3 White Sox that were the biggest part of the problem in 2023
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.
2. Tim Anderson
Tim Anderson needs to be better for the Chicago White Sox.
The Chicago White Sox have always had a lot of faith in Tim Anderson. He was an elite hitter there for a while and he became the face of the franchise because of what he meant to fans off the field.
Unfortunately, everyone seems to have very little faith in him these days. He was truly awful in 2023 and it is a big reason why the team was awful. It is hard to think of an instance where a player had a quicker fall from grace.
Anderson was a -2.0 WAR player which shows just how bad he was this year. He has a lot of work to do if he is going to be better again in 2024. It very well might be for another team if the White Sox decide not to bring him back.
There will be teams out there that bring a player like him in but he might not have the trust he once did. It was that bad of a year for him.
A lot of people often believed that the team went where he took them. This year, he helped take them to one of the worst records in the league. He was a huge problem for the team in 2023.
3. Andrew Benintendi
Andrew Benintendi was straight up terrible for the Chicago White Sox.
The Chicago White Sox didn't make many key acquisitions last off-season. The biggest one that they made by far was the addition of Andrew Benintendi via the free agency market. They gave him the highest-paid contract in the history of the franchise.
Benintendi isn't expected to play like a superstar but he is expected to perform as well as a starting left fielder. For his contract, he should be above average in his position. Instead, he was truly terrible.
This is a player that has been good in his MLB career but of course, right when he comes to the White Sox, he starts to stink. He was bad offensively and he was terrible defensively. There was nothing good that came from his 2023 season.
At this point, it looks like a terrible contract that the White Sox gave away. Now, they have to hope that he comes in 2024 and starts to play well again. They certainly won't be doing much winning if he doesn't.
Next. The 15 worst contracts in Chicago White Sox history. dark