3 White Sox players facing uncertain futures heading into 2023
The Chicago White Sox were a massive disappointment in 2022. The biggest reason for that is that there were multiple players that were also massive disappointments.
In order for that to not be the case again in 2023, most of these players need to have bounce-back years and stay healthy. There are a lot of big "ifs" involved with this.
A lot of talent is there and it all needs to come together in order to get the most out of it. If they don't in 2023, there are going to be some major changes for everyone.
There are three players that stick out when it comes to "uncertain futures". These three White Sox players are facing uncertain futures in 2023 and must play better:
1. Yasmani Grandal
The Chicago White Sox need Yasmani Grandal to be better again.
Yasmani Grandal, at the time, signed the biggest contract in the history of the Chicago White Sox. It was a big risk for the White Sox and there have been some pros and cons to it. 2021 was a complete pro as he was the best offensive catcher in Major League Baseball.
2022 was a disaster though as he was one of the worst overall players in the entire league. Now, heading into 2023, he is facing a very uncertain future. This is the last year of his contract so if he wants to play in 2024, he better have a good year now.
Grandal has the ability to be a game-changing offensive player. He has shown it with other teams and the White Sox in the past. Was 2022 an outlier? We will soon find out. If he plays as he did in 2021, the White Sox will be back in the playoffs. Realistically, just be better than 2022.
2. Yoan Moncada
Yoan Moncada is someone that needs to be significantly better in 2023.
The Chicago White Sox took a huge risk when they traded Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox. They got Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech back for Chris Sale and it felt like an amazing return at the time. Now, Kopech might be turning into a star pitcher but he is working back from his Tommy John slowly.
Kopech has a very high ceiling still in the White Sox's starting rotation but Moncada is turning into a disaster. He was awesome in 2019 and 2021 but was terrible in 2020 and 2022. History suggests that he will be awesome again in 2023 but 2022 was so bad that it is fair to be skeptical.
He has become an outstanding defender since switching from second base to third base but his bat is so cold that he is pretty much useless right now. He must get that into gear in 2023 otherwise his future is very cloudy. The White Sox won't deal with it beyond this year, you would think.
He is owed a lot of money so it is hard to trade him in this current state. There is no guessing what will become of him after this year if he is terrible. If he is great, the White Sox will make some moves this year in the standings. He has all of the tools but he needs to go out there and do it.
3. Lucas Giolito
Lucas Giolito has the potential to be one of the best pitchers in the game.
The Chicago White Sox made a great trade when they sent Adam Eaton to the Washington Nationals. It will always be seen as a great trade because Eaton wasn't nearly as big for the White Sox as Chris Sale. He was a pretty good outfielder that landed them some amazing talent.
They got Dane Dunning who was traded for Lance Lynn. They also got Reynaldo Lopez who is now one of their best bullpen pitchers. However, Lucas Giolito was the headlining prospect to return to the White Sox in that deal. Now, he is headed to a very uncertain future but he controls his destiny.
Giolito, as you've heard, was one of the worst pitchers in baseball in 2018. Things turned around for him in 2019, 2020, and 2021 as he was a top-ten American League pitcher in all three of those years. He wasn't the worst pitcher in 2022 but he certainly wasn't great. He needs a bounce-back year.
He was so good in the past that his arbitration was avoided with a contract of over 10 million dollars. The problem for him is that he needs to be elite again in 2023 if he really wants to cash in next year. If he doesn't play well, you can bet he'll be on another team in 2024.
Hopefully, Lucas and everyone else on this list live up to their former selves. If they do, the White Sox will be a much better team this year than they were last year.
Next. The White Sox should consider a trade for Max Fried. dark