White Sox have first 3-game winning streak of 2025

If you have any Cincinnati baseball fans on your friends list, you might want to call for a well-being check on them.

That's because the Reds have lost two games in a row at home to the lowly White Sox, who were previously 3-17 on the road.

The South Siders beat Cincinnati, 4-2, on Wednesday night to earn their third consecutive win. This is the first such winning streak for the Sox in 2025. 

This also means the Sox have secured their fourth series win of the season, having previously won home series against Boston, Houston and Miami. By way of comparison, the 2024 Sox only won four series the entire season.

Let's not get it confused: The Sox are 14-29, and they still stink. But at this stage, you take the positives wherever you can get them.

Davis Martin (2-4) pitched 6.2 innings of one-run ball to pick up the win Wednesday. He allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked nobody.

Lenyn Sosa hit his third home run of the season as part of a 2-for-4 night. Michael A. Taylor also homered, his second of the year, for the Sox. Luis Robert Jr. went 2 for 3 with two singles, a walk, an RBI and a run scored.

Mike Vasil got three outs in the ninth for his first career save.

The Sox will look for a rare sweep on Thursday afternoon.

Nick Maton? Why not Tim Elko, Corey Julks or Dominic Fletcher?

We noted earlier this week that the White Sox have had a lot of trouble scoring runs in Kansas City in recent years.

Nothing new to report Wednesday night: The Royals got a two-run homer from shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., and that was enough for Kansas City to beat the Sox, 2-1.

One thing you notice about the Sox: There is almost no power whatsoever in their lineup. After Wednesday's loss, it has now been five consecutive games without a home run for this team. Luis Robert Jr. hit his fifth home run of the season last Friday in a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros, but the quick-strike offense has been lacking for the South Siders.

Adding to the problem: another injury for Andrew Benintendi, who hit the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a calf strain. Whatever power the Sox have, it typically comes from Robert Jr. and Benintendi. The two are tied for the team lead in homers with five. 

Strangely, the Sox selected the contract of Nick Maton to take Benintendi's place on the roster. You might recall that Maton was designated for assignment on April 26, after batting .173/.295/.327 in 23 games to start the season.

I guess Maton did hit two homers in those 23 games, but I wouldn't say he's the sort of player who is a threat to hit the ball out of the park with any regularity. He's not going to fill any power void.

He's also an infielder, so he's not going to fill the holes the Sox have at the corner outfield spots. Benintendi, Mike Tauchman and Austin Slater are all injured now, leaving the South Siders woefully thin in the outfield.

Brooks Baldwin, an infielder by trade, has been playing left field in this series against Kansas City. Joshua Palacios started in right field on Wednesday. Palacios is lucky to be in the big leagues, but at least he's playing his natural position. 

This is why the addition of Maton is so curious. He doesn't help in any of these two glaring problem areas, and the Sox have other options at Triple-A Charlotte.

Tim Elko is batting .348 with 10 homers and 23 RBIs for the Knights. No, Elko is not going to stand at a corner outfield spot, but you can put him at designated hitter and at least have another guy besides Robert Jr. who is a threat to hit a ball into the seats.

Then there's Corey Julks, who is pretty much a Quad-A player. But he's dominating at Charlotte, hitting .364 with three homers and 14 RBIs. We've seen Julks before, and we know that production won't translate all that well to the majors, but at least he can play a competent corner outfield in the short run.

Dominic Fletcher is hanging around Charlotte, too, batting .265 with an .836 OPS. Fletcher is actually a good defensive outfielder, especially if you put him at a corner spot. At least that's *something,* a skill that has some utility.

What exactly is Maton going to give the Sox? I always say, even if I disagree with a move, I can live with it if I understand the thought process behind it. 

But I just don't see the logic here of passing over Elko, Julks and Fletcher to add Maton to the roster.

Has Kansas City replaced Oakland as the White Sox house of horrors?

For years and years, the White Sox seemingly couldn't win a game in Oakland to save their lives. Now that the Athletics have moved to Sacramento, the Oakland Coliseum is no longer a place for teams to visit.

But it seems to me that Kansas City has replaced Oakland as the house of horrors for the Sox. During the Pedro Grifol era (2023-24), the Sox went 2-11 at Kauffman Stadium -- including 0-7 in 2024.

During those seven games, the White Sox scored eight runs. Total. Averaging just over one run per game generally gets you beat. Then on Monday night, the Sox got shut out, 3-0, in their first game of 2025 in Kansas City.

The continuation of a trend.

Believe it or not, the Sox scored three runs on Tuesday night. Their cup runneth over! And they took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning. But then this sequence of events happened:

1. Relief pitcher Cam Booser walked pinch-hitter Mark Canha on five pitches.
2. Drew Waters hit a routine infield fly. Sox second baseman Chase Meidroth missed the ball, and it clanged off his face into right field. Canha held at first, understandably believing the ball would be caught. Sox right fielder Michael A. Taylor had a chance to force Canha at second, but his throw airmailed Sox shortstop Jacob Amaya, and everyone was safe. You read that right: The ball hit Meidroth right in the face.
3. Freddy Fermin attempted to give the Sox an out with a sacrifice bunt. But Booser was slow to cover the bunt up the third-base line. By the time he retrieved the ball, the Sox had no play anywhere. Bases loaded, no outs.
4. Kyle Isbel popped up to third baseman Josh Rojas. The ball did not hit him in the face. He caught it. Even if he hadn't, the infield fly rule was called. One out.
5. With the infield at double-play depth, Jonathan India grounded one back up the middle. Amaya ranged to his left and dove to glove the ball. From the seat of his pants, he made a toss to second to try to get the force, but it was errant. Everyone was safe. Tying run scores. Bases still loaded.
6. Kansas City's all-world shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. hit a deep fly ball to center field. Luis Robert Jr. let it drop for a walk-off single. Even if he had made the catch, it would have been a game-winning sacrifice fly.

