Chicago White Sox: Gio Gonzalez is not enough
By Ben Fadden
The Chicago White Sox have had an interesting offseason, but made a move to upgrade the rotation with Gio Gonzalez–is that enough?
The Chicago White Sox didn’t have the best rotation at the beginning of the offseason. Fans wanted ownership to go out and sign one of the big guys–Zack Wheeler, Madison Bumgarner, or Dallas Keuchel–and while Keuchel might be a possibility they struck out on the first two.
But Gio Gonzalez signed a one-year deal with Chicago to be a starter for the big league club that drafted him in 2004.
Last year with the Milwaukee Brewers, he went 3-2 with a 3.50 ERA in 19 appearances but GM Rick Hahn felt he is a solid piece to add to a young rotation.
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“We view Gio as an important addition to our pitching staff,” Hahn said in an official statement. “He brings an impressive resume to our club as a veteran left-hander who has enjoyed success and should have a positive impact on our younger pitchers in terms of competing, battling and helping us win games at the major league level.”
But the big question is if this is enough?
Sure, Gonzalez will slot into the middle of the rotation behind Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez, but then there is uncertainty in the last two spots in the rotation.
Dylan Cease and Dylan Covey aren’t going to give any opposing hitters nightmares, and nowadays especially after what happened in October if you want to be a playoff team you need a strong rotation.
The American League is top-heavy, but there are still many teams ahead of the White Sox on paper for the two Wild Card spots–the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Angels, and the Cleveland Indians.
The division is still out of reach in my opinion right now because the Minnesota Twins are bringing back a majority of their AL Central winning team from 2018.
Next. White Sox need to get aggressive after Kluber deal. dark
The Chicago White Sox lineup looks very scary going into Opening Day with players like Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, Yasmani Grandal, Jose Abreu, and Eloy Jimenez in the middle of the lineup. But, as I mentioned, there is still work to do in the rotation and the bullpen could use an upgrade as well after Alex Colome and Kelvin Herrera.