3 Chicago White Sox off-season misses that hurt them

After the first month of the season, the Chicago White Sox has a sub .500 record. This may come as a shock to most fans who watched as the White Sox cruised to an American League Central Division title in 2021.

The talent on the roster cannot be questioned. The infield features four former All-Star in Jose Abreu, Josh Harrison, Tim Anderson, and Yasmani Grandal. Abreu also has an MVP and multiple Silver Slugger Awards to his name.

Meanwhile, the outfield has a former All-Star in AJ Pollock, a former Gold Glove Winner in Luis Robert, and the 2020 Silver Slugger Award winner in Eloy Jimenez.

Unfortunately, after getting clobbered in the ALDS, the White Sox had some needs to address during the offseason. These included second base, right field, and pitching depth. Some were filled better than others.

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn resigned Leury Garcia and brought in Josh Harrison to play second base. Hahn then bolstered the bullpen by adding Kendall Graveman and Joe Kelly. He also brought in Vince Velasquez to serve as a spot starter and long reliever.

Hahn then swapped one underperforming former first-round catcher for another when he traded Zack Collins for Reese McGuire. Finally, he addressed right field by trading Craig Kimbrel for AJ Pollock.

The Chicago White Sox made some mistakes during the offseason that hurt now.

Still, many criticized Hahn for his lack of impactful moves. This free agency class was littered with big names that could have helped the White Sox. In typical White Sox fashion, no big contracts were handed out.

Once again, injuries have put stress on the team’s depth chart. Some of the White Sox flaws are still being exposed which shines a light on Rick Hahn’s offseason.

This is the nature of the business as a front office executive. There is still plenty of time left in the season. Five months to be exact.

But in a world of overreactions, it looks like some of the White Sox’s failed conversions are coming back to bite them. Some of the White Sox moves that look bad now may look great come August.

Hindsight is 20/20 but at this point of the season, these were the White Sox’s three biggest mistakes.