Chicago White Sox - The Covid-19 Years (2020-2029)

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2020

2023

101

Decade

2021

2024

121

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2025

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Titles:

Top White Sox Players during the Twenty Twenties

2020 - WC Lost to A's

2021 - ALDS Lost to Houston

Pitchers:

Dylan Cease (11.93) - 31

BallPark: New Comiskey Park

Lucas Giolito (8.36) - 23

Liam Hendriks (4.35) - 18

Team Name: White Sox

Lance Lynn (5.06) - 13

Dallas Keuchel (1.04) - 11

Owner: Jerry Reinsdorf

Michael Kopech (4.75) - 8

Carlos Rodon (4.76) - 8

General Managers:

Mike Clevinger (3.3) - 6

Ken Williams (2020-2023) President

Erick Fedde (4.7) - 6

Rick Hahn (2020-2023) GM

Garret Crochet (5.84) - 6

Chris Getz (2024)

Jonathan Cannon (1.4) - 6

Davis Martin (2.4) - 6

Managers:

Shane Smith (2.4) - 6

Rick Renteria (2020)

Tony LaRussa (2021-2022)

Catchers:

Miguel Cairo (2022)

Yasmani Grandal (2.46) - 16

Pedro Grifol (2023-2024)

Grady Sizemore (2025)

First Basemen:

Will Venable (2025)

Jose Abreu (10.14) - 26

Andrew Vaughn (1.16) - 23

Hall of Famers:

None

Second Basemen:

Elvis Andrus (2.39) - 7

No Hitters:

Leury Garcia (1.74) - 5

2020 - Lucas Giolito Pittsburgh)

Lenyn Sosa (-1.66) - 5

2021 - Carlos Rodon (Cleveland)

ShortStop:

Rookie of the Year:

Tim Anderson (6.33) - 28

None

Colson Montgomery (-1.66) - 5

MVP:

Third Base:

2020 - Jose Abreu

Yoan Moncada (6.03) - 19

Cy Young:

Outfield:

None

Luis Robert (13.173) - 47

Eloy Jimenez (4.04) - 14

Notable Events:

Andrew Benintendi (-0.6) - 11

Gavin Sheets (-2.46) - 7

Somehow you would think that a city as big as Chicago would have more

Adam Engel (2.14) - 6

successful teams. But, pick the sport, all Chicago teams behave like small market

Michael Tauchman (1.9) - 6

teams. Jerry Reinsdorf has been Chicago's owner forever. On occasion, he would

surprise everybody and go out and spend. But only on occasion. The 1994

Notable Events:

baseball lockout, which he and then Milwaukee owner Bud Selig spearheaded,

2020 - A not so funny thing happened on the way to Chicago's potential

(Selig was acting commissioner at the time} showed where Reinsdorfs head was at.

mini dynasty in the first decade of the 2000's - it never happened.

Where it was always at - the thought that paying players was really players stealing

The Sox looked like they were about to embark on a nice run in 2001

money out of his pockets.

finishing first in the division with a 93-69 mark.

Anyway, you can rest assured that Reinsdorf is not going to try to spend his way

That was the reward for sucking the last seven years of the teens and

out of the disaster that is the Chicago White Sox. And Reinsdorf over the years has

drafting high all of those years.

proven that he is not competent enough to build a management team that can

compete without spending. A bummer for White Sox fans, for sure.

2020 - After a very poor seven year run to close out the previous decade in which

Starting Pitchers:

the Pale Hose averaged a 71-91 record, Chicago turned it around in '20

□ RHP Shane Smith, 26, '25 Rule 5 draft from Milwaukee, '25 7-8 3.81

with a second place finish and a 35-25 mark. They lost in the Wild Card round

□ RHP Davis Martin, 29, '18 draft 14th round pick , '25 7-10 4.10

to the A's. Massive improvements were made both on offense and pitching.

