Sox’ newcomers should be upgrade
BASEBALL BY THE NUMBERS
An active offseason has the White Sox hopeful of being better both on offense and defense, with third baseman Todd Frazier (. 806 OPS, six defensive runs saved in 2016) leading the acquisitions.
How much will the newcomers help? Let’s take a by- the- numbers look at the Sox’ new position players:
Frazier: A first- half power surge fueled Frazier to career highs with 35 home runs and 43 doubles. His 4.4 wins above replacement as listed at Fangraphs. com would have led Sox position players last season, topping Adam Eaton’s 3.6 and Jose Abreu’s 3.0.
Third base was one of the Sox’ better defensive positions in 2015, with five runs saved ( zero is average). Six were by Gordon Beckham in part- time play. However, four Sox third basemen managed only 13 home runs and a dismal .622 OPS last season, so Frazier’s bat is a big potential gain.
Jimmy Rollins: As the Dodgers’ shortstop, Rollins’ .224 batting average and .643 OPS were far below his career norms of .265 and .745. He also slid to minus- 7 runs saved after being plus- 4 in 2014.
Rollins, 37, replaces Alexei Ramirez, who also struggled last season with a .249 batting average, .642 OPS and minus- 6 runs saved. By fWAR, Rollins’ 0.2 was a tad better than Ramirez’s - 0.5.
Brett Lawrie: Lawrie, who will play second base, has a reputation as a defensive whiz, but he slipped to minus- 3 runs saved at third for the Athletics last season. In brief stays at second totaling 80 games, he was minus- 1 for the Blue Jays in 2013, plus- 1 for the Blue Jays in 2014 and minus- 3 for the A’s last season.
Carlos Sanchez was minus- 1 as the Sox’ most frequent second baseman last season. Lawrie ( 16 home runs, .706 OPS) likely will be a big offensive leap from Sanchez ( five homers, .595 OPS).
Alex Avila and Dioner Navarro: Avila’s OPS was below .700 in each of the last three seasons for the Tigers, including .626 with four homers while hindered by a knee injury last season. He and Navarro ( five homers, .682 OPS for the Blue Jays last season) were near the same level as Sox catchers Tyler Flowers ( nine homers, .652) and Geo Soto ( nine homers, .708).
Avila ( minus- 7 runs saved) and Navarro ( minus- 1) lagged behind Flowers ( plus- 14) and Soto ( plus- 2) on defense. For the catching change to be a gain, the Sox need Avila to hit something closer to his .742 career OPS.
Austin Jackson: In 448 plate appearances for the Mariners and 79 for the Cubs, Jackson had nine homers and a .696 OPS. Still, if the person he’s replacing in the lineup is Adam LaRoche ( 12 homers, .634 OPS), he’s a net gain on offense.
Jackson was essentially average defensively in 129 games in center field last season ( minus- 1 runs saved). Avisail Garcia was minus- 11 in right and Eaton minus- 14 in center, so there are gains to be made.