We've come a long way since Opening Day.
The Chicago White Sox are 1-8 since their blowout win to begin the season and have lost six straight. Chicago scored 15 runs in its eight losses as the offense has regressed to the mean it provided in 2024.
Not everything has been dull.
Andrew Benintendi is hitting the ball well, Martin Perez looked phenomenal in his first two starts on the mound, and several bullpen arms are establishing themselves.
Then there's the not-so-pretty side of things.
More than half of the White Sox regulars are hitting below .200. Starting pitchers outside of Perez and Shane Smith have a 4.80 ERA in six starts. Fans are tired of seeing the same mistakes happen and several players are on thin ice.
Nick Maton struggling in his new digs
After earning a spot on the Opening Day roster thanks to a strong spring training, Nick Maton hasn’t seen the results translate. He's gotten a plate appearance in all 10 games with seven starts but has only four hits to show for it.
Two of those hits were home runs, both solo shots. He's reached base safely in seven games but was caught stealing once and hasn’t been knocked in by those following in the lineup. Since hitting his second homer, Maton is 2-for-15 with five strikeouts.
He did run into some bad luck on April 2 against the Minnesota Twins with possibly two hits being taken away by good defense. Maton is struggling to hit fastballs though, with an expected batting average of .127 against heaters, per Baseball Savant.
Injuries played a factor, but there are other reasons why Maton appeared in only five MLB games last season. The 28-year-old won't be with the White Sox for long if he can’t improve at the plate.
Recently demoted reliever had it coming
The White Sox are trying everything to have a decent bullpen. There will be plenty of changes throughout the season, and lefty Brandon Eisert was the first regular-season casualty in the relief corps. Chicago demoted the 27-year-old to Triple-A on Monday after his rough start to the season.
Eisert's leash wasn't long to begin with, but he didn’t help his cause with how he pitched. After grabbing the final three outs in a White Sox win on March 31, the southpaw allowed a run the next day. The nail in the coffin came on April 4 when Eisert allowed hits to the first three batters he faced and gave up the eventual winning run in a 7-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
Opponents hit .400 off him in three innings. That was more than enough for the White Sox to send him down. Eisert could soon be searching for his fourth team of 2025.
How patient will White Sox be with Miguel Vargas?
Miguel Vargas was once a consensus top-50 prospect. Now in his fourth big-league season, Chicago's third baseman continues to find it hard to hit.
Manager Will Venable has stuck with Vargas, putting him in the leadoff spot in five games. The return hasn't been much as Vargas has a .147/.275/.206 slash line while striking out in nearly one-third of his at-bats. Take away his two-hit, two-RBI Opening Day performance, and Vargas is hitting .100.
There was hope that a change of scenery would unlock something after he struggled mightily with the Los Angeles Dodgers. After Tuesday's game, Vargas has just 19 hits in 169 at-bats with the White Sox. Even if they remain at the bottom of the standings, those numbers are not justifiable to keep him as an everyday player.