Ranking the 5 biggest busts of the Chicago White Sox rebuild
The Chicago White Sox have had a lot of busts through their rebuild. These are the five biggest.
The Chicago White Sox are amongst the worst franchises in all of baseball. You can even extend that to one of the worst in all of sports.
They don't seem to do anything right. Whether it is the way they run their business, handle player development, or baseball operations at the Major League level. It is all bad.
Their most recent rebuild started in 2016 when they traded Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox. There was a lot of hype and optimism about it but it was a massive failure that led them to where they are right now.
As far as players go, many of them didn't live up to their potential. These are the five biggest busts of the entire rebuild...
5. Luis Robert Jr
Luis Robert Jr. is good when he's on the field but he is hardly on the field.
In 2023, Luis Robert Jr. was one of the best players in the American League. He came in 12th for the MVP, was an All-Star, participated in the Home Run Derby, and won the Silver Slugger.
How can a guy like that be a bust? Well, that was the only year of his career that he played more than 98 games. The man is always injured.
In the short 2020 season (his rookie year), he played 56 out of 60 games, won a Gold Glove, and was second in the Rookie of the Year voting.
The fact that he is this good when healthy makes him even more of a bust because of what could have been.
Even in 2024, he has only played in seven games and he won't be back for a while. The fact that he is good when on the field only has him as the fifth biggest bust but this rebuild's failure is in large part due to his injury history.
4. Michael Kopech
Michael Kopech has had some flashes but he was ultimately a bust.
When Michael Kopech was acquired by the White Sox in the Chris Sale trade, the ceiling was incredible. He was seen as this flame-throwing star who could change the game as a starter.
As a reliever, Kopech has been pretty good. That includes this season. However, as a starter, he was pretty bad. He ended up being pushed back into the bullpen because of his issues as a starting pitcher.
This makes him a bust. You don't trade Chris Sale and expect relievers back in return. You expect a starting pitcher that can be borderline as good as Sale in his prime. That did not happen.
Like most of the players on this list, injuries and off-the-field issues have a lot to do with it. At the end of the 2018 season where he made his MLB debut, he had Tommy John. That forced him to miss all of 2019 and then he opted out of the 2020 season.
It got close to three years between pitches that counted for him. Again, he's a solid reliever but that makes him a bust based on the expectations placed on him when he was a prospect. It hasn't worked out as anyone had hoped.
3. Eloy Jimenez
Eloy Jimenez has been nothing short of a disaster for the White Sox.
Injuries have a lot to do with it. Eloy Jimenez has been mostly a sore spot for the Chicago White Sox throughout the rebuild.
He had a couple of injury stints in 2019, his rookie year, but that didn't stop him from having 31 home runs and finishing in fourth for the Rookie of the Year in the AL.
In 2020, the short season, he was even better. He had 14 home runs in 55 games during the 60-game sprint. It was looking like the White Sox had a budding superstar on their hands.
They did but injuries took over in 2021 when he hurt himself during spring training. He didn't return until the middle of the summer and he was never the same again. He hasn't stopped battling injuries since that point in time. The 122 games he played during his rookie year are still his career-high.
There is no doubt that there is offensive talent with Jimenez but these injuries have turned him into a bust for the White Sox. When looking back at the failed rebuild, his history will be a big reason why.
2. Andrew Vaughn
Andrew Vaughn is one of the worst players in Major League Baseball.
Andrew Vaughn was drafted third overall in the 2019 MLB Draft. He was considered to be the best power hitter in the NCAA during his time at Cal. It felt like a lock that he'd be a stud in Major League Baseball.
Not only that, the White Sox were just going to plant him into the middle of an already star-studded lineup and he was going to hit the ground running as a result.
That never happened. He had a few okay years to begin his career but then slowly started to decline. That leads us to 2024 where he is one of the worst players in the league right now.
He has an OPS of .555 which is one of the lowest marks amongst qualified hitters. He has just three home runs so far and they all came within the last few weeks as his start to the season was even worse.
Vaughn not living up to expectations made the transition away from Jose Abreu impossible and now they are stuck with him for a while. If he doesn't pick it up soon, he won't be in the league for much longer which is very sad to think about.
1. Yoan Moncada
Yoan Moncada is nothing short of the biggest bust in White Sox history.
Yoan Moncada is the number one bust of the Chicago White Sox rebuild and it is for a few different reasons.
For one, he was the poster boy of the entire thing. When acquired by the Boston Red Sox in the Chris Sale trade, he was the number one prospect in all of baseball. It was a sure shot that he was going to be a superstar.
When you look at his overall career numbers, they aren't the worst thing of all time. He was a slightly above average player for most of his career but he was never healthy enough to play full seasons a lot of the time anyway.
Being a slightly above-average player at times to a bad player at other times is not good enough. They needed him to be the leader of this thing and he was far from it.
Expectations can create a different sort of narrative around a player and Moncada suffers from that. He would be considered a good player if he were a fourth-round draft pick but he was a star prospect that didn't become a big-time MLB player.
Moncada was also wildly overpaid before he ever stepped foot on a Major League field. The White Sox paid for his potential and it didn't work out.
Even in 2024, he is hurt. He has played in 11 games so far this season and it doesn't sound like he'll be back any time soon. It won't be long before he is off the team.
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