Reports: White Sox Miss Out on Potential Outfield Upgrade

The Chicago White Sox went into the offseason looking for an outfielder, but one of the best options is reportedly off the market.

According to reports from Yahoo’s Jeff Passan and Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, Yoenis Cespedes has agreed to a new contract with the New York Mets. The deal will last four years and will reportedly pay the outfielder $110 million.

Cespedes, who opted out of his contract with the Mets as the offseason began, slugged 31 home runs and drove in 86 RBI in his first full season with the team in 2016, and he’s already made a huge impact with the organization in his short-time in Flushing Meadows. In 189 games with the team, Cespedes has clubbed 48 home runs and has put up an outstanding .903 OPS, and he helped lead the team to a World Series berth in 2015.

Several teams were interested in Cespedes, including the Houston Astros, and the White Sox surely could have used his services in the outfield next season. The team does have a very strong right fielder in Adam Eaton, but adding Cespedes would have given them a lot of flexibility and still would have allowed them to add another outfielder to further bolster their roster for the 2017 campaign.

Now that Cespedes is off the market, options are starting to narrow a bit if the White Sox want to use free agency to improve their outfield situation. One player they could look at is Dexter Fowler, who is coming off a World Series title with the Cubs and would fill a big hole in center field for the South Siders.

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