Although everyone is talking about how the White Sox struck themselves out of the ALDS, hitting is not the most concerning thing for them. Offensive slumps are going to happen over a season, and unfortunately for the Sox, it happened at the worst possible time.
With that in mind, the only way for the Sox to believably say that they had a successful offseason is to address their most glaring weakness in 2026: Starting pitching. The 674.2 innings they got from pitchers who started or opened games were by far the fewest in MLB. Even with the benefit of bulk starters, that still is taxing for a bullpen.
The Sox can pursue starting pitching help by nabbing one or two arms in free agency. They also have some internal options they can look at elevating. But to look at their current situation and decide that what they have is working would be malpractice, not to mention negligent. That scenario might sound preposterous, but the Sox don't exactly have the best recent history of addressing positions of need.
If the Sox aren't convinced to take action, they need look no further than the four teams competing in the LCS. It should serve as evidence that even among today's evolving pitching standards, there very much remains a place for pitchers who are expected to go at least five or six innings. What's more, teams with enough of those pitchers can expect to at least reach the doorstep of the World Series.
All four teams still playing had at least four starting pitchers throw at least 100 innings. Since Erick Fedde switched back and forth between the rotation and bullpen, the Sox only boasted three who earned that distinction (Sean Burke, Anthony Kay, and Davis Martin).
Three of the surviving teams made up MLB's top three in starting WHIP, ranging from 1.08 to 1.14. Sox starting pitchers were a distant 25th at 1.34.
Even though wins don't carry the weight they once did, all teams still alive also ranked in the top 10 in starting pitching victories. The Sox were 25th again in that category with 39.
So, unless Will Venable makes it clear to Chris Getz that he wants to continue with the constant openers, the Sox are going to have to add some arms if they want to get one step closer to a pennant. If they can manage to do that, the offseason will be a success, provided the new starters don't drop off like Luis Castillo.
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