Chicago White Sox off Season Report

By Bill Jordan
Updated: November 20, 2008

Season Wrap-up

Baseball fans last saw the White Sox lose to the Rays in the divisional round of the playoffs. They were by no means a power during the season, but they play in a weak division and were able to stay above water enough to make it to the playoffs.

Holes to Fill

Their most obvious needs are for youth and speed. Many of their players are aging veterans who just aren’t able to compete with teams that have lots of youth such as the Rays. Acquiring a young, speedy player in free agency would be good, but they do have a few prospects in AAA that might be able to fill that role.

The main positions where the speed could be acquired would be in the outfield as well as potential fill in positions at shortstop and third base.

Other than that, their team seems to have few holes, assuming injuries can be avoided. Both their starting rotation and bullpen are strong and they have no shortage of power in their line-up.

Free Agents

The Sox are probably going to lose most, if not all of their free agents during this off season, but none are players who would create huge holes on the team that could not be fixed.

The free agents include outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. (whose option they refused to pick up), left hander Horacio Ramirez, right hander Esteban Loaiza, catcher Toby Hall, shortstop Juan Uribe and third baseman Joe Crede.

Of these players, Crede and Loaiza probably create the largest cause for concern, but since the Sox had other players frequently at those positions during the season, there really should not be much of a problem.

As far as signing free agents, the Sox have not made much news of late. They will probably pick up one or two quality players, but at this point it is unclear who they have targeted.

The Outlook

The division looks to still be relatively weak next year, so the Sox will have a chance yet again to vie for the title. While they will have competition from the Twins, Tribe and Tigers, there is no reason to believe that they will be able to compete as long as they can avoid injuries to their key players.