4-3 Royals. The Sox are 10-26. There are 126 games left to play. 

White Sox opener strategy works ... sort of

Give White Sox manager Will Venable credit for trying something new. 

The Athletics have a left-handed-dominant top of the batting order, and the Sox have nothing but right-handers in their starting rotation. 

It's a matchup made in hell, so Venable used a left-handed reliever to pitch the first inning of all three games in Sacramento this weekend, and then he went to his regularly scheduled right-handed starter in the second inning.

Even though the Sox lost two of three games, it mostly worked. Tyler Gilbert pitched a scoreless first inning Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Brandon Eisert allowed one run in the first inning Sunday. 

The right-handers who followed them pitched well. On Sunday, Davis Martin tossed six shutout innings. Jonathan Cannon got his first win of the season Saturday when he allowed three runs over 7.2 innings. Sean Burke on Friday allowed three earned runs over 5.1 innings, which wasn't great, but it was an improvement over his previous outings.

Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, April 25

Athletics 6, White Sox 5: The Sox took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but Burke got in trouble. With two on and two outs, Jacob Wilson singled to center, and Luis Robert Jr. booted the ball, allowing both runners to score and tie the game at 3.

The A's tacked on two in the seventh and one in the eighth to take a 6-3 into the ninth. The Sox rallied against closer Mason Miller. Lenyn Sosa singled and scored on a two-run homer by Brooks Baldwin. Miguel Vargas lined out to center, and Edgar Quero just missed tying the game on a fly ball to right that was caught at the wall.

Four good ABs in a row, and then Robert Jr. struck out on three pitches, the last of which was nowhere near a strike. It was a tough game for Robert Jr. overall: 1 for 4 with three strikeouts and the crucial error that flipped the game in the Athletics' favor.

Saturday, April 26 

White Sox 10, Athletics 3: Robert Jr. redeemed himself with a solo home run in the top of the first that started a four-run rally. Quero walked, and then there were three straight RBI doubles by Sosa, Michael A. Taylor and Baldwin.

The Sox added two more in the second inning and jumped out to an early 6-0. Cannon (1-3) made it work from there with his best outing of the season. He struck out five and walked two, while allowing six hits over his 7.2 innings.

Taylor finished 3 for 5 with three doubles. Quero and Vargas also had two-hit games.

Sunday, April 27

Athletics 3, White Sox 2 (10 inn.): The Sox had 14 men reach base in this game -- nine hits, four walks and a hit batsman. You would think that would be a recipe for more than two runs, but you'd be wrong.

Joshua Palacios hit a solo home run to start the game, but the Sox didn't score again until the top of the 10th when Robert Jr. plated the ghost runner with an RBI single to put the South Siders ahead 2-1.

Quero then singled, advancing Robert Jr. to third with only one out. It looked like the Sox might break the game open. Alas, Andrew Vaughn grounded into a double play to drop his average down to .157 and kill the inning.

That proved really costly because the Sox needed another run. Jordan Leasure (0-2) gave up a homer to Luis Urias in the bottom of the 10th with the ghost runner aboard, and that provided the winning margin for the Athletics.

The Sox stranded 10 runners, went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and hit into two double plays. Woof.

The 10-game road trip is over. The Sox went 3-7 and are now 7-21 for the season. They start a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night at Rate Field.

Luis Robert Jr., Andrew Vaughn continue to fail White Sox

The top of the fifth inning of Tuesday night's game against the Minnesota Twins summed up White Sox baseball for me this season.

The Sox were trailing 2-1, but they had a promising start to the inning. Singles by Nick Maton and Andrew Benintendi put runners on first and third with nobody out against struggling Minnesota starter Bailey Ober, who entered this game with a 6.16 ERA.

The table was set for the No. 3 and No. 4 batters in the Sox lineup, Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Vaughn.

Well, you can guess what happened, and none of it was good. Robert had a chance to do damage on two middle-middle changeups from Ober, but he fouled both of them off. Having gotten away with a couple of mistakes, Ober then came up with a quality pitch, acing Robert with a fastball on the corner for a called strike three.

Vaughn jumped ahead in the count 2-0, but you wouldn't know he was at an advantage based upon the pitch he swung at -- a breaking ball down and on the outside corner. It was a pitch that was designed to get Vaughn to roll over, and he obliged, bouncing into a 6-4-3 double play. 

Inning over. No runs.

Why swing at that pitch when you are ahead in the count? Who knows?

A potential big inning was derailed, and the Sox went on to lose 4-2.

Robert is now hitting .151 with a .527 OPS. Vaughn is batting .145 with a .461 OPS. These are the guys the Sox are counting on to be the big run producers in the middle of the lineup.

No wonder they are 5-18. It's time to move on from both players. Hopefully, that will happen sometime in 2025.

White Sox drop 3 out of 4 in Boston

It isn't even May, but the White Sox have already suffered through an eight-game losing streak and a six-game losing streak this season.

But at least they won't go 0-81 on the road this season, right? The Sox are now 1-9 away from home after dropping three out of four to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. 

Here's a look back at the wraparound series from Easter weekend:

Friday, April 18

Red Sox 10, White Sox 3: What was your favorite memory of the Martin Perez era? It probably wasn't this game, as Perez gave up four runs in the first three innings before departing after 52 pitches with a left forearm injury.

Perez (1-1) has since been placed on the 60-day injured list, so we won't be seeing him in a Sox uniform again soon, if ever.

Boston's Trevor Story went 3 for 4 with two 3-run homers in this game, including one in the first inning off Perez and another off Tyler Gilbert in the seventh inning.

The Sox were limited to six hits, with Andrew Benintendi's third home run of the season being one of the few offensive highlights. Edgar Quero doubled during ninth inning garbage time for his first major league hit. 

Saturday, April 19

Red Sox 4, White Sox 3 (10 innings): The Sox were in rough shape after six innings in this one, trailing 3-0 against Boston ace Garrett Crochet, who fanned seven and allowed only four hits.

