This season, the White Sox will usher in a new era of baseball on the Southside after bottoming out last season.
After losing a record 121 games in 2024, the Sox are entering the early stages of a massive rebuild. Hopefully, at some point this season some of their highly touted prospects start to debut.
The new era of White Sox baseball will meet the old era of White Sox baseball.
The Los Angeles Angels will bring three former White Sox players to Chicago for Opening Day tomorrow.
As the White Sox kick off what will hopefully be a better season than last year, the Angels have former infielders Nicky Lopez, Tim Anderson, and Yoán Moncada on their trip to Chicago to play the Sox.
All three players made the Angels roster after a good showing this spring.
Nicky Lopez has recently signed a big-league deal, according to Jon Heyman. Lopez had a great spring with the Chicago Cubs but failed to make their Opening Day roster as others were higher on the depth chart than him.
Nicky Lopez to Angels. Big League deal. He makes Opening Day roster.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 25, 2025
Lopez was on the White Sox roster last year and provided them with decent production, hitting .241/.312/.294 for an OPS and OPS+ of .606 and 76 in 124 games, and was a finalist for the Gold Glove at second base.
Lopez will provide the Angels with extra infield depth as their starting shortstop, Zach Neto, is out with an injury. Lopez should see time at second, short, and third base for the Angels this season.
The Angels signed another former White Sox infielder, Yolmer Sánchez, to a minor-league deal to compete for a bench spot, but after hitting .200 this spring in seven games, he lost his chance.
If Sánchez made the team, the Angels would’ve had 3/4 of the White Sox infield from 2019, with the others being Anderson and Moncada.
Two former core pieces in Moncada and Anderson
Anderson and Moncada were two of the White Sox's core pieces when they had their brief playoff run just a few years ago. Anderson was one of the top shortstops in the game until his career took a dramatic drop-off in 2023.
Before his drop-off, Anderson had a remarkable career, finishing seventh in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2016, a two-time All-Star (2021-22), and finishing seventh in the MVP award voting and winning a Silver Slugger in 2020.
The same thing can be said for Moncada as Anderson, with Moncada having a drop-off offensively but also being plagued by injuries. Moncada appeared in only 12 games for the Sox last season before an injury cost him the whole season.
Anderson and Moncada should play a big part in the Angels success this season. Anderson will likely split time at shortstop with Kevin Newman, and Moncada will be the Angels primary third baseman for this season but is currently dealing with an injury.
Why take a chance on players from baseball's worst team?
The only reason to take a chance on players like Moncada and Anderson, who seemingly fell off a cliff, is the Angels feel they can unlock their potential again. Moncada was one of baseball's top prospects when he first came up and was the centerpiece of the Chris Sale trade.
Anderson was a former first-round pick and is not too far removed from his successful seasons. As for Lopez, he’ll need to unlock his potential at the plate, as his defense is fine.
Having a manager like Ron Washington will unlock all their potential, as he is a no-nonsense manager and has success in bringing the best out of his players.
All three should receive a warm welcome when they return to Chicago.