After another mediocre season with a record of 72-89, the Chicago White Sox and their fans were left disappointed yet again. At the beginning of the 2019 season, fans were positive they would have a playoff run, but the team didn’t make the cut, even with a last-ditch effort at the end of the season winning 7 of their last 10 games. However these past three years of rebuilding the franchise are starting to show promising results for the team.

The Chicago White Sox are having an optimistic outlook for the upcoming season. The team so far has had a very successful spring training in Arizona. The Sox even beat hometown rival, the Chicago Cubs, by 6-3 on March 5. The south-siders have also defeated the Boston Red Sox, New York Giants, Seattle Mariners, Clevland Indians, Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, and 6-0 shut-out win against the San Diego Padres on March 8.

What’s the secret behind this success? So far, the spotlight is on the new additions of the team. The White Sox signed pitcher Dallas Keuchel and catcher Yasmani Grandal back in December, both major transactions for the franchise. 23-year-old pitcher Michael Kopech, who just came off of recovery from Tommy John surgery, pitched his first game back with the White Sox leading them to a 6-0 shut-out against the Padres. To add to this powerhouse, the White Sox have also extended the contracts of third baseman Yoan Moncada and veteran Jose Abreu. Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez have also been locked into long-term deals, creating a good foundation for the team to build upon this season.

“Every team, when you start a rebuild, when you go about this process, you want to find young, core, championship-caliber pieces that you can build around,” White Sox General Manager Rick Hahn commented regarding the recent additions to the team. Self-proclaimed ‘White Sox Expert’ Lawson Sizemore praises the recent decisions of the Sox general manager, “Bringing in players such as Grandal along with veterans players like Keuchel, Abreu, and Jimmy Cordero to lead this younger team, the rebuild is there and hopefully a division win at the end of this season.” 

Opening day for the White Sox was supposed to take place on March 26 against the Royals. However, due to the growing concern of the Coronavirus, the MLB has announced that the remainder of the preseason is cancelled and the regular season will be postponed at least two weeks.