NASHVILLE -- The Chicago White Sox say that if they can acquire enough offense this offseason, they would be comfortable with Tyler Saladino playing shortstop.
Is a reported deal for third baseman Brett Lawrie enough offense to make that happen?
The San Francisco Chronicle reported late Tuesday that the Oakland Athletics are closing in on a deal to send Lawrie to the White Sox for two undetermined minor-leaguers. The White Sox have been mum on any forthcoming deal.
Lawrie does possess all-star potential, and has showed it at times first with the Toronto Blue Jays and last year with the Oakland A’s. He has yet to tap that full potential, although he did reach career bests in home runs (16) and RBIs (60) last year with the A’s, while his .407 slugging percentage was slightly under his career .420 mark.
Oakland also tapped into Lawrie’s versatility this past season, playing him mostly at third base, but also using him at second.
Lawrie also has the goods to be a plus defender and by acquiring him, and using Saladino at shortstop, the White Sox would have the potential for an above-average defense on the left side of the infield. Or the White Sox can still be on the prowl for somebody like Asdrubal Cabrera, put him at third base and use Lawrie at second.
The question is still whether that is enough offense for a club that has stated multiple times that improving the offense was the goal this winter.
“I think before we break camp with certain defensive specialists, so to speak, at various spots around the infield, we are going to want to fill out a stronger offensive attack around them,” general manager Rick Hahn said at the start of the winter meetings. “It doesn’t mean we don’t wind up, in the end, with guys who are more known for their defensive ability than their offense. But we certainly want to fill some of those holes with some offensive production around them.”
Saladino is squarely in the White Sox’s plans, and not just as a utility man. He played capable defense at both third base and shortstop with the White Sox last season, and can even play second base, first base and the outfield, but shortstop is considered his natural and best defensive position.
“You would expect him to be better offensively,” manager Robin Ventura said. “For him to get through what he did playing third base, he filled in a spot for us that's been a hole really for us for a while defensively, and he was able to step in, not even playing that much third base. So he did a really good job for us at being able to get in there.”
At age 26 when the season starts, Lawrie’s numbers still figure to trend upward. And Hahn has said that Saladino also fared better the more experience he has at each level he’s played.
It doesn’t mean the White Sox will have Saladino as their Opening Day shortstop, but an acquisition of Lawrie, and perhaps another infielder, might be enough for the White Sox to give it a try.
“We'd like to score some more runs is what we'd like to do,” Ventura said from the MLB winter meetings in Nashville on Tuesday. “I think, when we have the pitching that we have, whether it's the starters or you're looking in the bullpen, you feel pretty confident going in that those guys can be able to compete in our league and do well. Offensively, you need to score some more runs for these guys. So you need to find that somewhere.”