White Sox November roster moves so far

The Moncada bobblehead is a candidate for the dustbin of history.

Let's catch up on some of the roster moves the White Sox have made since the season ended:

Declined the $25 million contract option on Yoan Moncada. The oft-injured third baseman played in only 12 games for the Sox in 2024, during which he totaled zero home runs and zero RBIs. Moncada played eight seasons on the South Side, and only two of them were good (2019 and 2021). He never made an All-Star appearance. He never won a Gold Glove. The Sox never won a playoff series during his tenure. So, no, he didn't live up to the hype that comes with being the No. 1 prospect in baseball. Moncada's departure means there is nobody left on the team from the Chris Sale trade. Call it vindication for those of us who hated that trade from the start.

Declined the $7.5 million contract option on Max Stassi. Did you even know this 33-year-old catcher was even on the team this season? No? Me neither. Stassi missed the whole season with a hip injury. He had surgery in June. Chances are he's played his last game in the majors.

Relievers Jimmy Lambert and Matt Foster decline outright assignments, elect free agency. More ties were cut with the walking wounded here. Lambert, 29, didn't pitch in 2024 with a rotator cuff injury. He had season-ending surgery in August. Foster, 29, started the year on the injured list after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2023. He returned in August and made six appearances, but a back injury shut him down. He underwent back surgery Sept. 25. These are two more guys you might not see in the majors again.

Claimed pitcher Penn Murfee off waivers from Houston. It's the first dumpster dive of the offseason! Murfee, 30, had Tommy John surgery in July 2023 and missed the entire 2024 season. He pitched in a combined 80 games over two years with the Seattle Mariners -- 64 appearances in 2022 and 16 games before the elbow injury in 2023. He's 5-2 with a 2.70 ERA in his career, so if he can regain his health, well, I guess he becomes a leverage option on what figures to be a subpar 2025 Sox team.

Nicky Lopez and Sammy Peralta decline outright assignments, elect free agency. Lopez, who will turn 30 before the start of the 2025 season, was a Gold Glove finalist at second base. However, he ultimately doesn't have the bat to hold down a starting position, as evidenced by his .241/.312/.294 slash line with the 2024 Sox. If you can't *slug* .300, then you shouldn't be an everyday player. Given that Lopez would be due more than $5 million in arbitration, it doesn't make sense to retain him as a bench option, either. You can find utility players for a lot less money. Heck, if Lopez can't find work elsewhere, he might come back to the Sox for far less money. Peralta, 26, posted a 4.80 ERA over nine relief appearances in 2024. He is a forgettable left-handed reliever. The Sox have other internal options who were ahead of him.

Will Venable to be named White Sox manager

Say this for White Sox general manager Chris Getz: He said he was going to hire a manager from outside the organization. He said he was going to hire someone who was in uniform for another team.

Getz did exactly that. 

Will Venable, who is currently the associate manager of the Texas Rangers, is expected to be named the 44th manager in Sox history in the coming days.

Venable, 42, played nine seasons in the majors from 2008-16. All but the last of those years were spent with the San Diego Padres. 

After his playing days ended, Venable joined the Cubs in 2017, where he served as a special assistant to Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer. Later, he coached first base during his three years on the North Side. From 2020-22, Venable served as the Boston Red Sox bench coach. He joined the Rangers in 2023, where he won a World Series as a member of Bruce Bochy's coaching staff.

It remains to be seen whether Venable is the right man to fix the White Sox mess, but at least it appears that the process was legitimate. Getz was allowed to conduct an outside search and name his guy.

The Sox resisted the temptation to make the internal hire (Grady Sizemore), and they did not hire someone who is "Tony La Russa's guy." (Phil Nevin)

Perhaps I'm guilty of setting the bar a little low here, but the Sox have cleared the low bar I've set for them.

Venable comes to the Sox with no previous managerial experience, which of course has prompted some comparisons to Pedro Grifol, who was an unqualified disaster as Sox manager.

Let's be fair to Venable: He comes to the Sox with stronger credentials than Grifol did. He's a former player, which should give him more credibility in the locker room, and he's worked for some organizations that have had more success than, say, the Kansas City Royals, where Grifol toiled for years in relative obscurity.

Also notable: Even if Venable does everything right, he could still fail in Chicago. The Sox have bad ownership and an inexperienced GM. That's like stepping into the batter's box with two strikes already on you. And, of course, the roster is at rock bottom.

