Holiday wish list for the Chicago White Sox this MLB offseason
The Chicago White Sox have plenty on their wish list as they head into an MLB offseason with a pleth.
The holiday season is upon us and the Chicago White Sox are a team with a huge list of things that they need to do to make themselves a winner. 2023 wasn’t a good year by any means and we hope with some things checked off their holiday list, the White Sox will be able to return to form in 2024. That’s all that we can hope for, right?
Let’s look at the White Sox “Holiday List” and see what they need to become contenders in 2024.
The Battery
Pitching can always be added and the White Sox need to do just that. Yes, they have brought in some pitchers throughout the offseason that might pan out but none are big-name guys. They still have Dylan Cease, for now, but if they were to lose him, they would be stuck with a ton of questions in the rotation.
Getting additional pitching should be on their list and they can get some depth and strength back if they keep Cease and re-sign Mike Clevinger. They should try to bring him back for another year.
While it's unlikely they add someone of Blake Snell's class, an arm similar to him can be had for the White Sox if they're willing to pay.
As for the catching side of things, following the acquisition of Max Stassi, this may be less of a need, but the Sox still lack a “boomer” at catcher and may want to continue to look for some quality depth here.
Stassi is a promising player who has been in the league for ten years with three teams and possesses some experience. However, at 33 when the season starts, he's a bit on the older side.
The White Sox would be well served to continue to keep their eyes out for catchers this offseason and should a good one come about, they should grab him and cross the catcher position off of their holiday list.
Middle Infield and a Reunion With an Old Face
Sure, they grabbed Paul DeJong, but they could be better served by looking at calling Colson Montgomery up from the minors as the season progresses.
It’s just about time that he made his way to the major leagues and the White Sox might be better with him in the lineup. Perhaps he could also play second base or DeJong could slide over to that spot.
The White Sox are going to need a second baseman, so moving a shortstop around might be beneficial. The White Sox did get Nicky Lopez as well and hopefully, he can do something to help this season. However, their best bet is to let Montgomery mature a bit and then bring him up, do some shuffling, and solidify the center of that defensive lineup.
The White Sox need a lot more out of designated hitter Eloy Jimenez. Jimenez has all the tools to be a great hitter, he just needs some inspiration and motivation.
He also needs to stay healthy. It seems like we hold our collective breaths every time he dashes to first base because he could pull a hamstring. He’s become somewhat fragile and the White Sox don’t need that kind of player.
Pedro Grifol To Improve
Finally, we hope that current manager Pedro Grifol can step it up this season and manage much better than he did in 2023. It was his first year and while he's never been a big-league manager before, that doesn’t give him a pass to not act like one.
It’s clear to see that he has struggled in his role and because of that, the team struggled. It’s almost a bit of a surprise that the White Sox decided to keep him after the year that he had. I have a feeling that if Grifol can’t straighten up and manage right, he’s going to be gone at the end of 2024. You can almost bet on it.
There are plenty of question marks heading into the season with Grifol as the skipper. The biggest thing White Sox fans can ask for is improvement from him. If he can improve and win the clubhouse over, this could make the team play better.