5 White Sox players who don't deserve to be on the 2023 40-man roster
The Chicago White Sox have a lot of people fighting to be impact players on the team as they head into the 2023 season.
There is plenty of room for growth after what was a horrible 2022 season where they failed to meet any sort of expectations. They underachieved in every way.
If they are going to bounce back this year, they will need some people to step up and play well. After the way last year went, there isn't much confidence that will happen.
If guys don't play up to their potential, they should be taken away from the team. These are the five players that don't deserve to be on the 40-man if they don't start off well:
Yoan Moncada
Yoan Moncada is a player that shouldn't just make the team for no reason.
Yoan Moncada has all of the talent in the world. However, he doesn't deserve a pass for playing badly just because of who he is. He deserves to get a chance this season but he has no business being on this team if he doesn't play well. What he did in 2022 was unacceptable.
He is an outstanding third baseman defensively but being close to a free out every time he comes up to bat just can't happen. He needs to come in this year and earn that spot on the 40-man roster. As of right now, you can absolutely say he doesn't deserve to be on it.
Hopefully, by the time the regular season rolls around, things will be different in the minds of people watching him.
Yasmani Grandal
Yasmani Grandal needs to be so much better in 2023 than he was in 2022.
Yasmani Grandal is in the same boat as Yoan Moncada. If he isn't having a good year, that is one thing. If he is amongst the worst players in the game, he has no business being on the team at all.
Based on how the 2022 season went, you can absolutely say he doesn't deserve to be on the 40-man right now. He has had an amazing career but that shouldn't just guarantee him a spot coming into this season.
Grandal is probably going to end up being the catcher that gets the most starts if he stays healthy because he signed (at the time) the biggest contract in White Sox history. He should certainly be let go if he is really bad again. We can only hope that he earns his stay.
Joe Kelly
Joe Kelly was brought in to be so much better than he has been.
Joe Kelly is one of the better relievers of his generation. He has done a lot of winning in his major league career which includes two World Series victories with two different teams.
Kelly, however, was terrible for the White Sox in 2022. He still has really nasty stuff which meant his strikeout numbers were inflated but he didn't do a good enough job of keeping runs off the board to be anything other than a terrible reliever.
If Kelly comes in this year and is horrible, they should find a way to cut ties with him. They don't need anyone pitching badly in the bullpen or even taking up a roster spot.
Jake Diekman
Jake Diekman needs to be let go from the Chicago White Sox if he is bad.
Jake Diekman was Rick Hahn's one big trade deadline acquisition in 2022 and it came back to bite him very hard. Diekman had a terrible time with the White Sox in his short tenure.
He blew the chance to win the most important game of the 2022 season for the White Sox. He allowed the Cleveland Guardians to pull away which meant that they would pull away in the division for good.
Diekman probably shouldn't even be on the 40-man right now but they traded for him so they are going to give him a shot. If he repeats his 2022 season, he should be let go. The White Sox should be a serious team with their moves in 2023.
Leury Garcia
Leury Garcia doesn't have a place on the Chicago White Sox anymore.
Leury Garcia is the longest-tenured player on the Chicago White Sox which is not something that anybody is proud of. He was a decent player at times but things haven't gone well for him over the last few years.
As a result of one playoff home run, they gave him a three-year extension. He probably would have been a non-roster invitee for another team the following year if the White Sox didn't treat him like Frank Thomas.
He shouldn't be on the 40-man anymore as a result of the moves the White Sox made this off-season. Romy Gonzalez deserves the shot to be their main utility guy in 2023 over Garcia.
It would be tough to see some of these guys go but they need to if they don't play well enough to deserve to be there.
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