□ LHP Anthony Kay, '26 FA from Mets, '23 0-0 6.14

The Sox had been gathering high draft picks due to their poor performance

□ RHP Sean Burke, 26, '21 draft 3rd round pick , '25 4-11 4.22

also picked up some top youngsters thru trading their top assets like ace

□ LHP Sean Newcombe, 32, '26 FA from A's, '25 2-5 2.73

LHP Chris Sale and OF Adam Eaton. They also picked up some prospect depth

□ LHP Noah Schultz, 23, '22 draft 1st round pick , ,'25 AA-AAA 4-5 4.68

dealing the likes of RHP Jose Quintana, Closer David Robertson and OF

□ LHP Hagen Smith, 23, '24 draft 5th overall pick, '25 AA 3-3 3.57

Melky Cabrera. Trading these players just made things worse during the

□ RHP Drew Thorpe, 26, '24 Trade with SD, '24 3-3 5.48

bad times, but that was OK, as Chicago got better draft positions

□ RHP Tanner McDougal, 23, '21 draft 5th round pick, '25 A-AA 3-5 3.26

Sensing that they were on the cusp of their youngsters turning things around,

Shane Smith and Davis Martin are middle to low end rotation starters. The other

the White Sox spent on free agents in '20 picking up ace righthander Dallas

candidates Newcombe, Burke, Kay and Thorpe are suspects. Hagen Smith and

Keuchel and excellent catcher Yasmani Grandal. They also invested in a couple

Schultz are young high draft picks who need more seasoning. McDougal shows

of big names that didn't pan out in Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Encarnacion.

some potential with a bit more seasoning, as well.

Jerry Reinsdorf has owned the White Sox for forty years. The Sox performance

Relief Pitchers:

has been middle of the road over that period with six division titles and thirteen

□ Closer Seranthony Dominguez, 31, '26 FA from Toronto ,'25 4-4 3.16

second place finishes. Jerry has been one of the league's more reactionary

□ RHP Jordan Leasure, 27, '23 Trade deadline from Dodgers, '25 5-6 3.92 7saves

owners during his tenure. He played a major role in the near disastrous player

□ RHP Grant Taylor, 24, '23 2nd round pick, '25 2-4 4.91

lockout in '94. He's also blown hot and cold with his spending over the years.

□ LHP Mike Vasil, 26, '25 FA from TB, '25 5-3 2.50

All that being said, Reinsdorf opens the decade with a team with loads of talent.

□ RHP Jordan Hicks, 30, '26 Trade from Boston ,'25 2-7 6.95

□ LHP Tyler Gilbert, 32, '25 Trade from White Sox, '25 4-2 3.88

Rick Hahn took over the GM spot in 2013 when Kenny Williams was kicked up

□ LHP Chris Murphy, 28, '26 Trade from Boston, '25 3-0 3.12

to team president. Good timing for Williams as he left the cupboard bare for Hahn.

□ RHP Wikelman Gonzalez, 24, '25 Trade from Boston , '25 1-0 2.66

Hahn has spent the last seven years trying to build something and his hard work

About what you would expect on a 60-102 club

finally started paying off in '20.

Regulars:

2021 - Tony La Russa, 76, that's right - seventy six, has been hired to manage

□ C Kyle Teel, 24, '25 Trade from Boston , '25 8 35 .273

the White Sox for 2021. I suppose if Joe Biden, 78, and Donald Trump, 74, can

□ 1B Munetaka Murakami, 26, '26 FA from Japan ,'25 played in Japan

try to run a country, La Russa can manage a team. Rick Renteria was fired to

□ 2B Lenyn Sosa, 26, '16 IFA, '25 22 75 .264

make way for La Russa despite finishing 35-25. The reasoning for this move

□ SS Colson Montgomery, 24, '21 1st round pick , '25 21 55 .239

is that Chicago wants an experienced manager that can guide the club to the

□ 3B Chase Meidroth, 24, '25 Trade with Boston, '25 5 23 .253

next level now that the talent is there. They may have over shot the mark on

□ 3B Miguel Vargas, 26, '24 Trade deadline from Dodgers ,'25 16 60. 234

the experience thing on this one, however.

