The Chicago White Sox have made some big-time moves during the trade deadline season. They sent out a lot of good players that are going to help their new teams win.
Now, for the White Sox, they need to pick up the pieces and get themselves back into contention but that is going to be hard.
There are a lot of things that need to happen before they become a good team again. Part of that is getting through this 2023 season that won't end in the playoffs.
The starting pitching rotation is obviously going to look the most different following the deadline. This is the projected order for the rest of the season:
1. Dylan Cease
2. Mike Clevinger
3. Michael Kopech
4. Touki Toussaint
5. Jesse Scholtens
The Chicago White Sox don't have a good starting rotation anymore.
The Chicago White Sox traded away Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn. They ended up keeping Dylan Cease and Mike Clevinger which was not a guarantee before the deadline.
As a result, you have this pitching rotation. They might try to build around Dylan Cease now who is clearly their ace going forward.
We thought Cease was the ace last year after his Cy Young runner-up season but has come back down to earth a little bit. Still, he is a great young pitcher with tons of control.
Mike Clevinger is the number two. He should have been traded but chances are that nobody wanted him even as a rental.
Now, the White Sox will just use him once every fifth day and wait for his contract to run out. He is having an okay year which is part of the reason they should have moved him as they could have sold high.
Michael Kopech is hard to evaluate. There have been runs this year where he looked like a superstar and other times where he looked like a complete bust.
Whether he goes back to the bullpen as a long reliever or closer is to be seen in the future. For the rest of the season, he is the number three.
Touki Toussaint and Jesse Scholtens are the number four and five for the rest of the season in the place of Giolito and Lynn. This is their chance to see what they can do ahead of the 2024 season.
This is not a very good rotation but the White Sox aren't worried about wins and losses anymore. They just need to get through the rest of this season healthy. It would be nice to see Cease and Kopech pitch well at the very least though. We'll see.