Chicago White Sox are finally contenders for 2020
The Chicago White Sox have made many moves this winter, but will those moves translate into contention in 2020?
The Chicago White Sox were not going to contend in 2020. But then they went out and signed Yasmani Grandal, Dallas Keuchel, Gio Gonzalez, and Edwin Encarnacion.
I wrote after Gio Gonzalez signed that I didn’t believe the White Sox were ready to contend because I still wasn’t sold on the rotation and I thought the Twins were still better set up for this coming season.
But now I would put the White Sox as the AL Central favorites.
The Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers are obviously going to be at the bottom of the division. It doesn’t look like the Cleveland Indians will be set up to go win the division after trading Corey Kluber and shortstop Francisco Lindor is not far behind.
The Minnesota Twins are going to be the White Sox biggest competitor for the division. They will be dangerous once again this season because they are bringing back the majority of their 2019 division championship team–but that includes the rotation.
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Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi are very good starters and I would love for them to be in the rotation for my team if I were the manager, but Michael Pineda got hurt last season and on the Twins depth chart there are only three starters in the rotation.
That is a big problem if they want to win the division which should definitely concern Twins fans, especially when there aren’t any bonified frontline starters left on the market.
They struck out on all of the big-name starters this winter that were likely in their price range–Madison Bumgarner, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Zack Wheeler, and Cole Hamels–while the White Sox added to the rotation.
Keuchel and Gonzalez are two veteran starters that at worst will give Rick Renteria five to six solid innings each night, which should be good enough on most nights with their upgraded lineup.
In May of next year, the lineup could include Nick Madrigal (2B), Tim Anderson (SS), Jose Abreu (1B), Yasmani Grandal (C), Eloy Jimenez (OF), Luis Robert (OF), and Yoan Moncada (3B).
That is not a lineup to mess around with, so I would expect Chicago to increase their win total vastly. Don’t forget that Lucas Giolito is coming off of his best season yet as the ace with Dylan Cease, Reynaldo Lopez, and at some point Michael Kopech returning from Tommy John surgery.
Next. White Sox add more pop with Encarnacion. dark
Therefore, when you take into account the quality of additions they have added in addition to them playing in the weakest division, the Chicago White Sox will be contenders for the AL Central title in 2020.