White Sox: What’s next after missing out on Zack Wheeler?

The Chicago White Sox have already had a busy offseason after signing Yasmani Grandal and re-signing Jose Abreu, but after missing out on Zack Wheeler, what’s next?

The Chicago White Sox rebuild reminds me a little bit about the Chicago Cubs and what they were doing five years ago. They are a young team loaded with talent and on the verge of being a competitive team once again. As they head into the offseason, the Sox are ready to make some noise and spend money. If they plan on winning the AL Central this year, they’ll need to add some key pieces.

Rick Hahn got the White Sox offseason started a little early as he went out and signed free agent catcher Yasmani Grandal to a 4-year contract worth $73 million. A day after signing Grandal, the team re-signed their first baseman Jose Abreu to a 3-year contract worth $50 million. Adding Grandal gives them depth at the catcher position as they already have James McCann and Zack Collins, and re-signing Abreu locks up the first base position for the next three years.

Now that they have locked up the catcher position and first base position early, the White Sox are potentially one starter away from being a competitive team again. Their offense is already in good shape heading into the season, as they expect Luis Robert to see the field sometime in 2020 to go along with Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, Tim Anderson, and Jose Abreu.

The White Sox needed to add a starting pitcher to go along with Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Dylan Cease, and Dylan Covey. They were looking to add Zack Wheeler as they were in on him all offseason and appeared to be the top team to acquire him. Rick Hahn was willing to pay him over $118 million, which was more than the Phillies offered him. On Tuesday, Wheeler decided to accept the Philadelphia Phillies offer of five years, $118 million. He decided to join the Phillies because his wife is from New Jersey, and family comes first.

After missing out on Wheeler, the White Sox still have a lot of other options if they want to add a starter to the rotation. Guys like Madison Bumgarner and Hyun-Jin Ryu come to mind. If they are willing to give Wheeler more than $118 million, why not take a shot at signing Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg?

Although the White Sox main focus is to improve the rotation this offseason, they are still looking to improve the offense. Specifically, the outfield as they’ve been rumored to be in contention to sign either Nicholas Castellanos and Marcell Ozuna.

Keep in mind that the White Sox will eventually need to re-sign the key players of this team, so maybe they stay away from Cole and Strasburg and go for Bumgarner or Ryu.