Three questions the White Sox hope to answer by season's end

WASHINGTON -- With the first half of their final road trip of the season complete after Wednesday’s 13-3 loss to the Nationals, the White Sox are nearly at the finish line.

But the season is not over yet. And while the White Sox are into the process of answering big long-term questions that will define their winter, a few short-term questions linger around the club as it closes out 2023.

Here are three questions the White Sox hope to answer over the final week-plus of the season.

Can Luis Robert Jr. get to 40 HR?
Chicago’s All-Star slugger entered this week’s series mired in a major September slump, and homerless in the month. That changed quickly, with Robert homering in each of the first two games of the series to give him 37 on the season – the most by a full-time White Sox outfielder since Magglio Ordonez in 2002.

Asked this week if it's important for him to reach the 40-home run plateau, Robert said, “I still want to, but I have to be realistic.” But now he needs only three more homers over the club’s final nine games to reach that mark, it is realistic for a slugger of Robert’s stature.

“I am trying to get into that groove again,” Robert said.

In truth, whether he reaches 40 or falls just short won’t change much about what has been a fantastic breakout season for Robert, who has irregardless established himself as one of the preeminent power threats in the game. No matter his final total, he’ll still finish with more homers this season than he hit in his previous three big league seasons combined. His 37 homers are already a franchise record for a center fielder, and if he does reach 40, he’ll become the first White Sox player to do so since Todd Frazier in 2016.

“Much respect for what he’s done this year,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “Much, much respect.”

Can the youngsters finish strong?
Even with the White Sox focused on the future and their farm system re-infused with young talent at the Trade Deadline, most of those players aren’t in Chicago just yet. The big exception is Korey Lee, who figures to get first crack at the starting catcher job next spring but has struggled in his first stint with the club, hitting .082 in 17 games. It can be important for Lee to leave his new team with a stronger impression over the next week-plus, though he’s already impressed with his defensive acumen behind the plate.

“It was important for him to get up here and go through it,” Grifol said. “He’s got a lot of ability. He can do this.”

On the pitching side, the White Sox are excited for left-hander Garrett Crochet to finish the year healthy and put the injury woes of the past few seasons behind him. Crochet, who returned to the active roster Wednesday, has been limited to 10 appearances since 2021 by Tommy John surgery and then lingering shoulder issues.

“[We want him to] just finish healthy,” Grifol said. “Go out there, compete, have some fun and finish healthy. Get ready for 2024.”

Will Mike Clevinger opt out?
As they’re currently constructed, the White Sox 2024 rotation has only two guaranteed members: Dylan Cease and Michael Kopech. And even Kopech’s status is uncertain given his recent move to the bullpen (he opened Wednesday, allowing an unearned run in one inning). Whatever else happens this winter, Chicago is expected to be in the market for starting pitching in some form or another.

The question is whether Clevinger is a part of that market, or if he returns on the $12 million mutual option (with $4 million buyout) he and the White Sox must both exercise for him to avoid free agency. The way he’s pitching, that looks like an easy decision for Chicago.

But mutual options are almost never exercised by both parties. The 32-year-old could be in for a big payday on the open market, and the six-hit complete game he twirled Monday only made that more likely. Clevinger owns a 2.71 ERA in 12 starts since June 1, the fourth-lowest in MLB in that span. He said this week that this is the best he’s felt “since 2020, before I tore my UCL.”

“When I find these rhythms, I know how my body moves,” Clevinger said. “The past few years it’s been really hard, having two starts on, one start off, and going through those patterns. Now I’ve been able to get into a rhythm and really feel things out.”