2022 Chicago White Sox season

The 2022 Chicago White Sox season was the club's 123rd season in Chicago, their 122nd in the American League and their 32nd at Guaranteed Rate Field.

On December 2, 2021, Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred announced a lockout of players, following expiration of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the league and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). On March 10, 2022, MLB and the MLBPA agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement, thus ending the lockout. Opening Day was played on April 7. Although MLB previously announced that several series would be cancelled due to the lockout, the agreement provided for a 162-game season, with originally canceled games to be made up via doubleheaders.

The White Sox failed to repeat as division champions and finished in second in the American League Central with a record of .500 at 81–81.

Offseason Lockout

The expiration of the league's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Major League Baseball Players Association occurred on December 1, 2021, with no new agreement in place. As a result, the team owners voted unanimously to lockout the players stopping all free agency and trades.

The parties came to an agreement on a new CBA on March 10, 2022. The scheduled 162-game regular season was agreed to be played in its entirety, with no games cancelled. However, the delayed start to spring training meant that the regular season was postponed from its original March 31 Opening Day to April 7. For the White Sox, this meant that six games scheduled between March 31 and April 6 were moved to a later date: a three-game home series with the Minnesota Twins that was rescheduled for October 3 through October 5, and a three-game road series with the Kansas City Royals that was made up on three separate dates (May 17, August 10, and August 22nd).

Rule changes Pursuant to the new CBA, several new rules were instituted for the 2022 season. The National League adopted the designated hitter full-time, a draft lottery was implemented, the postseason expanded from ten teams to twelve, and advertising patches was allowed to appear on player uniforms and helmets for the first time.

Transactions November 30, 2021: Pitcher Kendall Graveman signed a 3-year, $24M contract. December 1, 2021: Utility player Leury García signed a 3-year, $16.5M contract extension. January 26, 2022: Cuban outfielder Oscar Colas agreed to a contract with the White Sox that included a $2.7 million signing bonus. March 14, 2022: White Sox sign pitcher Joe Kelly to a 2-year, $17M contract as well as pitcher Vince Velasquez to a one-year, $3M contract. March 15, 2022: Second baseman Josh Harrison signed a one-year, $5.5M contract. April 1, 2022: White Sox trade pitcher Craig Kimbrel to the Los Angeles Dodgers for outfielder A. J. Pollock. April 3, 2022: White Sox trade catcher Zack Collins to the Toronto Blue Jays for catcher Reese McGuire April 5, 2022: White Sox sign pitcher Johnny Cueto to a 1-year, $4.2 million minor-league deal.

Roster 2022 Chicago White Sox Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Regular season American League Central

American League Wild Card

Records vs. opponents

Detailed records

American League Opponent Total Home Away American League CentralChicago White Sox – – – – –Cleveland Guardians 7–12 3–6 4–6 72 96Detroit Tigers 12–7 5–5 7–2 100 59Kansas City Royals 9–10 5–4 4–6 74 71Minnesota Twins 9–10 5–4 4–6 91 87 Total 37–39 18–19 19–20 337 313American League East Opponent Total Home Away Baltimore Orioles 2–5 1–3 1–2 18 29Boston Red Sox 4–2 1–2 3–0 23 38New York Yankees 3–4 1–3 2–1 28 40Tampa Bay Rays 4–2 2–1 2–1 21 26Toronto Blue Jays 2–4 2–1 0–3 31 43 Total 15–17 7–10 8–7 122 176American League West Opponent Total Home Away Houston Astros 3–4 2–2 1–2 28 46Los Angeles Angels 3–4 2–2 1–2 28 23Oakland Athletics 5–2 2–1 3–1 42 27Seattle Mariners 4–2 2–1 2–1 22 22Texas Rangers 3–4 1–2 2–2 31 43 Total 16–15 9–8 7–7 133 146

