Chicago White Sox Trade Deadline Overview
The White Sox fast start in 2016 has faded quickly, but their GM still says they’re in buyer mode. Should they be? And who should they be pursuing?
On May 9th, the Chicago White Sox pulled out a 10-inning victory over the Texas Rangers to run their record to 23-10 and extend their lead in the American League’s Central division to six games. The Sox were riding high behind the historic start of Chris Sale, solid innings from Jose Quintana, and robust production from Adam Eaton and Todd Frazier, and appeared as though they could be major players at the July 31st trade deadline.
Fast forward six weeks, and a very different picture is painted on the South Side. Entering play on Wednesday, Chicago is 38-39, having lost 29 of its last 44 games, and finds itself 8.5 games back of the scorching-hot Cleveland Indians in the standings.
Sale and Quintana have remained solid, but Carlos Rodon and Miguel Gonzalez have barely performed above replacement level, and the acquisition of James Shields has to this point been an unmitigated disaster. “Big Game James” has allowed 24 earned runs in just 13.2 innings over four starts, good for a 15.80 earned run average, and has walked nearly three more batters than he has struck out per nine innings.
While Frazier is tied for second in the AL with 21 home runs, he’s also struggling to stay above the Mendoza Line. Jose Abreu has also had his issues at the plate, with a .262/.320/.435 slash line that is well below his career averages. Further complicating matters offensively is the loss of Austin Jackson to a torn meniscus and the nearly invisible production the team has gotten from the catcher and designated hitter positions.
Still, general manager Rick Hahn has remained consistent in his comments that the White Sox believe they can win and will be buyers at the deadline.
“We very much believe the talent is there to be in the thick of things come October,” Hahn said to J.J. Stankevitz of CSN Chicago. “Obviously we have to stop squandering opportunities, especially in our division, where we’ve performed poorly over the last few weeks. But we have not, thanks in large part to the quality start, haven’t buried ourselves yet. We need to get it turned around fairly quickly, though, so we can continue saying that and reinforce our notion, our belief in ourselves that this team has the ability to contend.”
As the all-star break draws near, Hahn’s optimism seems to become more and more misplaced. Even if moves are made at the deadline, can this team contend? Or is it more likely that a rebuild needs to take place before Chicago can become a truly viable contender in the Central? Let’s take a look at the options.
Next: Stay the course?