As the off-season progresses, more free agents are signing with their new ball clubs. The White Sox have not made many moves in free agency this far, only signing Paul DeJong and Eric Fedde. These moves are not going to move the needle for the White Sox, as Fedde is likely a back of the rotation arm and DeJong might not be starting by mid-season. Barring any significant moves or trades, the White Sox will likely be at the bottom of the division once again. But, it is a weak division so you never know what can happen. Unfortunately for the White Sox, other division teams have been stocking up and making their teams better.
The Kansas City Royals have been making some moves. To this point, they have completely overhauled their rotation, as they have signed Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha to bolster their rotation. They also have added veteran reliever Will Smith and Chris Stratton to their bullpen. That’s not all, as they added veteran power bat Hunter Renfroe and UTL infielder Garrett Hampson.
While none of these players are superstars, they added a strong veteran presence to their rotation. Last year Wacha had a great season, posting a 3.22 ERA over 24 starts for the Padres. He is still just 32, so he can have a couple more good seasons. Lugo also had a great year for the Padres, as he pitched to a 3.57 ERA over 26 starts. He will be 34 this season, but he has put up a few good years in a row, so there is no reason he won’t do the same in a much weaker division.
Stratton and Smith are very solid relievers. Stratton pitched 82 innings with a 3.92 ERA over 64 games, while Smith had a down year, as he had a 4.4 ERA over 57.1 innings, but he has historically been better than that. While all these moves aren’t going to suddenly make the Royals World Series contenders, they added some much needed veterans to their staff. They could easily improve and finish ahead of the Sox in the division. Renfroe adds another power bat to their lineup, which could give the potentially inexperienced White Sox rotation some problems.
The Royals are not the only team making moves, as the Tigers have made some solid pitching additions as well. They poached Kenta Maeda from the Twins and added Jack Flaherty and Andrew Chafin.
Maeda is a very solid middle of the rotation arm for the Tigers, as if he is healthy, he could be a good innings eater. Flaherty had a down year last year, but he could easily bounce back and become the front line starter he once was. The biggest issue for the Tigers last year was their pitching, as they have a very nice young lineup, so this begins to shore that weakness up.
For a team that is on the rise, these are solid additions. If their young players take the next step, they could be competing with the Twins for the division title, as they were only nine games out of first last year.
While the Twins and the Indians have not done much to this point, there is plenty of off-season left. They were two of the better teams in the division last year and they always seem to give the White Sox a problem no matter how their roster is built.
The White Sox could be better next year if they make some solid trades, but the rest of the division is improving, making it much harder. The Sox cannot pick higher than 10th in the 2025 draft, so they should look to make some moves to improve, as they won’t benefit from another high pick.
