Month in a Box: The White Sox in September 2025

Nobody asked me to set goals for the White Sox in September, which is a shame, since I had a few ones that seemed reasonably attainable:

1. Post a winning record in a month for the first time since May 2023.
2. Avoid a third consecutive 100-loss season.
3. Play in such a fashion that Chris Getz couldn't easily talk around adding to the roster over the winter.

Discerning readers might notice how those three goals are effectively phrasing the same thing, since 13-12 is the only winning September record that would've still resulted in a triple-digit loss total. In any case, the White Sox didn't really approach the overarching goal in any way, shape or form. They went 11-14 instead of 14-11, they finished with 102 losses, and Getz emphasized player development over spending in response to every possible way of asking the question.

It wasn't a total loss, especially if you emphasize individual player development, where there was enough progress to feel optimistic about numerous individual players, even if the roster isn't quite coming together in a shape that's sturdy enough to support immediate dreams. Here's a look back at how another losing season wound it all down

WHITE SOX TEAM PERFORMANCE

• Record: 11-14
• Standings: Fifth, 28 GB
• Longest winning streak: 6, Aug. 31-Sept. 5
• Longest losing streak: 6, Sept. 12-17
• Largest margin of victory: 9, Sept. 2 at Minnesota
• Largest margin of defeat: 7, Sept. 24 at Yankees

HITTING LEADERS

• Batting average: .268, Brooks Baldwin
• On-base percentage: .370, Kyle Teel
• Slugging percentage: .600, Andrew Benintendi
• wRC+: 157, Benintendi
• Home runs: 6, Colson Montgomery
• RBI: 17, Montgomery
• Walks: 14, Teel
• Strikeouts: 25, Lenyn Sosa
• Stolen bases: 2, Miguel Vargas
• fWAR: 1.1, Montgomery

PITCHING LEADERS

• Wins: 3, Shane Smith
• Losses: 3, Martín Pérez and Brandon Eisert
• ERA: 3.81, Smith
• Innings: 26⅔, Davis Martin
• Strikeouts: 33, Smith
• Appearances: 13, Eisert
• Relief innings: 13⅔, Jordan Leasure
• fWAR: 0.8, Smith

COMING AND GOING

• White Sox debuts: Derek Hill
• White Sox departures: Dan Altavilla
• Going up: Bryan Ramos, Fraser Ellard, Bryan Hudson, Jonathan Cannon (x2), Dominic Fletcher, Sean Burke, Cam Booser, Corey Julks
• Going down: Booser, Cannon, Tim Elko, Ramos

#SOXMORGUE

• Bryan Hudson: Lower back strain
• Martín Pérez: Left shoulder strain
• Andrew Benintendi: Achilles tendinitis
• Mike Tauchman: Right knee meniscus tear
• Wikelman González: Right elbow impingement

WHITE SOX HONORS

Most Valuable Player: Colson Montgomery

Montgomery can head into the offseason with his head held high. He hit .267/.362/.511, climbing out of a slump in the first half of the month by showing more patience in response to pitchers working him out of the zone. He struck out 25 times in his first 62 plate appearances (40.3 percent) before finishing the month on a 10-game hitting streak, during which he whiffed just eight times (18.6 percent). Combine it with errorless ball, and that was enough to propel him past Adrian Houser for the season bWAR lead.

Least Valuable Player: Edgar Quero

Quero faded to the finish. He hit .218/.274/.269 over 84 plate appearances, mustering just one double and one homer, and he finished the season with the worst catching defense according to Statcast. Those metrics don't account for everything like game-calling and targets, but it's easier to debate the finer points of catcher evaluation when he's hitting.

Most Valuable Pitcher: Shane Smith

The 3.81 ERA is decent on its face, but it belies the fact that Smith limited opponents to fewer than two runs in three of his five outings, while the strikeouts returned with a vengeance. He finished the year throwing his hardest, averaging 96.3 mph on his four-seamer, which gave him the ability to throw mostly fastballs past a league that should have had a book on him.

