The Chicago White Sox are having a somewhat productive off-season but also a completely frustrating off-season. They had a chance to build something really nice and are letting it slip away through cheapness and bad decision-making.
They couldn't even find a way to add a cheap fourth outfielder for this group to go behind Andrew Benintendi, Luis Robert, and Oscar Colas. Robert is injury prone and Colas is a rookie that we don't know for sure about yet so adding another guy would have been smart.
There is still time to add one but a good option is now off the table as Adam Duvall has signed with the Boston Red Sox. He is getting a one-year deal worth seven million dollars which is absolutely something that the White Sox could have done.
Duvall has spent time with the San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, and Miami Marlins but most of his Major League career has been spent with the Atlanta Braves. With them, he won the World Series in 2021.
Adam Duvall would have been perfect for the Chicago White Sox in 2023.
Duvall also has an All-Star Game appearance in addition to a Gold Glove Award. There is no doubt that he has been a great player in his Major League career. 2022 wasn't his best year which is why he made it to this point of the off-season without a team.
Now, he goes to the Red Sox who have some issues of their own but at least they don't give up on trying to win ever. They won't stop adding decent players even if they lose a big one in free agency. The contract that they gave to Rafael Devers, however, tells the difference between the two teams.
Now that Duvall is off the market, there are only a few options left out there that are worth upgrading over what they already have. It isn't a high-quality group of players anymore so the White Sox missed this opportunity.
The White Sox aren't wrong for missing on Duvall. They are wrong for not doing what they can to make a couple of last-minute upgrades. It isn't certain that they won't but it doesn't feel likely at this point.