Rick Hahn tends to take a binary view when asked if a season was a success.
“It’s pass/fail,” the Chicago White Sox general manager said Friday in a conference call with reporters. “We didn’t win the final game of the postseason, so we didn’t meet our ultimate goal. … We didn’t reach the ultimate final goal, so how can we possibly be satisfied?
“That said, there is a lot of reason for hope and optimism. We like where we are as an organization, the direction we’re going, and this is what we worked for — to be in a position on an annual basis to have realistic World Series aspirations. As we sit here on Nov. 5, we can realistically say that.”
The Sox qualified for the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history. They lost 3-1 in the best-of-five American League Division Series against the Houston Astros.
“We obviously have work to do, not just because of free agency and some of the flaws we saw on the roster over the course of the summer and early fall but because there are ways to get better,” Hahn said. “I feel very good about where we sit, but that isn’t inconsistent with my position of feeling unsatisfied with how things went last year.”
Hahn confirmed that manager Tony La Russa and “the uniformed” coaching staff would be returning, and also announced five roster moves.
Relievers Jimmy Cordero, Evan Marshall and Jace Fry and outfielder Brian Goodwin were outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte, and the team purchased the contract of left-handed pitcher Anderson Severino from Charlotte.
Cordero, Fry, Goodwin and Marshall become free agents. With the moves, the Sox’s 40-man roster stands at 34.
Hahn said Allen Thomas’ contract as the head of strength and conditioning is not being renewed, and the Sox are “in the process of reimagining that department.”
Decisions will be coming in terms of picking up options on players such as reliever Craig Kimbrel and second baseman César Hernández. Hahn anticipates an update on options Saturday. The Sox will decline the option on Hernández, according to a report Friday from ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. USA Today previously reported the team is expected to pick up Kimbrel’s option and explore trading him this offseason.
Decisions on extending qualifying offers could be addressed Sunday. That might affect someone like starter Carlos Rodón.
“Carlos, as a free agent, there’s only so much I’m allowed to say but I can certainly praise how fantastic he was for us over the bulk of the season and that it would be great to figure out a way to bring him back in some capacity,” Hahn said.
In terms of the rotation, Hahn said the Sox envision Michael Kopech leaving the bullpen to fill a starting role. Kopech went 4-3 with a 3.50 ERA in 44 appearances (four spot starts) after missing 2019 while recovering from Tommy John surgery and opting out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
“We are going to have to be diligent in our monitoring of him over the course of the offseason as well as … spring training and over the course of the regular season in terms of how the ball looks coming out of his hand, what his mechanics look like, what the data is telling us,” Hahn said.
“It’s nothing we haven’t dealt with before in terms of building a guy out of the pen into the rotation, but it’s certainly a project that we need to go into with eyes open and a good plan and one that has some flexibility built into it.”
If Kopech heads back to the rotation, that would create at least one opening in the bullpen. Ryan Tepera, one of the players added in July, is a free agent.
The fact the collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the players union expires next month isn’t changing how Hahn is operating.
“We’re going about our business as usual,” Hahn said. “We aren’t really changing our conversations with other clubs or free agents. Some things may obviously change in the next collective bargaining agreement. For example, the qualifying offer. We’re not quite sure what that will yield in the next collective bargaining agreement, and no one’s really going to know until everything is final. But other than more ancillary issues like that, we’re just going about our business as usual.
“And look, what’s it been, 25, 26 years or something of labor peace, which is a remarkable stretch for those of us who remember the late ’70s and ’80s and early ’90s in terms of how frequently there were stoppages. So until told otherwise, I’m going to remain optimistic that that remarkable stretch will continue thanks to the hard work of MLB and the PA. We’re business as usual until we’re told otherwise.”
SoxFest 2022 canceled
SoxFest has been canceled for the second consecutive year because of COVID-19 concerns, the team announced Friday. The event was scheduled for January at McCormick Place.
“SoxFest has been built on nearly three decades of 10,000 fans, players, coaches and staff who come together under one roof to celebrate the White Sox,” the team said in a statement. “As we continue to try and predict and manage COVID-related protocols in indoor settings, we believe it is not possible to carry out the traditional experience and activities that have made SoxFest special, like autographs, photos and guest appearances.”
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