The 2024 White Sox were a historically bad baseball team for many reasons. Their inability to consistently get on base was a big part of that. It appears vice president and general manager Chris Getz took notice. All his offseason position player acquisitions so far have a common theme: an ability to draw walks and get on base consistently.
Last season, the White Sox had the lowest on-base percentage of any team in MLB. They also drew the fewest walks and were tied for last in BB%. For perspective, the league average on-base percentage in 2024 was .312. The White Sox as a team had a .278 OBP. They only had one starter who was league-average at getting on base, the recently departed Nicky Lopez. His OBP was .312 on the dot. Every other starting White Sox position player got on base at a below league-average rate.
As we all saw, the construction of 2024 White Sox lineup was not conducive to success. They struggled mightily to get on base and string together rallies. Scoring was nearly impossible because no one was on base consistently. They scored almost 100 fewer runs than any other team in 2024. Even mediocre and bad pitchers carved through the 2024 White Sox because the lineup didn’t have anyone who could work counts and draw walks. They also couldn’t hit for power. It is no mystery why they had a record-breaking season in all the wrong ways.
Chris Getz and the rest of the White Sox front office have prioritized adding players who can get on base consistently despite not having much money to work with. Payroll has been slashed significantly. The most expensive signing the team has made so far this offseason is Mike Tauchman and even he got less than $2 million. It is bargain bin shopping to the extreme. That said, it’s clear what type of players they are targeting; guys who get on base.
Getz has added three players who will likely be on the MLB opening day roster and three position player prospects from the Garrett Crochet trade. Their walk rates and on-base percentages are listed below.
Mike Tauchman: 13.4 BB%, .357 OBP
Austin Slater: 12.3 BB%, .321 OBP
Matt Thaiss: 15.1 BB%, .323 OBP
Chase Meidroth (AAA): 18.8 BB%, .437 OBP
Kyle Teel (AA/AAA): 13.5 BB%, .386 OBP
Braden Montgomery (NCAA): 18.0 BB%, .454 OBP
The theme is obvious. All of these guys took walks and got on base at the respective levels they played at in 2024. Tauchman, Slater, and Thaiss are not amazing players by any means, but any of them would have had the highest on-base percentage of the White Sox starting lineup this past season. That is how pitiful the offense was last season.
Even Getz’s minor league depth signings reflect his vision of guys who can frequently draw walks and get on base.
Nick Maton (AAA): 13.1 BB%, .363 OBP
Andre Lipcius (AAA): 10.7 BB%, .351 OBP
Cal Mitchell (AAA): 11.7 BB%, .359 OBP
Despite the emphasis on adding on-base threats, the White Sox lineup will likely still struggle in 2025. Their MLB additions this offseason are all short-term, bridge players. The prospects they received for Crochet are not MLB-ready yet. There are also still holdovers from last season. The team sorely lacks power as well, and a direct correlation exists between home runs and wins. The top 7 teams in home runs last season each won at least 89 games. Most teams at the bottom of MLB in home runs were not good record-wise. The White Sox lack of home run power is a major problem that likely won’t be addressed until next offseason at the earliest.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither will the White Sox. That said, it is encouraging to see Chris Getz and the rest of the front office address a significant flaw throughout the roster with seemingly very tight payroll constraints. The team will eventually have to add power and home run threats to become a serious contender again. However, we should see better at-bats and offensive production on the south side moving forward because of the emphasis on adding high walk and on-base players.
