The Chicago White Sox are not in a good spot. They are well out of the lead for first place in the American League Central Division. Second place is even looking tough right now. There are plenty of ways to turn it around but there needs to change and fast.
Of course, Rick Hahn is not perfect. There are some trades that didn’t work out or became borderline disasters for the club. However, he does not deserve most of the blame for what is going on right now.
Hahn reloaded this White Sox team from nothing. He made great trades to kick off the rebuild, made some great draft picks, and landed some key international free agents. Beyond that, he doesn’t have as much control as people think.
Jerry Reinsdorf is the owner of the White Sox and he is the only one whose opinion matters at the end of the day. He went above Rick Hahn and hired his old friend Tony La Russa to be the manager after the 2020 season ended.
The Chicago White Sox are in trouble and it’s not their general manager’s fault.
That is not who Hahn would have hired if he had full control. There are so many better options out there right now but Jerry feels bad about his friend getting fired over 40 years ago. Here we are in 2022 and La Russa is a big problem for this team.
A lot of people get on Hahn for how the last few offseasons have gone. They cheap out on a lot of needs which is a horrid look for a team this close to contending. That is not all on Hahn though. The White Sox have been cheap for a very long time.
They are one of only a handful of teams that have never handed out a 100 million dollar contract. Yasmani Grandal has the most lucrative contract that the team has ever handed out. That is on Jerry Reinsdorf and not Rick Hahn.
They seemed to be in the mix for Bryce Harper and Manny Machado a few years ago but came up short as they always do. If Hahn had more recourses, the White Sox would be atop their division with ease. He would have a better manager and a deeper wallet for team building.
If the White Sox lost Rick Hahn right now (either fired or quit), he would be hired by another team in an instant. If he had more resources with that team, it wouldn’t take long for him to succeed with them. Don’t blame Hahn. It is mostly not his fault. Blame Jerry Reinsdorf and Tony La Russa.