National League Opponent Total Home Away Arizona Diamondbacks 0–3 0–3 – 9 20Chicago Cubs 3–1 1–1 2–0 13 13Colorado Rockies 2–2 1–1 1–1 11 12Los Angeles Dodgers 1–2 1–2 – 14 15San Diego Padres 2–1 – 2–1 7 7San Francisco Giants 3–0 – 3–0 19 7 Total 11–9 3–7 8–2 73 74

Notable transactions

May 28, 2022: White Sox designated pitcher Dallas Keuchel for assignment. June 12, 2022: As part of a series of roster moves that included the selecting of catcher Seby Zavala's contract, White Sox designated infielder Yermín Mercedes for assignment. August 1, 2022: White Sox trade catcher Reese McGuire to the Boston Red Sox for pitcher Jake Diekman. August 18, 2022: White Sox sign shortstop Elvis Andrus.

Achievements

On April 13, Dallas Keuchel earned his 100th career win in the major leagues as a result of the White Sox's 6–4 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Keuchel pitched five innings in the ball game, giving up six hits and three earned runs while striking out five batters. On June 27, Tim Anderson recorded his 100th career stolen base during the team's 4–3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. Josh Harrison recorded his 1000th career hit during the team's 8–2 loss to the Minnesota Twins on July 5. During the game, he also became the first major league ballplayer in history to pitch on the same day he had his 1000th career hit, throwing a scoreless ninth inning in relief. The White Sox had two players selected to the 2022 MLB All-Star Game in Dodger Stadium: shortstop Tim Anderson, who started for the American League and went 1-for-2 with a single in the fourth inning, and closer Liam Hendriks, who pitched a third-of-an-inning of relief in the eighth inning. Both players also participated in the prior season's All-Star Game, making them the first White Sox teammates to play together in two consecutive "Midsummer Classics" since Mark Buehrle and Paul Konerko did it in 2005 and 2006. On August 6, Liam Hendriks became the first Australian-born reliever to throw 100 career saves, tossing a scoreless ninth inning against the Texas Rangers to secure the team's 2–1 victory in that night's ballgame. Beginning with his May 29 start against the Chicago Cubs, Dylan Cease went on a historic stretch in which he had 14 consecutive starts giving up 1 or fewer earned runs. That was the first time ever a starting pitcher went on such a streak since the earned run became a statistic in 1913, breaking the previous mark of 13 consecutive starts set by Jacob deGrom in 2021. Cease's streak was finally broken on August 16 against the Houston Astros, in which he gave up 3 earned runs on six hits in five innings of work. Yoán Moncada became the first player in American League history to have 5 or more hits and 5 or more RBIs in a game twice in the same season. The first game occurred June 15 at the Detroit Tigers (5-for-6 with 1 home run and 5 RBIs), while the second game occurred September 8 at the Oakland Athletics (5-for-6 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs).

Tony La Russa medical leave Just before the White Sox were set to face off against the Kansas City Royals on August 30, it was announced by the team that manager Tony La Russa had to miss the game under the direction of his doctors, in order to get further medical testing. The team's bench coach, Miguel Cairo, took over for La Russa as acting manager. It was later revealed that La Russa had a pacemaker installed and had to undergo a procedure to avoid any further health complications. Though there was some speculation as to La Russa returning to the dugout by late September, the White Sox officially put any rumors to rest on September 24 when they announced that he would miss the remainder of the 2022 season. La Russa's doctors never gave him permission to return to managing, though he was given permission to travel with the White Sox to Oakland on September 11 for the Athletics' jersey retirement ceremony of former pitcher Dave Stewart, who La Russa managed for several seasons.

Prior to La Russa's departure from the White Sox, the team's record was an underachieving 63-65 and they were five games behind the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the American League Central. At the start of Cairo's role as acting manager, the White Sox went on an initial hot streak, winning 10 of 13 games and climbing to as close as 1.5 games back of Cleveland on September 8. However, the late-season resurgence did not last long. Beginning on September 11, the White Sox would lose 11 of 15 games, including getting swept by the Guardians in a pivotal three-game home series from September 20–22. The Guardians would officially clinch the American League Central on September 25, ending the White Sox's dreams of repeating as division champions. The White Sox were officially eliminated from the playoffs on September 28 after a loss against the Twins which was their 8th straight loss.

