I think at this point, it’s safe to say the Chicago White Sox 2017-19 rebuild has not exactly gone to plan. Rick Hahn has gone from the guy other teams wanted to hire in 2012, when he was the assistant general manager to Kenny Williams, to a guy who will likely never work in baseball again once his employment ends with the White Sox, which is a point in time that is unknown to anyone except Rick, I assume.

I was a fan of the concept of the rebuild, trade the mental midget Chris Sale, average left-handed starter Jose Quintana and borderline retard Adam Eaton in exchange for a haul of minor league talent, supplement that with some established superstars and draft well. I guess the organization accomplished one out of three.

Or maybe not.

The return for Sale, Quintana and Eaton has been OK at times (Eloy Jimenez hitting 31 home runs in 2019, Dylan Cease winning 14 games in 2022, Yoan Moncada hitting .315 in 2019) and not OK at other times (Jimenez and Moncada never playing 150 games in a season due to an endless string of injuries, Michael Kopech and Reynaldo Lopez never finding any consistency). Taken on a player-by-player, season-by-season perspective, each player (including this year’s breakout star, Luis Robert, Jr.) no one from this group of late 2010s prospects has had more than one outstanding season.

So the trades didn’t work out as expected. How about the established superstar free agent signings?

Manny Machado made the White Sox the laughingstock of Major League Baseball, helped along by Kenny Williams announcing that Machado could have made $350 million with the Sox but that they could not afford to pay him $300 million. The team didn’t even bother to try to sign Bryce Harper, which would have instantly fixed two nagging problems the team has had for years: Someone to play right field and left-handed power. The “Machado Money” was then blown on contract extensions for Moncada, Jimenez and Robert, along with blowing a wad on lackluster free agents Yasmani Grandal and Dallas Keuchel. No true superstar was ever signed, despite it being a pretty well-known fact that Harper wanted to play for the Sox.

OK, the free agent signings didn’t work out as expected. How about the draft picks?

There are few organizations worse at drafting all time than the White Sox. Other than the freak late 1980s and the early 1990s (when four straight first round picks became stars; Jack McDowell, Robin Ventura, Frank Thomas and Alex Fernandez) this team has drafted what amounts to horse manure basically every other season since the draft was first instituted in 1965, getting an occasional gem (Harold Baines in 1977, Tim Anderson in 2013) but usually settling for less-than-good. That was especially true heading into the rebuild.

Starting in 2015, the White Sox first round draft picks have included Carson Fulmer (2015, no longer with the club), Zack Collins and Zack Burdi (2016, no longer with the club), Jake Burger (2017, holding down third base until Moncada’s contract is back from an injury rehab stint at AAA), Nick Madrigal (2018, no longer with the club), Andrew Vaughn (2019, the next “breakout star” of 2023 who’s hitting around .240 and currently injured but not on the IL for some reason I’ve not figured out) and Garrett Crochet (2020, injured after having Tommy John Surgery in 2022). Seven top draft picks and one is contributing at this moment.

(Some fan boy is going to read this and have an aneurysm because Vaughn is on pace for 85 RBI, but he’s also carrying a 102 OPS+ (which means he’s literally replacement level) and a 0.4 WAR).

Well, the draft hasn’t worked out, either. Which means this entire rebuild has been a complete exercise in futility. And to be honest, this is EVERYONE’S fault who is involved from the ownership to the front office to the players to the trainers. And if I could blame Jason Benetti, believe me, I would.

How Ownership Is At Fault

While I applaud Jerry Reinsdorf for spending nearly $200 million on the payroll in 2022 and over $180 million in payroll in 2023, his decision not to sign a top of the line superstar like Machado or Harper means the Sox rebuild was never completely finished, as Rick Hahn told the press that signing a player like that (not Dallas Keuchel or Yasmani Grandal or Andrew Benintendi) was part of the rebuild as a whole. There’s no superstar on this team. Some fan boy will take exception and say “wHaT aBoUt LuIs RoBeRt Jr?” to which I’ll say “let me see him play 150 games this year and 150 games next year and then we’ll talk. I’ve already been fooled by one-year flashes in the pan by Moncada and Jimenez and Cease. I’m not getting fooled again. Now, the rumor making the rounds is once Lucas Giolito and Yaz and the rest of the expiring contracts are off the books, payroll will be making a similar drop, so reinforcements are definitely NOT on the way.

