The White Sox Should Kick The Tires On Adam Duvall
The White Sox are looking to upgrade right field and the outfield in general. They have added Brett Phillips to the mix, but he is nothing more than a 4th outfielder who comes in for defensive purposes, as he offers very little with the bat.
As of right now, the White Sox only have two potential options for right field. One is Gavin Sheets, who is more of a platoon bat, and offers little in the field. The other is Eloy Jimenez, who is better suited off at designated hitter, although manager Pedro Grifol liked to throw him in right occasionally.
Oscar Colas could be an option, but it sounds like he is likely to start the season at AAA after underwhelming the front office in his two stints last year. If the White Sox want to add another bat so the 6-9 in the order are not all below-average hitters, they should look no further than Adam Duvall.
Duvall would be the perfect fit for the White Sox at this point. He can slot in as a power bat in the middle of the lineup to add some protection to guys like Andrew Vaughn and Eloy Jimenez, as Duvall is a dangerous hitter in his own right.
Last year with the Red Sox, Duvall had a pretty good offensive year. He hit .247 over 320 at-bats, but more impressively he hit 21 home runs and had 58 RBIs. That was a very good amount of production in a limited number of at-bats.
Even in the limited number of at-bats, that would be one of the best right-field seasons the White Sox have seen in a long time. He is typically a very consistent power bat that has performed well most of his career, with very good power numbers, even in years in which he does not play a lot of games.
He has hit 30+ home runs three different times in his career, with the most recent season coming in 2021, where he also led the league in RBIs with 113. He is not a hit-for-average type of player, but with the way the roster is currently constructed, they need as much offense as they can get, and a homerun is the quickest way to get that.
Even though he is mainly known for his power bat, he is still a well-above-average fielder, even winning a Gold Glove in 2021. Baseball Savant did not love his defense in the 2023 season, but mainly every other year they grade him out as one of the better fielding outfielders in all of baseball. He plays best in right field, but he can give you at least an average glove in center if Luis Robert Jr was to get hurt.
He would fit exactly what the White Sox are looking to do this year, as he won’t be an expensive bat, but unlike most of the other signings, he could contribute positively at a position that is not blocking any younger players, as he could even platoon with Oscar Colas if they wanted him to. But, the front office doesn’t seem to be high on Colas at all.
The White Sox need to add some pop to their lineup and at this point in free agency, Duvall checks all the boxes for the White Sox.