Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert celebrate after a win last year. Photo: Rey Del Rio/Getty Images
The 2022 White Sox were one of the most chaotic Chicago sports teams in recent memory. Pegged to compete for a World Series, they instead finished 81-81 and missed the playoffs.
Driving the news: The offseason saw the end of the Tony La Russa experiment in Chicago, and that may be just enough to turn things around.
State of play: Enter new manager Pedro Grifol, a former bench coach from Kansas City. The no-name coach doesn't stoke the fan base, but as long as he doesn't fall asleep in the dugout, he's an upgrade.
- Plus, most of the club is back, including Luis Robert, Tim Anderson and a pretty stellar starting rotation featuring Cy Young candidate Dylan Cease.
He gone: Jose Abreu. Abreu is just one player, but Sox fans are sour that the All-Star bolted for Houston.
New arrivals: Andrew Benintendi will start in left field, while former Padres pitcher Mike Clevinger replaces Johnny Cueto.
Pick to click: Assuming he's fully recovered from knee surgery, pitcher Michael Kopech should shine on the mound.
Surprise: Elvis Andrus is back.
The bottom line: The Sox just need to get that swagger back that defined them in 2021. Losing La Russa may be enough to jump-start this team to live up to expectations.
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