3 ways it can still get worse for the Chicago White Sox

Jerry Reinsdorf keeps the spending limits for the Chicago White Sox.

It does not matter who Jerry hires if he keeps imposing budget restrictions.

He is one of the few remaining owners to not hand out a contract over $100 million. The highest amount of money ever given to a free agent by the Chicago White Sox was to a contact-hitting left fielder. Before that, it was a slow catcher who was not very good at catching the ball.

Those are the types of signings you get when the owner keeps putting a salary cap on a team in a sport that does not have a spending cap.

Granted, it has been a long time since a team went out, signed a bunch, and won the World Series.

The White Sox’s problem during the brief contention window was that they did not spend enough to put the team over the top or find a long-term solution that the farm system could not produce.

Second base and right field have been a hole in the lineup for over a decade. Self-inflicted wounds from a bad farm system and trying to solve problems on the cheap.

Jerry allowed the payroll to go over $200 million in 2022 but then cut the payroll following an 81-81 season. No wonder this team has seen its title window close abruptly.

This penny-pinching would make sense if the team played in Milwaukee, Tampa, or eventually Nashville.

The Sox play in the third-largest market in baseball. Sure, they share it with the more popular Chicago Cubs. The market is still large enough to where the Chicago White Sox should be able to spend to bring in premium players.

So, unless Reinsdorf loosens the purse strings a little bit, then it does not matter who he hires because that person will be dealing with the same obstacles the last regime had.