Chicago White Sox

Garrett Crochet is almost certain to be traded by the Chicago White Sox this winter, but the team would also "love to" move Luis Robert Jr. beforehand, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

The 27-year-old center fielder signed a six-year, $50 million contract in 2020 but has struggled to live up to the expectations set when he emerged from Ciego de Ávila, Cuba.

"The guy is certainly intriguing," one GM said, according to Nightengale. "But they've got a really high price tag on him. You've got to hope he finally stays healthy and can be the player everyone envisioned all along. But the White Sox are acting like he's some big star center fielder and are asking for your top prospects."

Robert Jr. has struggled with injuries, playing in more than 100 games in just one of his five seasons with the White Sox. The right-hander is set to earn $15 million in what could be his final season with the team.

According to Nightengale, if a team takes a chance on Robert and it pays off, they'll have the option to exercise his $20 million club option for both 2026 and 2027.

Last season with the White Sox, Robert Jr. logged 88 hits, 14 home runs and 35 RBI in 100 games.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies are engaged in trade discussions involving Garrett Crochet, with Alec Bohm and Justin Crawford as potential pieces in the deal, per Nightengale.

MLB front office executives are expecting the Chicago White Sox to trade left-handed starting pitcher Garrett Crochet, per Jim Bowden of The Athletic.

"Every front office executive I've talked with believes Garrett Crochet will be traded before the end of this year, and they mention the Red Sox, Orioles and Dodgers as the most likely landing spots because all three have the young, everyday position players the White Sox want in return for the 25-year-old lefty, who has two more years of team control," Bowden wrote.

In his first year as a major league starter, Crochet went 6-12 with a 3.59 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 2.69 FIP over 32 starts (146.0 innings) last season. His 209 strikeouts were good enough for a 12.9 K/9 rate.

Crochet was involved in trade rumors last year. In the days before the deadline, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that Crochet's market remained "active" alongside notes about interested teams.

"The market for Crochet remains active, according to sources briefed on the trade discussions involving him. While certain teams are reluctant to move forward because of his reported refusal to pitch in the playoffs without a contract extension, other clubs continue to pursue him. The San Diego Padres and Dodgers, two clubs in the mix from the start, are believed to be among them."

However, word also emerged from Jon Heyman of the New York Post that Crochet wouldn't pitch in the playoffs without an extension.

Crochet stayed in Chicago. The White Sox notably limited his innings down the stretch. He missed all of 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and left shoulder inflammation landed him on the injured list in 2023.

But Crochet showed tremendous promise in 2024. In theory, he's a pitcher the White Sox should look to extend, but the team also needs to overhaul its entire roster after losing an MLB-record 121 games. Chicago wants "young, everyday position players," as Bowden said. That request makes sense with the team hitting .221 with a .618 OPS last year.

As for Crochet's next destination, no team is ever going to turn down the opportunity to acquire a talented, left-handed starting pitcher in his mid-20s made available after an All-Star season.

In Los Angeles, the rich would just get richer with the Dodgers coming off a World Series victory. Boston's pitching staff was below par last year, finishing ninth in ERA in the American League. Crochet would likely be the staff ace there. Baltimore wasn't much better (eighth in ERA in the AL), and staff ace Corbin Burnes is a free agent, although the team wants to sign him.

The Chicago White Sox have a new manager after a historically bad 2024 season.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers, the White Sox plan to hire Will Venable as their next manager.

The White Sox finished last season with Grady Sizemore as their interim manager after firing Pedro Grifol and three coaches from his staff on Aug. 8. The move came two days after the team snapped its American League record-tying 21-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Chicago was playing at a historically bad pace under Grifol prior to his dismissal. Its .239 winning percentage (28-89) at the time of his firing was on pace to be the second-worst by any team since 1900. The 1916 Philadelphia Athletics won at a .235 clip (36-117).

The White Sox finished 6-6 over their final 12 games to finish with only the fifth-worst winning percentage since 1900, but their 121 losses were the most by any team in the modern era.

Sizemore, who previously worked as an intern for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023 before getting hired by the White Sox, recorded a 13-32 record in his 45 games in the manager's chair.

Venable, whose final season of a nine-year MLB career came in 2016 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, joined the Chicago Cubs staff as a special assistant to team president Theo Epstein in 2017. He took over as first base coach for the Cubs in 2018 and stayed in that position in 2018 and 2019 before moving to third base coach in 2020.

He joined the Boston Red Sox as a bench coach ahead of the 2021 season and became the associate manager for the Texas Rangers in 2023, helping them win the World Series later that year.

