CarterHud

     With a record of 78-84, the Chicago White Sox finished 4th in the AL Central, missing the playoffs. The first place Cleveland Indians were 16.5 games ahead. With a weak farm system, the White Sox were still looking to rebuild. GM Rick Hahn made some big moves that will change the franchise. Let\’s look at what Hahn did.

       Key additions: 2B Yoan Moncada, SPs Lucas Giolito, Derek Holland, OFs Cody Asche, Willy Garcia, Rymer Liriano, Peter Bourjos, C Geovanny Soto, RPs Giovanni Soto, Anthony Swazak, Michael Kopech.
       Key subtractions: SP Chris Sale, OFs Adam Eaton, J.B. Shuck, Austin Jackson, 2B Brett Lawrie, RP Matt Albers, SS Jimmy Rollins, DH Justin Morneau, C Alex Avila.

       Biggest move: The White Sox made the biggest move of the offseason, selling LHP Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox for big prospects Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech. The also sold OF Adam Eaton to the Washington Nationals for a top 3 pitching prospect in Lucas Giolito.
       X-factor: The team will most likely be out of contention in 2017, but they\’ll still expect a big year out of 24 year old LHP Carlos Rodon. He\’s yet to break out, with a 3.90 ERA over 2 seasons in the big league. He has 307 Ks in 304.1 IP. I think he can have a really good season, even if the White Sox are really bad.
       Biggest bounce back: In 2013, OF/DH Avisail Garcia hit .283 with the Sox and the Detroit Tigers, after coming to Chicago in a midseason trade. Since then, the highest he\’s hit in a season was .257, in 2015, where he reached 500 ABs for the first time. He also had a career high in HRs in 2015, with 13. He dropped off slightly in 2016, with 12 HRs and an average of .245. If he can hit at least .255, and set a career high in HRs with 15+, I\’d deem 2017 a success for the 25 year old.
       Biggest breakout: with an average of .283 and 10 SBs in 410 ABs in 2016, 23 year old SS Tim Anderson received some third place votes for AL ROY. If he can perform even better in a full season in 2017, Anderson can take a big step in being a top SS in the game. He\’s the Sox SS of the future, and there\’s no denying it.
       Guaranteed star: Since coming to the USA from Cuba in 2014, 1B Jose Abreu has 91 HRs and 308 RBIs, with an average of .299 over 3 seasons. He has 30 HR power, with 100+ RBIs each MLB season.
       The White Sox starting lineup should look like this.

1. CF: Leury Garcia
2. SS: Tim Anderson
3. 1B: Jose Abreu
4. 3B: Todd Frazier
5. LF: Melky Cabrera
6. 2B: Yoan Moncada
7. RF: Adonis Garcia
8. DH: Tyler Saladino
9. C: Omar Narvaez
           The Sox starting rotation will probably be this.
1. Jose Quintana
2. Carlos Rodon
3. Derek Holland
4. James Shields
5. Miguel Gonzalez
            CF Jacob May, 3B Matt Davidson, Yolmer Sanchez, Cody Asche and C Geovany Soto will be on the bench.
            David Robertson will be their closer, with Nate Jones and Jake Petricka setting him up.
            For my prediction, the Chicago White Sox will finish 4th in the AL Central (ahead of the Minnesota Twins), but still be at the bottom of the league. They\’ll be in the 60 wins-90 losses category in 2017, but be playoff contenders in a few years.

    
In 2016, the Chicago Cubs finished first in the NL Central with a record of 103-58, with the second place St. Louis Cardinals finishing 17.5 GB. After going through the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS and NLCS, the Cubs found themselves in the World Series against the Cleveland Indians. The Cubs won in a thrilling 7 games, their first WS championship in 108 years. I wouldn\’t say the Cubs had an awesome offseason, but let\’s look at it anyway.
      Key additions: RPs Wade Davis, Koji Uehara, Brian Duensing, OF Jon Jay, SPs Eddie Butler, Brett Anderson.
      Key subtractions: OFs Dexter Fowler, Jorge Soler, Chris Coghlan, RPs Aroldis Chapman, Travis Wood, Trevor Cahill, Joe Smith, C David Ross (retirement), SP Jason Hammel.

      Biggest move: The Cubs and the Kansas City Royals pulled off a blockbuster, sending a big closer in Wade Davis to the windy city in exchange for a power hitting outfielder in Jorge Soler. Watch Davis dominate in 2017.
      X-factor: When the Cubs signed outfielder Jason Heyward to a big deal, they expected big numbers. But Heyward dropped off significantly. In 2015, he had an average of .293. In 2016, he had an average of .230. He dropped from 23 SBs in 2015 to 11 in 2016. He also had 6 less HRs and 11 less RBIs in 2016. With outfielder Dexter Fowler gone, Heyward will play a bigger role in 2017 than he did in 2016.
       Biggest bounce back: Not many players on last year\’s Cubs team underperformed, besides Heyward. But pitcher Eddie Butler was acquired from the Colorado Rockies in the offseason, in hopes of a change of scenery helping him. The Rox had high hopes for him, but his 7.17 ERA in 64 innings last year showed them he needed to be out. He\’ll probably not get a spot in the rotation this year, but I imagine him being successful in a swingman role in 2017.
        Biggest breakout: The Cubs have high hopes for the big left handed pitcher Mike Montgomery, that they are likely to expand their rotation to 6 starters this year. Montgomery had a 2.52 ERA in exactly 100 innings last year with the Cubs and the Seattle Mariners. Expect him to flourish in 2017.
        Guaranteed star: Over the past two seasons, reining NL MVP Kris Bryant has an average of .284, 65 HRs and 201 RBIs. He\’s also entering his age 25 season. If he continues on this pace for another 10+ years, he\’ll be heading to Cooperstown.
        The Cubs\’ starting lineup should look like this.

