In an offseason lamented as unsatisfying and insufficient, the Boston Red Sox (32-31) attempted to address their pitching depth while simultaneously erring on the side of caution. This philosophy, which has become increasingly tiresome for the Fenway Faithful, resulted in former Chicago White Sox right-handed pitchers Liam Hendriks and Lucas Giolito signing short-term contracts in free agency.
The former had already underwent Tommy John surgery last August, and the latter was forced to have a season-ending elbow procedure of his own in spring training. Boston can only hope that their investments pay dividends down the road. In the meanwhile, Hendriks and Giolito have plenty of time to reflect on their recent past and try to figure out where it all went wrong in the South Side.
Both players returned to Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday for the first time since their respective White Sox departures, witnessing the continuation of something that started towards the end of their tenures with the club– an organizational catastrophe.
Chicago went 128-94 across the 2020 and 2021 regular seasons and won its first divisional title in over a decade. A resurgence was ostensibly underway, and Hendriks, Giolito and several other talented athletes were destined to be a significant part of it. Instead, dysfunction reared its ugly head and began to eradicate the White Sox's once ample supply of promise.
Last season marked their crushing fall to rock bottom, as the futility that fans had become frustratingly familiar with in the 2010s was now accompanied with “bad culture” claims. There is a new general manager in town, but the misery is only intensifying.
“We failed,” Liam Hendriks said of the team's descent, via ESPN. “We failed the city. We failed the front office. We failed everyone around.”
White Sox set awful franchise record after Red Sox game
There is no end in sight for the failures to which the three-time All-Star closer is referring. Chicago is in the early stages of a full rebuild, one that is ions away from producing even a sliver of optimism. Ideally, though, a last-place finish does not have to equate to endless desolation.
The Red Sox pummeled the White Sox in Hendriks and Giolito's homecoming, 14-2, to hand them a franchise-record 14th straight loss. Tanner Houck posted another stellar entry in his 2024 American League Cy Young application, surrendering just two runs and recording nine strikeouts in seven innings of work. Jarren Duran stayed hot with a four-hit night and career minor leaguer Jamie Westbrook belted the first home run of his MLB career.
Chicago drops to 15-38 and is an alarming 26 games out of first place in the AL Central. Manger Pedro Grifol recently criticized the team's effort, presumably a last-ditch effort to light a spark under the moribund Sox and save his job. Neither appear feasible at the moment, unfortunately.
The last two years have been tarnished by bad baseball, injuries and a negative atmosphere. That is a toxic mix so potent that there is hardly even a trace of the 93-win club that competed in the 2021 playoffs. Lucas Giolito wishes the White Sox would have capitalized on that “window where we could have really done something special.” There is no opening to be seen now.
Though, the Red Sox are not exactly rubbing elbows with the MLB's elite either.
Boston must reverse its own concerning decline
A shade above .500 is not usually something to celebrate. Boston is only one and a half games short of an AL Wild Card position, but it is saddled with a plethora of injuries and an ownership group that lacks urgency– or perhaps accountability is the right word, based on team president Sam Kennedy's “underperformed” remark.
There are multiple reasons to enjoy Red Sox baseball in 2024, among them being Tanner Houck, Rafael Devers, Jarren Duran and Connor Wong. However, there is still an underlying sense of aimlessness plaguing the organization. Does first-year chief baseball officer Craig Breslow have enough backing from Boston brass to be aggressive at the trade deadline? Or will last year's conservative approach take shape once more?
These are the pressing questions that fans want swiftly answered. Liam Hendriks is hopeful he can be a second-half addition to the Red Sox as he progresses through his Tommy John recovery. The Australian-born veteran pitcher returned to baseball in 2023 following his battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, before devastatingly landing on the injured list last summer. He is keeping his positive mindset intact through this latest obstacle, determined to help Boston restore the glory days.
Both Hendriks and Giolito are eager to experience team success again after enduring an ugly plunge with the White Sox. Hopefully, the Red Sox can oblige.
