The Chicago White Sox are in an interesting spot entering the 2023 season. After the disaster that was the 2022 season, there is a lot of skepticism from fans and media. However, the team itself seems to believe that it can bounce back and compete this year.
General manager Rick Hahn has not been anything close to a great GM over his tenure but he has been handcuffed by team owner Jerry Reinsdorf. This offseason, Hahn was limited to Andrew Benintendi, Mike Clevinger, and Elvis Andrus.
To learn everything you need to know about Reinsdorf as an owner, you just need to hear that Benintendi's 75 million-dollar contract is the biggest in franchise history. They are one of a handful of teams to never hand out a 100 million dollar or more contract.
With all of that in mind, Hahn still needs to be better. He has had his hits and his misses but this thing needs to get better again in 2023 or he needs to go.
Rick Hahn believes in the 2023 Chicago White Sox at this point in time.
Rick Hahn says expectations for Sox in 2023 "are very high." Added that Sox are "embarrassed by how things played out last year" and that team gets why folks are down on its chances this year, but "internally, I don't think expectations have changed."
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) February 20, 2023
On Monday, Hahn was asked about the team's expectations in 2023. He claims that they are very high. He believes that nothing has changed despite the one bad year in 2022. He added that the team is embarrassed by how things went last year but he believes in their chances this year.
To be honest, what else is he supposed to say? He is certainly not going to go out there and tell everyone that he thinks the team is bad.
However, it does sound genuine coming from him. Obviously, they didn't have the greatest off-season but they didn't make moves that rebuilding teams make. They handed out the richest contract in history, brought in a fifth starter, and decided to bring back the veteran second baseman that was good for them.
If Hahn is right, he will go back to being in the good graces of the fans. However, if he is wrong and 2023 is a repeat of 2022, there will have to be major changes. We will know relatively early in the season how Rick Hahn's vision is working out for everyone.