The North side of Chicago is in a celebratory frenzy after a historic Game 7 victory. While the Chicago Cubs rejoice for the next few days, the offseason has officially begun for other teams. With four back-to-back mediocre seasons, it’s time for the Chicago White Sox to get to work. Here is a breakdown of the White Sox 2016 offseason needs over on the south side and what their front office can do to address them.
White Sox 2016 Offseason Needs
To Trade or not to Trade?
It appears that the White Sox have been in a win-now mode for some time. But now that the farm system has been steadily improving, does it make sense to potentially deal away some of their top players in order to stack the minors with young talent?
The most important question of the offseason is whether the White Sox are buying or selling. Executive Vice President Ken Williams has been mentioning a three-year window, which would run out after 2017. The current core is strong, but would bolstering it with more solid players make the roster competitive? The potential for shopping around pitchers Chris Sale and Jose Quintana seems to be one of the easiest ways to shape a future.
The best time for a major move was last year, when the market fit the Sox needs and an investment gave the Sox two chances at competing. If it didn’t work out, the farm system could remain intact and the bulk of the payroll would dissipate within a few years, meaning the team would have only had to work around one major contract. However, now it seems, unless the Sox can find another Jose Abreu in their 20’s delivering an immediate impact, any kind of major move could blow up in their face.
Drop the Dead Weight
Players such as James Shields and Avisail Garcia were highly touted acquisitions who fell far short of expectations. Though the Sox are stuck with Shields, it is possible for the team to relinquish themselves of Garcia.
Garcia can’t seem to get on base and doesn’t exhibit very much power, with a career-high of only 13 home runs. On top of that, he can’t make contact. This is apparent when looking at his 369 strikeouts in 1,429 career at bats. Compound that with his inability to take good routes to fly balls and struggles in his all-around game in the outfield, and moving him seems to be a no-brainer.
However, the Sox are stuck with a declining Shields, who may be even worse than the record he posted for the Sox in 2016. Since he isn’t going to opt-out of his contract, he is going to be on their roster through the end of 2018. But if they can find a way to get rid of Shields, it would be the much wiser move for Chicago.
The Front Office Needs to be Held Accountable
The White Sox desperately need to make changes in their front office. Williams has been with the organization since 2000, but has failed to produce results. If they have another losing season, they really should begin to consider cutting ties with him.
There is a lot of blame to go around, but Williams should be getting the brunt of it. After giving the day-to-day operations to general manager Rick Hahn, he has become nothing but a distraction. They need a fresh start. Getting rid of Williams will allow the organization a chance to bring in an energetic, young executive who can help modify this team for the future.
All-in-all, the Sox are at a boiling point regarding their future. It is going to be a tough offseason for them in terms of decision making if they do indeed want to go for it all, mostly due to the lack of free agents on the market. However, they could decide to shake up the roster with some interesting trades.
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