Chicago White Sox: Who should be authorized to do the next roster teardown?
By Todd Welter
The Chicago White Sox are seeing their contention window getting slammed shut.
The Sox are supposed to be in the middle of contending for another World Series title. Instead, they are hoping to avoid finish dead last in a weak AL Central division.
It is all because the team imploded from within.
Owner Jerry Reinsdorf usurped his general manager, Rick Hahn, when he re-hired Tony La Russa to replace Rick Renteria. It was all because Jerry regretted firing La Russa back in the mid-1980s. That move failed in a mediocre fashion.
The Sox won just a playoff game in 2021, and became the most disappointing team in baseball title last season under La Russa’s stewardship.
Reinsdorf is also at fault for limiting how much Rick Hahn could spend in free agency to put the White Sox over the hump.
Hahn is not without blame.
He was key in acquiring the necessary talent to turn the Sox into a brief contender. He acquired Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech, Eloy Jimenez, Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert Jr., and Andrew Vaughn.
The problem is he constructed the roster poorly.
He invested way too much of his limited financial resources into the bullpen. He created a redundancy on the roster with players who fit a first base/designated hitter. A team wants to have a redundancy at centerfielder or at shortstop because those players tend to have positional versatility whereas the first base/DH limits what you can do with those players in the lineup.
Hahn also was inadequate in acquiring quality depth players. That has led to rushing players back from the injured list.