□ OF Austin Hays, 31, '26 FA from Reds ,'25 15 64 .266

□ OF Andrew Benintendi, 31, '23 FA from NYY, '25 20 63 .240

2021 - All is going according to plan. Chicago wins the Division with a 93-69

□ CF Brooks Baldwin, 25, '22 draft 12th round pick ,'25 11 38 .240

mark and the arrow is pointing up everywhere. A young team loaded with talent.

□ DH Edgar Quero, 23, '23 Trade deadline from Anaheim ,'25 5 36 .268

The Core (Mostly young and not yet in their prime) :

□ C Korey Lee, 28, '23 Trade from Houston , '25 1 3 .257

□ 2B Luisangel Acuna, 24, '26 Trade from the Mets , '25 0 8 .234

Pitching:

□ SS Billy Carlson, 20, '25 1st round pick, '25 did not play

□ RHP Dylan Cease, 25, obtained from the Cubs in '17 for Jose Quintana

□ 3B Curtis Mead, 25, '25 Trade deadline from TB,'25 0 11 .240

□ RHP Lucas Giolito, 26, obtained from Washington in '17 trade for Adam Eaton

□ 3B Caleb Bonemer, 20, '24 2nd round pick , '25 A 12 64 .281

□ LHP Garret Crochet, 21, 1st round pick in '20 draft

□ OF Braden Montgomery, 23, '25 Trade with Boston , '25 A-AA 12 68 .270

□ LHP Carlos Rodon, 28, 3rd overall pick in '14 draft

□ OF Derek Hill, 30 , '25 FA from Miami, '25 3 11 .216

□ RHP Michael Kopech, 25, obtained from Boston in '17 trade for Chris Sale

□ OF Jarred Kelenic, 27, '26 FA from Atlanta , '25 2 2 .167

□ RHP Codi Huer, 24, 6th round pick in '18 draft; '21 dealt to Cubs for Craig Kimbrel

□ OF Everson Pereira, 22, '26 Trade from Tampa , '25 2 8.138

□ RHP Reynaldo Lopez, 26, obtained from Wash'ton in '17 trade for Adam Eaton

□ OF Zach DeLoach, 28, '24 Trade from Seattle , '24 1 5 .209

□ Closer Liam Hendricks, 31, '22 FA signed from the A's

□ OF Samuel Zavala, 22, '21 IFA , '25 A 9 51 .254

□ RHP Lance Lynn, 34, obtained from Texas in '21 for two pitching prospects

The Sox have already started to build a bit of a foundation for the future on the

offensive side of the ledger. They’ve got some potential star quality in

Hitting:

SS Colson Montgomery and C Kyle Teel. C Edgar Quero is a youngster with a good

□ C Yasmani Grandal, 31, '20 High priced FA from Milwaukee

stick and may cause Teel to move to another position to make room for him in the

□ 1B Jose Abreu, 34, '14 IFA

lineup. 2B Sosa, IF Meidroth and 3B Vargas are all young and have shown they

□ 2B Leury Garcia, 30, obtained from Texas in '13 for Alex Rios

can hit a bit. Carlson, Bonemer and Braden Montgomery are all young high draft

□ 2B Nick Madrigal, 24, '18 4th overall pick; dealt to Cubs in '21 for Craig Kimbrel

picks. Murakami was a home run champion a couple of years ago in Japan and is

□ SS Tim Anderson, 28, 1st round pick in '13

still young at twenty six. The Sox will be an entertaining watch with all of that young

□ 3B Yoan Moncada, 26, obtained from the Red Sox for Chris Sale in '17

talent and may actually be competitve on the offensive side this season.

□ OF Andrew Vaughn, 23, 3rd overall pick in '19 draft

OF Austin Hays and Andrew Benintendi are potential trade deadline targets if they

□ OF Eloy Jimenez, 24, obtained from Cubs in '17 for Jose Quintana

continue to hit well this season.

□ CF Luis Robert, 23, '17 IFA

□ OF Gavin Sheets, 25, '17 2nd round pick

□ OF Adam Eaton, 32, FA signed from Nationals after '20 season

2022 - The Sox drop twelve games in the standings to a mediocre 81-81.

This was a major surprise to everyone.

