The Chicago White Sox over the last two seasons have abortive attempts to contend. Said efforts have yielded a total of 170 losses since the start of the 2015 season. The lack of results prompted GM Rick Hahn to undertake a major offseason sell-off. As a consequence of his (very successful) change of tack, the South Siders will likely be very bad in 2017, but along they way they’ve put together one of the best collections of young talent in all of baseball.
As for what 2017 will hold for the Sox, let’s have a look ...
The vitals
- 2016 record: 78-84
- 2017 depth chart: click here
- 2017 schedule: click here
The rebuild is not done
As hinted at above, the White Sox probably had the best offseason of any team. In a span of two days, Hahn sent ace Chris Sale to the Red Sox and outfielder Adam Eaton to the Nationals. In return, the Sox added an absolute haul of high-ceiling prospects -- most notably infielder Yoan Moncada and hurlers Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech and Reynaldo Lopez. Pair those with other long-term assets like Tim Anderson, Carlos Rodon, Zack Collins, Carson Fulmer and Alec Hansen, and you’ve got a deeply promising future on the South Side. And Hahn may not be done.
Before the non-waiver deadline this upcoming season, you’ll likely see Hahn trade away lefty Jose Quintana. Quintana is a remarkably consistent upper-tier starter, and, like Sale, he’s signed to a ridiculously team-friendly contract. Excellence plus affordability plus team control yield the potential for another impressive haul. The going rates for pitching on the trade market, already strong, tend to increase in-season, and as such any deal involving Quintana will likely add significant value to those long-term stores noted above. Sox fans should be excited about that possibility.
As well, names like Todd Frazier, David Robertson and even Melky Cabrera could be moved in exchange for more young talent. None of those will net the kind of return that Sale and Eaton brought in or that Quintana figures to, but a deal involving Frazier in particular could add good depth to the system. There’s no indication that the Sox intend to move Jose Abreu, but he’s another veteran name who command a high price in trade. Let’s also not forget that the Sox pick 12th in the June draft, and the 2017 season will likely yield another high draft pick. Bear in mind that this is an organization that’s made pretty good use of its top picks in recent years.
In the end, you’ve got one of the best collection of young talent in the game today, and thanks to those remaining vets the Sox are poised to get even better on this front before Aug. 1.
Yoan Moncada’s timeline
Of all the promising talents the Sox added this winter, Moncada has the highest ceiling. For instance, coming into this season Moncada was ranked as the No. 5 overall prospect by Baseball Prospectus and the second-best overall prospect by both Baseball America and MLB.com. The question is when he arrives in Chicago for good.
Moncada, who’s going into his age-22 campaign, struggled pretty badly across an eight-game stint in the majors last September (.513 OPS for Boston). Also, he’s yet to see any action at the Triple-A level, and the White Sox may be looking to limit his service time in order to prevent him from reaching “super two” arbitration status down the road. For all those reasons, Moncada is very likely to open the 2017 season at Triple-A Charlotte. How long he’ll be there of course largely depends on how he performs. The path to a job in Chicago, though, is relatively clear. Not long ago, the White Sox waived Brett Lawrie, and assuming Moncada remains a primary second baseman with his new team he’ll be able to take over that job soon enough. The Sox will break camp with either Yolmer Sanchez or Tyler Saladino as the regular second baseman, but whoever wins it is a placeholder for Moncada (again, assuming he isn’t shifted to third base or the outfield). Soon enough, White Sox fans will get an extended look at their new best prospect.
Rick Renteria’s return
Renteria was named as Robin Ventura’s replacement in the White Sox’s dugout back in early October. Renteria, of course, managed the crosstown Cubs for the 2014 season. Renteria didn’t have a strong roster that season, but he did guide the still-rebuilding Cubs to a somewhat respectable 33-35 mark in the second half. Despite the fact that Cubs were not contending-caliber that season and despite the fact that they showed steady progress under Renteria, the manager was forced out the following offseason in favor of Joe Maddon, who unexpectedly became available.
Suffice it to say, all that worked out just fine for the Cubs, and now it’s worked out for Renteria. He’s a major-league manager once again, and once again he’s tasked with handling a rebuilding roster that’s only going to get younger. In our limited look at Renteria, he seemed to be the sort who can be a players’ guy when he needs to be and a disciplinarian when he needs to be. If nothing else, he should energize that Sox dugout after Ventura’s relatively low-key approach ran its course (and then some). On-the-job development will be Renteria’s primary duty, at least early in his Sox tenure, and reputation suggests he’ll be an asset on that front.
Probable lineup
- Charlie Tilson, CF
- Tim Anderson, SS
- Jose Abreu, 1B
- Melky Cabrera, LF
- Todd Frazier, 3B
- Geovany Soto, C
- Cody Asche, DH
- Avisail Garcia, RF
- Yolmer Sanchez, 2B
Probable rotation
- Jose Quintana (L)
- Miguel Gonzalez (R)
- Derek Holland (L)
- James Shields (R)
- Carlos Rodon (L)
Probable bullpen
Closer: David Robertson (R)
Setup: Nate Jones (R), Dan Jennings (L)
Middle/long relief: Zach Putnam (R), Tommy Kahnle (R), Michael Ynoa (R), Dylan Covey (R)
SportsLine projection: 75-87, fourth place in AL Central
Given that the Sox won 78 games a season ago, put together a run differential that scaled to 78 wins, and traded away their best position player and starting pitcher this offseason, I’ll take the under on 75 wins for Chicago in 2017. That’s especially the case given the likelihood that they’ll shed even more near-term talent before the non-waiver trade deadline.