The 42-year-old now has his first gig as a manager and the tall task of leading Chicago in a rebuild after last season's disaster.

While the on-field results at the MLB level were humiliating for everyone with the White Sox organization in 2024, there are signs of hope for the future. They have an improving farm system with five top-100 prospects, led by left-handed pitcher Noah Schultz at No. 10 overall.

Venable will look to make the most of Chicago's talent as he begins his first year at the helm.

The Chicago White Sox appear to be narrowing down the team's search for a new manager.

According to ESPN's Jesse Rogers, Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough and San Diego Padres special assistant A.J. Ellis are both "out of the running" to become Chicago's skipper for the 2025 season.

The White Sox fired former manager Pedro Grifol in the middle of their 2024 campaign, replacing him with Grady Sizemore as the team wrapped up a 41-121 season.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post revealed that Ellis dropped out of the hiring process due to family reasons, saying that he was "grateful" for the interest from Chicago.

The White Sox are continuing to make progress in their search for a new manager, as Texas Rangers offensive coordinator and bench coach Donnie Ecker was no longer involved in the hunt despite some initial interest (via The Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant).

Chicago's top candidates for the role have started to become evident.

Heyman previously reported that Rangers bench coach Will Venable, former Los Angeles Angels manager Phil Nevin and Detroit Tigers bench coach George Lombard are considered "leading candidates" to fill the vacancy. Sizemore is also still in the running as an internal option.

The final decision by White Sox general manager Chris Getz may be soon. Getz is "aiming" to make his first managerial hire before MLB general managers are scheduled to meet in San Antonio on Nov. 4, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Chicago will be looking to put a disastrous season in the rearview mirror, setting a new record for losses in a single year. The White Sox also made some unfortunate history by losing 21 consecutive games, tying an American League record.

Getz is already reportedly whittling down his options, and a final choice could be coming shortly.

Jerry Reinsdorf's tenure as the owner of the Chicago White Sox may be coming to an end in the future.

Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic reported Wednesday that the 88-year-old is "open to selling" the American League Central team following an abysmal 41-121 season. He is also "in active discussions" regarding a potential sale.

Ghiroli noted those discussions have been with a group led by former Major League Baseball player Dave Stewart.

Reinsdorf would stand to make quite the profit with a sale, as he led the group that bought the team for approximately $20 million in 1981. Forbes ranked the White Sox as the 15th-most valuable MLB franchise in March with an estimated value of $2.05 billion.

"The news represents a significant change of stance for Reinsdorf," Ghiroli wrote. "The oldest majority owner in baseball, Reinsdorf has shown no previous public interest in selling the team—at least, not as long as he was around as majority owner. Reinsdorf has said several times that he has advised his heirs upon his death to sell the White Sox and keep the Chicago Bulls, where his son, Michael, is COO and team president."

Yet this potential change in stance comes after Chicago made the type of history teams do not want to make this past season.

It broke the modern MLB record for the most losses in a season, which previously belonged to the 1962 New York Mets. That New York team went 40-120-1, but the 2024 White Sox ended up losing one more game.

Reinsdorf released a lengthy statement after his team broke the record and called it "an embarrassing season" while telling the fans they "deserved better." He also said the team "will do everything we can to fix this for 2025 and the future" after a "completely unacceptable" result.

The season marked a third straight where the White Sox failed to reach the playoffs, and the immediate future isn't exactly incredibly bright.

After all, general manager Chris Getz said last month, "We're not gonna be working heavy in free agency. We've got guys on the field right now who need to improve their game. A lot of these guys are young players and need to make the adjustments to be more productive."

B/R's MLB team also ranked Chicago's farm system as a solid but unspectacular 13th in the league just last month, so there may not be a group of future players who will save the franchise in the short term.

Perhaps Stewart could help turn things around following a baseball career that included three World Series titles, a World Series MVP and two American League Championship Series MVPs as an excellent pitcher who became one of the faces of the Oakland Athletics.

Ghiroli noted he previously led a group that attempted to purchase Oakland's stake in the Oakland Coliseum and has been interested in starting an expansion MLB team in Nashville.

With that as the backdrop, Ghiroli wrote "it's unknown what Stewart's potential involvement would mean for the White Sox staying in Chicago long-term."

Buck Showalter has reportedly expressed interest in becoming the next manager of the Chicago White Sox.

During a recent live chat, The Athletic's Keith Law (h/t Joe Binder of SoxOn35th.com) wrote that Showalter is "angling" for the managerial job in Chicago.

The 68-year-old Showalter has spent 22 years as an MLB manager with the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets, but the White Sox would perhaps be his toughest job yet since they are coming off a 2024 season that saw them lose an MLB-record 121 games.