Also, Jerry is directly at fault for the hiring of Tony La Russa as manager in 2020, which was a ridiculous move that everyone except Jerry knew was going to be a disaster of epic proportions.

How The Front Office Is At Fault

Rick Hahn has been the general manager of the White Sox since October 2012, and has exactly two winning seasons to show for his “work.” While I give Reinsdorf credit for opening his wallet, I have to give Hahn his due as well, he doesn’t know how to spend money. Just in the rebuild era, Hahn has blown $70+ million on an old catcher, a left fielder who has no power to speak of and an extension for a third baseman who, in almost 700 career games, has an OPS+ of 105. Over $40 million spent on Eloy Jimenez (who can hit but can’t stay on the field, the only time he played 100+ games in a season was his rookie year of 2019). Over $50 million spent on Dallas Keuchel (who compiled a 17-16 record with a 4.79 ERA and a 91 ERA+ in 3 years with the Sox before being designated for assignment in 2022).

And while Rick Hahn certainly didn’t want Tony La Russa as the manager, Hahn’s selection has turned out to be even worse.

Pedro Grifol had spent years on the Kansas City Royals staff, but when the Royals wanted to hire a new manager, they went outside the organization. That would have told most people that there was a problem, but not Rick Hahn. Grifol has been completely over-matched and under-prepared, and looks like a complete buffoon when talking to the media, as after a recent sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins, Grifol doubled down on multiple questionable decisions and basically announced that he knows what he’s doing and the press is basically being insubordinate if they question his decisions.

You’re 41-60, Pedro. You clearly don’t have the answers about anything.

How The Players Are At Fault

I’ve been watching baseball for well over 30 years and this is the most unlikable team I’ve ever seen. I know a lot of people disliked the Yankees of the late 1990s and early 2000s, but they weren’t an unlikable team, that was mostly professional jealousy over a team that was dominating. The 2022-23 White Sox have been a team that is just full of players I generally dislike. Lazy, unprepared, constantly injured, performing poorly, all while making a LOT of money. The money part is the fault of the front office for handing out contracts to guys who would now be making half or a third (or in Moncada’s case, probably 1/5) of their current salaries.

There’s nothing “fun” about this team. It’s torturous to watch. It’s worse than the mid-1990s Pittsburgh Pirates teams that I used to watch. With them, at least there was something fun to see. Maybe that’s because they were expected to lose and played loose. Something this team should do next year since they’re not going anywhere and have nothing to lose. I certainly hope they will.

Rumors are flying that the Sox are “open for business” at the trade deadline. I see people on different comment sections as well as Facebook and Twitter who can’t wait to see the White Sox pull off six or seven trades. I’m absolutely convinced that’s not going to happen. That would mean a full rebuild. Again. Just based on the players who will be leaving as free agents after the season, Giolito is a definite goner, Lance Lynn and Mike Clevinger have team options that will absolutely be declined, several relievers are free agents, Yaz and Elvis Andrus are free agents as well. Tim Anderson has one team option remaining on his deal.

If the Sox were to trade everyone I’ve heard mentioned as a trade candidate, they would be unable to field a Major League team. And with Reinsdorf expected to cut the payroll, they can’t fill those holes with free agents this offseason. So from what I’ve seen, I would expect Giolito to be traded, maybe Lance Lynn and then this offseason the White Sox can find a pitcher like Brad Keller of the Royals who is down on his luck and may be willing to take a deal looking for a bounce back (not that Keller has ever been that good that he has anything to bounce back to, I’m just saying). In other words, I think the White Sox are going to run this same group back out again in 2024 minus a couple of starters and relievers and Yaz and try to “compete” with this core they bought and are stuck with. Because, honestly, I don’t know what else they CAN do.

I’ve never seen a team that was as hamstrung as this organization is right now.

There’s very little Major League talent to move that would bring a good return. So a rebuild like began in 2016 is out of the question. They’re stuck with guys like Moncada until after next season and Jimenez until 2026. I think Luis Robert will have the same regression every other prospect has had in 2024. You can’t draft your way out of this situation. If the Royals weren’t in the opening stages of a rebuild themselves the Sox would be in last place right now; in fact, they’re as close to the Royals as they are the Twins at this point (13 games ahead of the last-place Royals and 12 games behind the first place Twins).

It’s a sad state of affairs and I’m looking forward to seeing how Hahn and the rest of this clown show handles the situation at the trade deadline. We have eight days to wait…

Thank you for reading. Peace.