The “All In” days are over on the South Side. With a Chris Sale trade here and an Adam Eaton trade there, the Chicago White Sox have announced to the baseball world that they have seen the light and winning now has to wait. Rick Hahn doesn’t appear to be done unloading either, as Todd Frazier and Jose Quintana continue to pop up on the Hot Stove. That being said, it’s no secret that they are going to be horrible next season. And by horrible, I mean like, really really horrible.
Struggles Ahead
With a starting rotation consisting of Miguel Gonzalez, James Shields and Derek Holland, it sure seems destined to give up dingers for days. Jose Quintana, if they choose to hold on to him, along with an improving Carlos Rodon would give them a solid 1-2, but leaves a lot left to be desired. You have a rather raw Omar Navarez currently listed as the starting catcher, and we will have another full season of Avasail Garcia in right field. I throw up in my mouth just thinking about it; however, there is light at the end of the tunnel, White Sox fans.
While they are going to be a very bad team in 2017, they will still be fun to watch.
For every player on the big league roster that makes you shudder with disgust, there is one waiting behind the scenes that will make your hair stand on end.
New Faces Will Appear
Yoan Moncada will make his Sox debut no later than the end of May. Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez will eventually make their way into the rotation. We will get to watch Tim Anderson take the next step in his first full season at the team’s future at shortstop. So, while there’s going to be plenty of bad, but I think White Sox fans can finally appreciate the direction the team chose to take. It was long overdue for a change to the franchise and although it sucks seeing Chris Sale in a red pair of socks, the club’s arrow is pointing up.
With a horrible record, comes a top draft pick, and boy are the White Sox going to have a high draft pick. With a possible top five pick in their future, and a draft in which nearly everyone will most likely be begging their respective team to draft the young phenom Seth Beer out of Clemson, they are not in a terrible situation. If you have not had the pleasure of watching this kid’s highlight reel, stop, watch and admire.
In what should have been his senior year of high school (he graduated a semester early and enrolled in Clemson last January), he set a school record in walks per at-bat (3.27), slugged .700 and hit for a .369 average. He did all this as a 6’2″, 195-pound freshman. This “kid” is an absolute tank and is projected as a right fielder in the MLB.
“I tell people all the time that he’s the best freshman I’ve ever seen, ” said Clemson coach Monte Lee, in his first year as successor to ousted legend Jack Leggett. “It really is pretty incredible.”
If the White Sox can get their hands on this guy, watch out. Also, the marketing ads would basically write themselves.
Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Potentially the best part about the White Sox getting all of the veteran contracts off the books is the money they will have to spend in the loaded 2018 free agent class. With their future rotation right-handed-heavy, they could go out and sign a top left handed starter on the market. Those probable names? Clayton Kershaw, David Price and Dallas Keuchel. And yes, the White Sox will more than likely have that type of money to spend. On the flip side, if Chicago chooses to go offense, Manny Machado and Josh Donaldson would surely look nice covering the hot corner for the South Siders.
With their financial in order and a bankroll behind Hahn, the high-end draft pick they will eventually possess and the current and future stud prospects in the system, the White Sox are sure to be a force to be reckoned with 2-3 years from now. We will get a better idea of what they will look like by the time Spring Training rolls around and more trades have been completed, but for now fans need to trust the process. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and it is growing brighter every passing day.
