The Chicago White Sox are expected to lose another 100 games in 2025. The hope is the defeat total will not be record-setting like it was in 2024.
The two major items on general manager Chris Getz's offseason to-do list have been checked off. He has hired Will Venable as the team's new manager and traded ace pitcher Garrett Crochet for an impressive return of prospects.
Otherwise, Getz has made a bunch of minor signings, such as adding veteran outfielders Mike Tauchmann and Austin Slater to platoon in right field. Getz did say even before the Sox officially set the record for most losses in a 162-game season that free agency was not going to be used much to improve the roster.
That is why fans have to settle for Tauchman and Slater likely being the biggest additions of the season.
However, there are five more moves Getz should explore in getting the Sox back to being run-of-the-mill bad instead of historically awful...
1) Add another veteran power bat.
The focus has been adding hitters who can get on base. That is evident in signing Tauchman and Slater, whose career on-base percentages are over the solid .340 mark.
Even the non-roster invite signings, such as Andre Lipcius and Nick Maton, bring in players with the ability to provide an on-base percentage over .300. That is important since the Sox had the only offense with a team OBP under .300 in 2024.
However, getting more runners on base still comes with the caveat of who the heck is going to drive them home. Also, you still have to wonder where is the instant offense coming from.
If Luis Robert Jr. is not traded and returns to the near-MVP season he had in 2023, then that is one solution. Andrew Benintendi continuing to drive the ball like he did at the end of the season is another. That is still not enough power in the lineup.
If top-hitting prospects Colson Montgomery, Edgar Quero, and Kyle Teel, along with former Sox top-10 prospect Bryan Ramos, make the team out of spring training, then that is another area to get some power.
Still, it would be nice to add a veteran power bat to help provide some instance offense. Getz could then try to flip said veteran at the trade deadline, much like he did with Paul DeJong.