The White Sox organization must address many questions as the team looks forward to 2025. Not only does the coaching staff and roster need almost a complete overhaul, but the TV broadcast, pre/postgame show, ticket prices, and future payroll are also areas of discussion moving forward. Brooks Boyer, the White Sox Senior Vice President, Chief Revenue and Marketing, recently addressed the media and offered further insight into the franchise’s plans.
TV Broadcast
John Schriffen’s job appears to be safe heading into 2025. Despite a season full of turmoil, growling, and beef with radio stations, Boyer stated that Schriffen will return next year. Boyer also “expects” Steve Stone to return. Stone recently posted a cryptic message alluding that he might retire after the season, but that is apparently not the case. The White Sox TV crew was ranked as the worst in all of MLB not long ago, but the plan is to run back the duo of Schriffen and Stone next year.
Pre/Postgame Crew
Boyer did not have an immediate update on the status of the pre/postgame crews in connection with the TV broadcast. The White Sox will be broadcasting from the newly founded Chicago Sports Network starting next season, and it is currently unclear what the status of the current NBCS Chicago crew consisting of Chuck Garfien, Ozzie Guillén, and others will be once that transition officially takes place.
Lower Ticket Prices
Ticket prices will also decrease by an average of 10% next season per Boyer. It will not be a flat 10% across the board, but attending a White Sox game in 2025 will be cheaper than it is now. The team is on pace for its lowest attendance in over 20 years, and this decline makes sense. The 2024 White Sox will likely be the worst team ever, and their blue-collar fanbase will not spend their hard-earned money watching a historically bad product in person. Lowering ticket prices is logical, as it will likely get more people through the gates. They ought to reduce the prices of parking and concessions while they are at it, too.
Decreased Payroll
The White Sox payroll declined drastically from 2023 to 2024, and that trend will continue. In his column, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that chairman Jerry Reinsdorf is “expected” to lower payroll for a second consecutive season. While it is unfortunate for fans, this was an expected repercussion of the aforementioned poor attendance and season the franchise had endured. Payroll slashing is a common tactic to negate a decrease in revenue. That looks to be the thought process here.
Other than Andrew Benintendi and potentially Luis Robert Jr., the White Sox have very few significant payroll commitments headed into next year. Erick Fedde and Eloy Jiménez’s money is off the books thanks to their trades, and the team will almost certainly decline Yoán Moncada’s, Max Stassi’s, and John Brebbia’s options this offseason. The organization will have to fill out a team next year, but it will most likely be through cheap placeholder free-agent signings instead of any player of significance. The 2025 roster will likely consist of many players making league minimum or near league minimum salaries.
White Sox Are In Flux
The White Sox organization is in flux right now. They are at rock bottom, and many changes will occur in the coming years. If nothing else, Brooks Boyer’s comments paint an outlook for the franchise heading into next year. There is nowhere to go but up.
What a great strategy by one of the worst run organizations on the planet. Hey, we have THE worst broadcast team in all of MLB, let’s bring ‘em back for another year! Hey, we have the shittiest, most pathetic baseball team in HISTORY, let’s cut payroll!! Sox fans, this is Jerry giving us all the middle finger. This man cares NOTHING about us, nothing. He thinks his team only performed 10% worse than expected and so he’s lowering prices by 10%. Why give this man any more of your hard earned money when he cares less about the product he’s… Read more »