For a team fighting to avoid finishing last in their division and on their way to their third losing season in the last four years, things are actually looking up for the White Sox. Armed with an MVP-level slugger and one of the best pitchers alive, the White Sox are very quietly shaping up as a team that could soon join the rest of the crowd vying for AL Central supremacy.
Preseason Prediction: So what do we think, somewhere between 80 and 90 losses? I think that’s a reasonable prediction for the team this season. PECOTA has the Sox at 86 losses, and various Las Vegas casinos have them set in the same general area. Basic luck can shift their totals in either direction, and finishing somewhere around .500 and anywhere between second and fourth in the AL Central seems like a solid projection. (Joe Lucia, March 3rd)
What Went Right: Nothing could possibly have gone more right than the White Sox big, risky signing of Cuban slugger Jose Abreu. With 38 homers and counting and a league-leading 174 OPS+, Abreu is going to run away with the AL Rookie of the Year award. If he had been on a winning team, he’d probably be getting serious consideration for AL MVP as well. The White Sox pushed their rebuilding effort forward even further with their trade for Adam Eaton who has proven to be both a quality leadoff man and strong defensive center fielder. Oh, and Chris Sale was once again one of the best pitchers in the world and didn’t get nearly enough attention for it.
What Went Wrong: Last season’s big prospect acquisition Avisail Garcia missed 113 games due to shoulder surgery and has struggled to get back up to speed since returning in August. There is still plenty of time for the 23-year old outfielder to develop, but he lost some valuable development time this year. Garcia wasn’t the only big prospect that suffered a setback this year though, Erik Johnson, the team’s top prospect had an unmitigated disaster of a season. The Pale Hose had hoped Johnson would become be part of their big league rotation this year. Instead, he got hammered in five big league starts, then got sent down to the minors where he continued to get hammered. With a thin farm system, having their best prospect look every bit like a massive bust, the rebuilding effort on the North Side could take a little but longer than anticipated.
Most Surprising Player: By all rights Abreu could be listed here again. People expected him to be good, but almost no one expected him to be this good, especially not right away. But for the sake of not double-dipping, we’ll give the nod to Conor Gillaspie. Not that he set the world on fire, but a .291/.345/.429 slash line from Gillaspie is a lot more than they were expecting to get out out of the former first rounder who looked like replacement level roster filler coming into the season. While he has been largely sheltered from left-handed pitching, Gillaspie emerged as another young piece that could hold down a starting gig for the next few years, which is a pleasant surprise.
Most Disappointing Player: While many of Chicago’s young players took important steps forward this season, many of their veterans did not. Paul Konerko, Dayan Viciedo, Gordon Beckham, Alejandro de Aza and just about every pitcher on their staff over the age of 28 were all basically useless. None of them were as disappointing as John Danks though.
To be fair, nobody expected much of anything from Danks, but it sure would have been nice for him to be something resembling a mid-rotation starter instead of posting a third straight season of an ERA of 4.70 or higher. That’s not because the White Sox needed him to win more games, they needed him to become a viable trade candidate so that they could unload all or part of the $14.25 million salary that Danks will be making each year through 2016. Opening up that kind of payroll could have gone a long way towards accelerating the rebuilding effort.
The Future: Unlike some other teams in their situation, GM Rick Hahn showed no reluctance in selling off his veteran spare parts at the deadline with Dunn, Beckham and de Aza all being dealt in the last month. That won’t do much for them in the long run, but it shows that the front office understands the path the club is on. They have a franchise slugger in Abreu, an elite ace in Chris Sale, a strong #2 starter in Jose Quintana and quality leadoff hitter and up-the-middle defender in Eaton. That’s a core they can build around and Hahn is sweeping away all the detritus so that he can begin doing that in earnest. Already there are rumors that the White Sox will be making a big push to bring in Victor Martinez in free agency.
If Chicago can add some actual quality veterans and continue to see some of their young pieces develop, they could get a lot better in a hurry. It is premature to expect them to become real contenders in the AL Central, at least in 2015, but they are moving in the right direction to become a legitimate threat in the years afterwards.
