exercising a $15-million option for 2024 on his contract or paying him a $15-million buyout, which would be paid in $1.5-million annual installments for 10 years. In the former case, Hendriks would stay around the team and rehab. In the latter situation, he’d become a free agent.
Right-hander Mike Clevinger’s contract includes a $12-million mutual option for 2024 and also a $4-million buyout. Clevinger was a reliable pitcher for the White Sox in 2023, posting a 3.77 ERA in 24 starts. Shortly after he signed with the White Sox, Clevinger was accused of abuse by the mother of his child. MLB issued no discipline to him after a domestic violence investigation, and Clevinger stayed away from controversy throughout the season.
The White Sox could really use Clevinger to fill a rotation hole and help bridge a gap to the next crop of starting pitchers in the organization. With it being a mutual option, the decision could be out of the White Sox’s hands, but the organization helped him regain the footing in his career.
All those contract decisions need to be made by the White Sox and the involved parties by the end of Monday.
The White Sox are also continuing to monitor second baseman/outfielder Whit Merrifield’s future in Toronto, where he has an $18-million mutual option on his deal with the Blue Jays. The White Sox will have interest in Merrifield if he hits free agency. Merrifield, 34, hit .272 with 11 homers, 67 RBIs and a .700 OPS in 145 games for the Blue Jays in 2023, when he earned All-Star honors for the third time in his career.
The White Sox also plan to explore the price for Royals catcher Salvador Perez on the trade market, as 670 The Score reported in October.
Beyond that, adding starting pitching and to the bullpen will be the focus for Getz and his revamped front office this offseason.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.