'Makings of a championship team,' says Hahn

January 15th, 2021

CHICAGO -- White Sox general manager Rick Hahn closed a Zoom session in mid-December with the phrase “stay tuned” when asked about potential future moves.

After the team announced a four-year, $54 million contract with closer on Friday, Hahn played matters a little closer to the vest and was a little less cryptic when asked that same question.

“I’m going to err on the other end of the extreme of that comment and say, ‘If this is our group, we’re very happy with it and we’ll go to camp with these guys and we’ll sort it out there,’” Hahn said. “But we feel we’ve got the makings of a championship team.

“It’s always probably somewhere in between those two answers. [There’s] always another move we feel we can make to get us better. We’re going to continue to explore to see if something lines up, but there’s no guarantee it will. So if this in fact is our group, we feel pretty good about where we sit today.”

The White Sox didn’t exactly have a great deal of voids to fill with their young core in place and growing. But they still have been one of the few truly active teams this offseason, acquiring right-handed starter Lance Lynn in a trade with the Rangers and adding left-handed-hitting outfielder Adam Eaton via free agency prior to Hendriks.

Lynn joins Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel in giving the White Sox a powerful trio atop the rotation. They also have talented young hurlers such as Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech and Reynaldo López in the mix but could still add another veteran starter. Andrew Vaughn, the team’s No. 1 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, has been talked up as a strong possibility at designated hitter for 2020, but the team could bring in a more versatile player who could handle that spot until Vaughn was ready.

Many free agents remain available, including some considered in the premium category. But Hahn wasn’t altering his stance Friday, despite being asked three times.

“I’ll refer to my earlier comment that I’m going to err on the side of managing and minimizing expectations,” Hahn said. “So to quote Hoosiers, ‘Our team is on the floor.’ Again, we feel pretty good about where this group is at right now. If this is the final group come spring, that’s all right.

“There are certainly a lot of interesting options still available, guys we’ve been in contact with since the start of free agency. How the next few weeks play out, we’ll wait and see.”