Levine: David Freese, Brett Lawrie Could Fill White Sox's Gaping Hole At 3rd

By Bruce Levine--

CHICAGO (CBS) — When it comes to offseason improvement, finding a quality third baseman is a top priority for the White Sox. Offensive and defensive needs exist at three of the four infield positions — third base, shortstop and second base — and that has team executives working hard exploring the trade and free-agent markets.

Chicago's past failures at third base can easily be documented over the past decade. The team has tried to fill the gap after the Joe Crede era, with few positive results. Only a few good options seem plausible this offseason.

Looking internally, a stopgap answer may be second-year pro Tyler Saladino, a gritty infielder who came up from the minor leagues and gave the team a boost last summer. Saladino filled in at third and shortstop and brought some needed energy to a lifeless team. By the end of the season, he looked more like a super-utility player than an everyday starter.

The days of waiting for power-hitting third baseman Matt Davidson to jump one level from Triple-A appear over. Acquired from Arizona for Addison Reed in December 2013, Davidson has hit .199 and .203 in the past two seasons at Triple-A, respectively.  He has big power but little else to offer in the way of tool set or consistent play.

The free agent market has one promising name that could be a stopgap move for the White Sox. Former Cardinals and Angels third baseman David Freese still has some game left in him. Freese is a .276 lifetime hitter with a little offensive pop and some fielding skills around the third-base bag.

Freese, 32, outproduced the three-man rotation that turned out to be the third base group for the White Sox in 2015. Freese hit .257 with 14 homers and 58 RBIs in 121 games. The combination of Conor Gillaspie, Gordon Beckham, Mike Olt and Saladino combined for 16 homers with 59 RBIs, though Saldino played all over the field. Chicago had the lowest batting average and slugging percentage production from third base in the majors.

A trade for Athletics infielder Brett Lawrie, 25, may make the most sense for the White Sox. A first-round draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008, Lawrie finally had a healthy season in 2015. Lawrie had career-highs in games played (149), home runs (16) and RBIs (60).

Rumors of Oakland general manager Billy Beane trading Lawrie started to circulate last month at the GM meetings in Florida.

Lawrie is also a second baseman. He played 108 games at third base and 41 at second last season. For Lawrie, this was his first healthy season since coming to the big leagues in 2011.

The projected arbitration salary figure for him is around $4 million in 2016, and he's under contract control through 2017, after earning $1.925 million last year. The Athletics are in salary dump mode after hitting an all-time franchise record of $84 million in player payroll during 2015.

The versatility of Lawrie makes him even more attractive to the White Sox, who must stabilize the position in order to give their fine young pitching staff some defense and run production support. Lawrie made the third-highest total of errors in the league at the hot corner last season with 18. Still, the metrics support his range factor as being well above the league average for third basemen.

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn won't hesitate to add to his team sooner rather than later, if possible.

"This time of year, it's a process," Hahn said in early November at the GM meetings. "We are well positioned to move if the right proposals occur on several different fronts. We will see what happens over the next few weeks."

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.