Least Valuable Pitcher: Jonathan Cannon

Aside from Smith, no starter particularly impressed, and you could just as well give this nod to Martín Pérez, who allowed 12 runs over 14⅓ innings before a shoulder injury ended his season. But Cannon got roughed up in both of his starts, allowing a total of 10 runs over 6⅔ innings, before he threw a perfect inning to bring the season to a close. That relief appearance ended a streak of five outings where his ERA increased, rising gradually from 4.18 to 5.87.

Fire Man: Jordan Leasure

Leasure earned this honor for the second straight month, even though you have to qualify it with "one ghastly outing aside" for the second straight month. He gave up four runs on two homers over two-thirds of an inning in the near-collapse against Washington in the third-to-last game of the year, but otherwise, he pitched 11 scoreless outings, allowing just two hits and three walks over 13 innings while striking out 13.

Gas Can: Brandon Eisert

Eisert led the White Sox with 72 appearances in 2025, but the 13 of them he made in September turned into a slog. He allowed 24 baserunners over 11⅓ innings, and was lucky to get out of it with only eight runs scoring, plus the only runner he inherited.

Bench Player: Brooks Baldwin

You could argue whether Baldwin is a bench player since he started 16 of 25 games, but injuries to both starting corner outfielders pressed him into that kind of playing time over the course of the month, so it feels like it adheres to the spirit of the exercise. He put the playing time to good use, hitting .268/.328/.500 with homers in his last two games of the year. He still finished below replacement level by both leading measures, but a .769 OPS and fewer mistakes in the outfield over the second half keep the faith alive.

Stench Player: Will Robertson

For instance, Robertson made 13 starts in September for the same reason that Baldwin played, but he couldn't take advantage of the opening, going 7-for-41 with no walks, no extra-base hits and 13 strikeouts.

Gold Glove: Colson Montgomery

If Dominic Fletcher accrued more than 65 innings in right field, he probably would have built the strongest case for defensive honors, as he wasted no time picking up where he left off in 2024. As it stands, Statcast graded Montgomery as the White Sox's best defensive player at 3 Outs Above Average, and by more standard measures, he went the entire month of September without committing an error. He'll enter the 2026 season with a 10-game hitting streak and a 26-game errorless streak. Say what you will about the leniency of official scorers, but that's still impressive for a rookie.

Hands of Stone: Andrew Benintendi

Benintendi only made nine appearances in left field in September before the White Sox cut his season short due to left Achilles tendinitis, but he played enough to accrue -3 OAA in the limited amount of innings. The lack of burst killed him, particularly in the Minnesota series.

TIMELINE

Chalk it up: The White Sox break a streak of 205 consecutive losses when trailing after eight innings when Michael A. Taylor dots the left field line with a two-strike, two-out double that helped the White Sox turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead. Taylor later identified the moment as the highlight of his White Sox tenure. (Sept. 3)

4-for-4: The White Sox complete their first-ever four-game sweep in Minnesota with an 11-8 victory over a Twins team the front office essentially abandoned. (Sept. 4)

Oof: In the kind of mistake that would normally characterize a classic White Sox loss, Shane Smith and Kyle Teel collide while retrieving a pitch in the dirt that Teel blocked in front of home plate, allowing not just one, but two runs to score on a wild pitch. Somehow, the White Sox still manage to beat the Tigers 7-5, the final win of a season-long six-game streak. (Sep. 5)

Magic City clears magic number: The Birmingham Barons clinch the second-half Southern League North title with seven games to play, securing their bid to defend their league title. (Sept. 6)

Where there's a Will: The White Sox take two of three from the Tigers in Detroit with big help from Will Robertson. Prior to his single that tied the game at 4, he robbed Spencer Torkelson of a solo shot with one of the most aesthetically pleasing home run robberies you'll see. (Sept. 7)

Revenge game: Having spent two days on the White Sox roster without making an appearance, Tristan Gray finally gets in a White Sox game wearing a Rays uniform and hits the game-winning homer off Tyler Alexander in a 5-4 Tampa Bay victory. (Sept. 9)

