While the World Series may have come to the north side of Chicago, the White Sox on the south side were busy getting ready for their own off-season. But before we dive into the potential moves and free agent signings, let’s take a look back at the 2016 season.
At the beginning of the season, it was plausible that the Chicago White Sox considered themselves as legitimate contenders. Over the off-season, the team had added former home-run derby champion Todd Frazier and veterans like Jimmy Rollins and Austin Jackson to help bolster their roster.
It made perfect sense as to why the White Sox would think that they had the roster to at least challenge for a postseason spot. After finishing the year with 78 wins, the 2016 season was largely a disappointment.
The Infield
The infield appeared to be the most intriguing aspect of the ball club with big names like Jose Abreu and Frazier, who finished the season with some feasible statistics despite their streaky performances. The middle infield was a Pandora’s box comprised of an aging veteran in his senior year, the new kid on the block Tim Anderson, and the always absent Brett Lawrie.
Anderson was a pleasant surprise for Chicago, earning a call up to the windy city in June. The 23 year-old drafted out of junior college in 2013 shows decent range at shortstop with quick hands that can be a contributing factor into creating double plays.
Anderson was equally impressive for his raw approach on the offensive side of the ball. He was able to produce a .283/.306/.432 line. He has great speed as he totaled ten stolen bags in 2016. He racked up 49 stolen bags in Double-A Birmingham and could very well be a threat at the big league level. At any rate, his speed could play very well from the first to third.
Pitching Combination
The real strength of the team was in their starting pitching. Chris Sale had entered the season as a favorite for the AL Cy Young. Sale finished the year with an ERA of 3.34, which was an improvement over last season. He also kept his walk numbers low and struck out 9.3 batters per nine innings of work.
In addition to having one of the best starters in baseball, the White Sox also had solid contributions from two more left handers in Jose Quintana and 2014 first round pick Carlos Rodon. Quintana has gone under the radar, never finishing a season with an ERA above 3.51 in the past four years. He’s been steadily improving on that number in every season since his major league debut.
Everything seemed to be coming together as the rotation, including Mat Latos, was not giving up any runs. The White Sox started the year with an impressive 17-8 in the month of April. Sadly, this would culminate as the high point of the season.
The James Shields Trade
The spectacular rotation at the beginning year appeared as if they were only going to get better with the acquisition of Shields from the San Diego Padres. At 34 years old, Shields was once a solid starting option who at his highest point could be a number two in a rotation. However, after signing with the Padres after the 2014 season, things just looked a bit off for the veteran right-hander. His velocity decreased while his earned run average was increasing. He wasn’t all that bad in 2015, pitching to a 3.91 ERA in 33 starts.
But once Shields changed uniforms, all of his flaws suddenly appeared to be magnified. He allowed a combined 22 earned runs in his first three outings for the White Sox. Chicago began to free fall just as Shields did. Instead of bringing stability to their rotation, he was more of a headache for the remainder of the 2016 season. The White Sox were never truly able to compete after that.
The White Sox will have to pay half of Shields’ $44 million salary over the next two years. So not only did Shields not produce for the White Sox with an ERA of 6.77, the organization is also going to have to pay the former All-Star much more than any other team would like to. It’s certainly a self-inflicted wound for Chicago.
Looking Ahead
Although the White Sox wound up finishing the year at 78-84, the path to competing isn’t all that far away. They just need to avoid some of the mistakes that haunted them and apply a more bold approach to the off-season. With more off-season decisions approaching, Chicago would do well to realize that the group of assets they have may just lead to another middle-of-the-road club if they don’t act aggressively during free agency.
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