I’m a big fan of how the White Sox have been operating for a while now. The system rarely hears plaudits from the pundits but continues to get results. Perhaps Gavin Sheets and Jake Burger won’t be stars, but they’ve provided crucial depth during a contention window in a time of dire need. Codi Heuer struggled in 2021 after a sleek rookie season in 2020, but GM Rick Hahn was still able ship across town in the Craig Kimbrel deal and extract functional value within the window. Along that same road, I cannot express how impressed I am that they moved Nick Madrigal to push for a title. Here was a guy they’d picked 4th overall who hadn’t experienced so much as a hiccup in his career, but the present moment is our only guarantee in life, and especially in baseball, where the 2022 season is far from certain thanks to the expiring competitive balance agreement. Madrigal’s service clock is already well underway, so selling him is far different from moving a teenager whose six-year, 40-man roster clock has just begun. The White Sox didn’t have many of those guys to sell anyway, perhaps, but I think they might right now.
Please, blog, may I have some more?