This must be Andrew Vaughn's last shot with the Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox are bringing back Andrew Vaughn for another season despite four years of replacement-level production.

2025 must be the year he lives up to the high expectations that come from being the third overall pick during last decade's failed rebuild.

A reason that rebuild failed to produce more division championships or a World Series title was injuries and underperformance to the core players.

In fact, only Vaughn, Garrett Crochet, and Luis Robert Jr. remain from the 2021 AL Central title team.

No one has underperformed more relative to the immense potential than Andrew Vaughn. He has been a -0.4 fWAR player since he debuted in 2021.

Considering the Sox pushed out a team legend in Jose Abreu just to make sure Vaughn could play his preferred first base and they are getting hardly any power or offensive production has not been a good look. The only mitigating factor is Abreu's decline has been so rapid that he was cut by the Houston Astros midway through this past season.

Vaughn was supposed to take the torch from Abreu and become another franchise icon much like Frank Thomas and Paul Konerko were at first base.

So far, it has nothing but reaching his floor, which is just another MLB baseball player. That would be fine if Vaughn was drafted in later rounds, but he was taken with a premium draft pick and then fast-tracked to the big leagues.

The Sox had an off-ramp by non-tendering him but they have chosen to bring him back for a projected $6 million. You typically do not want to let a player walk away for nothing, but considering his 2024 production was at the same level as Josh Bell, his trade market would then be in the area of player to be named later or cash considerations.

However, with the club's new hitting director, Ryan Fuller, in the fold, it does make sense to see if his tutelage can finally unlock Vaughn.

Fuller did help Ryan O'Hearn have productive seasons in Baltimore after years of disappointment in Kansas City. That is why it cannot hurt to see if he can do the same with Vaughn.

If Vaughn cannot become a value player under Fuller, then his time on the Southside must end. This team cannot keep wasting time trying to get Vaughn to be more than just replacement-level. If Fuller cannot help him, then no probably can.

A big reason the front office has to hope Fuller can get something more out of Vaughn goes beyond just improving the offense. It is building up his trade value as next offseason is his final year of arbitration. Since the team likely will not be competitive by 2026, he must be traded for something more than a fringe prospect. That is where his value is likely at right now.

There is nothing wrong with giving Vaughn one more chance. It just would have been nice not to have to pay him $6 million when this team is claiming poverty. They could have saved a few million and gotten some power by signing say, Patrick Wisdom.

Instead, one more attempt to salvage something more than replacement-level with Vaughn will happen. If it fails, we can expect the offense to be historically terrible yet again.