3 Reasons Why This Season Will Be Terrible For The Chicago White Sox
By Todd Welter
Welcome to Royals North.
Acquiring former Royals players seems to be Getz' and manager Pedro Grifol's solution to fixing the team's underachieving ways.
Getz acquired second baseman Nicky Lopez from the Atlanta Braves as a part of a five-player return for Aaron Bummer. Lopez spent the beginning part of his career with the Royals when manager Grifol was there.
Martin Maldonado was signed in free agency to be the starting catcher. He too has spent time with the Royals. Brett Phillips and Mike Moustakas were invited to Spring Training. Moustakas was one of the stalwarts of the Royals' 2015 World Series championship team. Phillips was supposed to be one of the young players to keep their success going. He failed much as the Royals did after 2015.
Relief pitchers Jessie Chavez and Joe Barlow also got non-roster invites. You guessed it, they pitched for the Royals at some point during their career.
Andrew Benintendi is still the largest free agent signing in franchise history currently playing left field.
This organization has a weird obsession with a team that outside of 2014 and 2015 is usually competing for the Sox in a race to the bottom of the AL Central. Maybe it is because the Royals were like the White Sox regarding never signing a player to over a $100 million contract. Kansas City left the White Sox alone in that group with only the Oakland A's when they extended Bobby Witt Jr.
Getz and Grifol are comfortable with bringing in these former players as they want to improve a toxic clubhouse. Okay, fine, but the problem with that is only Moustakas was a part of that 2015 championship club and he is well past his prime. This try-hard, play F.A.S.T (yes, the White Sox have a manger who uses acronyms) style of baseball Grifol is trying to implement is not exactly winning baseball as the Royals are always competing for last place.
Outside of that brief period between 2014 and 2015, the Royals have finished third five times in the AL Central this century. That means the Royals have finished fourth or dead last 16 times. Yep, let's replicate that small market franchise that is incapable of achieving sustained success rather than say the Tampa Bay Rays or the Milwaukee Brewers.