The White Sox had a busy offseason, but even as spring training kicks into gear GM Rick Hahn may pull off another free agent signing.
As of now Nomar Mazara is penciled in as the White Sox starting right fielder, with the backing of the Ricky Renteria and Hahn. However, there are obviously concerns about Mazara facing left-handed pitching and the idea of a platoon with a right-handed batter has been tossed around.
And that takes us to the latest rumor. First, Hector Gomez, who has broken a few White Sox stories, quoted former Dodgers great Manny Mota on Tuesday, as the ex-ball player said Yasiel Puig is close to signing with a team.
Gomez was asked if the White Sox are in the mix and according to him they are.
He followed that up on Wednesday, saying that the White Sox and Rockies have emerged as the frontrunners for Puig.
Puig, 29, has a career slash line of .277/.348/.475, and at this point it’s obvious that he won’t cost much more than a one-year deal. If you’re the White Sox, then you want as much depth as possible entering the window of contention.
While Puig hasn’t been the star player he was during his first two seasons with the Dodgers, the right-handed hitter has still been decent, posting an OPS close to .800 for the last five years.
Why wouldn’t you want Puig on the South Side? We’ll see if Puig ends up at Sox camp soon.
