The White Sox are better off benching this player for the rest of the season

The Chicago White Sox enter the August 1st trade deadline with almost absolute certainty that they will be sellers.

The team has once again underperformed and has little hope of reaching the post-season. That being said, it would be smart for the team to start evaluating players that will be around for the long haul.

One position that has been lackluster throughout this “rebuild” is third base. Yoan Moncada has been a huge disappointment the last couple of seasons.

Last year, in 104 games, he hit for a .212 batting average while slugging .353. The 2023 season has also been an injury-riddled season for Moncada as he only appeared in 38 games.

Yoan Moncada has not been the player the Chicago White Sox needed.

It is always hard to admit when someone is wrong about something but it is always better to get rid of an asset a little early rather than being too late.

For the White Sox to truly move on to a new era, it would be smart to sit Moncada for the rest of the season and give more opportunities to a younger, more affordable player that will be here in the long term.

Moncada will have a base salary of $24 million next year which is a tough pill to swallow. The team does have a club option in 2025 which likely won’t be picked up.

This further justifies that the Sox are better off sitting Moncada the rest of the year to ensure that he is fully healthy going into his potential final season with the team next season. If he plays well next year, the team has the choice to pick up his option or to trade him for more assets at the deadline.

Another reason the White Sox are better off sidelining Moncada the rest of the season is that it is arguably more important for the team to evaluate what they truly have in Jake Burger.

In 79 games this season, Jake Burger has 21 home runs and an OPS of .803. Burger has less than a full season of experience under his belt, so it would be beneficial for the team to let him play full-time for the rest of the season to see what they truly have.

Not to mention that he is headed for another year of pre-arb and will only be making $720,000, a huge discount compared to Moncada.

Lastly, it is increasingly obvious that Moncada is not the long-term third baseman. His subpar play and his consistent IL stints have made his tenure on the south side nothing short of disappointing.

With the team heading toward another rebuild, it is time to give players in the minor leagues an extended look next year as well.

The White Sox's third overall prospect, not counting the 2023 draftees, is third baseman Bryan Ramos, who has shown a lot of promise down in Birmingham. The Sox will likely be interested to see what he can bring to the team at some point in 2024.

There were a lot of up and downs during the Moncada era but it is time for him to step aside until next year when he would be playing for his next contract.