Before the season, if you had said that the Chicago White Sox would be way back in the division on September 2nd and in third place in the weak American League Central Division, most people would think you were crazy.
The majority of pundits had the White Sox pegged to win the AL Central easily. Even PECOTA, which is historically conservative with their preseason predictions, projected the 2022 White Sox to have 95 wins.
But entering Friday night’s contest against the Minnesota Twins, that’s exactly where the White Sox stood. You don’t get to this point without key players massively underachieving. On paper, the White Sox are far too talented to be in this position.
Lucas Giolito has gone from an All-Star and finishing in the top 10 of the Cy Young voting on multiple occasions to the worst pitcher in the White Sox starting rotation.
Lance Lynn missed the first half of the season due to a knee injury and has suddenly fallen from a 2.69 ERA and third in the AL Cy Young voting a year ago to a pedestrian 4.70 ERA.
The Chicago White Sox need more from just about everyone in September.
Yasmani Grandal has been limited to 76 games and is hitting just .202 with four home runs. He is on track for career lows in both departments. Yoan Moncada is also having the worse season of his young career. The White Sox third baseman is batting .197 with an OPB of .269.
The list doesn’t stop there. Tim Anderson had just 19 extra-base hits before undergoing surgery on his finger. AJ Pollock, brought in as the White Sox solution in right field, is batting just .240 with 45 RBIs. This is on pace to be the worse batting average of his career.
Every player has a down year, but half the White Sox roster is in the middle of one. If Rick Hahn chooses to run it back with the current core, he risks another season of disappointment.
With the season coming to a close, some tough roster decisions will have to be made. Here are three players that probably won’t rebound in 2023 after a disappointing 2022 campaign: