OPINION: Roster Shakeup is Too Little, Too Late for Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox made not one, not two, but 11 roster moves Tuesday afternoon, hoping that a shakeup would bring new life to a team that is quickly falling out of the playoff picture in the American League. Jack Vita writes why roster reconstruction for the White Sox is too little, too late.

The Chicago White Sox made not one, not two, but 11 roster moves Tuesday afternoon, hoping that a shakeup would bring new life to a team that is quickly falling out of the playoff picture in the American League.

The White Sox reinstated shortstop Tim Anderson and infielder Hanser Alberto from the 10-day Injured List. In addition to Anderson and Alberto, the White Sox added right-handed pitcher Alex Colome, outfielder Billy Hamilton and left-handed pitcher Sammy Peralta to their active roster. Colome, Hamilton and Peralta all had their contracts selected from Triple-A Charlotte.

To make room on the big league roster, the White Sox optioned outfielder Oscar Colas and infielder Lenyn Sosa to Triple-A Charlotte. The club also placed utility man Romy Gonzalez on the 10-day IL and placed reliever Joe Kelly on the Paternity List. Pitchers Jake Diekman and Frank German have been designated for assignment.

Having Anderson back in the lineup will certainly give the White Sox an offensive boost, but will it be enough to turn their season around?

The White Sox finally snapped a ten-game losing streak Sunday, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays on a walk-off home run in the finale of a four-game series. Entering May, the White Sox are 8-21 with a -65 run differential. The team is nine games back of the American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins. 13 games below .500, the White Sox need to get it going, in a hurry.

The club has inflicted a significant amount of damage upon itself with its weak start to the season. Chicago now has to dig itself out of a 13-game hole in order to return to .500. It's unlikely for teams that put together such a poor first month of the season to recover, but it does happen. Optimistic White Sox fans will quickly point to the 2019 Washington Nationals, who started 19-31 and would go on to win the World Series. But the 2023 White Sox aren't nearly as talented as the Nats were four years ago.

The White Sox don't have a single starting pitcher with an ERA below 4.00. Two of their starters, Lance Lynn and Michael Kopech, have ERA's over 7.00. Their offense ranks in the bottom third of the league in runs, Batting Average, On Base Percentage, OPS and home runs.

The White Sox showed enough cause for concern last season, when they finished 81-81 after being collectively picked to repeat as American League Central champions. There was something wrong with the White Sox last season, and the front office did little to address it over the winter. The club hired a rookie manager and signed free agents Andrew Benintendi and Mike Clevinger. Meanwhile, the Sox said goodbye to veteran leader and 2020 AL MVP Jose Abreu.

Chicago had a full winter to shakeup its roster, in hopes of returning to the top of the division in 2023. Shaking up their roster by swapping role players for minor league role players isn't going to propel the team to a 13-game win streak. The Sox are doing everything they can to try to find the right concoction and shake things up. Unfortunately, however, I fear that roster reconstruction at this time is too little, too late.