Following a season that put the loyalty of Chicago White Sox supporters to the test, an MLB expert has made a confident statement regarding the team’s upcoming prospects. The 2024 season was merged by 101 losses and the White Sox now face a journey to restore their reputation. But in the wake of trading last year’s All-Star Garrett Crochet, one insider insists the team will avoid repeating—or worsening—their catastrophic performance, even vowing to back down his words if they lose 121 games or more.

The controversial prediction centers on the removal of Crochet, a key figure in the White Sox rotation. The trade shocked fans, especially given Crochet’s strong first-half performance, which earned him an All-Star nod. However, as the insider highlighted, the left-hander’s usage plummeted in the second half of the season. Limited to three or four innings per start, Crochet’s workload left the bullpen stretched dangerously thin. Every time Crochet pitched, it meant five or six innings for the bullpen, the insider explained. That’s not sustainable for any team, let alone one already struggling to compete.

Bold Predictions: “They’re Not Losing 121 Games”

Foul Territory recently posted a video on X in which insider Erik Kratz, defending the White Sox’s poor performance from last year, predicted that they will do better in 2025. He said, “if they lose 121 games or more games (in 2025) you can play this from here to eternity and I will eat my words.”

While Crochet’s departure might seem like a step backward, the insider views it as addition by subtraction. In their eyes, Chicago’s front office used the second half of the season to market Crochet as a trade chip, ultimately securing valuable assets in return. The move, they argue, addresses one of the team’s glaring weaknesses: an overtaxed bullpen that faltered under the weight of excessive workloads.

Beyond the trade, the insider pointed to other reasons for optimism. Despite the horrendous offense—arguably one of the worst in franchise history—the White Sox managed to stay competitive in close games. They lost 51 games by two runs or fewer, they noted. This wasn’t a team that quit; it was a team caught in an imperfect storm where everything went wrong.

For fans still reeling from 2024’s disappointments, the 2025 season offers at least one certainty: it can’t get much worse—or so they hope. The question now is whether this bold projection reflects foresight or foolish optimism.

Luck or Lack of Execution? Breaking Down White Sox’s 51 Close Losses

The White Sox 2024 season was filled with narrow losses; they lost 51 games by a margin of two runs or less. The highest, in the league that year. These defeats highlighted a team that often found themselves in contention but struggled to capitalize in critical moments. One key struggle was the White Sox’s offense ranking 26th in runs per game which made it challenging for them to generate scores in the late innings to outplay their opponents. Leaving runners in scoring position or failing to execute in moments further worsens the situation resulting in a 4.74 earned run average.

However, luck also seemed to play a role in these close losses. The White Sox frequently found themselves at the mercy of timed hits or defensive errors that cost them dearly on the field. They ended the season with a run differential of 179 highlighting how minor game-changing moments such as mistimed mistakes or unexpected base hits worked against them. These factors, combined with the team’s inability to consistently perform in clutch moments, made their close losses a frustrating, yet not entirely surprising, outcome. Had a few of these games swung in their favor, their final record could have been markedly different, offering a glimpse of what could have been with more favorable breaks.

In the end, while the White Sox’s 2024 season was marred by close losses and missed opportunities, their competitive nature showed promise. Trading Garrett Crochet and addressing their bullpen needs could improve their chances in 2025. The key will be capitalizing on those small margins that doomed them last year.