Over the course of his managerial career, Showalter has shown a penchant for helping turn teams around, posting an overall record of 1,727-1,665 with six playoff appearances.

He most recently served a two-year stint as manager of the Mets, going 101-61 in his first season, although New York lost in the National League Wild Card Series.

The Mets then dropped off significantly to the tune of a 75-87 record last season, missing the playoffs and costing Showalter his job.

As far as the White Sox are concerned, there is nowhere to go but up on the heels of a historically bad season.

At .253, the 41-121 White Sox had the fifth-worst winning percentage in a single MLB season since 1901 behind only the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics, 1935 Boston Braves, 1962 Mets and 1904 Washington Senators.

Following a 28-89 start to the campaign, Pedro Grifol was fired after less than two full seasons as Chicago's manager. He was replaced on an interim basis by Grady Sizemore, who posted a 13-32 mark.

It is unclear if Sizemore is considered a candidate to land the full-time managerial job, but a few other outside candidates have emerged for the job.

Aside from Showalter, Binder noted that 670 The Score's Bruce Levine has linked Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough to the White Sox's job, while USA Today's Bob Nightengale named former Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker as a strong possibility.

As of now, the White Sox and Marlins are the only teams with a managerial vacancy since the Cincinnati Reds hired Terry Francona to be their new manager this week.

Per Binder, the White Sox are hoping to fill their vacancy by the end of October or the first week of November at the latest.

Whoever takes that position will have a huge job ahead of them, although MLB.com did rank Chicago's farm system as the 11th-best in baseball in August, so there is at least some hope for the future.

The Chicago White Sox are set to end their dreadful 2024 season on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers, and team owner Jerry Reinsdorf released a statement addressing the fans.

After setting an MLB record with 121 losses entering Sunday's game, Reinsdorf wrote, "I want to thank you for continuing to support the team throughout what was an embarrassing season. You all deserved better."

Reinsdorf went on to describe the performance by the White Sox this season as "completely unacceptable" and declared that the franchise "will do everything we can to fix this for 2025 and the future." Chicago will commence the search for a permanent manager, though general manager Chris Getz said last week that interim manager Grady Sizemore "is in consideration" to be promoted to a permanent role.

Still, there isn't much to look forward to for White Sox fans. Getz indicated that the team won't be very active in seeking improvements on the open market.

"We're not gonna be working heavy in free agency," Getz said earlier this month. "We've got guys on the field right now who need to improve their game. A lot of these guys are young players and need to make the adjustments to be more productive."

Chicago has the 11th-best farm system in MLB, so the team doesn't have young pieces to play with in potential trades. Veteran outfielder Luis Robert Jr. and starting pitcher Garrett Crochet could be on the trade block if the White Sox try to recoup assets that would benefit the team in the long run.

For now, Chicago fans are just hoping for a merciful end to the 2024 season, so Reinsdorf's words won't do much to improve morale.

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet has expressed a strong desire to sign a long-term contract with the team despite their challenging season and losing record.

However, the White Sox still plan to trade the left-handed pitcher during the offseason, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

Several teams have shown interest in the 25-year-old pitcher, including the Philadelphia Phillies.

Crochet was selected in the first round by the White Sox with the No. 11 pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, out of the University of Tennessee.

The White Sox are on the brink of finishing up their least-winning season in franchise history with just 40 wins and 121 losses as it stands. Chicago set a modern MLB record for the most losses in a season with their 121st loss on Friday against the Detroit Tigers.

Crochet has made 32 starts for the White Sox and despite the team's last-place standing in the league, he ranks in the top ten for strikeouts this season, with a total of 209.

For Crochet, a move out east to the division-clinching Phillies may not be a bad move for the young star.

The White Sox conclude their series against the Tigers this afternoon, with the series tied at one game apiece.

The Chicago White Sox's social media team continues to set a standard the players have failed to match on the field.

A day after the White Sox suffered their record-setting 121st loss, their X account joked about using a "neuralyzer" from Men in Black to make everybody forget this season:

The employees handing the franchise's social media accounts steadily became the unsung heroes amid a disastrous season. As Chicago inched toward baseball infamy, the posts became increasingly fatalistic in a tongue-in-cheek way.

The image the account shared after the White Sox lost 4-1 to the Detroit Tigers was a work of art.

The good news for the admin is that only two games remain for the White Sox. Then everyone can shift their focus to the offseason, when hope springs eternal. Even a franchise that lost more games than anybody in history can turn things around with the right additions.

Surely ownership plans on investing in the roster, right?