Gregor: If White Sox continue to flounder, is another rebuild coming?
Pedro Grifol stayed as upbeat as humanly possible during the White Sox's 10-game losing streak, which finally ended Sunday when they scored 7 runs in the bottom for the ninth inning to stun Tampa Bay, 12-7.
"I'm not happy, but my confidence is not shaken," the Sox's first-year manager said. "I'm not happy about it. Nobody in this clubhouse is happy about it, nobody in this building is happy about it. But we have guys that have performed here and they're just not going to not perform.
"The one thing I do know is that they care, we all care. We're all here to get better."
There was a significant sigh of relief after Andrew Vaughn's 3-run homer finally put the White Sox back in the win column, but they still had the third-worst April record (8-21) in baseball.
The trade deadline is three months away, so there is time for the Sox to start moving in the right direction.
With injured shortstop Tim Anderson (sprained left knee) due back as early as Tuesday, and eventually followed by third baseman Yoan Moncada and relievers Garrett Crochet and Liam Hendriks, there is some needed good health in the future.
The schedule will start to get easier as well, but the White Sox didn't look like they were capable of beating anybody during a miserable opening month.
If that trend continues, look for general manager Rick Hahn to start selling off players.
That's assuming Hahn still has a job.
"Look, the trade deadline is a certain date, and you start backing up from there in terms of when decisions get made about which direction you're going to go," Hahn said late last week. "This start has created quite a hole for us so we need to start getting right quickly so we're in a position to make that a difficult decision at the trade deadline, much less an obvious one that we need to add. The timeline is longer than 25 games, but we need to get this right quickly."
Should the Sox's slide continue, launching yet another rebuild is the obvious recourse.
For as bad as the White Sox's record is, they do have some good players that can be traded for prospects.
Dylan Cease
He's making only $5.7 million this season after finishing second in American League Cy Young Award voting last year.
Cease is also arbitration eligible in 2024 and '25, so the Sox would get a big haul of young talent in a trade due to the favorable contract.
Tim Anderson
He missed the final two months of last season with a finger injury and much of this April with the sprained knee.
Anderson was also dinged up from 2019 through '21, so staying on the field has been an issue.
When healthy, he's the Sox's best all-around player. A team-friendly contract only adds to Anderson's trade value: The American League's 2019 batting champion has a very reasonable $14 million club option for next season before he cashes in as a free agent.
Eloy Jimenez
After hitting 31 homers and driving in 79 runs over 122 games as a rookie in 2019, Jimenez has been derailed by one injury after another.
He's also an obvious designated hitter who never seems happy unless he's playing the outfield.
If the White Sox decide to give up on Jimenez, who is under contract from 2024-26 for a total of $48 million, he'd bring back a decent return.
Liam Hendriks
Just about ready to begin a rehab assignment after being declared cancer-free, Hendriks will be a trade chip if he comes back in late May or early June and pitches well.
MLB's No. 1 reliever in saves and strikeouts from 2019-22, Hendriks has a $15 million mutual option for 2024.
Lance Lynn
Starting pitchers are always in demand at the trade deadline, so Lynn is an obvious candidate.
Nearing his 36th birthday, the right-hander had a rough April (0-4, 7.16 ERA) but he did no-hit Tampa Bay for six innings in his last start and would help a contending team.
Lynn has an $18 million club option for 2024 that includes a $1 million buyout.