But the Red Sox went to the bullpen in the seventh inning, and Chicago capitalized with a three-run rally to tie the game. Chase Meidroth singled to make it 3-1, and Luis Robert Jr.'s second homer of the season -- a two-run shot -- evened the score.

But as I always say when the Sox tie a game late on the road, "Ehh, they'll just get walked off anyway." They did, indeed, get walked off. Triston Casas singled off Mike Vasil (0-1) with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th to win the game for Boston. 

It was a three-hit game for Meidroth and a two-hit game for Quero, but those are the last hits we'll be seeing from Meidroth for at least a couple of weeks. He's now on the 10-day injured list with right thumb inflammation.

Sunday, April 20

White Sox 8, Red Sox 4: The Sox were 0-79 in 2024 when trailing after six innings. But this game ensures they will not put together a similar dubious record in that department this season. Chicago scored three in the seventh, two in the eighth and one in the ninth to erase a 4-2 deficit and snap a six-game losing streak.

Quero delivered the biggest hit, a two-run single that capped the three-run inning in the seventh and put the Sox ahead to stay. Former Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks took the mound in relief for Boston in the eighth, but Andrew Vaughn hit his third home run of the season -- a two-run blast -- to extend the Chicago lead. Matt Thaiss also had a two-run homer for the Sox, and he added an RBI in the ninth on a bases-loaded HBP.

That made a winner out of lefty Brandon Eisert (1-0) who got five outs in the middle of the game in relief of starter Sean Burke.

Monday, April 21

Red Sox 4, White Sox 2: The one day of winning was fun while it lasted, as Chicago's bats went silent again in the series finale.

Boston starter Walker Buehler struck out nine over seven innings of one-run ball. The Sox were limited to five hits and went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Benintendi's fourth homer of the season in the eighth inning -- off Boston lefty Aroldis Chapman -- was one of the few good at-bats of the game for Chicago. Benintendi had two of the team's five hits.

Sox starter Jonathan Cannon (0-3) struggled early, giving four runs in the first three innings. To his credit, at least he pitched six innings, saving the bullpen for the next series. 

The Sox are now 5-17 and will head to Minnesota for a three-game series that starts Tuesday night.

White Sox swept by Athletics

Entering Thursday's play, the Sacramento Athletics ranked 14th out of 15 American League teams in pitching.

However, that did not stop them from shutting out the White Sox, 8-0, to complete a three-game sweep Thursday afternoon at Rate Field.

As a matter of fact, A's pitching only gave up four runs the whole series. Three of those runs came in the first inning of the first game Tuesday, on a 3-run homer by Andrew Vaughn.

In the following 26 innings, the Sox managed just a solo home run by Brooks Baldwin.

It's probably not a good sign for the South Siders to get outscored 23-4 at home in a three-game set against a team that is expected to finish near the bottom of the American League West. 

On Thursday, the Sox had only four hits off A's starter JP Sears and three relievers. 

Check out the batting averages for the 2-3-4 hitters in Chicago's lineup on Thursday. Luis Robert Jr. went 0 for 3 with a walk and is now down to .136. Vaughn managed a bloop single in this game, raising his average to a robust .138. Miguel Vargas was also 1 for 4, and he's hitting just .149.

Those three guys are supposed to produce runs for the Sox. They aren't getting it done.

Edgar Quero, a top Sox catching prospect, made his MLB debut in this game. He went 0 for 3 with an HBP, a flyout to right field, a lineout to the pitcher and a strikeout.

The Sox are 4-14. Next up, a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox that starts Friday night at Fenway Park.

White Sox take 2 of 3 from Red Sox

The Boston broadcasting booth might have given the White Sox some bulletin board material before the start of this weekend's three-game series at Rate Field.

During a Thursday game between the Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, play-by-play man Dave O'Brien stated, "The White Sox invent ways to lose games." Color commentator Will Middlebrooks added, "The trip to Chicago could be coming at a perfect time." 

Now we all get to laugh and point at Boston because the White Sox surprised most observers by taking two out of three games. Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, April 11

White Sox 11, Red Sox 1: We're used to Chicago prospects coming up and looking terrible in their major league debuts, so it was refreshing to see Chase Meidroth make a positive first impression.

The rookie middle infielder went 1 for 1 with a single, three walks and two runs scored. It's pretty cool to make four plate appearances in your first game and come out with a 1.000 on-base percentage. Meidroth became the first White Sox player to walk three times in his MLB debut since Ray Morehart on Aug. 9, 1924. 

They should give free admission to anyone who saw Morehart play, but I digress.

Boston committed five errors in this game, leading to six unearned runs for the White Sox. Michael A. Taylor went 3 for 5 with three runs scored, and Lenyn Sosa had two hits and two RBIs to lead the South Siders' offense.

The 12-hit attack made life easy for starting pitcher Davis Martin (1-1), who worked six-plus innings and allowed just one run to pick up the victory. The right-hander struck out six and walked one.

Saturday, April 12

White Sox 3, Red Sox 2: Boston starting pitcher Richard Fitts was sailing along with a 2-0 lead through five innings, but the White Sox caught a break when Fitts departed in the sixth after experiencing pain in his pitching shoulder.

Reliever Zack Kelly walked Miguel Vargas, and one out later, Luis Robert Jr. connected for his first home run of the season to tie the score at 2.

It remained even until the bottom of the ninth, when Robert Jr. worked a leadoff walk against Boston closer Aroldis Chapman. Robert Jr. eventually stole second and scored the winning run on a pinch-hit single by Brooks Baldwin.

Four Sox relievers combined to work 4.1 innings of scoreless ball. Most of the credit goes to Mike Vasil, who pitched two innings, and Jordan Leasure who got five outs across the eighth and ninth innings. Tyler Gilbert (1-0) was awarded the victory after he recorded the final out in the top of the ninth.

