We could be headed towards a major shift in the balance of power in Chicago baseball. The Chicago White Sox unquestionably won the 2019-20 Major League Baseball off-season, filling important needs in free agency and making sure key players stayed put.
Meanwhile the Chicago Cubs diddled their thumbs for the second consecutive offseason, treating their competitive window with utter neglect. How it all plays out on the field remains to be seen of course, but the odds makers have certainly taken heed.
The Cubs have seen their odds go longer from 25/1 to 35/1 as they’ve been inactive in the market, crying poor (despite having the 14th highest valuation for a sports franchise, according to Forbes) and blaming their financial woes on stadium additions and renovation.
Meanwhile the White Sox have had a winter that projects, at least on paper, to 12 wins above replacement, and in the process their Series odds slashed from 75/1 to 35/1. Forbes writes that:
“no other team should claim as many across-the-roster improvements,” and that the White Sox “have been arguably the most active team in baseball, and because of all the additions to their roster, they are the team in the best position to take the biggest step forward next season.”
And that article was written before the Sox added former Cubs reliever Steve Cishek to their roster this Hot Stove season. Take a look at this graphic via MLB Network:
Steve Cishek has reportedly signed with the @whitesox. #MLBTonight pic.twitter.com/97XaiIq934
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 7, 2020
Adding two starting pitchers, plus the return of super-prospect Michael Kopech from injury, gives a badly need makeover to the rotation. The Sox have certainly had offense for some time, with their shortstop winning the batting title and their first baseman leading the league in RBIs last season, but starting pitching has been a major issue.
Perhaps not in 2020? Another intriguing addition is catcher Yasmani Grandal, because now manager Rick Renteria will have options as to where he slots James McCann and what kind of lineups he’ll field, given the opposing starting pitcher that day. It’s reasonable to expect the White Sox to surpass the Cubs in wins next season as they also have an advantage of playing all those games against the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers, two of the worst teams in all of baseball.
That said, their road to the World Series could be tougher than the Cubs and that’s reflected in pennant odds.
Although the disparity is minimal, the Cubs still have slightly more favorable league championship odds than the White Sox, being backed a 15/1 versus 17/1.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.