White Sox: 3 holes that need to be addressed by the trade deadline
The Chicago White Sox are a horrific baseball team. The rebuild feels like a failure and nobody is confident in them going forward.
The only reason that this team is still alive right now is because of the fact that the AL Central is so bad. The Sox are double-digit games under .500 and still remain only 5.5 games out of first place.
You have to wonder if they will just try to win it by becoming buyers at the deadline. Right or wrong, it is something they might consider.
If they did go that route, they need to try to fill one of these three holes on the roster:
1. Second Base
The Chicago White Sox could use some help at the second base position.
The Chicago White Sox have been trying to fix the problem of second base for a long time. They thought they had it resolved until they traded Nick Madrigal away to the Chicago Cubs.
Madrigal isn't working out all too well for them either but the White Sox literally have nobody. Elvis Andrus and Romy Gonzalez have tried but nobody can stick at that position.
If they want to make an impactful move at the deadline, they will address the position of second base. With the second base rotation that they have going right now, nobody is really going to take them seriously.
This is a move they need to make to help them in the long term as well. There are other positions on the team that are seeing people underperform but second base there literally just isn't anybody. That is a major hole.
2. Right Field
The Chicago White Sox need to fix the position of right field and fast.
Right field, like second base, has been a major issue for the Chicago White Sox over the last handful of years.
They have tried the likes of Adam Eaton, Nomar Mazara, and AJ Pollock amongst others and they have all failed.
Gavin Sheets and Andrew Vaughn have played there from time to time but first baseman shouldn't be in the outfield. Sheets still plays it regularly which is a major problem.
Oscar Colas was supposed to be the guy coming into the season. He is a nice young player and a top White Sox prospect but he was not good to start the year.
Now, Colas is in the minors and things aren't going great for him there either. It would be surprising to see him back up again in 2023. If the White Sox want to make the playoffs this year, right field needs to be a major concern before the trade deadline.
3. Pitching
The Chicago White Sox are in desperate need of some pitching help.
All 30 teams in Major League Baseball need pitching help. That goes for the starting rotation and for the bullpen. Usually, the teams with the deepest pitching staffs make it the farthest in the playoffs.
Well, the Chicago White Sox could look to add some pitching this year if they (mistakenly) want to try and grab that AL Central title.
Garrett Crochet and Liam Hendriks are already on the IL for the bullpen after short returns and Mike Clevinger might not pitch for a while.
There are plenty of bad pitchers on the White Sox 40-man roster and that needs to change soon. That comes after they already DFA'd both Jose Ruiz and Jake Diekman.
Speaking of Diekman, the White Sox would need to add a much better pitcher than that. Acquiring him as their only deadline move in 2022 is a disgrace.
Hopefully, the White Sox sell because they are just not good enough. There is no point in winning the AL Central just to get smoked in the first round by a team that deserves to be in the playoffs. In the event that they are buyers though, those are the three biggest needs.
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