What White Sox can expect from upcoming series vs. Twins, Guardians
There are two things the White Sox were not anticipating heading into the season.
No. 1: they'd be floundering under the .500 mark in July.
No. 2: the Twins and Guardians would be playing as well as they have over the first three months of the season.
Add it up, and the underachieving Sox are actually fortunate to still be within striking distance while running third in the AL Central. That would not be the case if they competed in the AL East or West, or NL East or West.
With all-star closer Liam Hendriks due back Monday and left fielder Eloy Jimenez possibly returning later in the week, the White Sox are going to be as healthy as they've been in quite a while.
Good thing, because a critical part of the schedule begins on July 4 with a three-game series against Minnesota at Guaranteed Rate Field.
After that, it's a four-game set at Cleveland beginning July 11 followed by four more against the Twins at Target Field.
That takes the Sox into the all-star break, so they have a great opportunity to finally make a push.
Even with the inconsistent play, the odds makers still believe the White Sox are going to get turned around.
According to BetOnline, Minnesota is 25/1 to win the World Series. The Sox are close behind at 28/1 and Cleveland is 60/1.
The White Sox can only hope the upcoming road swing goes better than it did in April, when they lost three straight at Cleveland and three straight at Minnesota.
Let's take a closer look at the two teams the Sox trail in the standings:
Twins
Byron Buxton has always had the tools to be an elite player, but injuries have been an issue since he cracked Minnesota's starting lineup in 2015.
The center fielder has been dealing with a sore knee this season, but he's been able to stay on the field for the most part and has already hit 21 home runs - a career high.
Luis Arraez entered the season with a .313 career batting average over three years, but the infielder was widely unknown outside the Twin Cities.
Arraez is making himself known this season, and he was leading the AL with a .343 average heading into Saturday's play.
Third baseman Gio Urshela and catcher Gary Sanchez, who were acquired from the Yankees in the March 13 Josh Donaldson trade, have been solid offensive contributors.
Shortstop Carlos Correa was a huge offseason addition, and he's been living up to expectations following a sluggish April.
Pitching was the main reason Minnesota finished last in the Central in 2021, but newcomers Sonny Gray and Chris Archer and holdovers Joe Ryan and Devin Smeltzer lead a solid starting rotation.
Rookie Jhoan Duran took over as the Twins' closer in May and he's been a smash hit with a 2.06 ERA to go with 46 strikeouts and only 6 walks in 35 innings.
Guardians
The White Sox's payroll this season is $196 million, the seventh-highest in baseball.
With a $138 million payroll, the Twins check in at No. 16.
Then there's the Guardians, who are near the bottom (No. 28) at $68 million.
Cleveland scraped up enough money to sign Jose Ramirez to a seven-year, $141 million contract in mid-April, a wise move.
Ramirez leads the league with 63 RBI and the star third baseman is making another MVP run.
The Guardians always seem to have quality starting pitching, and that's the case again this season.
Shane Bieber missed half of last season with a shoulder injury, but the right-hander is healthy this year and looking a lot like he did while winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2020.
Cal Quantrill, Zach Plesac and Triston McKenzie are the other key contributors in the rotation and former Sox prospect Konnor Pilkington is starting to make an impact.
Cleveland acquired Pilkington in the trade that sent second baseman Cesar Hernandez to the White Sox last July.
Another reason the Guardians are staying competitive with such a low payroll? Manager Terry Francona is back in the dugout after health issues forced him to miss the final two months of last season.
In his first nine years with Cleveland, Francona got to the playoffs five times.