Sunday, April 13

Red Sox 3, White Sox 1: Former Chicago lefty Garrett Crochet got his revenge, taking a no-hitter and a 2-0 lead into the eighth inning in the series finale.

In an interesting twist, Meidroth singled with one out in the eighth to break up the no-no. Most fans will recall that Meidroth was one of four players the White Sox acquired from Boston in the Crochet trade this past winter.

Meidroth eventually scored when Matt Thaiss singled off reliever Garrett Whitlock to slash the Boston lead to 2-1. In fact, the White Sox had runners on second and third with only one out, but they could not tie or take the lead. Pinch hitter Joshua Palacios struck out, and Vargas flew out to left to end the threat.

Trevor Story homered in the top of the ninth to restore the Red Sox lead to two runs, and Chapman got three outs in the bottom of the inning to pick up the save. Crochet struck out 11 and allowed only one hit and one walk in 7.1 innings pitched.

It was a tough-luck loss for Shane Smith (0-1), who allowed two runs over six strong innings. Smith's ERA is a respectable 2.04 through his first three MLB starts. Unfortunately, run support has mostly eluded him to this point in the season.

The White Sox are now 4-11. They'll take Monday off before hosting a three-game series against the Sacramento Athletics. I'm not sure we're supposed to call the A's that, but hey, they play their home games in Sacramento, so there's that.

Andrew Benintendi out 4-6 weeks with fracture

The White Sox collected their first spring win of the season Thursday, defeating the Cleveland Guardians, 4-2.

The victory came at a price, however, as left fielder Andrew Benintendi will miss four to six weeks with a non-displaced fracture in his right hand. The veteran was struck with a pitch from Cleveland left-hander Logan Allen in the bottom of the first inning.

The injury comes exactly four weeks before the season opener on March 27, so we should not expect to see Benintendi back in the lineup by then. Mid-April is probably a more realistic timeline.

Earlier this month, I noted that the Sox outfield was pretty much set, with Luis Robert Jr., Benintendi, Austin Slater, Mike Tauchman and Michael A. Taylor all in camp on major league contracts.

The injury gods had other ideas, and now there's a spot open. Dominic Fletcher and Oscar Colas are the other two outfielders on the 40-man roster, so one would assume that opportunity will knock for one of them.

If I'm being honest, I've seen about enough of Colas. I've watched three of the six spring games, and I've already seen the 26-year-old Cuban make two egregious defensive miscues -- including one where a fly ball smacked him right in the face. 

Fletcher, 27, played 72 games with the Sox last season, and he demonstrated that he cannot hit. He batted just .206/.252/.256 with one home run, only eight doubles and 17 RBIs. That said, Fletcher has shown that he is a plus defender at corner outfield spots, and he can stand in center field in a pinch (although Taylor is best suited to back up Robert Jr. in that role.)

When choosing a backup outfielder, I prefer the guy who can catch the ball, so I'll take Fletcher over Colas.

If you're wondering about free agent outfielders, Alex Verdugo, Aaron Hicks, Robbie Grossman, Adam Duvall and David Peralta are all still out there.

Verdugo, 29, is the only one of that group younger than age 35. He batted .233/.291/.356 with the New York Yankees last season. That doesn't wow anyone, and it seems unlikely that Sox ownership will open the wallet to raise the floor of the team to compensate for a short-term injury.

Fletcher or Colas it shall likely be.

Andrew Benintendi for White Sox designated hitter?

In a minor move Tuesday, the White Sox reportedly agreed to terms with outfielder Michael A. Taylor on a one-year-deal worth $1.95 million.

Taylor continues making the rounds in the AL Central. He played for the Kansas City Royals in 2021-22, winning a Gold Glove as a center fielder in 2021. From there, he joined the Minnesota Twins in 2023, where he hit a career-high 21 homers.

Alas, Taylor fell on rough times last season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, slumping to a .193/.253/.290 slash line with only five home runs in 113 games.

The 34-year-old is a lifetime .235 batter with 120 career stolen bases. He has speed and can play credible defense in center, where he has played 921 of his 1,001 career games. He has a 10.4 defensive WAR for his career.

You might be thinking, so what? Taylor's just another extra outfielder at the end of his career. And he's probably here to be the center fielder when Luis Robert Jr. gets traded midseason to a contender for prospects.

But here's my thinking: In the short run, does this get weak-armed Andrew Benintendi out of left field and into the designated hitter role?

The Sox infield is very much in flux going into spring training, but I think I know who the five rostered outfielders are going to be: Robert, Benintendi, Taylor, Mike Tauchman and Austin Slater.

The working presumption has been that Tauchman and Slater will platoon in right field, with Benintendi in left and Robert in center.

My proposal is Slater in left, Robert in center, Tauchman in right and Benintendi at DH. Taylor is your late-inning defensive replacement. Or, sometimes, Taylor plays center while Robert takes some DH plate appearances to hopefully stay healthy.

One of the many problems the Sox had last season: Opponents took extra bases at will on Benintendi's weak arm in left. Heck, they were tagging up and advancing on medium-deep flyouts. That can't continue.

If you think putting a credible defense on the field can yield a few more wins, and I do, the Sox need to consider making this change.

One might argue that Benintendi's bat is too weak to hold down the DH spot. That's fair, and if this were a contending team, I'd agree. 

But, it's worth noting that Benintendi recovered enough from a slow start in 2024 to total 20 homers, with 12 of those coming after Aug. 1. He had a .952 OPS in August and a .807 OPS in September. Really, if Benintendi could pull his OPS up around .750 for a season, that would be fine for a DH on a rebuilding team.

Why not give it a try? 

Eloy Jimenez, Paul DeJong, Tanner Banks traded on deadline day

The Major League Baseball trade deadline has passed. Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. are still members of the White Sox.

Paul DeJong, Tanner Banks and, surprisingly, Eloy Jimenez are not.

