White Sox look to focus on positives in 2016

CHICAGO — A number of positive results transpired for the White Sox during the 2016 season.

Jose Quintana became an All-Star for the first time in his steady career, often bordering on spectacular, while the southpaw also notched a career-best 13 wins, a 3.20 ERA and 181 strikeouts over 208 innings.

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Chris Sale topped the Majors with six complete games, reaching All-Star status for a fifth straight season, while striking out 233 in a career-high 226 2/3 innings.

Jose Abreu produced at least a .290 average with 25 homers and 100 RBIs for the third straight Major League season since coming from Cuba. Third baseman Todd Frazier reached 40 home runs for the first time in his career and logged 98 RBIs. Adam Eaton played Gold Glove-caliber defense in right field from start to finish.

So how did these strong efforts add up for the White Sox?

The sum of the parts were not close to greater than the individual accomplishments, as the South Siders finished 78-84 and 16 1/2 games back in a fourth-place finish in the American League Central. The managerial situation changed from Robin Ventura to bench coach Rick Renteria after the campaign, and the direction changed via trades of Sale and Eaton after general manager Rick Hahn described his team as “mired in mediocrity” late in the season.

Here’s a look at some of the top storylines from 2016, which marked a fourth straight sub-.500 season for the White Sox.

1. Let the rebuild begin White Sox fans searched for a puff of white smoke coming …

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