White Sox: Patience From Fans Is Vital This Offseason
By Brian Draus
White Sox fans should exercise patience despite trade rumors, largely inactive offseason thus far. Organization is on right track towards success.
Considering that we are in a dead period of the offseason, it makes sense to talk about patience. That is a difficult word to use sometimes when waiting for a player to be moved, or even over the course of what could be a long rebuild. However, it is going to be needed this offseason for a handful of reasons. Why? Here are the answers.
Power has become a much easier asset to come by on both the trade and free agent market recently. That very issue may hamper the White Sox when trying to deal both outfielder Avisail Garcia and first baseman, Jose Abreu. Clubs around the league might not want to give up what Rick Hahn wants in return.
More from White Sox News
- The Chicago White Sox might have had a season ending loss
- The Chicago White Sox are expecting Tim Anderson back soon
- Miguel Cairo’s words spark life into the Chicago White Sox
- Dylan Cease should be the favorite for the AL Cy Young Award
- Ozzie Guillen speaks the whole truth about Tony La Russa
Speaking of Hahn, there is no guarantee he even moves either of the two aforementioned players. All along, Hahn has said he won’t deal any of the Sox assets unless he gets the return he desires. With that being the case, it could be beneficial to move one, both, or neither depending on what transpires over the coming months.
Personally, moving both of them for a solid return is the way to go. However, that may not be possible due to the market. Remember there are a few quality first basemen out there, plus Garcia has only produced in one major league season. While they may be valuable players to any organization, the Sox will only get what someone is willing to give them in return.
Another area that needs to be looked at is signing free agents. No, not a high-priced free agent, but one that can have a bounce-back year and the Sox can flip in July. This is much trickier and has a low probability of success in most cases. However, if the Sox can strike gold on one, they might get a solid prospect or two.
This can be a hard area in terms of patience. Many fans struggle thinking a bargain basement free agent will perform much better than he does, however, ends up playing at the level most pundits thought he would. Keep in mind many of the players the Sox sign will struggle, but it takes one, not many to make each year a success when going this route.
Next: Jake Petricka Non-Tendered by White Sox
All in all, rebuilding an organization is a long, painful process. There are no shortcuts in terms of attaining long-term success, especially when you aspire to be an elite organization for many years. Remember, there will be peaks and valleys, and to expect the unexpected. So in other words, be patient Sox fans.