If we were at the “season preview” part of the offseason, the little blurb on the White Sox would read something like this:

Who’s in: C Welington Castillo, RP Joakim Soria, RP Luis Avilan, RP Thyago Viera, RP Jose Ruiz, OF Daniel Palka
Who’s out: RP Jake Petricka, RP Zach Putnam, IF/OF Alen Hanson, RP Al Alburquerque, SP Mike Pelfrey, C Geovany Soto

Nary an impact name on either side of the board. (I’ll never forget you, Big Pelf Dawg).

It’s not a surprise that the White Sox haven’t made any moves more noteworthy than those listed above, and it’s entirely likely the 40-man roster that exists today is, more or less, unchanged entering spring training. That said, the fact that the free agent market continues to drag on leaves open the possibility that the White Sox could make further additions in the next month. So where could they target?

As things currently stand, the White Sox Opening Day positional starters would likely look something like this:

C – Welington Castillo
1B – Jose Abreu
2B – Yoan Moncada
3B – Yolmer Sanchez
SS – Tim Anderson
LF – Nicky Delmonico
CF – Adam Engel
RF – Avisail Garcia
DH – Matt Davidson

Again, it’s possible those are the White Sox starters come March 29, but even if the front office is keen on letting the likes of Sanchez, Delmonico, Engel (and/or Leury Garcia, and/or Charlie Tilson), and Davidson continue to get the bulk of the reps to evaluate their long-term potential, there’s still a few interesting options sitting on the free agent market.

Setting aside all the top free agents who remain unsigned (11 of the top 15 free agents entering the offseason remain unsigned), the name I keep coming back to is Carlos Gonzalez, the Rockies right fielder who was often linked to the White Sox in past trade rumors. Gonzalez is 32 years old and his 2017 numbers aren’t pretty overall, but after a terrible first half in which he was among the worst regulars in the league, he rebounded to the tune of .314/.390/.531 from the All-Star break through the end of the season. It’s possible that bounce-back, along with Gonzalez’s long term track record, prices him out of the “veteran the White Sox can sign to a reasonable deal and then hope to flip in four months” mold the team likely seeks, but as the glut of top free agents remains stagnant, he’d be a reasonable addition as someone who can likely play left field (although he hasn’t played there since 2014), right field, and designated hitter.

There are other options that fall into a similar category (Jayson Werth, Jose Bautista, maybe Colby Rasmus), but it’s hard to predict if any would fit into the White Sox plans from both a financial and playing time perspective.

Starting pitching depth could still be addressed, too. It’s entirely likely the White Sox enter 2018 with a starting rotation of Carlos Rodon, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, James Shields, and Carson Fulmer, but with Rodon’s health a question, the uncertainty of the young trio, and Shields being, well, James Shields, the White Sox could add another veteran or two. While the depth is most likely to come in the form of a veteran they can easily have on stand-by in Triple-A (like Pelfrey a year ago), names like Jeremy Hellickson and Ricky Nolasco are names that stand out a bit, but both are likely looking for a more secure role than what Pelfrey provided a year ago.

It’s entirely possible the White Sox do nothing, or make moves a grade lower than the speculation I listed above. Last year’s late-winter or early-spring additions included the likes of Pelfrey and Anthony Swarzak on minor league deals, and it’s possible that’ll be the brunt of what we see between now and Opening Day. But there’s still a lot of chips left to fall, and it will be interesting to see where the White Sox find themselves after the major action across the league finally starts to settle.

Lead Photo Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Unlike some rebuilds, the fruits of the White Sox teardown came in the form of some close to ready-made young talent, and among the players the White Sox acquired who made their team debut during an otherwise forgettable season were Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, and Reynaldo Lopez. Throw in incumbents Tim Anderson and Carlos Rodon (health pending) and the start of a hopeful new core was already starting to take place on the South Side, even as we wait for Eloy Jimenez, Michael Kopech, and others to join them.

