Can the White Sox follow the Rangers’ World Series blueprint?

CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox were on their way to a disastrous 101-loss season in mid-September when manager Pedro Grifol confidently told reporters that he believed they would be contenders in 2024.

Intrigued by his optimistic outlook, I inquired why he thought their chances were realistic.

“Why wouldn’t we?” he responded. “Why wouldn’t we have the ability to do so?”

I countered that their record indicated that it would not be a quick fix, and history has taught us that it takes time to turn around a team that has performed as poorly as the 2023 Sox.

Grifol then presented evidence that contradicted my theory.

“I’ve read that there is a significant percentage of teams that have been able to turn it around in just one year,” he said. “And of course, it depends on what we do this offseason. I have a strong belief that we can make it happen.”

While Grifol didn’t have the report readily available, it’s unnecessary now. He doesn’t need to search for examples of a one-year turnaround anymore.

The Texas Rangers proved his point on Wednesday, going from 94 losses in 2022 to winning their first-ever World Series championship just one year later. How did they achieve this remarkable feat? And can the White Sox follow suit?

Numerous factors contributed to the Rangers’ title, such as the hiring of Hall of Fame-bound manager Bruce Bochy. The White Sox attempted a similar route with Tony La Russa in 2020 but experienced regression after one playoff season in 2022, and La Russa retired for a second time due to health reasons.

Spending a substantial amount of money also played a role in the Rangers’ success. They acquired Corey Seager and Marcus Semien in 2022 and added starters Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi in the previous winter. Although deGrom suffered an early injury and didn’t perform as expected, the Rangers acquired Jordan Montgomery and Max Scherzer for the stretch run and postseason.

According to spotrac.com, they had the fourth-highest payroll at $251 million, while the White Sox ranked 15th at $162.8 million.

However, anyone expecting the White Sox to suddenly splurge on spending, like 82-year-old Rangers owner Ray Davis did, would be considered insane. Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf made their offseason plans clear in September.

“Look, we’re not going to compete for (Shohei) Ohtani, I can tell you that right now,” he stated. “And we’re not going to sign pitchers to 10-year contracts. But we’re going to try to improve, and that means making trades, potentially signing free agents, and playing smarter baseball.”

Reinsdorf, who will be turning 88 in February, has no intention of selling the team or altering his spending philosophy anytime soon, irrespective of the correlation between spending and winning. He would likely point out that even though the Rangers spent all that money, they only secured a wild-card spot in the expanded postseason.

The Rangers did not dominate during the regular season, but they impressed in October with sweeps against the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles. They then went on to win a grueling seven-game American League Championship Series against reigning champions, the Houston Astros. They were fortunate to face an Arizona Diamondbacks team in the World Series that was struggling with a lack of reliable starting pitchers.

Luck plays a part in postseason success for every team. However, the Rangers earned their championship thanks to standout performances from players like Seager, Eovaldi, and Adolis García, who emerged as one of the postseason’s biggest winners.

But back to the White Sox. Can they replicate the Rangers’ achievements?

Just envision Luis Robert Jr. as the White Sox’s answer to García in the 2024 postseason, with Dylan Cease mirroring Eovaldi and Tim Anderson emulating Seager.

No? I don’t blame you.

However, the White Sox do have a foundational piece in Robert, and he has demonstrated his MVP potential by maintaining consistency throughout the entire season, despite the team’s struggles. That’s a good start. Figuring out which players deserve to stay and which ones need to be let go will make Chris Getz’s first offseason as general manager fascinating.

Getz already deserves praise for one of his initial front-office hires, assistant general manager Josh Barfield. Barfield previously served as Mike Hazen’s assistant GM in Arizona, where they built a young Diamondbacks team that exceeded expectations by reaching the World Series.

Emulating the Diamondbacks Way seems like a more realistic game plan for the White Sox. They have a young core in Robert, Andrew Vaughn, and Eloy Jiménez, but many question marks beyond that. Getz must soon determine what to do with options on Tim Anderson, Mike Clevinger, Liam Hendriks, and others, while also exploring the trade market for Cease, Jiménez, Yoán Moncada, Michael Kopech, and the rest of the roster.

Getz’s most challenging decision is also the easiest on paper: declining Anderson’s $14 million option after his career-worst season. It is realistic to envision Anderson turning his fortunes around elsewhere, but his chances of doing so in Chicago appear slim. If anyone seems to be in need of a fresh start to become the Cody Bellinger of 2024, it’s Anderson.

Clevinger’s $12 million mutual option presents real risks, but the White Sox should pay the $4 million buyout and move on, even though he was their best starter at 9-9 with a 3.77 ERA. When the White Sox placed Clevinger on waivers, nobody showed interest, so the idea that they could trade him after picking up the option seems far-fetched.

Hendriks, who overcame non-Hodgkin lymphoma and made an admirable but brief comeback attempt, poses an intriguing dilemma for Getz. It makes perfect sense to decline Hendriks’ mutual $15 million option since the closer will likely be unavailable for most, if not all, of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Hendriks will receive the money regardless. If the option is picked up, he would be paid $15 million; if declined, it would be deferred over a 10-year period. The White Sox can do the math on that one. Hendriks might be open to signing a low-salary deal to return to Chicago, though numerous teams would likely be interested in him based on his track record and personality.

The unofficial start of the offseason begins next week in Arizona at the GM meetings, and Getz will undoubtedly be a busy man.

The 2023 season may have been disastrous for the White Sox, but the Rangers showed us that things can change dramatically in a short span of time.