Chicago White Sox: Three biggest weaknesses
1. Reliance on Young Players
The White Sox definitely have a lot of young, exciting talent which is by no means a criticism of the team.
Having young stars like Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson, Lucas Giolito, and Eloy Jimenez in addition to upcoming top prospects Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal is something that most teams can only dream of having.
That being said, they are asking for a lot of from their young roster and the backbone of this team is them.
Without those players performing at the levels they are expecting, this team won’t go anywhere in 2020.
Moncada, Anderson, and Giolito all had career years in 2019 and it is very reasonable to envision regression from any or even all three of them.
Sure, the likelihood is they won’t become bad players, but considering the team went 72-89 with those career-years, even slight regression from them could make a major impact on a team looking to compete for a playoff spot.
Jimenez, meanwhile, is expected to continue his progression as an every day left fielder in the big leagues. Many young players struggle in their sophomore campaigns, though, which should be taken into account.
The White Sox did make strong additions in Yasmani Grandal and Edwin Encarnacion to counter that issue, but those two hitters plus Jose Abreu might not be enough to carry the lineup if the younger hitters struggle.
As for the rotation, Dallas Keuchel is not the same pitcher that won an AL Cy Young Award in 2015 anymore.
Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez won’t be able to carry the rotation if Giolito regresses and/or some combination of Dylan Cease, Reynaldo Lopez, and Michael Kopech can’t step up in 2020.
2. Bullpen Depth
This is the issue the White Sox will possibly regret not doing more to avoid.
Steve Cishek was the White Sox’s only addition made to counter this problem on a major league deal this offseason.
Outside of him, the team will still have Alex Colome in the closer role with Evan Marshall and Aaron Bummer serving as set-up men.
Marshall and Bummer don’t have extensive track records of success, though, which complicates matters if one or both of them can’t live up to the team’s expectations of them going forward.
Kelvin Herrera will definitely be in the team’s bullpen in 2020 and his ability to rebound could make-or-break it.
Outside of those five arms, they are hoping to see some combination of Jace Fry, Jimmy Cordero, Ian Hamilton, Carson Fulmer, and Adalberto Mejia comprise the last two or three bullpen spots.
The good news about one of the three biggest weaknesses of this team being bullpen depth is that most teams would consider this one of their’s as well.
Almost all contenders look to the trade market come July to acquire an arm or two to bolster it and if they don’t look for top-tier arms, the White Sox could probably find a solid reliever for cheap before the MLB trade deadline.
Collin McHugh is still available right now, though, and the White Sox should be making a strong effort to sign him.
3. Defense
This issue is a carryover from the 2019 season, but really wasn’t addressed too heavily this past offseason.
Chicago ranked among the worst in baseball in defensive metrics last season and there isn’t much reason to think that will change in 2020.
Replacing James McCann with Grandal behind the plate certainly helps, but the team didn’t really improve defensively anywhere else.
Nomar Mazara ranked slightly below average in right field last season (-4 DRS, -2.7 UZR over 878 1/3 innings), which isn’t necessarily a bad addition to the outfield.
Outside of Adam Engel and Grandal, the team, unfortunately, lacks plus defenders on the roster and getting rid of Yolmer Sanchez this offseason didn’t help either.
The team will hope to see some improvement defensively from Jimenez who has been looking to prove that he does not have to become a DH anytime soon.
If he can do that, the team’s outfield defense becomes much less of a liability for the team going forward.
Moncada and Anderson could also use some improvement on the left side of the infield, especially when you consider that the right side might not be pretty either as Abreu likely isn’t going to become a better first baseman as he ages.
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Robert and Madrigal will both, hopefully, help improve the defense as well, but the White Sox certainly have reasons to be concerned about it going into the 2020 season.