Finding Value in the South Side of Chicago

The White Sox may have talent after all.

The last couple of years on the south side of Chicago have been rough. The White Sox have had two consecutive 100+ loss seasons including setting the major league record last season for the most losses in a single season (121). They are likely heading towards another 100+ loss season this year. Despite a clear lack of talent on the White Sox, there may be an inability within the organization to help players reach their true potential.

For a team that struggles as much as the White Sox do, the blame doesn’t just fall on the players but their player development and coaching staff too. There is evidence from three players who are no longer with the organization that suggest the White Sox do not really know what works in today’s game. And because of those three players, there is one player every team should be willing to take a chance on.

Romy Gonzalez (BOS)

As a Red Sox fan, I still cannot believe that the Chicago White Sox DFA’d Romy Gonzalez two offseasons ago. From what Red Sox Nation has seen, it’s almost impossible to imagine Gonzalez not being good enough to play on a team that set the Major League record for losses in a single season. The season prior to getting DFA’d, Romy slashed .194 / .208 / .376 and had a 37.1% K-rate with Chicago. Even against lefties Gonzalez struggled mightily with just a 14 wRC+ in 37 ABs. Boston fans wouldn’t recognize this guy.

This season with Boston Gonzalez has been one of their best hitters. Alex Cora has leaned on Romy as a platoon bat against left-handed pitching and it feels like it has worked almost every time. Against lefties, Gonzalez is slashing .344 / .396 / .667 with a 184 wRC+ heading into play Tuesday night. His wRC+ ranks 5th in all of baseball against lefties with a minimum of 100 plate appearances. Overall, Romy is hitting .296 with a .559 slugging percentage. When he is in the lineup, he is either hitting leadoff or hitting third or fourth.

Boston was able to identify Gonzalez’s strengths and have put him in positions to maximize those strengths. Health has also played a big role because Romy struggled to stay on the field in Chicago. But Red Sox Nation feels like they found a diamond in the rough in Romy Gonzalez. How Chicago could not find a spot for Gonzalez in their rebuild is puzzling.

Gavin Sheets (SD)

Gavin Sheets spent four seasons in Chicago and hit double digit home runs in all four with 15 being his career high in 2022. In the offseason, Sheetz was non-tendered by the White Sox and he became a free agent at the age of 28. If you looked at Sheets’ Baseball Savant page during his tenure in Chicago, it was very blue. I am not sure the White Sox were justified by just releasing Sheets but you could understand why Sheets was not a big part of their rebuild.

The San Diego Padres clearly saw something that the White Sox did not. As of today, Sheets has tied his career high in home runs (15) and has been 7% better than league average (107 wRC+) heading into play Tuesday night. And the under the hood numbers are the best they have ever been for Sheets. If you look at his Baseball Savant percentages above, there is a lot of red. Clearly, Sheets has made some adjustments to help him have the best year of his career. If Sheets were in Chicago, he would be leading the team in home runs and could have been an intriguing bat at the deadline rather than just letting him go for nothing.

Andrew Vaughn (MIL)

Vaughn is a massive failure for the White Sox organization. Vaughn was a former 3rd overall pick in the 2019 draft and moved through the Chicago system quickly. Early in Vaughn’s career, he showed promise. He hit 17+ home runs in three consecutive seasons. Vaughn’s numbers have dropped off over the past two years and in 48 games with the White Sox this year he slashed .189 / .218 / .314. For a guy who was drafted based on his elite hit tool, Vaughn lost that tool in Chicago. The White Sox traded Vaughn to the Brewers for Aaron Civale, who had a 4.91 ERA at the time of the deal.

Raise your hand if you have heard this one before: the Milwaukee Brewers have unlocked yet another player. It did not take a long time for Andrew Vaughn to turn into the player many thought he was going to be in Chicago. Vaughn is hitting .371 / .432 / .686 and he has a 207 wRC+. If you look at his Baseball Savant page, there’s a ton of red. Vaughn has raised his hard hit percentage from 32.3% in the first half to 42.0% in the second half. With how quickly the Brewers have helped Vaughn turn things around, you have to wonder what exactly is going on in the south side of Chicago.

The Player to Target

One player that should be targeted this offseason is Luis Robert. It feels like he’s been in mock trades for years now and somehow he is still in Chicago. We will have to wait and see what the White Sox will do with Robert because he could become a free agent if the White Sox decline his $20M option for next season. If the White Sox pick up the option, I would be trying to acquire Robert.

There is no way around it. Luis Robert has really struggled. This year he is slashing .219 / .301 / .354 with a 27.8% K-rate. But Robert is only 28 years-old and he is only two years removed from a 38 home run season. With Robert, I’m not too concerned about his batted ball data. I think a change of scenery is needed. If you put Robert in an organization that is trying to compete with a reputable hitting program, I think he can return to an elite middle of the order bat. Robert just has to get out of the south side of Chicago.

It’s clear that the White Sox are an organization that has a lot of things to figure out. Teams should be trying to find talent in Chicago because they are years away from winning and will move players. There’s evidence to suggest something is seriously broken in Chicago and Luis Robert Jr. could be the next guy to get right once he leaves the White Sox.