Should White Sox fans curb their enthusiasm?

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After a hot start in in this MLB offseason, the White Sox have slowed their roll. Adding Yasmani Grandal was great, but trading for Ramon Mazara was sort of a momentum killer. The price for Marzara was the owner of the coolest name the Sox organization, Steele Walker. The Rangers should have paid a premium just to get Walker, Texas Ranger. Mazara will be upgrade for the Sox, but honestly, who wouldn’t be? I wont be totally disgusted with this deal until I see how the rest of the Sox offseason goes, but for now, it’s disappointing. There seems to be so many better options available, but hey, Mazara is cheap. 

Does Anybody want the White Sox money?

Of more concern is the White Sox need of a good starting pitcher. With Wheeler, Strasburg and Cole off the board, it’s on to the second tier. Madison Bumgarner, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Dallas Kuechel comprise that tier. I don’t see the White Sox snagging any of those three. Of those three, they may have an outside chance at Kuechel. I suspect they’ll go the trade route to pick up pitching.

Look for this to happen

Rather than spend huge amounts of money for starting pitching, it may be more cost efficient to trade for guys who were free agents a couple of seasons ago and could be obtained at a discount now. David Price and J. A. Happ come to mind. Both have the advantage of being left-handed. Chris Archer is another intriguing guy who’s production hasn’t matched his talent. 

This wouldn't be a bad idea, either

While the Sox have some solid pieces in their bullpen, there is always a need for depth. Ivan Marshall, Aaron Bummer and Alex Colome did a nice job closing things out for the Sox last season and Kelvin Herrera is a bounce back candidate for 2020. Still, I wouldn’t mind seeing the Sox pick up an established bullpen arm.

Jerry can't take it with him, but he may try

The Sox are still dealing with the stench of last year’s free agency fiascoes. That, and the failure to land Zack Wheeler might have made them gun shy about publicly going after high profile free agents. Maybe that will make them more active in the trading market. On the bright side, does any Sox fan really regret them not landing Manny Machado? By missing out on him, the Sox have more money to not spend this year.