This isn’t the best time for the White Sox to begin a rebuilding process. The team across town (the Cubs) won the World Series and the Sox are on the South Side trading their best players away.
The White Sox still have some very good players left on the team. It is still up in the air for how long they will remain there.
Chicago received favorable deals this offseason when they unloaded Adam Eaton to Washington and Chris Sale to Boston. If they can make solid deals for their remaining stars, they could be back in the AL Central mix in just a few years.
Will Chicago hold off until the trade deadline to make some deals or will they get it over with early?
Here is the 2017 MLB season preview for the Chicago White Sox.
2016 Win/Loss Record: 78-84
Key Additions: 2B Yoan Moncada, SP Lucas Giolito, SP Derek Holland, RP Giovanni Soto, OF Rymer Liriano, OF Willy Garcia, RP Anthony Swazak, OF Cody Asche, C Geovany Soto, SP Cory Luebke, RP Michael Kopech, SS Everth Cabrera & OF Peter Bourjos
Key Losses: SP Chris Sale, OF Adam Eaton, RP Matt Albers, 2B Brett Lawrie, DH Justin Morneau, SS Jimmy Rollins, OF Austin Jackson, OF J.B. Shuck, C Alex Avila & SP Anthony Ranaudo
Interleague Schedule: NL West
Projected Starters: Omar Narvaez, Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada, Todd Frazier, Tim Anderson, Melky Cabrera, Charlie Tilson, Avisail Garcia & Matt Davidson
Projected Starting Rotation: Jose Quintana, Carlos Rodon, James Shields, Miguel Gonzalez & Derek Holland
Closer: David Robertson
Fantasy Sleeper: INF Yoan Moncada – Moncada was acquired in the Chris Sale trade and was a large reason why Chicago pulled the trigger on trade their ace. He never really got to show what he could do with the Red Sox, but did hit well in the minors. The White Sox recently released Brett Lawrie, so it immediately opened up a starting spot for him. If Moncada kills it this Spring, which I think he could do, he will open the year in the starting lineup.
Prospect To Keep Your Eye On: SP Lucas Giolito – The White Sox stocked the top of their farm system in two just two trades. Both Adam Eaton and Chris Sale yielded a ton of prospects. Giolito was dominant in the minors with the Nationals, but he struggled when he was called up last season. He had a 6.75 ERA in 21.1 innings, which included four starts. The White Sox will want to use kid gloves on Giolito and won’t try to rush him up. He will start the season in Triple-A, but I think he will be in the Majors for a good chunk of the year.
Team Analysis: The White Sox have made it no secret that they are in full-blown rebuild mode. They got really nice returns from trading outfielder Adam Eaton to Washington and pitcher Chris Sale to Boston. They still have a few more pieces to move that could yield from a nice, young talent.
I think a majority of this group of four will be playing elsewhere by the end of the year: Jose Abreu, David Robertson, Todd Frazier & Jose Quintana. You could add Melky Cabrera to that list as well, but I don’t think they would get more than market value for him. They might hold onto Quintana since he is under contract for a few more years. He’s signed to a team-friendly contract right now, so it will take a really nice haul to pry him away.
The White Sox won’t be very good this year if they decide to pull the trigger on some big trades. They could hold off until the trade deadline and avoid losing 100 games. Chicago is just now starting the rebuilding process, so it will be a few years before they are in the conversation in the AL Central.
2017 Wins Over/Under Betting Line: 70 (Prediction: UNDER)
2017 Projected Win/Loss Record: 67-95 (5th in AL Central)
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.