Black Sox Beat Writer
Chicago Sports Online
The Chicago Black Sox announced this week that All-Star shortstop Mark Wareham has advised the team he will opt out of the final season of his two-year deal and, instead, test free agency.
Wareham’s contract called for him to earn $12 million in 2042.
Mark Wareham
The Sox – as Caleca’s statement hints – are unlikely to pursue Wareham in free agency.
Sources inside the team’s front office said some officials, Caleca included, were relieved that Wareham decided to walk because it offered significant salary cap relief. The Sox were facing the specter of releasing some players and eating their contracts to get beneath the cap.
Some coaches also felt that Wareham’s defense has deteriorated so badly that his robust OBP totals no longer make up for it.
Wareham slashed .220/.390/.353 in 2041 for the Sox, but had a -6.4 zone rating and a .963 defensive efficiency while making 26 errors, the second highest total in the BBA.
“That’s brutal,” said Malcolm Wilkes, who covers the Frick Heartland Division for BBA Weekly. “That means the position where you really want – and need – to have an elite glove, they had Mr. Iron Hands himself. Can’t have it.”
Still, not everyone in the Sox hierarchy was pleased by the news.
The team’s willingness to let Wareham go without a fight played a significant role in the surprise retirement of Lucas Cadigon after just one season as Black Sox manager.
“Lucas, from what I understand, believed the pairing of Wareham and Mark Simpson – whose .OBP was .448 – gave the Sox a powerful weapon at the top of the lineup, said Baseball Zone analyst Gayle Combs. “Especially with the arrival of Hao Hang mid-season, I think Lucas felt the Sox would be set up well to score runs next year with that combination.
“When that fell apart, he decided to call it a career. Of course, there were odd rumors about a cockroach, a team meeting in a seedy motel, and strobe lights, but I’ll just stick to baseball. There’s no question Wareham’s departure and what it would mean to the Sox lineup hastened Cadigon’s decision.”
The question now, of course, is what will the Sox do at shortstop?
“They could try to find one in free agency,” Wilkes said. “And, of course, they have Santiago Morales on the roster – he’s a marvelous defender, but an utter disaster at the plate. And word is he’s been making noise about wanting a trade, so who knows?
Santiago Morales
Those questions set the stage for an off-season full of questions in Chicago, to be sure.
Caleca, for one, isn’t interested in supplying answers – yet.
“There’s a lot to consider,” he said. “And I can assure you that the entire Black Sox front office will be working overtime to find good answers to all of those questions in the weeks ahead.”
