3 players the Chicago White Sox gave up on too quickly
The Chicago White Sox are not a team loaded with a recent past of good decisions. They have made a lot of very poor decisions over the last decade or so and that is why they are just incredibly mediocre.
One thing that they need to be better at is keeping the good players instead of giving up on them way too soon. That has been an issue over the last handful of years.
Since they won the World Series in 2005, there is a long list of players that you can claim they gave up on way too soon.
There are a few that stick out just a tad bit above the rest. These are the three most notable players that the White Sox gave up on way too quickly:
1. Fernando Tatis Jr.
Fernando Tatis Jr. would have been a great Chicago White Sox player.
Of course, the easy answer is Fernando Tatis Jr. They gave him up way too easily and way too quickly. They sent him to the San Diego Padres in the trade that brought James Shields to the White Sox.
Obviously, Tatis Jr. wasn't projected to be the player that he became at the time of the trade but they still let him go way too soon. They didn't need to be trading any young players away for James Shields at the time of the move.
It is the worst decision in the history of the Chicago White Sox because this guy is an absolute star now. Of course, there are some off-the-field things that he deals with but when he is playing there is no doubt that he is one of the best in the league.
2. Marcus Semien
The White Sox let Marcus Semien go way too soon back in the day.
The Chicago White Sox should have never let Marcus Semien go. He was traded to the Oakland A's in the deal that brought over Jeff Samardzija. Of course, Samardzija was horrible for the White Sox most of the time and Semien became a star with the Oakland A's.
Semien only played with the White Sox for two years and he never played more than 64 games in either of them. His numbers weren't great but he was clearly a late bloomer.
It took some time in Oakland as well but by the end of his tenure there (and his one year with the Toronto Blue Jays), he was one of the best players in the American League. It earned him a huge free-agent deal that he is now playing on with the Texas Rangers.
An honorable mention on this list can be Chris Bassitt who went with Semien to the Oakland A's for Samardzija. He became a great starter that the White Sox would have loved to have.
3. Trayce Thompson
The Chicago White Sox made multiple mistakes with Trayce Thompson.
Trayce Thompson started off his career with the Chicago White Sox and did an okay job in limited playing time. They let him go in the three way trade that landed them Todd Frazier though and he was gone.
They had another chance at him a few years later and let him go again. That was clearly a mistake because he is a great baseball player. He is just one of the guys with the Los Angeles Dodgers but he would be a mainstay in this Chicago White Sox lineup right now.
So far during this season with the Dodgers, Trayce is off to a scorching hot start too. He has three home runs, 9 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.256 through seven games. Obviously, things don't stay that good all season long but he can be a really good player all year long.
All of these guys would be able to help the White Sox out a lot in the year 2023 but they are with other teams making an impact. Hopefully, they do better at not giving up on good young players too soon.
Next. The 15 worst contracts in Chicago White Sox history. dark