3 former Chicago White Sox in the World Series organizations

The 2023 World Series is upon us as the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks will face off for supremacy on baseball’s biggest stage. Like almost every team in Major League Baseball, the Chicago White Sox have some ties with both teams that are participating in the event.

In fact, they have three ties to both teams, two of them major league ties and one of them a minor league player which is a familiar name for White Sox fans.

Chicago White Sox fans will surely remember Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien. Semien played with the White Sox from 2013 to 2014, just two seasons, but would go on to make much more of an impact on other teams than he did the White Sox.

I know a few White Sox fans who are scratching their heads wondering just what the White Sox were thinking when they let him go. Semien has done nothing but produce over his career and this last year, he was the marathon man playing in all 162 games for the Rangers.

The Chicago White Sox have a few ties to the 2023 World Series.

The White Sox had a guy named Jose Abreu who was close to doing that for them year after year. Ironmen like Semien and Abreu are very valuable.

Semien may have been able to be that for the White Sox had he stuck around. But they let him walk and this superstar has now found his way into the World Series. It is well deserved.

The second player who was a former White Sox who’s now in the World Series and plays for the Rangers, is pitcher Dane Dunning. If you remember Dunning, he played for the White Sox for just one season before making his way to Texas where he has blossomed into a starting pitcher for the team.

This year, Dunning has started 26 games, playing in 35 with a 12-7 record and an ERA of 3.70. That’s not terrible by any means.

Perhaps the White Sox could have used his pitching this year to help shore up a group that was virtually hemorrhaging in ERA at times.

Maybe Dunning will get a chance to pitch in the World Series and maybe he won’t but being on a winning team like the Rangers must feel good for him. And the White Sox will sit back in envy watching him do whatever he does to help bring Texas a win in the Series.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have just one player that was a former White Sox and this guy is someone that they know all too well. Former right-handed relief pitcher Jose Ruiz was with Chicago from 2018 to 2023 after having played in San Diego.

His six seasons with the White Sox saw him play a role in a lot of relief and game-saving appearances. Ruiz was somewhat beneficial to the White Sox while he was there but he struggled at the end of his time in Chicago.

The White Sox designated Ruiz for assignment in April and he was picked up by the Diamondbacks. He played a little bit in the majors with Arizona before being relegated to their minor league system. Ruiz won’t make it into any World Series games but he’s part of the winning Arizona organization.