![]() The Braves will play host to the White Sox again in 2023 in a weekend set July 14-16, which takes place immediately after the All-Star Break (and then has another day off, in the middle of a homestand, immediately after).For the first time during the 2022 season, a game has been postponed because of a COVID-19 cluster. They haven’t lost a series to them since 2013, though that really just means they’ve won the last two series against them. The Braves and White Sox haven’t tangled since 2019, when the Braves swept them in Atlanta. There’s not much else other than depth the White Sox can probably rely on for 2023. Lenyn Sosa and Jose Rodriguez could make Major League appearances this season, especially if Andrus turns out not to be the solution at second, but neither is a can’t-miss prospect and both have their quirks. Reinforcements from the farmĭue to recent graduates and trades, there is not a whole lot of MLB-ready talent in the Chicago White Sox system. The bullpen took a blow with Hendriks out indefinitely, but Aaron Bummer has one of the best relief projections in the game, for whatever that’s worth, and there are enough mid-leverage arms that should be decent that it’s not as big of a concern as the potential for consecutive years of black hole-type non-production at second and in right. At least you can dream on Colas’ minor league stats, though he’s a (young) veteran of both Cuba’s Serie Nacional and NPB, and not your typical minor league riser. In right field, the White Sox appear to be banking on salvation from Oscar Colas and Gavin Sheets, though Sheets was underwhelming last year and neither projects to do much. Elvis Andrus was ostensibly brought in late in the offseason to patch up the keystone, but he’s 34, hasn’t been a quality producer since 2017, and will have to recapture the magic of his first 191 PAs in a White Sox uniform to fix anything. Second base and right field killed the team’s chances of sliding into a playoff spot in 2022, and those two positions have mostly been ignored in the off-season. The biggest weakness here can be thought to be organizational - perhaps stubbornness, perhaps obliviousness. ![]() The bullpen isn’t a weak spot either, even with Hendriks out indefinitely. and Eloy Jimenez gives them a pretty strong one-two lineup punch, supplemented by likely-productive bats like Andrews Vaughn (penciled in at first) and Benintendi and all-around value from Yasmani Grandal. The White Sox are relatively well-rounded in general, and the combination of Luis Robert Jr. The division remains so weak that the White Sox have a decent chance of winning it even as currently constructed, but little has been done to make 2023 less of a slog than the 2022 season they endured on the South Side. However, losing Abreu in free agency and Liam Hendriks being out indefinitely due to a cancer diagnosis might be too much for this team to overcome no matter what. It is possible the team takes a step forward this season if the likes of Anderson, Grandal, Robert and Jimenez are able to stay healthy over the course of the season. 500 record, with forecasts in the 74- to 79-win range. As things currently stand, the projections don’t even think the White Sox can match last year’s. Signed shortstop Elvis Andrus to a one-year, $3 million contractĮxpectations for the White Sox are definitely way down from where they were heading into the 2022 season.Acquired pitcher Franklin German from the Red Sox in exchange for pitcher Theo Denlinger.Acquired pitcher Gregory Santos from the Giants in exchange for pitcher Kade McClure.Signed outfielder Andrew Benintendi to a five-year, $75 million contract.Selected pitcher Nick Avila from the Giants in the Rule 5 Draft.Signed pitcher Mike Clevinger to a one-year, $12 million contract with a mutual option for 2024.
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