Jimenez, the erstwhile 27-year-old "slugger" who hasn't homered since May 14, was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Triple-A lefty Trey McGough.

As per usual, injuries have limited Jimenez to 65 games this season. He's batting .240/.297/.345 with just five home runs and 16 RBIs. His bWAR is -0.7. His OPS+ is 81, which means he's 19% below league average.

Normally, I'm critical of the Sox for making salary dumps. This one, I'm fine with. I'm tired of Jimenez hitting grounders to the left side of the infield, not hitting for any power and being unable to run the bases hard. 

In recent days, I've described Jimenez as a DFA candidate. Moving on from him is a good idea.

DeJong was traded to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for low-A reliever Jarold Rosado.

Honestly, DeJong exceeded expectations with the Sox this season. He's batting .228/.275/.430, and he strikes out too much --- 112 Ks in 363 plate appearances. But that .430 slugging percentage plays for a guy who can stand in the middle infield. DeJong leads the Sox with 18 homers, and given that he's making $1.5 million on a one-year deal, that's not a bad return.

That said, he's not part of the Sox's long-term plan, so you get something in return when you can.

Banks, the 32-year-old lefty reliever, was 2-2 with a 4.13 ERA in 41 games this season. He's basically a replacement-level reliever, and contenders can never have too many bullpen arms.

Thus, Banks is on his way to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for 19-year-old infielder William Bergolla.

My take on Crochet and Robert Jr. staying put is simple: I'd rather see no trades than a bad trade. And I thought Monday's three-way deal that sent Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham to the St. Louis Cardinals, and Michael Kopech to the Los Angeles Dodgers, was a bad trade for the Sox.

Ultimately, Miguel Vargas -- acquired from the Dodgers -- is the only player the Sox added who can potentially help them in 2025.

Where does that leave the Sox in the near future? The 2024 team is on pace to set a record for losses in the modern era. I haven't set foot in the ballpark this season, and it's possible I'll take the same stance in 2025. 

I'm struggling to see how this gets better. Maybe there will be some impactful trades in the offseason, but that's difficult to forecast because it takes another team to make a deal. The calvary isn't coming in free agency. With Sox attendance at a low -- they may not draw 1.3 million this year -- owner Jerry Reinsdorf isn't likely to spend money. 

Plus, if you're a free agent with multiple suitors, why would you sign with the Sox?

Nothing that has happened this week changes the outlook in a positive way. It looks bleak.

Luis Robert Jr. or Garrett Crochet? You can only keep one

The Major League Baseball trade deadline is July 30. For the second straight season, the White Sox will be active sellers. As many as seven or eight players could be somewhere other than Chicago by this time next week.

Of course, the two biggest potential trade chips are left-handed All-Star pitcher Garrett Crochet and center fielder Luis Robert Jr.

We don't have a crystal ball here at The Baseball Kid, so we won't pretend to know what comes next. Both Robert and Crochet could be dealt, or both of them could still be here for the final two months of the season.

But, as a hypothetical exercise, if you could only keep one of Robert and Crochet, and you had to trade the other, who would you keep? 

Conventional wisdom would probably say keep the position player, not the starting pitcher. After all, your center fielder plays every day, and theoretically, he can lift you to victory at any given time. Your ace starter plays only once every five days. Therefore, there's only so much impact he can make.

So, keep Robert, right? After all, he's the only player on the Sox who is competent both offensively and defensively.

I understand that point, but I'm going to go against the grain here. I'd keep Crochet.

Power lefties such as Crochet are hard to come by. He just turned 25 years old. He's already gotten his inevitable Tommy John surgery out of the way, and he looks like a guy who is going to be in Cy Young contention over the next few years.

He's really surprised me in his first full year as a starting pitcher. Despite all the talk of innings limits, he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down, 21 outings into his season. He leads the American League in strikeouts with 157, and he's second in baseball behind some guy named Dylan Cease (159 Ks). Remember him?

But I digress. The other thing I like about Crochet is he has a WHIP of 0.970 in 111.1 innings. For a starting pitcher to have a WHIP under 1.00, that's really impressive. And he has only 25 walks against those 157 strikeouts. That's a 6.28 strikeout-to-walk ratio. I like pitchers who throw strikes, strike people out and don't put many people on base.

Pitchers like that are cornerstones, not trade chips.

I can hear you know, "Oh, but Jerry Reinsdorf will never sign him."

Let me say this as gently as possible: Screw Jerry. Too many fans are OK with the Sox making bad baseball decisions because Jerry is a cheap old miser who is too evil to die.

Crochet still has two more years of team control. You don't have to sign him or trade him now. So don't force the issue.

What about Robert, you say? Well, he's still a prodigious talent, but the combination of injuries and poor decision-making on the field -- especially his swing decisions at the plate -- has given me pause about whether he's really a player you build around.

Robert finally played a full season -- 145 games -- in 2023, and he had a breakout year, delivering 38 home runs. But that's the only season of his career in which he's topped 100 games.

A strained hip flexor caused him to miss two months here in 2024. He was playing in just his 49th game of the season Wednesday night against the Texas Rangers. In his first 48 games, he put up a pedestrian slash line of .227/.300/.464. 

Sure, he's got 12 homers, and he'll wow you with that power. And when he's focused in the field, he's a Gold Glove center fielder. But with the team out of the pennant race, we've seen some terrible defensive lapses from him, and he's still swinging at a lot of pitches out of the zone. When is he going to fix that weakness? Maybe never.

Robert has struck out a remarkable 67 times through his first 48 games. When he's right at the plate, he's something to watch, but when he's off, he's prone to long slumps, and he's basically an automatic out.

On a good team, Robert is somebody who bats sixth and maybe finishes off a rally with an extra-base hit. He can certainly help a team, but for me, he's not THE GUY.

Crochet is trending toward being THE GUY in a starting rotation, and that's why I'd keep him over Robert if I had to choose one.

