Chicago White Sox: Will the team be in on Gerrit Cole?

Will the Chicago White Sox be a player for Gerrit Cole this offseason, and should they?

The Chicago White Sox pitching staff has been on quite a nice roll the last week or so. Over their last five games (four against the Texas Rangers and one against the Minnesota Twins) the staff has only yielded a total of seven earned runs and 20 hits while striking out a whopping 54.

Those statistics included a complete game 3-hit shutout of a gem by Lucas Giolito against the Twins, in which he fanned 12. The season has been an up and down ride for the staff, which ranks in the bottom half of many key statistical categories. Notably, they rank last in the American League in innings pitched.

However, the talent is there, as they have a fairly young staff in place which includes Dylan Cease, Reynoldo Lopez, and Michael Kopech once he returns from Tommy John surgery. Adding a pitcher with experience, who can eat up a lot of innings makes all the sense in the world for this team.

Enter Houston Astros pitcher, Gerrit Cole. The right-hander has topped 200+ innings in each of the last two years and is on his way to hitting that number again this season. The 28-year-old will also be the best pitcher on the free-agent market this offseason. He will also command a huge payday — likely in the $25-30 million per year range.

The good news for the White Sox is that they have more than enough money to sign Cole. They currently sit at just under $90 million of team payroll, well under the $206 million luxury tax threshold.

The question is not whether they can afford him, but whether they are willing to spend that kind of money. The organization has had a tendency to spend cautiously (if not to be downright cheap in some instances) in free agency. But with the young talent they have on this roster in the form of guys like Eloy Jimenez, Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, and James McCann, along with emerging stars like Luis Robert and Kopech, they have to start spending.

It’s time for the organization to demonstrate its confidence in their team. When Ryan Pace traded for Khalil Mack, it signaled to the team that the organization believed in them and thought they were ready to enter their championship window. Signing a player like Cole could send a similar message.

Moreover, even with his expected contract, the White Sox would still have plenty of money to go out and make other moves to solidify their roster. There is no reason they shouldn’t be starting to make a push for the playoffs and what better way to do that than to sign one of the best free-agent pitchers to come on the market in a few years.

While it remains to be seen whether Jerry Reinsdorf and Rick Hahn have the gusto to go for it, if they choose not to, fans will have every right to be severely disappointed in their leadership.