Four pitches from a Maddux: Tanner Bibee two-hits the White Sox on 103 pitches to hand them their 10th shutout loss of the season, and opens the start of a return to reality. (Sept. 12)

Regressive Field: The White Sox go 0-for-Cleveland en route to a 2-11 performance against the Guardians in 2025, as Bo "Might As Well Be Josh" Naylor drives in all three runs and Brayan Rocchio preserves the margin with a diving catch for the final out. (Sept. 14)

Kneecapped: Noah Schultz's season is done for the year -- including plans for the Arizona Fall League -- due to recurrence of patellar tendinitis that more or less limited him all season. (Sept. 15)

In better prospect news: By taking home the Carolina League's top honors, Caleb Bonemer becomes the first White Sox prospect to win a league MVP since Marcus Semien (and Chris Curley) in 2013. (Sept. 16)

Remember, both teams are bad: On course for another lifeless loss to the Orioles, the White Sox strike for five eighth-inning runs that narrow the lead to 8-7 before stalling out in a fifth consecutive loss. (Sept. 16)

Baltimore, it's hard just to live: That late surge generates no momentum, as the White Sox lose 3-1 in the series finale to go winless against the Orioles in six games in 2025. (Sept. 17)

The 78 update: The Chicago Fire's plan to build a soccer-specific stadium on the South Loop site the White Sox eyed for a new ballpark wins key city approval, making it much harder for the White Sox to build a ballpark on that same plot. (Sept. 19)

Only one old friend welcomed: After José Abreu returns to Rate Field on the White Sox side of things and throws out the first pitch, the White Sox beat Dylan Cease and the Padres to snap a six-game losing streak. (Sept. 19)

Rockies topped: The White Sox's record for losses in a modern MLB season withstands a challenge from the Rockies, who win their 42nd game with eight remaining. They finish the season 43-119 after a 4-21 September. (Sept. 19)

Emptying out the tank: In his last game of the season before hitting the injured list with a meniscus tear, Mike Tauchman makes three sensational catches to max out his troublesome legs, capped off by a leaping catch into the screen in right field foul territory. (Sept. 20)

Leaving home: The White Sox's last game at Rate Field for 2025 is a 3-2 loss to San Diego. Over the course of the game, left field is manned by Will Robertson, Miguel Vargas, and, making his major league debut at that position, Korey Lee. He makes a sliding catch down the line, drops a routine fly, and then fires a missile to home to deter a tag-up. (Sept. 21)

The Yankees clinch: Brandon Eisert and Steven Wilson are unable to protect a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning, as José Caballero drops a flare to center for a walk-off single. Michael A. Taylor opts against laying out for it, but his plan to load up for a throw home results in a spiked throw. (Sept. 23)

62-100: Preceding the White Sox's 100th loss of the season, the team claims Derek Hill off waivers, making him the 62nd different White Sox to appear in a game this season. (Sept. 24)

Back-to-back: The Birmingham Barons repeat as Southern League champions with a rain-delayed 6-3 victory over the Montgomery Biscuits in Game 3. (Sept. 25)

Disaster averted: After watching the Nationals storm back from 8-1 to grab a 9-8 lead, Colson Montgomery's two-run homer allows the White Sox to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. (Sept. 26)

Full circle: Michael A. Taylor's retirement plans become known during the final series of the season in Washington, which is where he made his MLB debut and won a World Series with the Nationals. He receives numerous standing ovations from Nats fans over the course of the last game of the season. (Sept. 28)

Leave 'em wanting more: The White Sox close out the season with a nearly perfect 8-0 victory over the Nationals, as Shane Smith and three White Sox relievers combine for a one-hitter and just 28 batters faced. (Sept. 28)

Coaching changes coming: The day after the season, the White Sox announce that they will "not renew the contracts" of Ethan Katz, Marcus Thames, Jason Bourgeois and Drew Butera, while Grady Sizemore will be offered a different role in the organization. (Sept. 29)

MONTHS IN A BOX