The Chicago White Sux
Photo Credit: slate.com
The Chicago White Sox are bordering on the wrong side of history, just three years removed from back-to-back playoff berths. A 21-game losing streak. A 28-88 record. A -247 run differential. At the trade deadline, the last-place White Sox shipped off some of their last few stars, including starting pitcher Erick Fedde and outfielders Tommy Pham and Eloy Jimenez. Granted, Chicago couldn’t even sell properly, as newfound ace Garrett Crochet requested a new contract from any team that signed him, scaring away prospective buyers, and outfielder Luis Robert Jr. had next to no offers. In summation, the White Sox are on pace for one of the worst seasons in the modern MLB era. Here is what has made the Southside the gloomiest place in the league.
In 2021, Chicago went 93-61, winning the AL Central. They had young stars in Tim Anderson and Luis Robert Jr., and veterans such as Jose Abreu and Yasmani Grandal. A stellar pitching staff consisting of arms like Carlos Rodon, Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, and Dylan Cease, and a powerful bullpen capped by Liam Hendriks made the White Sox a seemingly complete team. Unfortunately, they fell quickly in the ALDS to the Houston Astros. In the following years, the team failed to achieve the same success. Grandal, Anderson, Robert, and Giolito regressed, while Rodon and Abreu found homes with new ball clubs. Many condemn manager Tony LaRussa for the lackluster results, as he demonstrated a clear inability to take control of the clubhouse (cough, Yermin Mercedes, cough). Regardless of the reason, Chicago quickly deconstructed. Few members of that 93-61 team remained by the 2024 season, and Dylan Cease was even traded to the San Diego Padres before Opening Day. Naturally, he leads the league in strikeouts currently, and the White Sox missed an opportunity to sell him for more at the trade deadline. Chicago, unsurprisingly, was expected to finish last in the AL Central. What was surprising was just how bad the 2024 Chicago White Sox would become.
They began the season by going an astounding 3-22, which tied for the second-worst start to a season through 25 games in the modern era. At the All-Star Break, their 27-71 record was more than 30 games behind the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians. Not a single White Sox position player made the Midsummer Classic for the first time since 2009. At the aforementioned trade deadline, Jimenez was shipped off to Baltimore, Paul DeJong to Kansas City, Fedde and Pham to St. Louis, and Michael Kopech to the Los Angeles Dodgers. They rank worst in the league in runs scored, triples, batting average, and slugging percentage, and are worst in the American League in home runs, walks, ERA, and WHIP. Not a single healthy player on the White Sox roster currently has an OPS+ above 100, meaning every position player is hitting below league-replacement level. Among qualifying hitters, Andrew Vaughn currently leads the Sox with a .681 OPS, which is good for 114th-best in the MLB. To top it off, they finally ended a 21-game losing streak with a win on Tuesday against the middling Oakland A’s. The streak was tied for the longest in AL history with the 1988 Baltimore Orioles. As of today, they sit 35.5 games back from the Guardians and are on pace for a 39-win season, which would be the lowest since the 1962 Mets went 40-120, and the lowest win percentage (.241) since the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (36-117, .235).
With things so dire in Chicago, there is only hope that the future may become brighter. ESPN recently ranked the White Sox as the eighth-best farm system in the league. They have three top-100 prospects in SS Colson Montgomery (no. 16), LHP Noah Schultz (no. 18), and C Edgar Quero (no. 71), and received a few higher-ranked prospects in their recent trades. Given Chicago’s general ineptitude, prospects like Ky Bush and Brooks Baldwin have already been given the chance at the MLB level, and more will likely follow as the season winds down.
Chicago will not be a contender for at least a couple of years. But, with prospects on the verge of cracking the MLB squad, Southside fans may have something to be excited about in the near future.