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

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.