Chicago White Sox: Three biggest offseason needs for 2021
The Chicago White Sox have some big holes they need to fill by the time 2021 comes around.
When the 2020 Chicago White Sox season began, we really had mixed expectations as a fanbase/media. Some people knew they would be as good as they were and some were a bit more skeptical. No matter what side of the fence you were on, they were a good baseball team in 2020. They had a lot of downs (especially very early and very late) throughout the year but there were even more ups. This is a good team that is only going to get better.
We saw the usual suspects make key contributions along the way. Guys like Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson, and Eloy Jimenez all had good years. Pitchers like Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel were awesome in the starting rotation. Some of the new faces like Yasmani Grandal, Luis Robert, and Nick Madrigal were great along the way as well. There is a lot to be excited about if you are a Chicago White Sox fan.
With all of the positives about this team to build on, there are some negatives to improve on as well. The team has some glaring issues that caused the bottom to fall out in the final week of the season and into the playoffs. With a few patches on some of these issues, they will be able to really take that next step as an organization next season and beyond.
There are three key areas that this team needs to improve on. It might take more than one offseason to get them perfect but they can improve them from what they were in 2020 with relative ease. These are the three positions within the organization that need help before the 2021 season starts:
Manager
Rick Renteria was a great manager for the rebuild portion of the White Sox organization. He was a great mentor and leader for the young core as they looked to take their careers to the next level. He did a great job cleaning up the locker room mess that was left behind during the Robin Ventura era. Now that they are ready to win, however, it is rather apparent that he is not the guy for the job.
The White Sox needs someone who is a better fit for the postseason now that they have a roster that has a good chance to get there on their own. With a roster this good, they should be able to get to the playoffs regardless of who their manager is. They have that now but they can’t be going into those playoff games with someone who doesn’t know how to handle pitching.
Defeating the Oakland Athletics was possible for the White Sox but some of the decisions that were made weren’t helping them in any way. There is no real answer for who the perfect manager is right now but it can’t be Rick Renteria anymore. It is tough to say because he is a nice man and everyone seems to like him but this is about winning baseball games now.
Right Field
The Chicago White Sox need some help in right field. It has been an issue for them ever since they traded Adam Eaton to the Washington Nationals. It was fine when they were a bad baseball team by design but now they need help. They tried the Nomar Mazara experiment but it didn’t really work. He wasn’t very good whenever he was in the lineup and they don’t have much time to wait for him to come around. He was okay in the playoffs but he didn’t show enough to be a lock to stick around.
There are always options out there to improve, it is just a question as to how much the Whtie Sox are willing to spend on the position. Right-field is, normally, a position in baseball that you rely on offense from. They haven’t been getting much of that so they should be willing to spend a decent amount.
The superstars that looked like they might be options a few years ago like Bryce Harper or Mookie Betts are gone but that doesn’t mean the market is bone dry. They could go for someone in a trade or sign someone in free agency. Someone like J.D. Martinez, George Springer, or Joc Pederson would make sense for this White Sox team. All of them bring a World Series level of experience to a young team that needs it bad. Hopefully, they are able to get this worked out over the winter because it is very important.
Third starter
The Chicago Whtie Sox made it pretty clear all year long that Lucas Giolito would start game one of the playoffs and that Dallas Keuchel would start game two. After that, it had to be earned. Well, nobody really earned it in the way that you would like and they lost the ballgame because of pitching. It just so happened to be an elimination game and they were forced to go home.
Now, they have plenty of options to come in and take that spot from within the organization. They have stud youngsters like Michael Kopech, Dylan Cease, and Dane Dunning that all want that title as the third starter next year. However, they are all going to have to prove it in different ways.
They could also go out and buy another starter. It could come either by trade or free agency but there are options out there. Obviously, they could try and sign a stud free agent like Trevor Bauer but he only likes one-year deals. If that doesn’t work, they can even go for someone like Marcus Stroman who is a great pitcher. No matter what route they go, they need to be confident in someone so that way what happened here in 2020 doesn’t happen again. They need as much pitching as possible and figuring out who the definitive number three would go a long way in that.
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At the end of the day, all we want is the Chicago White Sox to be a good baseball team. We have gotten to that point so now the goal has to be to win the World Series. This core is good enough, they just have to address these three areas to have an even better chance at it.