The Chicago White Sox signed Justin Morneau this past Thursday. Is he the missing piece to the playoff puzzle?
The Chicago White Sox sat atop the American League Central with a 27-18 record as the month of May was just about halfway over. Led by ace Chris Sale, the team was gearing for a potential playoff run in the near future.
However, over the next few weeks, the hot streak turned ice-cold. The team lost three of four to Cleveland, got swept by the Royals and Tigers, and lost two of three against Washington. Their only series win came against the New York Mets, winning the series in a 13-inning, 2-1 ballgame.
Sitting at 30-30, fourth in their division, the White Sox have began to make roster changes with the hope that new signings will rejuvenate the once playoff-caliber team.
Chicago has most recently acquired James Shields in a trade with San Diego and DFA’d both shortstop Jimmy Rollins and starting pitcher Mat Latos.
In a corresponding move after designating Latos for assignment this past Thursday, Chicago signed first baseman Justin Morneau to a one-year, $1 million contract. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list as he continues to recover from an elbow injury. He will likely to return to the team after the All-Star break in mid-July.
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With that in mind, how much can Morneau contribute to a struggling White Sox team?
In his most recent season as a member of the Colorado Rockies, Morneau hit .310/.363/.458 over 49 games. He added three home runs and 15 RBI.
Up until his concussion in mid-May, Morneau was a consistent contributor for the Rockies, as he’s always been. In 2014, his first season with Colorado, he hit .319 with 17 home runs and 82 RBI.
Though Morneau’s power has drained over the past few seasons (his last 20+ homer season came in 2009), he is very reliable when it comes to getting on base and/or moving runners over to the next bag. He struck out just 13.7 percent of times last season and walked on 7.1 percent of plate appearances.
Morneau is also a career .282 hitter and his average has only risen since his early days with Minnesota.
When he joins the lineup and is completely healthy, Morneau will likely take over the role that Adam LaRoche had entering this year before he decided to retire. The left-handed hitter will join a predominantly right-handed lineup as the designated hitter and fill in on rest days for current first baseman Jose Abreu.
Adding a new, reliable bat to Chicago’s lineup will help the team much more as the season progresses. Only two players on the White Sox hit about .270, and just four above .250. Their biggest offseason acquisition, third baseman Todd Frazier, is hitting an abysmal .214, though he does have 19 home runs.
Not only will he add a reliable hitter to the lineup, Morneau will help Abreu and even Frazier. Both players can be pitched around with the rest of Chicago’s lineup relatively weak. Adding Morneau would make pitchers second-guess giving Abreu or Frazier a free pass.
Of course, all of this is in due time and questions still surround the former MVP.
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Morneau still has to rehab back to full-strength. While he says his elbow is near full-health, offseason surgery could hurt his average at the plate and power as a whole. He hasn’t played in the major leagues all year and at 35, his age may catch up and slow him down as a hitter.
However, taking a flyer on a hitter who has been great at the plate his whole career at a dirt cheap price may turn out to be a huge gain for the White Sox.
If the team stays in playoff contention (3.5 out of first in AL Central), Morneau could be the missing piece to the puzzle.