The Chicago White Sox will look similar in 2024 despite a few trades

The Chicago White Sox were extremely active prior to the August 1st trade deadline. But while many names were moved, a number of familiar faces will be back come 2024.

The White Sox unloaded six pitchers and one position player before all was said and done on Tuesday. In return, the White Sox received a number of prospects who they hope will be able to contribute in the very near future.

Until then, the prospect of the team looking much the same as it did this year is definitely in order with the likes of Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert Jr., Andrew Vaughn, Andrew Benintendi, and Yoan Moncada, back to man their positions next season.

Rumors had been floating around that Anderson and Jimenez could have been moved as well as Dylan Cease whose name surfaced in trade rumors very late in the game.

The Chicago White Sox are going to look similar during the 2024 season.

As it turns out, what has been considered the core of the White Sox for the last few years remains intact as the team looks destined to run it back with virtually the same lineup except for the pitching rotation.

While there may have been a sense that a second rebuild was in the offing based on the disappointing results of the last two years, it seems as though management is banking on the returning veterans reaching their potential as the club retools the roster instead of blowing it up.

It might be easy for management to say the players are talented enough to win and will stand behind them.

What might be more likely is that returns offered on potential deals might not have been to the White Sox's liking as well as contractual situations and injury histories which may have made it difficult to move them.

The list of injuries to Anderson, Jimenez, and Moncada could have been factors in the team's inability to strike a deal. But in Moncada's case, his unfavorable contract may have played a bigger role.

Moncada is set to make $17.8 million this year and a whopping $24.8 next season, thus making him undesirable by other clubs.

Anderson is under team control through next year while Jimenez's contract runs through 2024 with club options for 2025 and '26. Of position players, only Yasmani Grandal and Elvis Andrus are unrestricted free agents at the end of the year.

Unless something happens in the offseason, chances are the White Sox plan is to run it back with the same group that has underperformed dramatically since winning the American League Central Division title in 2021.

The White Sox roster was viewed as having a number of designated hitters on it. The problem was-and still is-those DHs were not providing any power.

The loss of Burger leaves the team with only three players with over 10 home runs (Robert Jr., Jimenez, and Vaughn). Robert Jr. is now the only one with over 20 homers (29) while Burger takes the 25 he hit to the Miami Marlins. Jimenez and Vaughn each have 13.

Burger's .214 batting average wasn't anything to write home about, but the loss of his bat to provide a long ball threat makes what was already a home run-deficient team even worse. The White Sox are 20th overall and 11th in the AL with 119 homers.

Despite the low power total, one would think the White Sox would at least hit most of their homers at Guaranteed Rate Field. However, that's not the case as they have hit 57 homers at home and 62 on the road.

There will be plenty of questions asked of general manager Rick Hahn at the end of the season about what went wrong this year and what the plan for the future is. Should the plan be to bring back many of the same faces, it could lead to a season of the same results.