What if I told you, one of the most important moves of the White Sox rebuild was their 30th round pick in the 2006 MLB draft? For those that may not know, the Sox picked a left-handed pitcher from Bloomfield Tech High School in New Jersey by the name of Hector Santiago. What Kenny Williams and company did not realize upon taking the young left-hander was that he would eventually be one of the most important pieces to a rebuild that would end one of the longest postseason droughts in professional sports. That drought officially came to its conclusion on Thursday when the White Sox beat the Twins 4-3 to clinch a spot in the 2020 MLB playoffs.
For those who are struggling to put together the correlation between Santiago and the 2020 White Sox, here’s your answer. After Santiago pitched with the Sox from 2011-2013, they traded him to the Los Angeles Angels in a three-team trade that would bring 25-year old outfielder Adam Eaton to Chicago.
See where I’m going with this?
After hitting .290 across three seasons with the Sox, Eaton was then traded to Washington in exchange for a pitching package of Dane Dunning, Lucas Giolito, and Reynaldo Lopez. These three alone have contributed about 15% of White Sox wins this year, not to mention the fact that Giolito has evolved into a legitimate ace.
Although labeling Santiago as one of the most important assets of the rebuild may be a bit of a stretch, the importance of the move cannot be undermined. It was the beginning of a sequence of falling dominoes that eventually led to the Sox returning to the playoffs. In a rebuild that has essentially stretched from 2013 to now, Rick Hahn and the front office made what seemed like an endless number of “rebuild-focused” moves. Now that we can thankfully and officially say the rebuild is over, it’s an appropriate time to look back at which moves proved to be most crucial and most directly correlated to the team’s success in 2020.
Key Moves for 2020
(In no particular order. Draft picks not included.)
The Jose Abreu Signing (October 29, 2013)
White Sox sign Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu to a 6-year, $68 million deal.
When the White Sox signed a 27-year old Abreu in 2013, the hope was that he would become one of the main young pieces in the initial rebuild attempt that was supposed to wrap up around 2017. Although the rebuild itself was a fail, Abreu became one of the most consistent hitters in the game over the years on his way to a Rookie of the Year award and three All-Star selections; not to mention he is currently playing out of his mind for the 2020 White Sox.
Although the Sox had originally hoped back in 2013 that Abreu would grow up parallel among the core of players in the initial rebuild, they have gotten something better; an established player and leader to now lead a young and extremely talented core of new players on the South Side. He has had no issue with being a leader, and he embraces the opportunity. That’s evident not only in his play this year but also in his decision this past offseason to not even consider another team in free agency before eventually taking a very friendly contract with the White Sox.
The Jose Quintana Trade (July 13, 2017)
White Sox acquire Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease, Matt Rose, and Bryant Flete from the Cubs in exchange for left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana.
When we look back now, the White Sox overwhelmingly won this trade with their crosstown rivals. After fan-favorite Jose Quintana threw six years of baseball for the Sox that included 50 wins and a 3.51 earned-run average, the Sox traded him up North in exchange for four players, including Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease. At a time where good pitching on the trade market was scarce and Quintana was one of the better pitchers in the American League, the Cubs were forced to give up more than they probably wanted to.
Fast forward three years and both Chicago teams are sitting atop the standings in their respective divisions. Quintana has not been a complete bust for the Cubs; however, his numbers have dipped a considerable amount since joining them. On the other hand, Jimenez and Cease are gradually evolving into stars while serving as two of the most pivotal members of this Sox playoff team. Eloy has shown that he is going to be a perennial member of the 30-home run club, and Cease looks like he can at least be in the middle of the rotation for years to come.
As Jason Benetti once put it, “Thanks Cubs!”
The Dallas Keuchel Signing (December 30, 2019)
White Sox sign left-handed pitcher Dallas Keuchel to a three-year, $55.5 million deal.
Although this signing wasn’t made with rebuild intentions, it is important because it eventually proved to be the nail in the coffin of the rebuild. Sitting on a foundation of young and talented players, the Sox pursued Keuchel to not only add an established innings-eater but also a leader to the rotation.
What the Sox probably did not know is that Keuchel would not only have an outstanding regular season, but he would be behind arguably the biggest moment of the season. After a 5-1 loss to Detroit on August 10th, the Sox had lost five of their last six and held an 8-9 record. After the game, Keuchel ripped the team’s effort in what he described as “subpar play”. The White Sox would go on to win 13 of their next 17 games. Before they knew it, they were tied for first on August 28th. This will undoubtedly go down as a highlight moment of the season, regardless of what it has to bring.
Oh yeah, and he’s 6-2 with a 2.19 ERA.
