CLEVELAND – Watching a documentary about baseball in the 1960s over the weekend touched on a nostalgic element of the game that left the building a long time ago.
It served as a good reminder. Don’t get too close to the favorite players on your favorite teams, because they won’t be around much longer.
So it goes for the White Sox, especially these days. They brought you Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko, Ozzie Guillen and Harold Baines, among others as players who wore Sox pinstripes for the bulk of their careers. But in this era, and in this awful season of 2024 where the Sox opened a three-game series against the Guardians with a 24-62 record, the Sox’ 2023 All-Star center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and 2024 All-Star pitcher to be Garrett Crochet might be too good to stay.
So don’t get attached.
Don’t develop an affection for Crochet, the major leagues’ strikeout leader. Or Robert Jr., who hit a two-run game-tying homer in the sixth inning and a two-run tying single in the seventh in the Sox’ 7-6 loss against the Guardians Tuesday.
The Sox are rebuilding, again, after a the last rebuild prematurely bottomed out with players thought to be worth investing jerseys in. A lot of those jerseys scream “buyers remorse” now.
Thinking about a Robert Jr. shirt? A Crochet? Think twice before swiping that Visa card. They might be wearing a Dodgers uniform, or some other, next season if not sooner.
If Robert and Crochet aren’t going to be around when their contracts are up, the Sox might be better served adding to their collection of prospects by trading them now. But there isn’t much to love about the worst team in baseball as is, unless you like their band of brothers’ theme of flushing losses together and moving on.
With Eloy Jimenez’ and Yoan Moncada’s combined $39 million in club options all but certainly not getting picked up before next season, shouldn’t ownership should consider a lucrative extension for Crochet, build the pitching staff around him with their collection of promising young arms already on the pitching staff and at the Double-A and Triple-A levels? Why not keep Robert, who is under control through for $15 million in 2025, $20 million in 2026 (club option) and another $20 million in 2027 (club option).
Prospects are only that. There are no sure things. Crochet and Robert are, although a case could be made for wanting to see more from Crochet, as excellent and dominant as he’s been. Eighteen major league starts for a pitcher coming off elbow and shoulder problems, as impressive as they have been, is not a lot.
In any case, the Sox inched closer to the July 30 trade deadline with their first loss of the month. Andres Gimenez singled leading off the ninth against Michael Kopech, advanced to third on ground out and wild pitch and scored on Bo Naylor’s sacrifice fly.
Kopech, who slipped on the wild pitch while facing Naylor, was visited by Sox training staff but stayed in the game.
Chris Flexen, another Sox pitcher who might get traded, gave up six runs but only three of them earned in his 16th start. Shortstop Paul DeJong’s throw to third base hit Josh Naylor, allowing Naylor to score and opening the door to a three-run sixth that put the Guardians in front 6-3.
In the seventh, after Lenyn Sosa’s double cut the Sox deficit to 6-4 and put runners on second and third, manager Pedro Grifol had Tommy Pham pinch hit for catcher Korey Lee. Pham was called out on strikes, didn’t like Emil Jimenez’ call, and Grifol got ejected for the third time. But Robert came through with a two-run tying single.