The White Sox have gotten off to a terrible start this season, and roster construction is the main culprit.
As we look at the Chicago White Sox season, it feels very different than the 2022 season. In 2022, fans made all sorts of excuses on why things weren’t going the South Siders’ way.
- “It is all Tony La Russa’s fault.”
- “The injuries are killing us.”
- “We just aren’t living up to our potential.”
- “The bullpen is just a little off.”
- “The rotation is just a little off.”
- “We just need to hit a few more home runs.”
- “If we scored more runs, we would win more games.”
But this year, White Sox fans are not making up excuses, not keeping up the optimism, and not cheerleading. No, in 2023, fans are mad, outraged, disappointed, and betrayed. White Sox management has made promises and have not kept them. Like a bad politician, the constituents are looking for somebody to blame. And they have 135 games to left to watch. At 7-20, they are in fourth place in the AL Central, just a game ahead of Kansas City. The White Sox were on an eight-game losing streak for the third time since the start of the 2022 season, and now the streak is up to nine.
Promise 1: The Roster Has All the Talent It Needs
For the second year in a row, White Sox General Manager Rick Hahn decided to forego any grandiose moves in free agency. True, the signing of OF Andrew Benintendi, was a decent sized deal: five years for $75 million. which happens to be a team record. Last year, Benintendi hit a career best .304 and a career worst slugging .399 (in a full season) and a decent .772 OPS. So far, he is down in all of the major categories including average, slugging, on-base percentage, and OPS. But he is hitting .281 and is far from the White Sox’ biggest issue.
The White Sox are 23rd in batting average, 21st in home runs, 28th in on base percentage (only in front of division foes Detroit and Kansas City), and 23rd in slugging. To be consistent, the White Sox are 23rd in runs, again in front of Detroit and Kansas City. Talent and potential are great, but at some point, if the performance isn’t there, then the talent isn’t there either.
Sox management isn’t skirting the issue, they are taking the blame. In an interview with whitesox.com, Rick Hahn said, “Put it on me. That’s the job. Let’s make this real clear — it sure as heck isn’t on [first year manager] Pedro [Grifol] and his coaching staff.” At least he knows he has not put together a strong enough roster.
Promise 2: Decrease the Injuries
The White Sox promised to revamp their conditioning program to decrease the number of injuries that plagued the team during the 2022 campaign. But, almost one month after the start of the season, DH Eloy Jimenez, who had lost 25 pounds in the offseason to make himself more resilient, came up with a hamstring injury that kept him out of the lineup for 3 weeks.
One week after, SS Tim Anderson collided at second base and injured his knee. He hasn’t played since April 11 but started a rehab assignment on Friday, April 28. 3B Yoan Moncada is dealing with a sore back/protruding disk that has kept him out of the lineup since April 9 and has no timetable for return.
Sox fans can’t blame Hahn and the front office for CP Liam Hendriks getting cancer, but you know they want to. Thankfully, it looks like he is on the mend, and we might see him pitch before the All-Star game.
Regardless, missing Jimenez, Moncada, Hendriks and Anderson for extended time is not a recipe for success for a team that doesn’t have a ton of depth.
Promise 3: One of the Best Rotations in Baseball
At the start of 2022, the White Sox rotation was considered top 5 in MLB. Injuries plagued the roster as well and the rotation was due to come back full force in 2023. The White Sox signed San Diego Padres castaway SP Mike Clevinger to a one-year, $8 million contract to bolster the rotation. Clevinger is a career 3.44 ERA pitcher with a 1.20 WHIP. This year, he sports a 4.81 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP.
Clevinger isn’t the only one struggling. As a team, the White Sox are 29th in ERA with a 5.65, only better than Oakland at an 8.05 ERA. They are also 29th in WHIP, only better than Oakland again. Interestingly, the White Sox are third in strikeouts, only bested by the division rival Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees.
Blame is easy to spread around. Though last year’s Cy Young runner-up SP Dylan Cease had just one bad game (7 runs in 4 innings against Tampa Bay), his ERA stands at 4.15. Meanwhile, SP Lance Lynn contributes a 7.52 ERA, SP Michael Kopech is at 7.01, and SP Lucas Giolito has a 4.15 ERA. If Giolito can’t turn his season around, it is hard to envision him in a White Sox uniform next year. Teams can’t wait to play the White Sox to help stuff the stat sheet.
Perspective
In 2019 and 2020, the roster built by White Sox management seemed to be on the verge of a breakout dynasty. Lance Lynn was a Cy Young candidate not too long ago; Tim Anderson won the batting crown and is a two-time All-Star in the last couple of years; OF Luis Robert was a Golden Glove winner his rookie year; Eloy Jimenez looked like a guy who could win the triple crown; 1B Jose Abreu (now with the Astros) was an MVP. Cease seems destined to continue to be a top pitcher in baseball and if Anderson can get back on the field, he is a lock as one of the best leadoff men in the league. The rest is hard to evaluate with so little games played.
Hahn said it best to MLB.com, “We’re feeling every emotion in the book, ranging from rage to disappointment, and we’ve done perhaps the exact opposite of what we set out to do in terms of regaining our fans’ confidence and trust in what we’re about here.”
The fans are listening, but patience is over.
All stats are through Friday, April 28.
