Ahead of the MLB trade deadline, the White Sox traded away a fan favorite in Jake Burger to the Miami Marlins for pitching prospect Jake Eder.
On Wednesday, Burger played his first game with the Marlins in a 12-inning walk-off against the Philadelphia Phillies.
He hit 2-for-4 with a walk, hit by a pitch and a run scored. After the game, Burger jumped and cheered with his newfound team and took a selfie with his new teammates.
"I just texted my wife after the game. It's the most fun I've had on a baseball field in a really long time. It's special," Burger told reporters after the game.
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A statement like this speaks volumes about the White Sox and where things are at psychologically in the clubhouse.
Burger got an early taste in June. The Marlins rallied two comeback wins against the White Sox to win that series on the road. They first scored five runs in the ninth inning to overtake the Sox' one-run lead and win the game. In the series finale, the Marlins authored a five-run comeback in the eighth and ninth innings to beat the White Sox.
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This time around, Burger wasn't watching from the opposing dugout. He was part of it.
"That's what I saw in Chicago a month-and-a-half ago," Burger said when asked about those games. "Kept fighting back, kept fighting back. I actually had that thought on the field today. I'm like, hey, this is what this culture is like here. We're never out of it. Doesn't matter what the score is. We're just gonna keep battling."
The White Sox needed the roster adjustments that justified their trade deadline sell-off. That's no secret. The front office seemingly checked off some boxes at the trade deadline, bolstering their farm system by trading expiring contracts.
But one area they need to bring attention to is the team's culture. The current environment isn't a winning one. Liam Hendriks said he felt the team was too arrogant coming off their 2021 season, convinced of the fact they could waltz through the regular season and into the postseason.
They were proven wrong in that thinking in 2022. And again, to a worse degree, in 2023.
Will a culture change take priority in 2024?
"I don't want to say it wasn't prioritized," Rick Hahn said Monday. "We obviously talked about what we were trying to build in that room. The quality of the person we wanted in that room. We've learned a lot about ourselves. We've learned a lot about our players. We've learned a lot about our staff, our scouts, and how we're all getting through this time of crisis together."
