Former White Sox Liam Hendriks and Lucas Gioltio reflect on their time on the South Side

Former White Sox Liam Hendriks and Lucas Gioltio reflect on their time on the South Side originally appeared in NBC Sports Chicago

Once the White socks organization realized during the 2023 season that their chances of maximizing their competitive window were slim to none, they began to dismantle.

They made several trades at the MLB trade deadline, including sending longtime starter Lucas Giolito to the Los Angeles Angels. After the season, they continued, refusing to pick up the club option of fan favorite Liam Hendriks along with other cuts from the team.

Now, after moving around and both recovering from separate injuries, Giolito and Hendriks have joined the Boston Red Sox. They each signed two-year contracts with the club. And on Thursday, they returned to Guaranteed Rate Field to reflect on their experiences with the White Sox.

Mainly, not maximizing the competitive window in which they participated.

“It wasn’t a fun experience and it wasn’t a great situation to be a part of,” Hendriks said. “But it’s one of those things where you have to try to scale and improve. When you are going through difficult times like those of the last few years, you tend to put a little too much on yourself. that every victory is important. You put a lot of pressure on yourself in that regard, whereas if you are yourself and take each day as it comes, it tends to get a little better.

After two playoff berths in 2020 and 2021, the White Sox were expected to make a strong run in the playoffs. They had the pitching and power at the plate to do some damage in the American League, and especially in the weaker American League Central.

But in 2022, those hopes have not come to fruition. Injuries and bad baseball equaled a .500 season as South Side finished 81-81 and missed the playoffs. And in 2023, things started to fall apart. It was evident that not only was the baseball side not working, but the culture wasn’t working either.

“I attended camp last year and was really excited about the team we had, the talent and what I wanted to do to help contribute,” Giolito said. “And, at least for a while, it was really good. But then it became very evident, well, I’m going to deal with a lot of other guys who are going to deal. nothing I’ve ever experienced before.

“I feel like the culture at the end really started… We were trying to develop something and it started to dwindle, which, in my personal opinion, was kind of sad to see.”

With that, the White Sox began to rebuild. They have cut ties with most of the team’s stars, entering a new rebuild under Pedro Grifol, who was hired ahead of the 2023 season, and GM Chris Getz, named by the White Sox ahead of the 2024 season.

Getz was the one who informed Hendriks that the organization would not pick up his club option. With Hendriks undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2023, setting him back at least a year, the White Sox saw no value in bringing him back for a reported $16 million.

Hendriks said he was at the White Sox facility when Getz informed him of the decision. It was a quick conversation. And Hendriks started packing afterward.

“It wasn’t a surprise to me. I was still hopeful,” Hendriks said. “But it is what it is now and I’m in a great situation. Being in Boston is fantastic. It’s been amazing. It’s a great group of guys.”

Looking back, it’s hard to see the lack of a competitive window. The White Sox had high hopes of making a deep run into the playoffs, even the World Series. But they didn’t.

Knowing he played a role in that failure was difficult for Hendriks.

“You have to realize that I was part of this,” Hendriks said. “It wasn’t that guy, it wasn’t that guy. It was that united group that we failed. We failed the city. We failed the front office. We failed everyone around that fan base. And it’s a tough pill to swallow.”

For Giolito, unlike Hendriks, he built his career in Chicago. After developing in the national organization during the first six seasons of his professional career, he was traded to the White Sox.

He spent 6.5 seasons with the White Sox, earning his first All-Star appearances and finishing in the top 10 in Cy Young voting once (11th in 2021). He also threw a no-hitter against the Pirates, adding the rare feat to his baseball resume.

Chicago holds a lot of memories for Gioltio and he is grateful for the experience despite the disappointing ending.

“I feel like I grew up here,” Giolito said. “This is where I’ve experienced the lows and the highs of my career and I wouldn’t trade anything for it. For anything else, I feel like I’ve grown. Obviously, I’ve grown as a pitcher and a baseball player but this is also where I’ve grown as a man. I have a lot love for the city, I have a lot of love for the White Sox organization, for the opportunities they gave me.

But like Hendriks, Gioltio looks back on his final seasons with the White Sox with a bitter taste in his mouth, knowing the team lost something special.

“That’s the only regret, or something I remember, our times where we went through that period and then we had that window where we could have really done something special. and say ‘Damn, you know, I wish we could have done that.’

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