These 4 former Chicago White Sox players don't look any different from last year

Nothing beats a trip down memory lane for Chicago White Sox fans.

After winning the competition as the most pessimistic fans in MLB, the last thing they want to remember is the dark days of 2024.

Somehow, the Sox assembled a roster that couldn't get out of its way.

And while many players have departed from the organization, there hasn't been a drastic change in their performances. It's not like Chicago was where talent came to die, and suddenly former players look like early MVP candidates this year. In fact, that's far from the truth. Most players haven't changed at all.

Here’s a dive into how four former Sox players are doing during spring training in 2025. 

Trending Upwards: Garrett Crochet

Crochet has pitched phenomenally. In three starts totaling 6.1 innings, he has only given up six hits and five walks while impressively racking up 14 strikeouts. He has been a menace on the mound this spring.

It’s no surprise that Crochet is pitching just as well as he did last year.

Crochet pitched better than his 3.58 ERA shows, as the Sox’s notoriously poor defense didn’t help pitchers’ ERAs. His 209 career-best strikeouts and first All-Star Game appearance during Chicago’s horrendous season speaks more volumes about him than the Sox.

Seeing him thrive in Florida this spring shows that the Sox know how to draft and develop great pitchers, even if they can’t keep them.

OK: Gavin Sheets

Sheets hasn’t changed at all since he was on the South Side. He has gone 10-37 with five home runs and 11 RBIs with the Padres. Although his .730 slugging percentage makes him look like a superstar, his sub-.300 on-base percentage brings him back to earth.

His 2024 campaign was mediocre at best. Sheets slashed .233/.303/.357 and recorded a -0.1 WAR. His defense was never Gold Glover-worthy, either. Sheets has never posted a positive defensive WAR and last year he had the second-worst defensive year of his career.

Don’t be fooled by Tuesday’s walk-off home run against the Sox - Sheets is still the same player. He has rare moments of showing up, but he's otherwise an average player.

Trending Downwards: Eloy Jiménez, Yoán Moncada

Jiménez and Moncada elected free agency in the fall, and Sox fans shouldn’t be disappointed. Jiménez is struggling to get on base and hit for power this spring, as he’s gone 5-24 with only eight total bases, half of which come from a home run. Moncada is doing slightly better with the Angels, although that doesn’t say much. He is 4-21 with a home run, two RBIs, and seven walks.

Although spring training games don’t count, it’s hard to believe the Sox will miss them. Jiménez batted poorly in the 32 games he managed to play, and while Moncada batted much better, he missed even more time than Jiménez due to a left abductor strain. Even if the hitting got better, the injuries were getting worse.

The Sox fell victim to the sunk cost fallacy last year by keeping these guys around, but they learned their lesson by not bringing them back.