3 White Sox under contract next year that fans are ready to move on from

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 02: Yasmani Grandal #24 of the Chicago White Sox celebrates a home run during a game against the Minnesota Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field on September 02, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 02: Yasmani Grandal #24 of the Chicago White Sox celebrates a home run during a game against the Minnesota Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field on September 02, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
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The Chicago White Sox have underperformed a bit in 2022. They actually have a long way to go before they are a legit threat to win the World Series.

There are some players on the team right now that would have helped elevate them to that status if they played up to their contracts but that never works out well it seems.

With the offseason looming with only a small chance of the White Sox playing in the postseason, it might be time to start thinking about what moves can be made for next season.

If they want to improve their team drastically, they might have to make a move that surprises some people. These are the three players under contract next year that White Sox fans already want to move on from:

128. . C. Chicago White Sox. Yasmani Grandal. 24. player

The Chicago White Sox fans seem to have had enough of Yasmani Grandal.

Yasmani Grandal has had an elite career. For a long time, he was the best catcher in the game. Until this year, he always seemed to at minimum be a top-five catcher going in major League Baseball. 2022, however, has been a disaster.

Grandal is the highest-paid player in the history of the White Sox and was brutal this year and has all of next year on the contract. If the White Sox could offload it they would but it doesn’t seem likely that they will be able t do something like that.

Fans seem to be done with him and want him out because he can’t hit well anymore. His catching was great before coming to the White Sox but has fallen way off and his bat doesn’t supplement those mistakes anymore. We will see what happens but it isn’t good for number 24 right now.

(Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
(Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images) /

Chicago White Sox. Leury Garcia. 28. player. 128. . UTIL

Leury Garcia should absolutely not be on the Chicago White Sox anymore.

Leury Garcia was extended for three years after being a very mediocre player in 2021. He hit a monster home run in the playoffs at home that fans will remember forever but that is not a reason to extend a mediocre player for three years.

If the White Sox had let Garcia hit the market, he would have signed a PTO or Minor League deal somewhere else. Instead, he gets regular playing time on this team because they can’t let him go for whatever reason. He is a nice man but as a player, he doesn’t help the team win.

Honestly, if he was mediocre this year, that would be an improvement over what he has been. His 2021 season was okay but he has been awful in 2022. He is a negative WAR player that doesn’t really help this team win at all and fans are tired of seeing him take big at-bats.

Not only is he under contract in 2023 but 2024 as well. This was a brutal move for the White Sox that was heavily influenced by Tony La Russa’s love for him. It is a sunk cost at this point but it would be nice to see the White Sox find a way to move on as soon as they can.

(Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
(Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /

128. . RP. Chicago White Sox. Joe Kelly. 17. player

Joe Kelly has been awful for the Chicago White Sox this season and will be back.

On paper going into the season, the Chicago White Sox had an elite bullpen. Who wouldn’t want the best version of Liam Hendriks, Kendall Graveman, Joe Kelly, Garrett Crochet, Reynaldo Lopez, and Aaron Bummer amongst a few others? All of those guys have insanely high ceilings.

Well, Crochet went down with Tommy John and hasn’t pitched this year, Bummer missed most of the year with injury and is finally back, and Joe Kelly has been straight-up terrible. If Crochet and Bummer stay healthy in 2023, they will be fine. However, Kelly looks lost.

He is someone that fans appear to be done with as he can’t go an outing without giving up some runs. There are bad seasons like Lucas Giolito is having and then there are terrible seasons like Joe Kelly is having. It is just awful to watch.

As a reliever or an opener, he has struggled no matter what the situation is. He has a 7.45 ERA with a 1.759 WHIP. Both of those numbers are awful. He strikes out a lot of batters but they come in between hits and runs. Unless the White Sox DFA him (which is unlikely), he will be back in 2023.

It is a shame that the White Sox don’t have an owner willing to eat sunk costs because they then are forced to work around them while trying to win a division title. It would be nice t see this organization give full commitment to winning but it doesn’t seem to be the case. Fans have every right to be done with these guys after the season that they just put up.

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