If you're a Sox fan right now, the mindset has to be, "Give the man a chance and hope for the best." What else can you do?

Chris Getz quote ... cringeworthy

White Sox general manager Chris Getz had his usual start-of-a-homestand press conference before Monday's game against the Cleveland Guardians.

Check out his lead quote from this article on ESPN.com:

"I think if you would have told me we were going to end up flirting with the record I would have been a little surprised," Getz said on Monday afternoon. "Now if you would have told me prior to the year that we would have ended up with over 100 losses, 105, 110, I wouldn't have been as surprised. But this is the cards that we've been dealt at this point. You try to make the best of it, and I think it's an opportunity to embrace the situation that we're in."

Where to start with this? There are three key points.

First, the Sox are not "flirting with the record." After Monday's 5-3 loss to Cleveland, their record is 33-112. They are on pace for 125 losses. The all-time record is 120 losses. The Sox are poised to blow right by this record and obliterate it. "Flirting" my ass.

Second, Getz speaks of "the cards we've been dealt." Chris, my man, you're the dealer. You're the general manager. You're responsible for the makeup of the roster.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, anti-tanking rules prevent the Sox from drafting any higher than 10th in the 2025 MLB draft. So, why would you be OK going into a season with a roster that could lose 105 or 110 games without it being a surprise? 

This is losing without a purpose. There is no development occurring at the big league level. There is no promise of a top draft choice as a result of all this losing. This isn't failing while getting better. It's just failure, and it's a waste of fans' time.

Thank goodness I haven't spent a single cent at Guaranteed Rate Field this season.

Happy Labor Day from The Baseball Kid

 

Michael Kopech's hot streak: Perhaps it wasn't because he was traded

Given the White Sox track record over the past few seasons, it's easy to dump on them. I dump on them frequently on this blog.

Every player who puts on a Sox uniform seems to turn into mush. When a player leaves the Sox, he seems to find new life with another team. Maybe it's confirmation bias at times, but you hear fans say that a lot.

Case in point, Michael Kopech, who was recently traded from the Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a three-team deal.

Kopech pitched in 43 games for the Sox this season. He was 2-8 with a 4.74 ERA. He was just 9 for 14 in save opportunities. While he struck out a robust 12.2 batters per nine innings pitched, that was canceled out by a high walk rate -- 4.9 batters per nine innings.

Then the trade happened, and Kopech made his first appearance with the Dodgers on July 31.

Here's his line with Los Angeles: 11 games pitched, 2-0 record, 0.79 ERA, two saves, five holds, 15 strikeouts and only two walks in 11.1 innings, and just one earned run and three hits allowed.

That's unquestionably outstanding. What many Sox fans don't realize, however, was that Kopech was pitching well BEFORE he was sent to the Dodgers.

The trade WAS NOT the turning point for him.

Kopech gave up a walk-off grand slam on a 99-mph fastball to Jake Burger of the Miami Marlins on July 7. After the game, he told MLB.com's Scott Merkin this:

“It’s coming down to what we talked about a lot lately in-house,” Kopech said. “I need to mix my pitches and not just rely on the fastball so much. It’s difficult to do that when I fall behind and my best pitch is my fastball. I have to get back in the count.

“The ninth has been my role this year, and those situations I have a job to do, and I haven’t been doing it well,” Kopech added. “There’s no easy way to say that. It’s tough for me to say, but it’s the truth. I’ve got work to do to get better.”

The Sox coaching staff had been trying all season to convince Kopech to use all of his pitches. Those pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears, until the disastrous outing in Miami.

Then Kopech made some changes. As he stated, he had "work to do." He started mixing in his cutter and slider more frequently, and he started to get better results.

In his final five outings as a member of the Sox, Kopech worked 5.1 innings. He did not allow a single run. Over that same span, he struck out eight, walked only one and allowed just one hit. Those five games included an immaculate inning in a save against the Minnesota Twins on July 10.

Was it the Dodgers' pitching acumen that allowed Kopech to accomplish that? Obviously not. 

Kopech had gotten his act together before he left the Sox. The brilliant performances as a member of the Dodgers are a continuation of a hot streak that began in Chicago.

Maybe, just maybe, Kopech's successes and failures are on him, more than anything that coaches in Chicago or Los Angeles have said to him.

He had great stuff with the Sox. He has great stuff with the Dodgers. When Kopech is right, he dominates. And he's been dominating for almost two months now, as a member of both the Sox and the Dodgers. Not a popular take, but just sayin'.

