It's clear what should happen now that the Detroit Tigers reportedly have signed slugger Justin Upton: The White Sox, in order to keep pace in their killer division, should take the other top free-agent slugger off the board and sign Yoenis Cespedes.
It's the way of the AL Central, after all. The Kansas City Royals got back their franchise left fielder by signing Alex Gordon after he dabbled in free agency. The Minnesota Twins are putting Miguel Sano in left field, obviously, because he's their best player. And now the Tigers do this with Upton.
The Cleveland Indians could use Cespedes somewhere, perhaps not left field as long as Michael Brantley is healthy, but they aren't going to sign someone of that nature right now. That leaves the White Sox, who tried signing a bunch of players before the 2015 season and failed to break even in wins and losses.
Cespedes fits perfectly with the White Sox if, for no other reason, because he won't cost them a draft pick. They'll need to pay him $21 or $22 million per season -- or whatever -- but they can buy him, give him a two-year opt-out and keep stockpiling picks for the future. No problem there, because acquiring Cespedes is about the present.
They finished 28th in runs scored in 2015 and, although they've added Todd Frazier and Brett Lawrie this offseason, they need another slugger. Cespedes slugs. White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf turns 80 years old in February, and it's going on 11 years since his team won the World Series. Not to put too fine of a point on it, but there ought to be a sense of urgency in the front office to win soon so that The Chairman might be around to enjoy it. With Avisail Garcia and Adam LaRoche still in the projected lineup as we live and breathe, it's just impossible to see that a 2016 White Sox World Series is even possible. With Cespedes out there instead, it's... less implausible.
The free-agency season has dragged on and, somehow, one of the top hitters on the market remains available for purchase. It's time, White Sox, to say yes to Cespedes.
