Chicago White Sox are all quiet so far on the free agent front

Pitchers and catchers are important for the Chicago White Sox right now.

Dallas Keuchel faded down the stretch. The White Sox are moving Michael Kopech to the rotation to take Carlos Rodon’s spot. Chicago is looking to trade Kimbrel. Yasmani Grandal, Zack Collins, and Seby Zavala were not exactly stout defensively behind the plate.

With those issues, the Chicago White Sox could look to add to what some outsiders still would see as a strength.

The White Sox could get better at backup catcher.

Grandal’s bat and contract keep him in the lineup. He is a great pitch framer but struggles in all other defensive areas. Plus, his age is a factor. He might be best served with fewer days catching.

Collins and Zavala are not exactly giving great at-bats. It would be worth looking at bringing in a veteran catcher. The problem is free-agent catcher market is currently a bear market. It can not hurt to kick the tires on Stephan Vogt, Yan Gomes, or Wilson Ramos.

The Chicago White Sox should add a starter and a few bullpen arms.

Kopech has the stuff to win a Cy Young Award but he has only pitched 83.2 career innings and had Tommy John surgery in 2018. With that, Keuchel struggled badly down the stretch.

The Chicago White Sox would be best served to bring in one more veteran starter. It would have been nice for the Sox to bring AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to the Southside but he is off the board.

Marcus Stroman is still on the market. He has stated he does not want to play for La Russa. The Sox could deplete a division rival in the Minnesota Twins by bringing in Michael Pineda.

The big right-hander posted a 3.62 ERA last season in the Twin Cities. He has a career 3.98 ERA. He is not exactly an innings eater but he could pick up some innings that Kopech will not pitch and provide insurance if Kuechel flames out. Otherwise, the Sox could take a pitcher off this list outside of Rodon.

The Sox are set to lose Ryan Tepera in free agency but it would be nice to see him re-signed. Kopech is no longer in the bullpen and Kimbrel is probably going to be traded. The Chicago White Sox are bringing in Graveman but they still need to replace two other bullpen arms in high leverage situations.

The Sox could go with Jimmy Lambert in the bullpen to make up for one arm but he still looks to be a trade piece or a cheap rotation insurance policy for Kopech’s innings limit or Keuchel struggles. It would be comforting if the Sox got another bullpen arm or two.

They will probably bring in another bullpen arm. Rotation-wise, the Sox will probably go with Lambert and Reynaldo Lopez for cover when it comes to Kopech’s innings limit and Keuchel’s potential struggles.

The backup catcher market is not attractive so an in-season trade could happen. It is just hard seeing Rick Hahn convincing Reinsdorf to go into the luxury tax. Jerry needs to realize sometimes there is a tax to pay to win a World Series.