My preseason take on the Chicago White Sox last year was worse than my picking Michigan State in my 2016 March Madness Bracket. Every possible positive outcome just didn’t happen.
A team that I thought could rally to a low-seeded Wild Card berth…did not. The White Sox didn’t even stumble or trip out of the starting gate. They didn’t even start running until over a month into the season, and slowly at that.
The disastrous domino effect took over. Second-year manager Pedro Grifol, in over his head from the start, was fired in August. The White Sox fell, tripped, stumbled, and stunk to making baseball history in the worst way: losing a record 121 regular season games. A lost season in the vein of WWE’s infamous Brawl For All; all middling talent that couldn’t get over.
Enter 2025, and the White Sox are trying their latest full reset. General manager and former infielder Chris Getz can only (hopefully) improve in his second year on the job. New season, new manager, new team.
And, ideally, new hope for the White Sox.
Greatest Addition: Will Venable. After a nine-year playing career and seven years coaching with three teams, Venable gets the big chair. He was most recently the Texas Rangers’ associate manager under Bruce Bochy and won a World Series ring in 2023. He also worked under Alex Cora in Boston and Joe Maddon with the Cubs.
The White Sox hired Venable for the same reason the Rangers hired Bochy two years ago: To build a new winning culture. To change the attitude in the clubhouse and get the South Siders excited about baseball again.
This isn’t to say the White Sox will play competitive baseball all the way to winning the World Series, like the Rangers did in Bochy and Venable’s first season with them. However, they should at least win more than 41 games in 2025.
Greatest Loss: Garrett Crochet. Nothing says let’s improve off of losing 121 games like trading your best pitcher for almost nothing. In his first season starting, Crochet pitched 146 innings and posted a 3.69 ERA to a 2.69 FIP. He struck out 206 and walked just 33 en route to being named AL Comeback Player of the Year.
But Crochet wanted to get paid, and significantly more than the $800,000 he earned in 2024. Chicago didn’t want to meet his price, and sent him to Boston for four prospects. None are MLB ready and the most intriguing of them all, outfielder Braden Montgomery, hasn’t yet played in a minor league game.
Not only did the White Sox not need to trade Crochet so soon, but they certainly could have asked the Red Sox for more in return. Four prospects for an All-Star with a blazing fastball and 113 overall Stuff+ is a steal worthy of Sam’s Club.
Greatest Strength: Low expectations. The silver lining of a team losing 100 or more games in a season is that little is expected of it the following year. It took passing the infamous ’62 Mets, but the White Sox have finally gotten there. Last season marked the first back-to-back 100-plus loss seasons in team history.
This means Venable’s message to his team can be simple: Just go out and play. Nobody expects the White Sox to compete this year, and they won’t. In fact, finishing last again seems almost certain.
But maybe staying in the cellar will sting less if Chicago can just look better losing in 2025.
Greatest Weakness: No end in sight. The non-silver lining of the White Sox losing 121 games isn’t as simple as the mere fact that they lost that many. It’s that there’s really no telling when the team will break out of its funk. Chicago’s future seems entirely dependent on prospects, and it’s all too true that prospects are also suspect. Minor league All-Stars often never advance past that.
So who steps up for the White Sox down on the farm and maybe punches a ticket to the show this year? Not top prospect and 6’9″ lefty Noah Schultz, who hasn’t pitched above Double-A nor pitched 100 innings in a season. His fellow southpaw Hagen Smith (No. 3) is at least two years away.
The hitting side isn’t looking too inspired either, even with catcher Edgar Quero (No. 6) continued development. Shortstop Colson Montgomery (No. 4) slugged 18 home runs at Triple-A last year, but hit only .214 and struck out too much. Kyle Teel (No. 2) was acquired from the Red Sox in the Crochet trade and can hit, but struggled in 28 games at Triple-A last year.
History suggests at least one of these youngsters should succeed, but only time will tell.
Christ, Josh, is there any reason to watch the White Sox this season?? Well, maybe? Brooks Baldwin hit .324 in the minors last year and has some upside as a switch-hitting infielder. Maybe Luis Robert finally stays healthy and has a great season.
The real tell, however, will be how the players look early. Signs of life mean Venable’s message is landing. That’d be quite encouraging, given his World Series experience.
But if the White Sox are just as lifeless as they were under Grifol, don’t expect much change in Chicago.
FOR FULL STORY ON STANDARD WEBSITE: ESNY’s MLB Preview 2025: Chicago White Sox have nowhere to go | Elite Sports NY