Maybe home runs are important, huh?

The White Sox are 0-4 through the first four games of their six-game road trip to New York and Toronto. They've been outscored 26-8, but perhaps more notably, they've been out-homered 10-2.

Let's take a look under the hood:

Yankees 4, White Sox 2. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton hit solo homers for the Yankees. The Sox did not homer. The Yankees scored two more runs than the Sox with the long ball and won the game by two runs.

Yankees 6, White Sox 1. Juan Soto hit two solo homers for the Yankees. Stanton and Jose Trevino also hit solo homers for the Yankees. The Sox did not homer. The Yankees scored four more runs than the Sox with the long ball and won the game by five runs.

Yankees 7, White Sox 2. The Yankees got a 3-run homer from Jon Berti and a 2-run homer from Judge. The Sox got a solo shot from Corey Julks. The Yankees scored four more runs than the Sox with the long ball and won the game by five runs.

Blue Jays 9, White Sox 3. The Blue Jays got 2-run homers from Daulton Varsho and Danny Jansen. The Sox got a solo home run from Paul DeJong. The Jays scored three more runs than the Sox with the long ball and won the game by six runs.

In every one of these losses, home runs (or lack thereof) played a significant role. We cannot be surprised by the outcome of the New York series. The Yankees (33-16) have the best record in the American League, and perhaps not coincidentally, they entered Monday leading the league in home runs with 68.

The Blue Jays ranked 14th out of the 15 AL teams entering Monday with 37 homers, but that didn't stop them from going deep twice against the Sox. 

Who ranks last in the AL? The Sox, of course. They've hit only 34 homers as a team.

It doesn't help that Luis Robert Jr. has been limited to just seven games (and two homers) by injury. But Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Vaughn are supposed to be power sources for this team. We are 48 games into the season, and Jimenez has only five homers. Vaughn has three.

DeJong is a the surprise team leader with seven homers, followed by Jimenez and Korey Lee(!) with four.

The whole problem is made worse by the Sox going 5 for 31 with runners in scoring position so far on the road trip. If you can't hit homers and you can't "move runners along," then how can you score?

Obviously, the Sox have a lot of work to do in rebuilding their team. Let's hope they remember that home runs are important.

After all, the top two teams in the AL right now in terms of record -- the Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles -- happen to be the top two teams in home runs. Just sayin'.

Yoan Moncada injured in White Sox win at Cleveland

Yoan Moncada (right)

During spring training, White Sox designated hitter Eloy Jimenez said his goal was to play 150 games during the 2024 season, alongside teammates Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert Jr.

That's not looking possible right now. Only 11 games into the season, Jimenez and Robert are already on the injured list, and Moncada is almost certainly heading there after suffering an adductor strain during Tuesday's 7-5 victory over the Cleveland Guardians.

Moncada was ... wait for it ... running to first base in the second inning after hitting a grounder to the left side of the infield. He went down as if he were shot about halfway down the line and rolled around in agony.

After the game, manager Pedro Grifol described Moncada as being in "severe pain" on the field. He added that more would be known tomorrow after the injury is evaluated.

Reports indicate the Sox will call up outfielder Oscar Colas to take Moncada's spot on the roster ahead of Wednesday's series finale in Cleveland.

Two of the top prospects in the Sox farm system are infielders -- shortstop Colson Montgomery and third baseman Bryan Ramos. However, neither is ready for the majors, and the Sox are wisely resisting the temptation to call them up prematurely.

Montgomery, who is at Triple-A Charlotte, and Ramos, who is at Double-A Birmingham, should be allowed to continue their development in the minor leagues. They should be called up when they are ready for the big leagues. They should NOT be called up to solve a crisis in Chicago.

As for the game, the Sox scored five runs in the top of the first inning, but starting pitcher Michael Soroka couldn't hold it. The Guardians tied the score at 5 in the bottom of the fourth inning.

That's where the score stayed until the top of the eighth, when Dominic Fletcher delivered a two-run double to put the Sox ahead 7-5.

Michael Kopech took it from there, firing two scoreless innings of relief for his second save of the season. The right-hander retired all six men he faced, four by strikeout, and threw 15 pitches that were 100 mph or faster. It was the kind of performance you'd like to see more often from Kopech.

The Sox are 2-9.

The White Sox manage to make it even worse

Things have gotten worse for the White Sox since I last blogged:

• Luis Robert Jr. is likely out "for months" after straining his right hip flexor running to second base on a double.
• Eloy Jimenez is on the 10-day injured list because of a strained abductor muscle, sustained while running to first base on Easter Sunday.
• The Sox managed to get swept in a four-game series in Kansas City, losing 2-1 Friday, 3-0 Saturday and 5-3 Sunday.

Don't believe the narrative about the Royals "being improved." Sure, they might be marginally better than the 106-loss team they were in 2023. This series was ridiculously lopsided because the Sox are worse than your average local T-ball team.

It's completely unwatchable. At present time, I have no plans to attend a baseball game this season.

The Sox are 0-7 against the American League Central. Remember when people said the Sox were lucky to be in this division? All you can do is laugh.

The Sox are 1-8 overall. There are 153 more games of this crap.

Pedro Grifol's latest goofy comments

Goofy

Did you catch the article Daryl Van Schouwen wrote in the Sun-Times last weekend? 

Man, I don't know how I'm going to get through another season of White Sox manager Pedro Grifol's goofy comments in the press.

The article points out that the Sox have about 10 options for their starting rotation in 2024, which is accurate. I don't know about the quality of those options, but I can find 10 names. In fact, I performed that exercise earlier in the week.

Here's what Grifol had to say in the article:

"We broke training camp with six starters [last year], only one for depth. This year, with all those kids finishing up at Triple-A and the trades [at the Aug. 1 deadline and offseason], we’re looking at 11, 12, maybe 14 starters deep who have the capability of pitching in the big leagues this year if we need it.

