Chicago White Sox
2024 record: 41-121
Fifth place, AL Central
Team ERA: 4.68 (28th in MLB)
Team OPS: .618 (30th in MLB)
What Went Right
Amazingly, beyond reason, something. Even in a year where, well, look above, the White Sox were able to get two strong pitching performances; one from a player that will (maybe) be there in 2025, one from an arm that they were able to receive some young talent for at the deadline. Garrett Crochet had no issues adjusting to being a starter this year, and while he faced controversy for some comments about pitching in the postseason if he was to be dealt — something he didn’t need to worry about with the White Sox after May — he still was among the best bat-missers in baseball and should only get better with more experience on the bump. Erick Fedde was just as good if not better before being dealt to St. Louis, and Miguel Vargas along with Alexander Albertus have a chance to be regulars for Chicago in the coming seasons. If we’re being forthright, the best thing that happened to the Chicago White Sox is that you’ll never forget how truly, truly, truly atrocious this baseball team was. Why go 64-98 when you can set a modern loss record?
What Went Wrong
Oh gosh, where to start? No one expected the White Sox to be good — their general manager literally said so before the start of the season — but no one could have seen them being quite this bad. The White Sox could have played another half a season, gone 79-2, and still finished with a losing record. Chicago fired Pedro Grifol with a 28-89 record, and interim skipper Grady Sizemore wasn’t much better at 13-32. They lost 20 straight games at one point, and didn’t pick up a sweep until the second-to-last series of the year. They were outscored by 306 runs; the eighth worst mark since 1950. Luis Robert Jr. was limited by injuries, wasn’t good even when healthy (.657 OPS) and still led all qualified hitters in bWAR with 1.4 by over a win. The starters outside of Fedde and Crochet were ineffective to say the least, and the bullpen blew 37 saves in 58 chances. Maybe it wasn’t the worst team in baseball history, but at the very least, it belongs in the discussion.
Fantasy Slants
– To say that Robert didn’t follow up his strong 2023 season (.857 OPS, 38 homers, 20 stolen bases) with a similar year is quite the understatement. His counting stats were hurt by missing two months with a hip flexor strain, but it was the end of the year that was particularly concerning for the…