This team has no hope of making the playoffs no matter how you spin it.
Fangraphs gives the Chicago White Sox a .7% of making the playoffs. They have a .4% of winning the division and a .3% of getting a wild card spot. They have been given no hope of getting a playoff bye
It makes sense since when you try to replicate the Royals, your chances of postseason baseball are slim.
The Sox are going to be terrible no matter how much you spin it. No money was really spent this offseason to upgrade the roster. Instead, Getz acquired guys off the scrap heap that he should hope to bounce back that he can flip at the deadline.
Yes, the team should be better at catching the ball. Hitting it will be a chore especially since there are too many what-ifs.
The Sox could exceed expectations if Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada stay healthy and hit like the flashes we have seen. Andrew Vaughn still has a lot of potential in that bat. Benintendi could return to hitting .300 after battling a wrist injury last year. Dominic Fletcher could win the starting job in right field and become a good major-league player.
You still always have Luis Robert Jr. who should have another MVP-caliber season.
We all should brace ourselves for Eloy and Moncada spending extensive time on the IL. Vaughn appears to be nothing more than a replacement-level first baseman (prove me wrong). Benintendi still has no pop in that bat. Knowing Pedro, he will not be patient with Fletcher and start Gavin Sheets the first sign of trouble.
That just leaves the Sox lineup with Luis Robert Jr.
Even if those six players are capable of hitting, you still have automatic outs at the bottom of the order. Paul DeJong is all glove and no bat. Well, he is capable of hitting home runs, but how many is always the question with him.
Maldonado and whoever wins the backup job are not exactly known for raking. Lopez already had his career year in 2021 and after that has been nothing more than a replacement-level second baseman with six career home runs.
Pretty much the Sox have three automatic outs and possibly more depending on injuries on most nights. That is not exactly an offense that is going to score the necessary amount of runs to shock the baseball world.