The Chicago White Sox were incredibly mediocre in 2022 after coming into the year as one of the favorites to come out of the American League. It was a shameful year but it seemed like they might do something during the off-season to improve their chances of bouncing back in 2023.
Unfortunately, they almost did nothing. They made one nice move which was signing Andrew Benintendi to the richest contract in the history of the team. Although it was a nice move, it is also annoying that a player like this is the highest-paid player in franchise history.
They also signed Mike Clevinger but there is a good chance that he doesn't play because of domestic violence and child abuse allegations against him. If the allegations are true, he will certainly not be pitching for this team which also makes the team look horrible.
On Tuesday, The Athletic released their off-season grades for all 30 Major League clubs. They gave the White Sox a well-deserved F grade for how horrible thier off-season has been. They are the only team in Major League Baseball to receive such a grade. This is an awful look.
We graded each MLB club's offseason. Did your team pass or fail?https://t.co/BWstsGSgiE pic.twitter.com/b3dYFAvOmV
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 31, 2023
The White Sox are getting the hate that they deserve this off-season.
The next closest team is the Colorado Rockies who received a D. Nobody else in the league has a grade lower than a C- which just makes the White Sox look so bad. They are supposed to be a contender but they didn't make meaningful enough change after a very hard year.
The Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians tied for the best grade of any team in the AL Central with a B+ grade. The Kansas City Royals got a B and the Detroit Tigers got a C-. The two teams that the White Sox are competing with got the best grades which is not a good sign.
Chicago is relying on everyone being healthy which is not the smartest decision based on the last few seasons. They are also relying on the fact that Tony La Russa is no longer there. Those things could help but the fact that they did next to nothing to improve their chances is a shame and outlets are going to clown them for it.