Chris Getz couldn’t wait until his plane landed in Orlando for the winter meetings to kick-start his offseason plan.
The White Sox’ general manager inked left-hander Anthony Kay to a two-year contract, bringing Kay back to the United States. It’s the type of deal that provides insight into what the Sox’ plans are likely going to be in free agency. While eschewing the top of the market, the Sox will be digging for discounts that can help the team next season — and even fetch them a prospect at the deadline.
The Sox were proven right after identifying right-hander Erick Fedde as a player worth giving a multi-year contract — Kay and Fedde are the only free agents to receive multi-year deals under Getz’s regime — so it’s wise for the team to bet on Kay’s improvements in Japan being able to translate in his second stint in the majors if they’re not going to spend at the top of the market.
Betting on a pitcher like Kay with a mid-90s fastball and a first-round pedigree is the type of low-risk bet that the Sox will likely take this offseason. Kay sported a 1.74 ERA over 155 innings in the Nippon Baseball League. He succeeded in Japan after adding a sinker and a changeup and sported a 20.9% strikeout rate and 54.5% groundball rate — which could be an issue unless the Sox’ infield defense improves.
In his first stint in the majors, Kay primarily operated out of the bullpen and struggled with a 5.59 ERA across five major-league seasons with the Blue Jays, Cubs and Mets. After revamping his pitching arsenal in Japan, Kay will likely slot somewhere in the middle of the Sox’ starting rotation. Providing cover for the team’s pitchers was an emphasis for the team this winter. The bullpen was running on fumes toward the end of the season after several Sox starters were ineffective and pitching short starts.
“Adding pitching in the spirit of protecting some of these young starters and finding enough starts from arms that can help us navigate the season is something that we’re certainly paying attention to,” Getz said at the general managers’ meetings. “[We] want to support our young arms the best that we can,” .
With the signing of Kay, the Sox will have a veteran arm that they can pencil into the rotation. His signing puts pressure on young arms like Jonathan Cannon and Sean Burke. The team is still high on the potential of Cannon and Burke, but the Sox couldn’t afford to just hand them spots in the rotation after both of them were sent to Triple-A Charlotte to reset.
Getz said that Cannon and Burke will be “competing for a spot in the rotation” at spring training.
Everything the Sox do should be viewed through the lens of how it accentuates their young talent. Kay will either be in Chicago for the duration of his contract or until their left-handed prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith are ready for the majors or Drew Thorpe returns from his Tommy John surgery.
Optionality seems to be the theme of the Sox’ offseason. They’re going to take swings on former top prospects and see if they can maximize their talent. So while the Sox want to add a left-handed bat to the infield, it’s likely going to be a contract and player similar to Kay — someone on a short-term deal that can be impactful in the first half while the team waits for their prospects to reach the majors.