The Chicago White Sox were the fourth-worst team in MLB this season based on overall record. They were supposed to bounce back in 2023 from a very average 2022 but that did not happen. There are a lot of people to blame for the way the year has gone.
Everyone on the roster knows that things didn't go their way in 2023. A few of them actually did have really good years but the team around them didn't take advantage.
A lot of people are going to be on Pedro Grifol and his coaching staff all off-season and rightfully so. However, there are a fair amount of players on this team that used to be elite and then were just magically horrible in 2023.
These are the three players that were the biggest part of the problem this season:
1. Dylan Cease
Dylan Cease was not good enough for the Chicago White Sox in 2023.
The Chicago White Sox were expecting more of the same for Dylan Cease in 2023. Just a year prior, he was one of the three best pitchers in all of baseball. He was the runner-up for the American League Cy Young Award.
It took an incredible (comeback) season from Justin Verlander for Cease to not win the award. He was truly spectacular. At that point in time, it felt like Cease had arrived and developed into one of the best pitchers in the league.
In 2023, however, he took a nose dive. Cease turned into a very average pitcher. At times, he was below average. It is hard to win when the guy you need to be your ace pitches like that. He was absolutely one of the biggest problems with this team.
Hopefully, Cease bounces back next year. It may even be with another team as he was in trade rumors this year. Either way, Cease wants to be an elite pitcher and he has to get back to that level again in 2024 if he wants to be paid like one as well. If it were with the White Sox, that would be awesome.