The White Sox have made several head-turning moves this offseason. What started as a quiet, low-profile fall quickly turned into an active, and in some ways surprising, winter.
But even after making one of the biggest trades in the league by sending Garrett Crochet to Boston for four top prospects, Chicago hasn’t stopped.
After MLB winter meetings concluded, the Sox continued to trade for and sign four new players.
As the Sox turn the page on the 2024 season and start planning for the future, it’s important to remember that new players don’t automatically mean the team is improved. While it’s exciting to see general manager Chris Getz finally do something, not all signings are justified or add short or long-term value.
Here are the grades for the four White Sox post-winter meetings acquisitions...
Dan Altavilla
Things can only get better for Altavilla next year.
The reliever only pitched 3.2 innings in June before he strained his oblique. He didn’t pitch again for the rest of the year, and he hasn’t pitched a full season since 2020 due to various injuries.
Altavilla struggled with the Mariners and Padres in 2020, recording a 5.75 ERA and 1.48 WHIP over 20.1 innings. His health concerns and inconsistency have gotten the best of him in the last five years.
Adding Altavilla to the minor league system offers the Sox very little immediately. Though he’s a veteran with seven seasons of experience, he hasn’t been useful since 2018 when he had a 2.61 ERA, only six earned runs, and five holds. It’s unlikely that he’ll come back around for the Sox.
Grade: D
Cam Booser
Traded from Boston, Booser is a lefty reliever proving that it’s never too late to debut.
He retired briefly and became a carpenter, only to return to baseball after discovering his ability to throw fastballs at 96 miles per hour.
Since 2011 he’s bounced between minor league teams in Minnesota and Arizona, with a few stints in independent baseball leagues mixed in. Booser put up an admirable first MLB season at age 31, where he went 2-3 with a 3.38 ERA and one save this season with the Red Sox.
It’s hard to tell how Booser will do from his tumultuous minor and independent league performances, but his performance last year is enough to make him playable for the Sox.
With Booser added to the bullpen, the Sox can move Jairo Iriarte or Jared Shuster to the starting rotation.
Grade: B-
Matt Thaiss
Though he’s currently slated as the starting catcher, the likelihood of Thaiss beating out Korey Lee and Kyle Teel the entire season is low.
Thaiss has a career .208/.313/.342 slash line over six years with the Angels. His cumulative 1.5 offensive WAR only reinforces his weak hitting. Thaiss also hasn’t been great behind the plate, either. His pitch framing and base runner control have a ways to go before he can be considered a go-to catcher defensively.
With top-catching prospect Teel newly acquired and Lee’s experience and rapport with returning pitchers, it’s doubtful Thaiss will remain the No. 1 catcher for the Sox. Though he might improve slightly under Chicago’s new director of hitting Ryan Fuller, it’s hard to say that Thaiss will have a spot on the 40-man roster in June.
Grade: C
Bryse Wilson
Wilson has doubled as a starter and reliever throughout his career, and more recently with the Brewers.
He held a 2.58 ERA and 1.07 WHIP and saved three games with the Brewers in 2023 as a reliever before transitioning to the rotation this year. This season, he served as the No. 3 starter and a long reliever in Milwaukee, ending the regular season with a 5-4 record, a 4.04 ERA, and 1.27 WHIP over 104.2 innings.
The Sox are well on their way to revamping both their rotation and bullpen with Wilson’s adaptability and experience as a starter and reliever. Currently penciled in as the third starter, Wilson brings the team one step closer to having a more balanced rotation.