Chicago White Sox: Second base can certainly be upgraded

The Chicago White Sox has some holes to fill this winter and some things to adjust. One of those things is the position of second base. They handled that position in a bunch of different ways in 2021 which is part of the reason that they are in this current predicament. If they get this position figured out, they will be a much deeper team in 2022.

Nick Madrigal was slated to be the second baseman of the future. However, he had a serious injury early on that was forcing him to miss the entire season. He is a slap hitter that has a very unique slash line but there is a lot of good that comes from a player like him. However, he had a major injury for the second season in a row.

As a result, the White Sox sent him and Codi Heuer to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Craig Kimbrel. The trade didn’t really work out for the White Sox because Kimbrel wasn’t used properly but we still don’t know how that trade tree will end up working out anyway.

Leury Garcia and Danny Mendick handled the position by committee until the trade deadline following Madrigal’s injury. It was around the same time that they traded Madrigal to the Cubs that they acquired Cesar Hernandez from the Cleveland Indians. That is another trade that didn’t reach its full potential.

The White Sox didn’t give up much for Hernandez so they didn’t necessarily lose the trade but Hernandez wasn’t as good with them as he was with Cleveland leading up to it. He has a team option for 2022 but it doesn’t sound like they will pick it up. He wasn’t bad by any means but they needed him to be better. By the time the playoffs rolled around, it was better to use Garcia at the position.

The Chicago White Sox needs to make some changes to their roster before 2022.

During the offseason, the White Sox would be smarter to find an upgrade over both Madrigal and Hernandez. There are plenty of options out there that can be that for them. The White Sox have a lot of money to spend and are a team that is close to being World Series champions.

A high-profile free agent that fills a position of need would be very wise to come to the White Sox. This is a very good middle infield market and the White Sox wants to take advantage. Tim Anderson will be their shortstop but there are some shortstops available this winter that could absolutely play second. Hopefully, regardless of who it is, they help the White Sox win a lot of games next year.