Chicago White Sox: 3 reasons to be excited for 2019
Money should be flowing generously
The Major League Baseball luxury tax for the 2019 season is $206 million. The White Sox current payroll for players on the 2019 roster is at $35,516,668. So, there’s a bit of a gap. Actually, more like a giant chasm.
What this means, is that the Sox have a ton of money to spend on players who are not only good fits for the team, but can accelerate the rebuild.
One option is for the White Sox to spend some of that money this offseason on one of the big free agent names still left on the market (Bryce Harper and Manny Machado). While the Sox have been linked to both players, it is starting to appear as though the race for their respective services is tightening and the Sox may no longer be a player.
While that may disappoint some fans, fear not. With the young core the White Sox have assembled, they are in a perfect position to be buyers at the trade deadline. They could choose to move one of their young prospects, but they could also choose to use that money to more aggressively pursue the 2020 free agent class which could include Paul Goldschmidt, Madison Bumgarner, and a familiar face — Chris Sale.
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They could also add some key pieces still available in this free agent class, like reliever Adam Ottavino. As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are championship rosters. The fact that the White Sox have the financial flexibility to be aggressive in adding to this roster for both this season and beyond should excite fans.