CLEVELAND, OHIO – AUGUST 19: Relief pitcher Jake Diekman #55 of the Chicago White Sox pitches during the seventh inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on August 19, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
The Chicago White Sox had a number of issues that spelled their doom in 2022.
The Chicago White Sox won the AL Central in 2021 by going 93-69 and winning the division by 13 games. However, that was not and has not been the case in 2022 as they may not even finish over .500.
They have had a lot of issues arise this season including a lot of injuries. That has been a huge factor for them as catcher Yasmani Grandal, shortstop Tim Anderson, outfielder Luis Robert, outfielder Eloy Jimenez, and third baseman Yoan Moncada have all missed 60 or more games this year.
Injuries are something that is, largely, unpreventable but the White Sox also made a slew of mistakes that could have helped them at least get a Wild Card spot if not win the AL Central.
Here are five biggest mistakes that doomed the White Sox this season.
5. Not addressing their bullpen in a bigger way at the trade deadline
The Chicago White Sox did very little at the trade deadline when they were in the thick of the playoff hunt. Entering play on August 2, the White Sox were in third place in the AL Central but they were only three games out of first place.
What did they do on August 2? Absolutely nothing. On August 1, they made a trade with the Red Sox to acquire left-handed reliever Jake Diekman in exchange for catcher Reese McGuire. McGuire has been great with the Red Sox (146 OPS+ in 35 games). Diekman has not been good with the White Sox (7.27 ERA in 24 games). That was the lone trade that the White Sox made.
Even with Red Sox, Diekman had a 4.23 ERA in 44 games. Not exactly a great season.
Entering August 2, the White Sox had a bullpen ERA of 4.01, which was 19th in baseball. Since then, their bullpen ERA is 4.09, which is also 19th. It is literally worse because they traded for Diekman. If they would have made a few more trades for relievers and better quality relievers, they could have had a much better bullpen down the stretch.