Carlos Rodon was a member of the White Sox three years ago when they won the American League Central Division and reached the postseason for the second straight year.
He moved to San Francisco as a free agent and watched from afar as the White Sox quickly fell to a .500 winning percentage and then lost 101 games a year ago.
But even that is nothing compared to what’s happened on the South Side this season, as the White Sox finish 28-91 and on track to finish with the worst record in MLB history.
The Yankees will get to see the hapless Red Sox in person when they open their series in Chicago on Monday.
“When I left, the team definitely looked like it had a chance to win the next division,” Rodon said Sunday. “I don’t know what happened.”
But like others, the left-hander has a few theories about why his condition worsened so quickly.
“I think they’re still finding their identity,” Rodon said. “‘Do I want to spend money or do I want to develop?’ [players]?Right now, it seems like they want to develop it, but they have to learn how to do it, and that takes time.?
He’s seen the organization transform from underachieving in 2017 and 2018 to modest improvement in 2019 and 2020.
“You know what the Royals did in the division with their team,” Rodon said, “and the White Sox are four years behind. I was there for a rebuild, and then they get to the postseason and they’re rebuilding again.”
And the Yankees, who are competing with the Orioles for supremacy in the American League East, cannot afford to lose to the White Sox, whose general manager, Chris Getz, in his first year as manager, has just fired manager Pedro Grifol and installed interim manager Grady Sizemore in his place.
“It hasn’t been going too well,” DJ LeMahieu said, “We just made a coaching change and I feel like the players are better than the results.”
Left-handed pitcher Tim Hill spent the first three months of the season with the White Sox before being waived in June and signing with the Yankees.
“It was a terrible situation with a series of injuries and things not going the way we wanted,” Hill said of the team’s struggles.
But nobody expected this.
“It’s unbelievable how it all unfolded the way it did,” said Anthony Rizzo, who played nearly a decade with the Cubs across from Chicago before joining the Yankees in 2021.
“It seemed like they could sustain their success just a few years ago,” Rizzo said. “The people of Chicago, especially the fans on the South Side, deserve better. It’s a tough situation. This is a sports city.”
Rizzo, who is still rehabbing from a broken arm, won’t be in Chicago for the series, but knows how tough it’s been.
“As a professional, to see your team lose like this is tough for the players and very tough for the team.” [and] “Individually,” Rizzo said, “I understand how they feel, but we’re trying to win every game.”
Although the White Sox are probably at the bottom of the list of professional teams in the city, “they’re very passionate,” Rizzo said.
“I love White Sox fans,” Rizzo said of White Sox fans. “That rivalry was great. I hope they get out of that soon.”
