While the World Series\u00a0may have come\u00a0to the north side of Chicago, the White Sox on the south side\u00a0were busy\u00a0getting ready for their own off-season. But before\u00a0we dive into the potential moves and free agent signings, let’s take a look back at the 2016 season.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of the season, it was\u00a0plausible that the Chicago White Sox<\/strong> considered themselves as legitimate contenders. Over the off-season, the team had added former home-run derby champion Todd Frazier<\/a><\/strong><\/strong> and veterans like Jimmy Rollins<\/a><\/strong><\/strong> and Austin Jackson<\/a><\/strong><\/strong> to help bolster their roster.<\/p>\n It made perfect\u00a0sense as to\u00a0why the White Sox would think that they had the roster to at least challenge for a postseason spot. After finishing\u00a0the year with 78 wins, the 2016 season was largely a disappointment.<\/p>\n The infield appeared to be the most intriguing aspect of the ball club with big names like Jose Abreu<\/a><\/strong><\/strong> and Frazier, who finished the season with some feasible statistics despite their streaky performances. The middle infield was a\u00a0Pandora’s box\u00a0comprised of\u00a0an aging veteran in his senior year, the new kid\u00a0on the block Tim Anderson<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>, and\u00a0the always\u00a0absent Brett Lawrie<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Anderson was equally impressive for his raw approach on the offensive side of the ball. He was able to\u00a0produce 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.<\/p>\n The real strength of the team was in their starting pitching. Chris Sale<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0had entered\u00a0the season as a favorite for the AL Cy Young<\/a><\/strong>. 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.<\/p>\n In addition to having one of the best starters in baseball, the White Sox also\u00a0had solid contributions from two more left handers in Jose\u00a0Quintana<\/strong>\u00a0and 2014 first round pick Carlos Rodon<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>. Quintana has gone under the radar,\u00a0never finishing\u00a0a season with an ERA above 3.51 in the past four years.\u00a0He’s\u00a0been steadily\u00a0improving on that number in every season since his major league debut.<\/p>\n Everything seemed to be coming together as the rotation, including Mat Latos<\/a><\/strong>, was not\u00a0giving 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.<\/p>\n The spectacular rotation at the beginning year appeared as\u00a0if they were only going to get better with the acquisition of Shields from the San Diego Padres<\/strong>. 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\u00a0looked a bit off for the veteran right-hander. His velocity decreased while his earned run average was increasing. He wasn\u2019t all\u00a0that bad\u00a0in 2015, pitching to a 3.91 ERA in 33 starts.<\/p>\n But once Shields\u00a0changed 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\u00a0began to free fall\u00a0just as Shields did. Instead of bringing stability to their rotation, he was more of a\u00a0headache for the remainder of the 2016 season. The White Sox were never truly able to compete after that.<\/p>\n The White Sox will\u00a0have to pay half of Shields\u2019 $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<\/strong> much more than any other team would like\u00a0to. It’s certainly a self-inflicted wound for Chicago.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Main Photo<\/p>\nThe Infield<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Pitching Combination<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The James Shields<\/a><\/strong> Trade <\/strong><\/h2>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h2>\n