The Chicago White Sox have done enough to dig themselves out of their 41-121 record from last year, but it likely won’t be enough to help them win 60 games.
Inch by inch, the Sox are clawing their way back from a devastating season. However, they are still missing plenty of pieces needed for them to be taken seriously in a highly competitive AL Central division and the entire league. While their progress shouldn’t be discounted, the Sox still miss the building blocks to make watching 162 games exciting.
Spring Training hasn’t started, but there are already a few glaring issues staring the Sox straight in the face.
Here are the three biggest red flags that scream danger for Chicago this year...
1. There is no clear favorite starting pitcher.
Out of the gate, the Sox lack pitchers they can count on to make a strong start and finish.
There are no currently rostered starting pitchers that put up a comparable performance and started as many games as Garrett Crochet last year. Though he only won six of 18 of his 32 games, Crochet allowed three or fewer earned runs in 27 starts.
His low winning percentage is primarily caused by the lineup’s inability to put runs on the board, not his ineffective pitching. Without Crochet, the Sox miss a dependable starting pitcher who can pitch four or five solid innings before handing the game to the bullpen.
Jonathan Cannon is projected to be the No. 1 pitcher in the rotation, but anything’s up for grabs. Drew Thorpe, Sean Burke, and Davis Martin showed flashes of stability, but none of them have pitched more than 15 MLB games. Bryse Wilson and Martin Perez will also have a chance to make a case that the spot is theirs.
2. A high number of short contracts foreshadows high turnover.
Not a single player on the 40-man roster is expected to be on the Sox beyond 2027, which includes Luis Robert Jr and Andrew Benintendi, who have the longest contracts on the team.
The Sox haven’t signed a single player to a contract lasting longer than one year this offseason, and that won’t change. General Manager Chris Getz notified reporters ahead of SoxFest last week, “For the most part, we feel like we’ve got our roster.”
His latest comments confirm that the Sox are willing to play things by ear this year. Although it's no surprise that the Sox don’t want to lock down anyone else for the long haul, it’s concerning that the roster may dramatically change within two years.
High turnover is never good, but in baseball, it makes it difficult to build a dynasty. The Phillies, Braves, Astros, Dodgers, and Yankees repeatedly make the postseason because they have a core group of players, they know will be there year after year.
The Sox are missing this key component. If the Sox don’t extend Robert Jr or Benintendi, or agree to lengthy deals with other players soon, they won’t have the infrastructure needed to win for years to come.
3. Will Venable has never been a manager.
Making the right decision at the time doesn’t always yield the best results in the long run, and the Sox can only hope that taking a chance on Venable as the new manager will ultimately pay off.
Venable has surrounded himself with talented managers, but he doesn’t have extensive managerial experience. He served as the bench coach for Alex Cora’s Red Sox before working with Bruce Bochy’s Rangers as the associate manager.
His first and only true management experience came in 2021 with the Red Sox, when he filled in for Alex Cora in a 3-1 win against the Marlins.
Getz made the right call hiring Venable, but that doesn’t mean his unproven managing abilities aren’t a red flag. Venable may be the right person for the job, but he is young and inexperienced. It would be a pleasant surprise if Venable immediately showed that he’s cut out for the job, especially with such a patchwork quilt-type of team.