The Adam Eaton Trade (December 7, 2016)
White Sox acquire pitchers Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning, and Reynaldo Lopez from the Washington Nationals in exchange for outfielderAdam Eaton.
I’ve already talked a little bit about this trade, but there really isn’t enough you can say about the quality of this move for Rick Hahn. At the time, Eaton was still a young outfielder whose numbers really were outstanding as a right fielder. He was coming off of a 2016 season with the Sox in which he hit .284 with 14 home runs to go along with a 6.6 WAR at 27 years old. Hahn managed to pull in a big haul for the outfielder.
Of course, Eaton went on to the Nationals to continue his stellar play and eventually get himself a World Series ring with the club in 2019. Does this automatically mean the Sox lost the trade? Absolutely not. “Spanky” was well-liked as a member of the Sox in Chicago, and I like to think everyone rooted him on in the World Series as I did.
We all know what happened on the Sox’ side of the trade; Giolito flipped a switch to become one of the best pitchers in the American League, and Dane Dunning is showing a ton of promise in the 2020 playoff run. It’s safe to say this trade truly was a win for both sides; each team received what they were hoping to from this trade. Eaton contributed to a Nationals World Series, and the trio of pitchers and exceeding expectations.
The Alex Colome Trade (November 30, 2018)
White Sox acquire reliever Alex Colome from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for catcher Omar Narvaez
We, Sox fans, know how brutal life can be without a reliable closer. After years of extremely lackluster bullpen play, the Sox finally have a man to rely on at the end of the bullpen. Not only did he quietly post a stellar season in his first with the Sox last year (30 saves, 2.80 ERA), but now he’s putting up video game numbers in 2020 with the White Sox with 12 saves and a 0.89 ERA.
The importance of having a good closer has been evident this year, as Colome has come in to shut the door on a handful of close games. What we know all too well is that the bullpen can truly make or break you in games. If you have a guy like Colome who’s gonna get the job done more than the majority of the time, you’re gonna win a lot of extra games. This was evident in Monday’s game versus the Twins when their bullpen imploded while Colome dominated.
Honorable Mentions
These moves may not have had as much of a direct impact on the 2020 season as the ones previously mentioned. However, some of the long-term impacts of these are still waiting to be seen. With that being said, only time will tell where these moves could rank down the road.
The Chris Sale Trade (December 6, 2016)
White Sox acquire infielder Yoan Moncada, right-handed pitcher Michael Kopech, right-handed pitcher Victor Diaz and outfielder Luis Basabe in exchange for left-handed pitcher Chris Sale.
The James McCann Signing (December 19, 2018)
White Sox sign catcher James McCann to a one-year, $2.5 million deal.
The Luis Robert Signing (May 27, 2017)
White Sox signed Cuban outfielder Luis Robert to a minor league deal with a $26 million signing bonus.
In Conclusion…
In terms of the trades, Hahn was able to work absolute magic, thanks mostly in part to the control on each contract. The White Sox have had a knack of signing good players to very friendly contracts. The big returns on both the Jimenez and Giolito trade can be directly attributed to teams giving up more for contractual control.
The job that Rick Hahn has done with the draft is mostly a whole other story of success. Players like Tim Anderson, Codi Heuer, and Matt Foster are all draft picks of Hahn’s. The power of the draft is showing in the Sox’ play this year, especially the bullpen.
There were a ton of moves made during the rebuild that all will have an effect on the White Sox in the long run. As far as the moves that have already proven credible in this 2020 season, I think we can mark those as another Sox win.
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The future was on display last night when this 2020 frist round draft pick Garrett Crochet came in throwing 101 MPH with pink point control he looked great addition to Andrew Vaughn and Nick Madrigal and Micheal Kopech next year should be the year to go all the way GO White Sox
Nice summary which reflects upon the exceptional job done by Hahn and his front office crew. However, my anxiety about the ongoing slump being displayed by Robert is severe. He seems not only in a batting slump but also totally absent any confidence during each at bat as visibly demonstrated by his body language. Often a player experiencing a batting slump will continue to have “good at bats” striking the ball squarely but have the misfortune of hitting the ball directly to a fielder. That is not happening with Luis. He appears totally baffled and uncomfortable in the batter’s box. Also, Hahn and Renteria have to reconsider the value of this year’s free agent acquisitions. Mazara is terrible and should not play ahead of Engel. Grandal is a disappointment both behind the plate and as a producer of both hits and home runs. McCann should be playing ahead of Grandal and Collins should be backing up McCann. As to Encarnacion, he has passed his prime and he is too slow reacting to the fast ball. Those free agent signings were made to excite the fan base but overall the production from that group has been disappointing. Of course, that harshly critical comment excludes Keuchel.