December 11: The White Sox officially announced the deal today.
December 10: Bruce Levine of 670 The Score (X link) provided some financial details today. Tauchman will make a salary of $1.95MM and can earn an extra $1MM via incentives. There’s also a $250K relocation bonus if he’s traded.
December 9: The White Sox are in agreement with free agent outfielder Mike Tauchman, reports Scott Merkin of MLB.com (X link). It’s a major league contract for the Meister Sports Management client, tweets James Fegan of Sox Machine. Terms have not been reported. The Sox have two openings on their 40-man roster, so no corresponding move is necessary.
Tauchman, a Chicago-area native, heads to the other side of the city after spending two seasons with the Cubs. The lefty-swinging outfielder was a nice role player for the North Siders. He has hit .250/.360/.372 across 751 plate appearances since returning from a 2022 stint in Korea. That includes a solid .248/.357/.366 showing over 350 trips to the dish this year.
That made it somewhat surprising that the Cubs opted not to tender Tauchman a contract for his second trip through the arbitration process. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him at a relatively modest $2.9MM. That was evidently too pricey for a Cubs team that felt it’d have a tough time getting him the same amount of playing time. Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki are lined up for outfield and designated hitter work. Alexander Canario and Kevin Alcantara made their MLB debuts late in the year, while prospect Owen Caissie isn’t far off himself.
Tauchman has a much clearer path to playing time at Guaranteed Rate Field. He’s the second outfield acquisition of the winter for Sox GM Chris Getz. Chicago brought in righty-swinging Austin Slater on a $1.75MM deal last month. Tauchman probably isn’t much more costly. He could pair with Slater in a right field platoon. The Sox non-tendered Gavin Sheets a few weeks ago, while presumptive starter Dominic Fletcher hit just .206/.252/.256 across 241 plate appearances this past season.
While this isn’t a move that’ll meaningfully change the outfield’s ceiling, Tauchman’s plate discipline gives him a higher floor than Fletcher. He could hit towards the top of the lineup. The Sox would surely be happy to cash him in at the deadline if he’s performing well. As a 34-year-old journeyman outfielder, Tauchman wouldn’t net a big return even if he has a strong first half. Still, the White Sox could theoretically flip him for a mid-tier prospect next July.
Some would call this a dumpster dive
Careful, there are a lot of Tauchman defenders out there.
I’d call it a steal. Why no one wants this guy is a mystery to me.
Cubs love him, just can’t fit him in with all the OF’s and lefties.
I don’t get it considering the Cubs are trying to trade Bellinger. Just another White Sox late season trade chip.
@YourDreamGM: Wonder if him being “a Chicago-area native” induced him to value staying near home more than considering other comparable offers. Feel like he would have been a nice fit w/the Braves.
He’s a fine player for a club like the Sox who will hope he performs so he can then be flipped
@NashvilleJeff I dunno what the incentives are and how probable it is to reach them. And with Chicago he might be playing every day. Would the Braves promise him that. Maybe the playing time is what sold him. If the $ is the same I’d rather win than lose. But I’d rather lose and play everyday than be a bench piece. Now if we roll back to last decade and cubs were good I would take 3m instead of 3.5 to stay home. But 4m? When it’s only a few million, 1 million is a lot of $. It’s not like you have a lot of free time to chill at home during a season anyways and half of it is road games. You can rent a house or live in a rv or boat or something for 6 months. Your kids will make 2 months without you to finish up school. Doesn’t makes sense to me to be attached to a city.
I think it’s 1 playing time. 2 no one offered much more $. He’s a 700 ops guy teams would rather use platoons to get 800 ops or even 900 vs LHP. Even if their other splits are 600.
@Dream: I think the Braves could’ve offered him a starting spot in rf until Acuna returns from injury in late May. After that, he would’ve been an option to take over lf and push Kelenic to the bench. Braves missed out on him imo. He certainly fits their budget and need in the outfield.
Why aren’t the W Sox going afterb Bellinger ? Too pricey or too old
@Franklin both. They are rebuilding and on strict budget in the best of times. Seems like they are trying to lose 100 games again.
@NashvilleJeff I guess slightly above average isn’t good enough. They want good maybe. They better deliver. Maybe we are wrong for the first time ever and he stinks!
Not even close this is Chris Getz Juan Soto signing.
Right now, Tauchman’s 2024 OPS would be third out of nine in the White Sox lineup. He plays decent defense at all three outfield positions. Most Cubs fans will tell you they are glad Mike got a guaranteed MLB contract.
This is what the Sox have become, a place where borderline MLB players go to show they still have some ability to play, then get flipped to actual major league teams in the summer. Tauchman and Slater will be stars on the White Sox for six months. Then they’ll follow Crochet and Robert out the door. If Manfred and the other owners think this is an acceptable way for a team with major league status to operate, then there shouldn’t be any expansion until Reinsdorf is ousted.