If 2017 was Phase 1 of the rebuild, 2018’s Phase 2 won’t be too dissimilar. There likely won’t be as many veterans Rick Hahn & Co. can flip for shiny new toys, but as the aforementioned “next core” continues its development either in the majors or the minors, the White Sox will likely search for roster filler with two thoughts in mind: 1. Someone has to play, and 2. A good few months could generate even more young talent in the form of even more trades.

Setting aside the White Sox two most obviously valuable trade candidates, Jose Abreu and Nate Jones, which Nick outlined Monday, there isn’t much “roster filler” leftover from 2017, save for the expensive and ineffective James Shields. Thus, it’s likely the White Sox will spend this offseason identifying and pursuing players who fit the archetype of cheap veterans looking to rebuild their value on a shorter deals. Think Derek Holland, only hopefully with better results. Actually, forget Holland. Think Anthony Swarzak. That’s better.

With that in mind, a perusal of the available free agents brings … less than stellar options, as you might expect.

Still, there are bargains to be had. And when you project what the White Sox roster might look like in 2018, the rotation and bullpen are likely where most of the action will take place. Positionally, the White Sox have their starters at first base, second base, shortstop, and right field. One could make the argument for bringing in veterans at catcher, third base, left field, and center field, but the White Sox will have to weigh the desire to do that with ensuring more reps from guys like Omar Narvaez, Kevan Smith, Yolmer Sanchez, Leury Garcia, Matt Davidson, and Nicky Delmonico.

With that in mind, here are a few players who, at first glance, could be on the White Sox radar if the price is right:

Starting pitchers

James Fegan wrote about Tyler Chatwood as a potential free agent target over at The Athletic and I’ll echo those sentiments, as Chatwood is younger than your average free agent and the type of ground ball pitcher the White Sox like to target. Andrew Cashner is now 31 but was once a flame-throwing top prospect who could want to rebuild his value after posting the worst K/9 of his career in Texas. Jhoulys Chacin will be 30 in January and has a dwindling strikeout, but may come cheaply enough if he’s willing to leave the friendly confines of PetCo for a less pitcher-friendly environment. Chris Tillman had a disastrous season in Baltimore and his value couldn’t be much lower, but that’s kind of the point here, right? Wade Miley technically still exists. Why not bring back Miguel Gonzalez?

Relievers

Trevor Cahill gave up more home runs in 23 innings with the Royals than in 61 with the Padres, but is somehow still only 29. Asher Wojciechowski is a slider/change-up guy who gives up way too many fly balls to make sense but is young enough that maybe the White Sox would be interested. Steve Cishek and Tommy Hunter represent classic “sign and flip” candidates if they have a few good months. Luke Gregerson is only a year removed from being a valuable bullpen piece, but was so bad for Houston that he only pitched in mop-up duty in the playoffs. The actual answer to this question, of course, is Matt Albers.

Outfielders

Carlos Gonzalez was among the worst everyday players in baseball for the first half of 2017, but rebounded to the tune of a .921 OPS in the second half. He was linked to the White Sox plenty during the years they were actually trying to contend, so it would only be logical for them to get him now to split time between left field and DH. Leonys Martin plays a good center field but can’t hit a lick, making him basically an older version of Adam Engel. Ichiro Suzuki is who they sign in my dreams, and sometimes my dreams come true.

Infielders/catchers

There really isn’t much to work with here, and these groups are probably the least likely to see any sort of free agent additions. Maybe Will Middlebrooks on a minor league deal excites you, since he’s a name you know. Hey, they gave Cody Asche a shot so who knows? Chris Iannetta has always been well regarded for his receiving skills and would be a good candidate to help groom the White Sox young arms from behind the plate, but would only likely be considered if the front office’s opinions on Narvaez or Smith’s handling of pitchers are less glowing than they say publicly. Old friend Hector Sanchez will only be 28 and had a random dinger-laden streak for the Padres last season.

Lead Photo Credit: Russell Lansford-USA TODAY Sports