1. CF: Jason Heyward
2. RF: Ben Zobrist
3. 3B: Kris Bryant
4. 1B: Anthony Rizzo
5. LF: Kyle Schwarber
6. C: Willson Contreras
7. 2B: Javier Baez
8. SS: Addison Russell
9. Pitcher
          Their rotation should be this.

1. Jake Arrieta
2. Jon Lester
3. Kyle Henricks
4. John Lackey
5. Brett Anderson
6. Mike Montgomery
           
            OFs Matt Szczur, Jon Jay, Albert Almora, C Miguel Montero and 3B Tommy La Stella will be on the bench.
            Wade Davis will be their closer, with Carl Edwards and Hector Rondon setting him up.
            For my prediction, the Cubs will once again win the NL Central, but lose to the Indians in a WS rematch.

    With a record of 93-69, the Boston Red Sox finished 1st in the AL East, with the 2nd place Orioles and Blue Jays 4.0 GB. In the ALDS, the Sox were swept by the Cleveland Indians, who went on to the World Series, but lost in 7 games. Slugger David Ortiz then retired. GM Dave Dombrowski made some moves over the offseason. Let\’s look at those moves.

      Key additions: SP Chris Sale, 1B Mitch Moreland, RP Tyler Thornburg, 3B Matt Dominguez, OFs Brian Bogusevic, Junior Lake, SP Kyle Kendrick.
      Key subtractions: DH David Ortiz, 2B Yoan Moncada, 3B Travis Shaw, RPs Junichi Tazawa, Brad Ziegler, Koji Uehara, C Ryan Hanigan, 2B Aaron Hill, SP Clay Buchholtz.

       Biggest move: The Red Sox didn\’t make a big move this offseason is what I\’d say if I felt like lying. They made the biggest move of the offseason, sending 2B Yoan Moncada and SP Michael Kopech and others to the Chicago White Sox for ace lefty Chris Sale. Joining him with last year\’s Cy Young winner Rick Porcello would be a dominant duo, not to mention former Cy Young winner David Price, although he might not be healthy.
        X-factor: When the Red Sox signed 1B Hanley Ramirez 2 offseasons ago, they thought the were getting a star. Though Ramirez hit 30 HRs for the first time since 2008 in 2016, he\’s dropped his speed. He was once a 20-30 steal guy, now, he\’s not a double digit steal guy. Maybe 10 steals and 25 HRs an average of about .280 can keep Hanley at the top of the lineup.
         Biggest bounce back: When the Sox traded pitcher Wade Miley to the Seattle Mariners, they received pitchers Carson Smith and Roenis Elias. They had an idea that Smith would be a good set up reliever for star closer Craig Kimbrel. But injuries limited Smith to just 2.2 IP in 2016. If Smith can have a healthy, solid 2017, the Red Sox will be improved mightily, especially after losing 3 big bullpen arms.
          Biggest breakout: left fielder Andrew Benintendi was named the number 1 prospect in the MLB, and after hitting .295 in 105 AB in 2016, Benintendi will most likely get the starting job in LF. If the 22 year old can do well in 2017, he can reach stardom quickly.
          Guaranteed star: After an outstanding 2016 where he hit .318, 31 HRs and 113 RBIs, RF Mookie Betts is poised for a better 2017. He\’s only 24, and there\’s no telling what he can do in his prime.
          The Sox starting lineup should look like this.
1. CF: Jackie Bradley Jr.
2. SS: Xander Bogaerts
3. RF: Mookie Betts
4. 2B: Dustin Pedroia
5. DH: Hanley Ramirez
6. 1B: Mitch Moreland
7. LF: Andrew Benintendi
8. 3B: Pablo Sandoval
9. C: Sandy Leon
             Their rotation will probably be this.
1. Chris Sale
2. Rick Porcello
3. David Price
4. Drew Pomeranz
5. Steven Wright
              SS Brock Holt, 1B Steve Selsky, LF Chris Young and C Christian Vasquez will be on the bench.
              Craig Kimbrel will be their closer, with Tyler Thornburg and Carson Smith setting him up.

              For my prediction, I think the Sox will win the AL East again, but lose to the Tribe again, but this time in the ALCS.

  Forward Olli Jokinen has announced his retirement from the NHL after 22 seasons. He also signed an honorary contract (a one day deal) with the Florida Panthers, a team he once captained.
     \”Olli is an important player in the history of the Panthers franchise and he remains a fan favorite,\” President of hockey operations Dale Tallon said. \”We are proud to give Olli the opportunity to retire as a Panther and we congratulate on a long, successful and productive National Hockey League career.
      \”My heart has always been with the Panthers organization and now I feel like my career has come to a full circle,\” Jokinen said. \”I am extremely thankful that I had the chance to play hockey in South Florida and help the sport grow.\”
        Jokinen, 38, was drafted 3rd overall in the 1997 NHL draft by the Los Angeles Kings. He had 750 points (321 goals and 429 assists) in 1231 career NHL games with the Kings, the New York Islanders, the Panthers, the Phoenix Coyotes (now the Arizona Coyotes), the Calgary Flames, the New York Rangers, the Winnipeg Jets, the Nashville Predators, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the St. Louis Blues (a total of 10 teams!).
        His best season was 2006-07, when he the second player in Panthers history to record 90 points, when he put up 91 (39 goals and 52 assists).
        Born on December 5, 1978, in Kuopio, Finland, Jokinen ranks third all time in goals, 4th in points and 6th in assists, all among Finnish players (from FOX sports).