Avenger65
On another thread, I suggested that if the Padres offered Leonard DeVries and Ethan Salas, that would be enough to get Crochet and Robert. Do you agree?
Tauchman would be a solid fourth outfielder on an elite team, he is not a borderline MLB player although he is a borderline starter.
Leodalis not Leonard
The Sox single handily made the entire AL central playoff contenders. The cubs only got 4 games. A complete screw job.
100% in agreement!
Tauchman was great with the Cubs. I hated to see him go.
The Sox are all in!
That’s a kick in the rox for Cub fans!
Not really. I think most Cub fans feel bad for him.
So do Sox fans.
No, not at all. With three rookie outfielders needing time at some point this season, and starters all set at all three OF positions (unless Bellinger gets traded) and DH, there was just no room for him. Happy that he gets to stay in his native Chicago through the trade deadline, and he will provide leadership to a currently dysfunctional White Sox locker room.
No Tauchman!!!! He’s immediately their best player. I hope he gets 500 ABs
Is it truly a major league contract?
Nice!
He’ll be in the three hole before the trade deadline
16 years/$856M boom new contract record broken by the greatest to ever do it!
I hate being a sox fan
You have cool colors and logo at least.
Man I actually feel bad for you, not so long ago it seemed the future was bright – oh sorry, I shouldnt have mentioned the 2021 Sox. It must be a hard topic. I hope you get out of your depression.
One day the Wsox will have a bright future, it might not be today or tomorrow but Wsox have better days ahead sooner or later.
yeah they cant suck forever.
Exactly, every team goes thru peaks and slumps and White Sox are no exception to this either. Recent peak is 2020-2022 for example.
And when that day comes, they’ll still be the 8th beat Chicago sports team.
Awe: 121 losses is not a slump. It’s a complete collapse of an organization.
There are no good Chicago sports teams. Sad but true.
A pirates fan feeling bad for a whitesox fan? That has to be a kick in the nuts. The pirates are depression in team form. Couple that with Chicago being 10000x better than Pittsburgh?
You probably made his depression worse.
Chicagos not 10000x better than pittsburgh, Its the other way around, plus at least the Pirates have a good future ahead
I lived in Pittsburgh. Chicago is much better.
Pirates are biggest joke in baseball at least. No playoffs in a decade. No division title in 3 decades. Haven’t won a playoff series in 4 decades. Heck if you think of a joke trade Archer comes to top of mind. Joke play it’s the Baez 1b home plate run down.
Didn’t fire Cherington so their future isn’t much brighter than Chicago’s. Only thing they have going for them is a newer nicer ball park.
2015 wild card game vs. Cubs. 8 years isn’t that long.
yeah ok, but not by that much.
Ive lived in pittsburgh but only had family members that visited chicago and said its real nice.
9 years if my analytics are correct. And only a loser would say 9 years isn’t that long. Fans of loser teams may think it’s fine but it’s not for people with competitive juices.
energel: Actually, it was 2020. larussa rode Renteria’s coat tails to get to the PO in ’21. His contribution was destroying a successful rebuild in mid-flight while demoralizing an entire team.
It is crazy how the Sox went from a team seemingly brimming with young talent to a dumpster fire so quickly.
Sucks.
hiring a drunken fossil to manage a young team didn’t help
Yeah well when the drunken fossil is besties with the team owner, a team owner that wanted to rectify an old wrong, it’s okay!
Well the Wsox need OF’s badly whether it’s trades or free agent. Tauchman will most likely be platoon OF like Slater.
I mean, on paper, a Tauchman/Slater platoon sounds like such a no-brainer. You look at their stats and they’re strikingly similar. It’s definitely worth a try. Hopefully it works out…we desperately need it.
Good for Tauchman. Hope he got at least 2M guaranteed out of Reinsdorf
110 wRC+ over his last 750AB. Not a convo stopping signing but I’m sure a lot of playoff teams would have loved Tauchman as a 4th OF or even corner starter against RHP.
A handful more of these type of moves will at least bring them back towards 70-75 win territory.
Myname…Tauchman and Slater will only be on the team for half the season. These are hardly building blocks.
But the player they get back in trade, may be.
Id like him starting for the Pirates.
Good ball player. He makes the WSox better.
He wasn’t that bad a few years ago.
Wasn’t that bad a few months ago
He’s from the Chicago area so it will probably be a plus for him. Makes playing for a 100 plus loss team easier to take if you’re home half the time anyway.
This is a good move for both the ChiSox and the Palatine Pounder.
