3 disappointing White Sox players that won’t rebound in 2023

The biggest contract in Chicago White Sox history belongs to Yasmani Grandal.

Yasmani Grandal has been a polarizing player during his White Sox tenure. After signing the largest contract in White Sox history, he has been the center of debate as to whether he has lived up to those expectations.

While his numbers do not jump off the page, his presence on the White Sox roster has been instrumental in turning them into contenders.

Pitchers have raved about his ability to work with the pitching staff and he was ranked among the top defensive catchers in baseball in his first year with the team. He was second in the American Leagues in Total Zone Runs as a catcher.

In 2021 he established career highs in on-base percentage (.420), slugging percentage (.520), and OPS (.939). He also launched 20 home runs which ranked second on the team. Pitchers also had a 3.59 ERA with him behind the plate.

This season has been a completely different story. Grandal had off-season surgery on his knee and didn’t look like himself early on. This was similar to his 2021 campaign.

He started slow because he was struggling with leg issues. It wasn’t until he got his legs under him that he began to take off.

However, this season, Grandal was never able to flip the switch. Back spasms and a knee strain have not helped.

He is batting .207 with four home runs and 23 RBIs. Grandal has never hit for average but he has always been able to draw walks. He set a franchise record for catchers with 87 of them in 2021.

This season he has a .311 OBP, his lowest mark since 2017. The power numbers are also concerning. Grandal’s .276 slugging percentage is a career low. Meanwhile, his hard hit and barrel percentage rank in the league’s bottom half.

It is fair to wonder if Grandal’s knees are shot. At the beginning of last season, he admitted to having no power because he wasn’t at full strength.

Now he is not only failing to hit for power but he isn’t even drawing walks. Power and the ability to get on base are what made him valuable on offense.

Grandal’s sprint speed places him in the bottom one percent of the MLB so he won’t be legging out any infield singles any time soon. It’s fair to wonder if he will ever be the same player entering his age 34 season.

Joe Kelly has been terrible for the Chicago White Sox during his time this season.

When the White Sox signed Joe Kelly, it seemed like a great addition on paper. He is a battle-tested veteran that figured to bolster the back end of the bullpen. As a bonus, Kelly has a big personality.

Things have not panned out. Kelly entered the season injured. Hidden in his contract was a stipulation that he could not pitch back-to-back days until July. That should have been a major red flag.

The White Sox placed him on the 10-day IL on April 4th with a right bicep nerve injury. He was activated on May 9th but returned to the IL less than 20 days later with a strained left hamstring.

When he has been on the field, the results have been brutal. Kelly owns a 7.45 ERA in 29 innings this year. His fastball spin is in the MLB’s 30th percentile. His 13.5 percent walk rate is the second highest in his career.

Kelly’s sinker has a run value of five this season. That is the worst total of any pitch he has thrown during his major league career. He throws his sinker 37 percent of the time which has not helped matters.

While it is fair to think Kelly’s numbers will improve next season, it is pretty evident that he is not the reliever he once was. In 2023, he will be entering his 11th season. At the age of 34, injuries and innings have piled up. Kelly is no longer durable or reliable.

Yoan Moncada’s career is becoming a failure with the Chicago White Sox.

Yoan Moncada will always be valuable to the White Sox because of his Gold Glove-caliber defense at third base. However, his five-year 70 million dollar contract is increasing, looking like a bad extension for the White Sox.

Moncada failed to build off his breakout performance in 2019 which saw him bat .315 with 25 home runs and 79 RBIs. All remain his career highs.

Since then, it’s been a rapid and concerning decline. In 2020, Moncada hit .225 with 72 strikeouts in just 52 games.

Many attributed his struggles to his battle with COVID-19. He rebounded slightly in 2021, hitting .263 with 14 home runs and 61 RBIs. But he ranked in the top 20 in the league (for the fourth consecutive season) in strikeouts. He made up for this with 84 walks and a .375 OBP.

This season, his numbers have taken a nose dive. He is batting .197 with seven home runs and 40 RBIs. Even more concerning is that he has drawn just 27 walks.

Once again, Moncada is swinging and missing at a high clip. His whiff rate is in the 26th percentile and his strikeout rate is in the 15th percentile. When he does make contact, he isn’t hitting the ball hard.

His low batting average isn’t due to bad luck, either. His expected batting average is in the bottom seven percent of the league.

It may be time to admit that Moncada will never be the superstar the White Sox envisioned when they traded for him. It’s hard to see him being as bad as he was this year once again in 2023 but don’t expect another breakout performance anytime soon.