The Chicago White Sox may have missed out on two of last season’s most highly-touted free agents — Bryce Harper and Manny Machado — but a new report suggests that the team might pursue at least one such superstar in the 2020 offseason, including Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon.
Citing a report from The Athletic’s Jim Bowden, NBC Sports Chicago wrote that the White Sox, who finished with a 72-89 record last season, were described as a potential surprise team in the American League for the upcoming 2020 campaign, given the young talent they have and the possibility they might make a big splash in free agency. Talking about the latter, Bowden wrote that Rendon could be a top target if they decide to shake up their infield.
“Don’t be surprised if they make a run at free agent Anthony Rendon with the idea of moving Yoán Moncada back to second base and then trading second baseman and Gold Glove Award-winner Yolmer Sánchez.”
According to NBC Sports Chicago , the potential of signing Rendon, who won a World Series with the Nationals last month and is “arguably the best” at his position, should get White Sox fans hyped for the coming season. The outlet’s Dan Santaromita also commented that Bowden’s suggestion to trade Sanchez in order to make way for Rendon adds an interesting “new wrinkle” to the team’s plans, as the erstwhile White Sox second baseman might end up overvalued in arbitration.
“If the White Sox can find a trade partner and get some assets in return, that could open up some possibilities for [general manager] Rick Hahn and Co. in the White Sox front office,” Santaromita added.
“First off, I wanna say I love baseball.”
He loves baseball, and baseball loves him back. Anthony Rendon is a Silver Slugger! pic.twitter.com/CuG8DwSggz
— Nationals on MASN (@masnNationals) November 7, 2019
In addition to mentioning the possibility of the White Sox signing Rendon, The Athletic’s Bowden was also quoted as saying that the team could “make a run” at pitchers Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg. He added, however, that it’s doubtful either pitcher is prioritizing Chicago as a would-be destination in free agency.
Although Rendon could allow the White Sox to make the big offseason impact they missed out on when Machado and Harper respectively opted for the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies, the team is expected to have a lot of competition from other organizations, including the Los Angeles Dodgers . Last week, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that he expects the Dodgers to offer a five-year, $200 million contract to the third baseman, who hit 34 home runs and 126 RBI and registered a 0.319 batting average for the Nationals in the 2019 season, per Baseball-Reference .