Mike Tauchman gave the Cubs solid production off the bench as an extra outfielder.
He was a 2.4 WAR player in 2023 but just 0.6 last season. His hard hit rate was more than 40 percent in each season. Those numbers could be beneficial on the south side.
As a Cubs fan, I’m sorry to see him leave but I wish him well and I want him to succeed.
Probably their cleanup
White Sox sign a 6 WAR* player!
*Career WAR
Thought their goal was to get better
It’s not. It’s to make Reinsdorf money.
Placeholder signing in preparation of Luis Robert trade?
I wouldn’t read into that much. You sign him either way.
Very happy for him. On most MLB rosters, he’d be a 4th OF at best, but on the South Side, he’ll be out there every day, probably at the heart of the order.
Could have started for pirates in just about any of the last 30 years including 2024 2025
An outfield of Tauchman Slater and Benintendi is truly awe-inspiring.
AL Central is on notice!
Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy….
Underrated. Contenders could have used this guy. Instead they might be trading a prospect for him in July. Haven’t seen the $ yet, maybe it’s crazy. Then again it’s Chicago. A+ signing.
Aloha folks, I wish Tauchman all the best! A very good clubhouse presence, gives good defense and came through in crucial situations. I hope he has a great 2025 and can continue to play a little longer. Mahalo
Solid ball player with some versatility. I’m surprised a contender didn’t snag him. Quality depth is so important.
Unless he wanted to play at home and/or get regular starts.
Contenders aren’t looking at this level yet. They are still battling for the expensive players.
Good for Tauchman. Doesn’t need to hire movers.
A Tauchman/Slater platoon that can play in all three outfield field positions makes a fair amount of sense at the prices the ChiSox are likely paying them. It’s a big if, though, if either or both of them have much left in 2025.
Aim high Reinsdorf, aim high!
In all seriousness I bet it’s for $1M-$2M maybe with some modest incentives that could increase it by $500k or so.
He likely got his projected $2.9 or more to sign this early, with this team.
None of the team’s offseason moves have yet to convince me that this club won’t lose even more games in’25 than they did in ’24.
So at least Tauchman and Slater are older veterans and don’t need alot of coaching. They surely won’t get any with the White Sox.Hey/ don’t call me Shirley.
Plenty of room on the bandwagon still. This team could win 50, maybe even 55 games next year, and we still have guys on the major league roster to trade.
They will probably win 55-58 games and or the same as the 2011/2012 Astros.
That’s honestly a fantastic deal for Tauchman- including that rather brilliant $250k ‘relocation’ bonus if he’s traded.
I wish every industry would give people a ‘relocation bonus’ of basically a year’s overhead in the event of landing another job, haha.
It might as well say $250k bonus when he’s traded.
That 250K is already in the bag. He’d have to crater hard in the first half and I don’t see that happening.
Slow day at the meetings.
“There’s also a $250K relocation bonus if he’s traded” If in the unlikely event he were traded to the Cubs, would he still get the relocation bonus?
Solid 4th OF for a contending team. I always liked his game and he has never been a problem in the locker room. I’m sure he will be dealt by June/July but it was a good buy low move by Getz.
Here it is. Great signing Chicago, who is next?
What the Heck are the White Sox doing? Guy’s had a wRC+ of around 10% above league average for the past 2 seasons. BB% is pretty decent and K% is around the league average. Are they actually trying to win this year? Just the guy shouldn’t be played in the field.
I mean the Wsox need OF’s badly whether it’s FA or Crochet trade.
@Aiden Awe
You missed the part about how he shouldn’t play the field.
Whitesox are below league average. so a player 10% over league average is actually an upgrade. these arent the yankees/dodgers. they are literaly a bottom of the barrel team.
@25ToMcCoveyCove
I was being sarcastic because they are the worst of the worst right now. This is literally an upgrade for the team.
The word “literally” adds nothing to either of your posts.
@El Kabong
Sorry, Mr. Grammar police.
It’s not just you. People misuse that word all the time. Enough, already.
@El Kabong
Honestly, do you really think the internet forum is the best place to lecture on grammar mistakes and misuse of words? No one here cares. Maybe go back to the University you came from and perform your lecture there.
@El Kabong
Considering “upgrade” wasn’t used figuratively, there was no misuse. “Literally” was used to emphasize his point and done so correctly. Read and weep, I guess.
“Are they actually trying to win this year?”
Theres no winning for the WS this year even if they magically signed every remaining FA. You dont go from most losses in a season ever to playoff contending in a year. No reason to shell serious money this year to still miss badly.
Worst free agent signs with worst team, I see really tremendous results from this
Not bad, he’s definitely a trade chip for the deadline. Getz needs to keep stocking on prospects, this team is very much in the tryouts phase.