3 White Sox players that won't be back in 2024
2023 was a bad year for the Chicago White Sox and they are going to be doing what they can to correct it. It is not going to happen overnight but the players on this team that aren't good enough need to go. It sounds harsh but they were truly that awful this year.
Players on this team are going to be moved on in different ways. The White Sox will force some out, some will be traded, and some will leave on their own in free agency. There is no doubt that some big change is going to occur this winter.
A lot of different White Sox players had bad years. It is the ones on expiring contracts, however, that are going to be the main focus here.
Of all the players on the White Sox roster right now, these three should not be brought back under any circumstances:
1. Elvis Andrus
The Chicago White Sox don't need to be having Elvis Andrus anymore.
Elvis Andrus was amazing at the end of the 2022 season after the White Sox acquired him late in the year. They decided to bring him back late last off-season and it felt like a good move then too.
Unfortunately, it was a terrible idea. He was awful all year long outside of a decent stretch here to end the season.
He finished with a 0.6 WAR thanks to his .251/.304/.358 slash line. He hit 6 home runs, had 44 RBIs, and 39 runs scored. While playing out of position, he basically made the White Sox worse.
There is no reason to bring Andrus back. He might still have a place in the league but it shouldn't be with the White Sox anymore. If they bring him back, especially playing out of position, they are clearly not trying to win.
2. Yasmani Grandal
The Chicago White Sox don't need to have Yasmani Grandal again in 2023.
The Chicago White Sox were bold after the 2019 season. Ahead of what became the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, the White Sox felt like they were going to take a big step. As a result, they gave Yasmani Grandal what was the richest contract in team history.
Since then, you can say that Yasmani Grandal hasn't really lived up to it. He has had some amazing stretches (like when he was borderline MVP good in 2021) but he has mostly been incredibly underwhelming.
The White Sox needed more from Grandal from a catching standing and from the batter's box. Instead, outside of those few stretches, it was a massive disappointment. The team also only got worse as he started to fall off.
His days of playing at a high level with the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers earned him that contract but he didn't live up to it with the White Sox. Now that the four-year deal is up, it is pretty obvious that he will not return in 2024.
Grandal has a reputation so he may get a chance with another team to wind down his career but it might be more on a tryout basis based on his performance in Chicago.
3. Mike Clevinger
The White Sox should do what they can to keep Mike Clevinger away.
Mike Clevinger is not considered to be a man of good character away from the baseball field. He has become a distraction because of other things that have taken place. That includes this past off-season's investigation for some pretty serious issues.
He then went on and had a pretty good year for the White Sox. On a team with mostly bad pitching, he was a bright spot. It was tough to watch him play so well knowing that it wasn't going to last and that the White Sox wouldn't want to keep him after 2023.
He has a mutual option for 2024 so he and the White Sox would have to agree on it. Of course, the White Sox can make it clear that they don't want to bring him back.
Why wouldn't Clevinger want to pitch for a contender either? There are plenty of teams that have a chance to win that would love to add him. Obviously, it will be interesting to see where he (and everyone on this list) ends up.
Next. The 15 worst contracts in Chicago White Sox history. dark