‘‘As far as the depth for starting pitching, I’m really happy. And we’re not done by any means. I’m OK with where we’re at.’’

OK, he's happy with the pitching depth. But then later in the article, he offers this:

‘‘I put our team down on paper, and our lineup is pretty good. We’re missing TA [Tim Anderson], and a healthy, good TA is hard to come by. But other than that, if we’re healthy, our lineup is pretty good. We just have to continue to address the pitching.’’ 

Wait a minute ... I thought he was happy with the pitching. Or maybe he's just happy with the depth, but is saying it without saying it that they need another steady veteran to fortify things. If so, I won't disagree.

But the part about the lineup being "pretty good," that's pure fantasy. He put the team down on paper, huh? Well, let's do that ourselves. Here's the projected position-by-position lineup as it currently stands, with each player's OPS+ from last year:

• C: Martin Maldonado, 66 OPS+
• 1B: Andrew Vaughn, 101 OPS+
• 2B: Nicky Lopez, 89 OPS+
• SS: Paul DeJong, 66 OPS+
• 3B: Yoan Moncada, 97 OPS+
• LF: Andrew Benintendi, 87 OPS+
• CF: Luis Robert Jr., 128 OPS+
• RF: Gavin Sheets, 63 OPS+
• DH: Eloy Jimenez, 104 OPS+

Keep in mind, 100 is the league average for OPS+. So, when we say Maldonado and DeJong have a 66 OPS+, that means they are 34% BELOW THE LEAGUE AVERAGE! They stink with the bat!

The projected 2024 Sox lineup has a grand total of three batters that clear the bar of being league average. Robert Jr. is comfortably over 100. Vaughn and Jimenez narrowly make that cut, and Moncada narrowly misses it.

So, one good hitter, three average ones and five guys who stink. Is that "pretty good," Pedro? 

The manager is pretty goofy. Heck, the Sox might not be any worse off if they had Goofy as their manager. Do you suppose Goofy could guide the team to a 61-101 record?

Knee injury ends Luis Robert Jr.'s season

The White Sox on Tuesday placed center fielder Luis Robert Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a mild MCL sprain in his left knee.

Robert injured the knee when he made an awkward slide on a wet field during Sunday's 3-2, rain-shortened win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Before Tuesday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Sox selected the contract of 32-year-old outfielder Tyler Naquin from Triple-A Charlotte. To make room for Naquin on the 40-man roster, the Sox transferred right-handed pitcher Jimmy Lambert (right ankle surgery) to the 60-day injured list.

With only six games to play in the regular season, Robert's 2023 campaign is over. That said, the 26-year-old had the best season of his career to date: Here are his accomplishments:

• 38 home runs
• 36 doubles
• 80 RBIs
• .542 slugging percentage
• 20 stolen bases
• 128 OPS+
• .857 OPS
• 4.9 bWAR
• 5.0 fWAR
• 13 outs above average in CF
• career-high 145 games played
• first career All-Star selection

It would be no surprise if Robert adds a Gold Glove or a Silver Slugger to this list after the season.

The hell of it is, Robert had the breakout season all Sox fans were hoping for, yet the team swirled down the drain anyway.

Robert's pursuit of the 40-homer mark was one reason to watch the final week of this season. That reason is now gone. Good luck drawing fans to the ballpark this week, Sox. No, I don't think Naquin will move the needle.

It's interesting that the Sox added a journeyman outfielder to the roster, instead of recalling Oscar Colas, isn't it?

Lazy, insular White Sox promote Chris Getz to lead baseball operations

Jerry Reinsdorf

For those who know me personally, you're well aware of how profoundly meaningful White Sox baseball is in my life. Being a Sox fan is a central part of my identity.

While I'm aware that there are more important things than baseball, there's no getting around the fact that the White Sox are part of the connective tissue of my existence. Some of the best friendships I have in my life were formed through a shared interest in Sox baseball, and the sense of community that exists within the fan base.

So, having said all that, it was a weird feeling earlier this week when I made the decision to opt out of the auto-renewal for the 2024 season ticket plan. The Sox invoiced us Tuesday, and I immediately filled out the form and effectively said, "No thanks, not now." 

Right now, I can't stomach what the Sox have become, on or off the field. We haven't enjoyed going to the ballpark for the past two years, and I don't have any hope that things are going to change anytime soon. Thus, it is time to reevaluate the decision on how to best spend those disposable dollars that typically go to the White Sox. I've been a season ticket holder for 19 seasons. 

I can't say for certain that I'm out for 2024, but at minimum, I'm delaying the decision until after the holidays, so I can see what direction the team goes this offseason.

The lazy, insular promotion of Chris Getz to lead baseball operations, a decision that owner Jerry Reinsdorf announced Thursday, is NOT a good start.

I commend Reinsdorf for finally moving on from former senior vice president Ken Williams and former GM Rick Hahn, both of whom were fired last week. That decision was welcome and overdue.

But whatever goodwill that came from that decision was lost when Reinsdorf simply promoted Getz, the team's player development director, who has been with the organization for seven years and is part of the problem.

There's a lot of stuff that could be said about this, but I'm going to offer you five takeaways:

1. Reinsdorf didn't conduct a legitimate search. This is the most galling part of the equation. During Thursday's press conference, Reinsdorf admitted that he didn't interview anyone else. This was an opportunity to reshape the future of the organization, and that opportunity has been kicked away because the owner was too lazy to conduct a thorough search.

Reinsdorf's reasoning: He "already knew" the candidates that were on his alleged list and didn't need to interview them. Here's my question for Jerry: "What about the people you DON'T know?" By failing to look outside the walls at 35th and Shields, Reinsdorf most likely missed a chance to meet the person most qualified for this position.

I understand Reinsdorf is 87 years old, and perhaps he doesn't have the energy to conduct such a search. Too bad. If that's true, then sell the team to someone who will care enough to put in the time and effort.

