R.I.P., 2014 Chicago White Sox's season
The White Sox have been eliminated from playoff contention, and now let's bid them adieu.
The Chicago White Sox not long ago were officially eliminated from playoff contention. As such, the time has come to lay their 2014 season to rest ...
What went right
Rookie Cuban import Jose Abreu exceeded even the most bullish of expectations. At this writing, he's sitting on 35 homers and 35 doubles and leading the majors in SLG and OPS+. As well, he's only gotten better as the season has deepened, so Abreu in that sense has "adjusted to the adjusments." When healthy, Adam Eaton impressed. Alexei Ramirez and Tyler Flowers were, respectively, solid and adequate at the plate. Conor Gillaspie took a nice step forward with the bat.
On the pitching side, Chris Sale overcame an early-season elbow injury to continue on as one of the best pitchers in all of baseball (1.99 ERA and 5.65 K/BB after 24 starts). Oh, and he's still just 25. Third overall pick of the June draft Carlos Rodon signed and then began dominating in brief stops at three different minor-league rungs. He's now in the mix for a rotation spot to start 2015. Jose Quintana soldiered on as one of the most under-appreciated starters around.
Considering that the rebuilding process is ongoing, that the Sox are on pace to finish not in last place in the AL Central is a positive. Also considering that the rebuilding process is ongoing, that they're bound for a high, protected draft pick is also a good thing.
What went wrong
Sox second basemen combined to hit just .233/.271/.336, and the position remains a concern moving forward. Avisail Garcia lost a large majority of his age-23 campaign to an early-season shoulder injury. Dayan Viciedo put up a .277 OBP and saw his offensive game decline modestly for a second straight season.
Did the Sox miss out on a chance to trade Ramirez during the season? The pending free agent shortstop enjoyed an uptick in production this year but didn't get moved leading up to the July 31 deadline or during the August waiver period. He's under contract for $10 million next season, which is quite reasonable, so there's still time to make it happen. However, Ramirez, 32, is likely in for a regression at the plate in 2015.
On the pitching side, John Danks' struggles in tandem with his contract rendered him all but untradable. The rotation behind Sale and Quintana was woefully inconsistent. The bullpen lacked depth and suffered from broad-based control problems. Among AL teams, just the Rangers and Twins gave up more runs.
A 9-19 mark in August essentially ended any hopes of a .500 season.
MVP: Sale. Obviously, you can make a compelling case for Abreu, but I'm giving it to the guy who dominates despite pitching his home games in a hitter's park and in front of a subpar defense.
LVP: Andre Rienzo. I take no delight in picking on a 23-year-old who pitched just 64 2/3 innings and hasn't been in the bigs since early August, but ... a 6.82 ERA, 33 unintentional walks and 12 homers earn him this unfortunate designation.
Free agents to be: 1B/DH Paul Konerko (will retire), RHP Matt Lindstrom
Gameplan heading into the offseason
While Rick Hahn's team certainly isn't done rebuilding, he's done quick, excellent work with a roster and a farm system that were in poor shape when he took over for Kenny Williams. The team can still make some moves with an eye toward the future, but they can also position themselves for "fringe" contention in 2015. No, the White Sox don't profile as any kind of playoff favorite in the season to come, but the healthy number of prime and pre-prime talents in place give them at least a puncher's chance to take a big step forward.
A bullpen makeover is certainly in order. You never want to pay premium free agent prices for any reliever who's not an established shutdown closer, but a resourceful organization shouldn't have any problem finding at least adequate relievers within its own system and in the "freely available" corners of the market. As noted above, it's also time to trade Ramirez.
Beyond that, rotation depth and some post-Adam Dunn left-handed power are needed.
Ridiculously premature prediction for 2015
Third place in the AL Central with the potential to be in the wild card fray. The Tigers are post-prime up and down the roster, and the Royals may not have a sustainable arrangement. The Indians, though, are well-poised for now. Mostly, the Sox will position themselves for legitimate contention in 2016, a timetable that should square nicely with what's going on on the north side of town.
