Reason for optimism: Trading off stars from a sub-.500 team in order to contend two years down the road is a sound organizational strategy.
Reason for pessimism: "Gonzalez, Quintana and a storm mañana" isn't the best of rotation strategies.
And the winner of the 2017 "and Peggy" franchise award goes to ... the Chicago White Sox.
So named for the internet meme from the musical "Hamilton," the "and Peggy" designation can be awarded to the club most overlooked in its own home due to the outsized presence of a sister team. While the New York Mets get annual nominations for this award with Streep-like frequency, the White Sox are this year's forgotten franchise in their own backyard -- thanks to the Chicago Cubs and their first World Series title since what has felt like the time of Alexander Hamilton.
The White Sox aren't going to shed that status anytime soon, and not just because the Cubs appear primed for many years of World Series contention. Perhaps with a view toward the blueprint their North Side neighbors followed, the White Sox began a teardown of their own this winter. By dealing their best pitcher, Chris Sale, and last year's most productive everyday player, Adam Eaton (to the Red Sox and Nationals, respectively), for an impressive haul of prospects, Chicago abandoned its pursuit of the playoffs for at least this year. Teardowns and tanking are in no way unique these days, but not too many teams do it while coming off a third consecutive season of increasing win totals and with a pair of under-30 players who recently posted 6.0 WAR seasons (Eaton did so in 2016, Sale in 2015).