2. Getz wouldn't even have gotten an interview with 29 other franchises. What exactly is on Getz's resume? He's been in charge of player development for seven years. Can you name me one impact player the Sox have drafted and developed? Are there any mid- or late-round picks that have become surprise contributors? Have the Sox had any diamonds in the rough emerge? 

The Sox farm system has been ranked in the bottom half of the league for the past three or four years. There isn't a track record of success here. Are there teams out there that would clamor to add Getz to their organization? I don't believe so. I don't think he'd get an interview from any other team, if they had an opening to lead baseball operations. With the Sox, Getz gets the job without any interview process. This is ludicrous.

3. "Knowing" Sox players should not be considered a strength. Reinsdorf said Thursday, “Chris brings a wealth of knowledge and experience within our organization to this role. Most importantly, he knows our players, both at the major league level and in our system, knows our staff and is familiar with all aspects of our baseball operations department."

Actually, no, knowing the players is not the most important thing. The Sox are desperate for a fresh set of eyes to come in here and look at some old problems. Getz is not that. I wanted someone who has no personal relationship with any of the players, who won't have a problem getting rid of some entitled guys who are considered sacred cows in the organization.

The Sox don't need continuity. They need change.

4. The Sox are foolishly treating manager Pedro Grifol as an untouchable. During his introductory press conference, Getz contradicted himself. He said that no one is untouchable. Moments later, he declared that failing manager Grifol will be back for the 2024 season. Why? The guy is 53-81, and in case you haven't noticed, his team is getting blown out a lot lately. And if you haven't noticed, that means you're not watching, and I don't blame you for that.

The Sox have 28 games left in the season. What if they go 4-24? Reinsdorf spent time Thursday talking about how this has been the worst year during his time as owner of the Sox. Fair enough, but you know it's not over yet, right? The evaluation period isn't over yet. It continues for another month. Yet Getz has already declared Grifol safe, no matter how terrible of a job he does the rest of the way. 

5. Reinsdorf thinks the Sox can contend in 2024, LOL. Reinsdorf said he didn't want to go outside the organization because that person would need a full year to evaluate everything, and then 2024 would be lost. He claimed that Getz is the person best suited to author a quick turnaround and get the team back in contention next year.

All you can do is laugh.

Take a look at the roster, Jerry. Among position players, you have Luis Robert Jr. and a collection of overpaid scrubs. The projected 2024 starting rotation consists of Dylan Cease, who is having a rotten 2023, Michael Kopech, who has taken steps backward this season, and a host of replacement-level arms.

The Sox have almost nothing in place. Good luck fixing this by next March.

Is Mike Clevinger going to pitch for the 2024 White Sox?

Mike Clevinger

This question would have been unthinkable at the start of the season, given Mike Clevinger's off-the-field problems, but is it possible the White Sox will pick up his contract option for the 2024 season? 

Clevinger pitched six innings of one-run ball Wednesday night and earned the victory as the Sox defeated the New York Yankees, 9-2.

For the season, Clevinger has the lowest ERA of any Sox starting pitcher -- 3.55. He's made 15 starts, going 5-5. That doesn't seem spectacular, but when you're pitching for a team that is 47-69, a .500 record isn't that bad.

According to baseballreference.com, Clevinger is worth 2.0 WAR this season, which puts him third on the team behind Luis Robert Jr. and Lucas Giolito. Well, actually, maybe Clevinger is second on the team, now that Giolito has been traded to the Los Angeles Angels.

At this point, you'd have to say Clevinger is one of the few players on the Sox who has met or exceeded expectations in 2023.

The big question with Clevinger remains his health. He's had two stints on the injured list this season, notably being out from June 14 until July 29 with a biceps strain. Can he pitch without hurting himself? It's a legitimate concern.

Also a concern, the Sox have only two starting pitchers under team control for 2024: Dylan Cease and Michael Kopech.

That leaves three spots open, and at this point, you can't count Clevinger out for next season. There's a mutual team option worth $12 million. Would the Sox pick that up? Or would they gamble on finding somebody better on the free agent market?

If the Sox do pick up the option, would Clevinger opt in to stay in Chicago? Or would he bet on himself and elect free agency? Given his "character issues" and injury history, it's unclear to me whether Clevinger would get another $12 million on the open market. 

His best bet might be to stay, if the Sox want him.

So, Justin Verlander is better than Touki Toussaint? No kidding ...

Touki Toussaint vs. Justin Verlander.

I've talked before about how some days I check the pitching matchup in the morning, and I'm 100% sure the White Sox are going to lose. Wednesday was one of those days.

During the rebuilding years of 2017 to 2019, you could live with the Sox being at a severe disadvantage in the pitching matchup on some days. But this is 2023. The team is supposed to be contending, but it isn't. And it's especially annoying when you see games like Wednesday's, which ended as a 5-1 victory for the New York Mets.

The Sox had no answers for Verlander, the future Hall of Famer. The 40-year-old right-hander needed only 59 pitches to breeze through the first six innings, during which he allowed no runs on only one hit. 

Luis Robert Jr. finally got the Sox on the board with his 28th homer in the seventh inning, but that was the sum total of the Chicago offense. Verlander (4-5) threw 100 pitches over eight innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out seven and walked one.

Toussaint? Well, he is a reclamation project who was picked off the waiver wire on June 20. Now he's starting games because Mike Clevinger is hurt, and the Sox have nobody else.

At least give Toussaint (0-3) credit for eating innings. He allowed five earned runs on four hits over six innings. He struck out three and walked four. He was relieved by 29-year-old rookie Jesse Scholtens, who kept the Mets off the board for two innings. 

Toussaint and Scholtens ... don't you think they would have fit in nicely on the 2017 White Sox rebuilding roster? I'm sure they're nice guys and all, and they are survivors in professional baseball. 

But the fact that they are pitching for the Sox is proof positive that the "contention window" is shut and locked. These guys are no match for Verlander, even in the twilight of his career.