More than any other team in baseball, the Chicago White Sox have a plot TO DO. This year, they finished with their worst winning record since 1931 and endured a series of bad publicity that included shaking up their shortstop and a mutiny by current and former players that exposed clubhouse culture was toxic. But hey, the 2023 season is over, and the only thing left to do is build on the mistakes. The Winter Meetings are approaching, and while the White Sox won’t be the biggest players, they can and should do a lot to put a team on the field next season. Here are the basics for their trip to Nashville in December.
The Winter Meetings are an annual conference of owners, officers, managers, agents, etc. of Major League Baseball, who meet to negotiate trades, sign free agents and generally get their teams in shape ahead of the upcoming season. These meetings are the centerpiece of each offseason, where many of the biggest trades and signings take place. Last year the White Sox didn’t make much of a splash in terms of trades, but this year they should be very open to trades. This year, the Winter Meetings will be held from December 3-6 in Nashville, Tennessee.
The White Sox have made it clear they will consider trades for almost all players on their roster, including ace Dylan Cease and slugger Eloy Jimenez. They’ve already traded reliever Aaron Bummer for five to the Braves, and there’s plenty of talk surrounding Cease. Given that the White Sox are working on a total rebuild, to break down the organization and rebuild it from scratch, it’s harder to say what the White Sox are not interested in this offseason than what they are.
Yasmani Grandal, Liam Hendricks, Mike Clevinger, Tim Anderson and Elvis Andrus – to name a few – are all free agents who are not expected to return, putting Chicago out of a catcher, a reliever , a starter and two midfield players. infield players. Trying to figure out where to start a rebuild isn’t exactly an easy task, but if they lose Cease and Clevinger, the White Sox will at least need pitchers who can stay in games for long periods of time. Right now, they don’t have depth options at second base or shortstop, so those will be two major areas of concern as well.
Draft Rule 5
THE Draft Rule 5, composed of minor leaguers with 4 to 5 years of service, also takes place during the Winter Meetings. Only teams without a full squad of 40 players participate; As of this writing, the White Sox 40 man is complete after moving No. 5 and 10 prospects Jake Eder and Cristian Mena to protect them from the draft.
MLB Draft Lottery
The second MLB Draft Lottery, in which the 18 non-playoff teams will be drawn to determine the selection order in 2024, will also take place during the winter meetings. The White Sox have a 14.7% chance of securing the No. 1 seed, the highest behind the Athletics, Royals and Rockies.