The next great White Sox hope: Hagen Smith

Left-handed pitcher Hagen Smith, who the White Sox selected fifth overall in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft, made his professional debut Saturday night as a member of the Class-A Winston-Salem Dash.

The outing went well.

The plan was for Smith to pitch three innings, and he did so successfully. He allowed no runs on two hits, with four strikeouts and no walks.

Smith retired the side in order in each of the first two innings before getting into a jam in the third. The Aberdeen IronBirds got both their hits off Smith in the third inning to place runners on second and third with only one out.

However, Smith rallied to strike out the final two batters of the inning to keep Aberdeen off the board.

The plan is for Smith to make two more starts for Winston-Salem. It sounds like he'll pitch on Saturdays and, once again, be scheduled to work three innings.

Smith is now the No. 32 prospect in baseball, according to MLB pipeline, so expect to see his highlights on Sox pre- and postgame shows. 

He will be sold as the next great White Sox hope amid an historically awful time for the franchise.

White Sox reach 100 losses ... on Aug. 25

Guaranteed Rate Field (Photo by Jason Bauman)

In their 124-year history, the White Sox have never won back-to-back anything. Not a back-to-back World Series. Not a back-to-back American League pennant. Not a back-to-back division title. Not even a back-to-back wild card berth.

But now the Sox (31-100) have lost 100 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in team history. They clinched that dubious milestone Sunday with a 9-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers.

What's remarkable about this is August isn't even over yet. We've still got a month of miserable baseball to go. The Sox reached 100 losses in only 131 games, which is the second fastest it's been done in the modern era. The 1916 Philadelphia Athletics were 29-100-1 after 130 games.

So, basically, what we're witnessing now is something no one still alive has ever seen. The Sox are chasing all sorts of history that nobody wants.

The American League record for losses in a season is 119, set by the 2003 Detroit Tigers. The Major League Baseball and National League record for losses in a season is 120, set by the 1962 New York Mets.

The Sox would need to go 12-19 in their remaining 31 games to avoid tying that record held by the Mets. If I'm being honest, I think it is a given they will set this record at this point.

They've only managed 31 wins in the first five months of the season. That's roughly six per month. Why would we think they could double that total and win 12 over the season's final month? It doesn't seem reasonable.

Some will point to the firing of incomprehensibly bad manager Pedro Grifol as a reason for hope. And indeed, Grifol earned his walking papers by posting a 28-89 record with this bunch, and that was on the heels of a 61-101 campaign in 2023.

However, the Sox are only 3-11 under interim manager Grady Sizemore. From a won-loss perspective, that's not an improvement over the Grifol era.

Sure, Sizemore has made some good changes in the way the roster is being deployed. He's finally gotten Gavin Sheets the hell out of right field. Andrew Vaughn and Sheets are sharing first base and designated hitter duties, as they should be.

Dominic Fletcher and Corey Julks are now platooning in right field. Neither is a long-term answer at the position, but at least they are actual outfielders who can play competent defense. In Fletcher's case, he's an exceptional defensive right fielder. Unfortunately, his bat has not come around. That said, Sizemore is deploying him in the correct fashion.

Newly acquired Miguel Vargas was moving from position to position and hitting too high in the lineup under Grifol. Now, Vargas is getting an everyday look at his best position: third base. And he's hitting seventh or eighth in the batting order, which is where he belongs. It's not going well. Vargas is 6 for 62 since joining the Sox, but it isn't because he isn't getting a fair shake from the manager.

The lineup construction has been consistent and reasonable. Nicky Lopez and Lenyn Sosa are being used as a platoon in the leadoff spot. Luis Robert Jr. is batting second, with Andrew Benintendi third, Vaughn fourth and Sheets fifth most days.

Brooks Baldwin, the rookie middle infielder, is batting ninth every day, instead of second or sixth, or whatever other stupid idea Grifol was coming up with day to day. The No. 9 spot is appropriate for Baldwin, who had played only eight Triple-A games before joining the Sox.

All that said, Sizemore isn't working any miracles here. I've seen some fans call for him to get the full-time managerial job for next season. I disagree. I understand that Sizemore is more likable than Grifol. He's easier to root for than Grifol. People, including me, would like to see him succeed.

But the fact is, the proper course of action is for the Sox to conduct a full managerial search this offseason. They must cast a wide net, interviewing both external and internal candidates for the position. Grifol is gone, but the losses are still mounting. To me, that's a clear sign that fresh voices are badly needed.