Levine: White Sox Unsure Of Adding Or Subtracting Players
By Bruce Levine--
(CBS) -- One-third of the way through the season, the White Sox front office must be wondering just what direction to go.
It appears there's no sure way to really calculate a White Sox run for playoff baseball in 2015. For now, the White Sox plan to stay proactive in trade discussions with hopes of a good run over the next few weeks. That theory won't go on beyond a reasonable time period, though.
"The marching orders for our scouts going forward from spring training: Look at these positions of need (catcher and third base) and see how things evolve," general manager Rick Hahn said. "We have to be nimble enough that if things don't go the way we had hoped we may have to adjust and go in the other direction. Our intent is to look to add when the time comes."
The White Sox haven't been buried in their highly competitive division. With the growth of Carlos Rodon in the rotation, the possibility of having four quality, if not dominant, starters certainly exists. That said, Hahn is prepared to go whatever direction the team takes them.
The next month will determine if it is add or subtract time on Chicago's South Side.
"There is no (exact) time we have to declare our intentions for the season," Hahn said. "As you get closer to July 31, you have some priorities that you have to put in order, whether it's the current season and feeding what you are doing now, versus reshaping for the future. As we sit here today, our hope is that we will be able to continue to add and have reinforcements come here to contribute in a championship run."
No one in the American League Central has played at a high level all season long except for the surprising Minnesota Twins, who will probably find their true level at some point before the All-Star Game. Kansas City and Detroit started the season hot. The Royals will be in the mix all year, but the Tigers are showing signs of wilting and vulnerability. Detroit is in a freefall, having lost seven straight entering play Friday.
The Chicago defense and baserunning must continue to get better. The infield defense has been improved with the glove work of Carlos Sanchez at second base. The young infielder would be easier to carry offensively, if the rest of the team begins to hit close to its career numbers.
"We were hoping that the offense would have performed better," Hahn said as the team returned home after a 5-6 road trip. "We are not going to declare we are an offense-first team or we are a pitching and defense team. We are a club that has shown some upside. We are also a club that has suffered from inconsistency. We are also one that has some strength that has shown up from time to time."
Hahn pointed to the recent improvements as something to cling to as the last-place team looked to move up in their tough division.
"We have had some foibles along the way, and weaknesses have shown up at times," he said. "They are not only correctable, but these players have the ability to play at a higher level."
Playing too many games without offensive support has allowed mental and physical errors to make the team look worse than they really are.
"With greater offensive performance you have room to paper over some of those mistakes," Hahn said. "If the offense were clicking the way we expected it can going forward, some of these smaller mental mistakes would not have snowballed the way they had."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