Game log

|- style="background:#fbb;" | 1 || April 8 || @ Tigers || 12:10pm || 4–5 || Soto (1–0) || Hendriks (0–1) || — || 43,480 || 0–1 || L1 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 2 || April 9 || @ Tigers || 12:10pm || 5–2 || Cease (1–0) || Mize (0–1) || Bummer (1) || 17,469 || 1–1 || W1 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 3 || April 10 || @ Tigers || 12:10pm || 10–1 || Crick (1–0) || Skubal (0–1) || — || 15,712 || 2–1 || W2 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 4 || April 12 || Mariners || 3:10pm || 3–2 || López (1–0) || Brash (0–1) || Hendriks (1) || 36,948 || 3–1 || W3 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 5 || April 13 || Mariners || 6:10pm || 6–4 || Keuchel (1–0) || Ray (1–1) || Hendriks (2) || 12,291 || 4–1 || W4 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 6 || April 14 || Mariners || 1:10pm || 1–5 || Gilbert (1–0) || Lambert (0–1) || — || 13,391 || 4–2 || L1 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 7 || April 15 || Rays || 6:10pm || 3–2 || Cease (2–0) || Rasmussen (0–1) || Hendriks (3) || 19,009 || 5–2 || W1 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 8 || April 16 || Rays || 1:10pm || 3–2 || López (2–0) || Thompson (1–1) || Hendriks (4) || 27,113 || 6–2 || W2 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 9 || April 17 || Rays || 1:10pm || 3–9 || Mazza (1–0) || Velasquez (0–1) || — || 17,798 || 6–3 || L1 |- style="background:#bbb;" | — || April 18 || @ Guardians || 5:10pm || colspan=7 | Postponed (Inclement weather, Makeup July 12) |- style="background:#bbb;" | — || April 19 || @ Guardians || 5:10pm || colspan=7 | Postponed (Inclement weather, Makeup April 20) |- style="background:#fbb;" | 10 || April 20 || @ Guardians || 2:10pm || 1–11 || Bieber (1–0) || Keuchel (1–1) || — || || 6–4 || L2 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 11 || April 20 || @ Guardians || 4:40pm || 1–2 || Gose (1–0) || Lambert (0–2) || Clase (1) || 9,196 || 6–5 || L3 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 12 || April 21 || @ Guardians || 12:10pm || 3–6 || Plesac (1–1) || Cease (2–1) || Clase (2) || 8,345 || 6–6 || L4 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 13 || April 22 || @ Twins || 7:10pm || 1–2 || Duffey (1–2) || Graveman (0–1) || Pagán (2) || 14,257 || 6–7 || L5 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 14 || April 23 || @ Twins || 3:05pm || 2–9 || Bundy (3–0) || Velasquez (0–2) || — || 16,686 || 6–8 || L6 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 15 || April 24 || @ Twins || 1:10pm || 4–6 || Smith (1–0) || Hendriks (0–2) || — || 16,197 || 6–9 || L7 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 16 || April 26 || Royals || 6:10pm || 0–6 || Lynch (2–1) || Keuchel (1–2) || — || 12,031 || 6–10 || L8 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 17 || April 27 || Royals || 1:10pm || 7–3 || Sousa (1–0) || Snider (2–1) || Graveman (1) || 12,363 || 7–10 || W1 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 18 || April 28 || Royals || 1:10pm || 2–5 || Barlow (2–0) || Bummer (0–1) || Clarke (1) || 11,242 || 7–11 || L1 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 19 || April 29 || Angels || 6:10pm || 1–5 || Warren (2–0) || Giolito (0–1) || Iglesias (6) || 23,709 || 7–12 || L2 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 20 || April 30 || Angels || 3:05pm || 4–0 || Velasquez (1–2) || Suárez (0–2) || — || 33,762 || 8–12 || W1

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