Both the hitting and the pitching go backwards. The core of the team are all

in their early to mid twenties, they should be improving, not going backwards.

And, for the most part, they all did go backwards, hitting and pitching.

Before the '22 season, you would have bet on the Sox getting to around a

hundred wins just based on natural progression of their players' careers.

To drop down to 81 wins was bizarre.

The culprits on Offense:

□ C Yasmani Grandal, 33, catchers get old quick, fell off a cliff in '22

□ 1B Jose Abreu, 35, home runs dropped from 30 to 15 in '22

□ SS Tim Anderson, 29, OPS dropped from 806 to 734 in '22

□ 3B Yoan Moncada, 26, OPS dropped from 787 ito 626 n '22

□ OF Andrew Vaughn, 24, the final straw - proved he's a horrific fielder

□ OF Eloy Jimenez, 25, 858 OPS good in '22; defense horrible

□ CF Luis Robert, 24, OPS dropped from 946 to 746 in '22

□ OF Gavin Sheets, 26, OPS dropped from 830 to 706 in '22

□ OF Leury Garcia, 31, OPS dropped from 711 to 500 in '22

The Culprits on the Mound:

□ RHP Carlos Rodon, 29, missed entire '22 season with injury

□ RHP Lucas Giolito, 27, ERA jumped from 3.53 to 4.90 in '22

□ RHP Lance Lynn, 35, ERA jumped from 2.69 to 3.99 in '22

□ LHP Garret Crochet, 23, missed entire '22 season with TJ surgery

□ Righty reliever Aaron Bummer, 28, arm problems limited him to 26 in's in '22

□ RHP Dylan Cease, 26, bucked the trend and was 14-8 2.20 in '22

□ RHP Michael Kopech, 26, bucked the trend and had a decent year in '22

2023 - The inexplicable collapse is complete. Because the team was so young,

the thought was that the Sox would bounce back after an off '22. Instead,

Chicago free-fell twenty more games to 61-101 and upper management

were all fired after lengthy tenures (president Ken Williams, 23 years, and

general manager Rick Hahn, 11 years).

In just two seasons, the Sox collapsed 158 runs from the league average

in runs scored and 200 runs from the league average in runs given up.

Remarkable.

2024 - The question is - what to do with this team? A complete rebuild looks

pretty much inevitable. But new management might want to keep some guys

around. This was a bad team last year, 61-101 and they don't look any

better for '24. Not really much positive to write about other than Luis Robert.

No one else on the team is performing anywhere near above replacement level.

The once promising offense:

Out of all the highly valued prospects, the only one that didn't turn into a suspect

was CF Luis Robert. Even tho' he's only twenty six, by the time the Sox turn

this thing around, his time frame won't be matching the rest of the club.

Therefore, if the right deal comes along, he probably should be moved.

The suspects are: 1B Andrew Vaughn, 26; 3B Yoan Moncada, 29;

OF Andrew Benintendi, 29; 1B Gavin Sheets, 28; OF Eloy Jimenez, 27.

It wasn't just White Sox management, everybody thought these guys would be

good and they aren't. There were several more, but these are the ones that

are still left in the organization.

The once promising pitching staff is mostly gone.

Guys like Carlos Rodon, Lucas Giolito, Aaron Bummer and Dylan Cease.

Only Michael Kopech remains of the suspects.

Twenty five year old lefty Garret Crochet remains the only prospect.

2025 - The 2024 season was "Nightmare in Chicago". The Pale Hose had

one of the worst seasons in major league history going 41-121. And that

was with a "hot finish" that saw them going 10-15 in September. Before that

they were on a pace to easily become the worst major league team ever

at a horrific 31-106 mark. Historically bad. The Sox traded away their

best pitcher twenty five year old lefty Garret Crochet to the Red Sox.

The change of Sox should help Garret's 6-12 W-L record.

No point in dwelling on the specific's of this team, the team is awful.

If there is any mercy amongst the management staff, they will liberate

OF Andrew Benintendi, 1B Andrew Vaughn and OF Luis Robert, their three

decent players, and trade them to somewhere less depressing.