All-Star Luis Robert Jr. will be batting third and standing on the Wrigley Field center field grass when the historically bad White Sox open a two-game series against the Cubs Tuesday night, hoping to break an 11-game losing streak — their longest since 1956.
Robert, who will come off the injured list Tuesday, will be a snapshot of what is good and bad about the White Sox, the major leagues’ worst team. Their worth-the-price -of-admission position player, Robert’s hip flexor strain suffered during the fifth game of the season was only the latest of many in the careers of Robert, third baseman Yoan Moncada and designated hitter Eloy Jimenez, all of them on the IL as of Monday. The trio played the first two games of the season and none together as a unit thereafter due to injuries, wiping out the core of the Sox lineup.
The Sox were projected by most to follow a 101-loss season with another 95-100 losses this year, and that was before they traded ace right-hander Dylan Cease during spring training and were attacked by an all-too familiar nemesis of years past, the injury monster, in the first two weeks of the season.
The result? A 15-45 start, the worst in franchise history. And as general manager Chris Getz looks to do what he must, trade some of the only decent players he has for prospects or young major league ready players before the July 30 deadline, it’s hard to see where improvement could come from in the second half of the season.
There’s nowhere to go but up for an offense ranking last in the majors in runs scored and second in runs allowed to the tune of a minus-138 run differential, a number so bad the second-worst team, the Miami Marlins, is 56 better at minus-82. The only team to allow more runs is the Rockies of the National League’s hitter-friendly Coors Field. The Sox are last in home runs (43) and tied for first with the Tampa Bay Rays in homers allowed (78). They have the lowest batting average (.214), on-base percentage (.276), slugging percentage (.331) and OPS (.607) and are last in total bases (645) and second to last in walks (134).
Lefty Garrett Crochet has been dominant in his last seven starts, Erick Fedde is a starter contending teams should want in a trade and Michael Kopech has been overpowering in spurts as a high-leverage reliever, but only the Rockies have a higher ERA than the Sox’ 4.85 and WHIP (1.43). The Sox are second to last in walks (134) and walks allowed (240).
All of which adds up to mounting losses, aside from an 11-8 stretch that ended abruptly with the 11-game slide, 15 losses in the last 16 games and three straight series sweeps going into a series against the struggling Cubs, who, as bad as they’ve been of late, would consider a two-game split at home something of a loss.
Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf cut payroll this season while tasking Getz with getting his ramshackle Sox house in order after the recent failed rebuild, an in-house hire of the former assistant general manager and farm director in August because “I owe the fans to get better as fast as we can possibly get better. The speed is of the essence and I don’t want this to be a long-term proposition,” Reinsdorf said.
There is no quick fix, however. While replenishing the farm system with prospects gained from trades of proven veterans in the last 11 months, deals made by since fired front-office linchpins Ken Williams and Rick Hahn and then Getz, the new front office aimed to field a better defensive team, preach fundamentals through second-year manager Pedro Grifol and a new-look coaching staff and create a better clubhouse culture in 2024. The clubhouse has remained as tight as can be expected through an avalanche of losses that leave the it more solemn with each passing defeat.
The defense, which ranks last in the majors in overall fielding and defensive runs saved per FanGraphs data, is another matter. With Robert, a Gold Glove winner his rookie season, missing from center field and Moncada out after playing 11 games, two top fielders have been missed. And catcher Martin Maldonado, who turns 38 in August, has started 31 games at perhaps the most important position on the field outside of pitching.
Grifol has steadfastly touted Maldonado’s game management and pitch-calling skills while looking the other way at his embarrassing .079/.128/.124 batting line and .251 OPS. Maldonado might call a good game, but he’s also a minus-2.6 wins above replacement catcher defensively, per FanGraphs.
Against the Cubs Tuesday and Wednesday, a team the organization from Reinsdorf on down have no liking for, the Sox will dig in against tying the franchise record for longest losing streak, 13, set in 1924.
They’ll get Robert back, but Andrew Vaughn could go on the IL with a sprained finger. Outfielder Dominic Fletcher hurt his left shoulder saving a home run with a leaping catch against the Brewers Sunday.
The more things change, the more they stay the same for a team owning a .250 winning percentage, the same winning clip the expansion 1962 Mets finished with at 40-120 for the distinction of having the most losses of any team ever. The worst win percentage of any team in the modern era is .235, set by the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics who went 37-116.
That the Sox in 2024 are mentioned in the same sentences as these is mind-numbing.
But here we are. Wrigley Field, here we come.
