The best and worst Christmas moves in Chicago White Sox history

Merry Christmas White Sox fans! I hope you all enjoy a wonderful holiday with family and friends. For us White Sox fans, our Christmas gifts came a bit early this year, as the White Sox announced the signings of Munetaka Murakami and Sean Newcomb this past week. The Christmas holiday is generally a time for MLB executives to take a break from dealing and spend time with loved ones, and it’s generally a slow few days of news. This is not always the case though, and the White Sox themselves have made a few notable transactions that line up with the holidays. Here are the best and worst Christmas deals in White Sox history. 

Best: White Sox acquire OF Tim Raines- Christmas Eve, 1990

The White Sox made a huge splash as they pursued contention in the early 90s, landing seven-time all-star Tim Raines in a trade from the Montreal Expos. Raines never made an all-star game as a member of the White Sox, but he quickly became a presence at the top of the lineup. Raines stole 117 bases in his first three seasons in Chicago and posted an on-base percentage near .400 in 1992 and 1993. Raines’ best season in a White Sox uniform came in 1993, when he hit .306 with 16 home runs and a .401 on-base percentage. He remained with the White Sox through the 1995 season, where he headed to the Yankees to close out his career. He was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 2017, earning 86% of the vote in his final year on the ballot. Though the White Sox never won a World Series with Raines in tow, they had an exciting team in the early 90s, and had as good a chance as anybody during the 1994 strike season in which the World Series was cancelled. Raines went on to coach first base for the White Sox for the 2005 and 2006 seasons, winning the World Series as a member of the staff in 2005. 

Worst: White Sox sign 1B Edwin Encarnacion- Christmas Day, 2019

While the deal wasn’t made official until January, the White Sox brought in slugger Edwin Encarnacion prior to the 2020 season and the first reports of the deal surfaced on Christmas Day. Encarnacion was entering his age-37 season on the heels of eight consecutive 30 homer seasons. He split 2019 between the Mariners and Yankees and posted an OPS of .875. It was an exciting signing for the White Sox, who prepared to go from rebuilding to contending in 2020. Unfortunately, the deal crashed and burned rather quickly. It didn’t help that the 2020 season didn’t begin until August due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but once the season got underway, Encarnacion just didn’t look like himself. Despite ten home runs in 44 games, he hit just .157 and his OPS dropped all the way to .627. The White Sox made the playoffs that season, losing two of three to the Oakland Athletics in the Wild Card round. Encarnacion took just two at bats in that playoff series, going 0-for-2 with a strikeout. The White Sox declined his option and he never played another game in Major League Baseball. It was one of many swing-and-misses by former GM Rick Hahn as the White Sox rebuild failed to come together.