As Jim referenced just a day earlier, Mike Tauchman was arguably the White Sox top offensive producer from their corner outfield mix in 2025. But the prospect of tendering a contract offer for his final year of arbitration eligibility isn't getting any stronger endorsement from White Sox leadership than that they're "openminded in bringing him back."
Even if read as a purely neutral statement on Tauchman's individual prospects, Chris Getz's leading line about the offseason ahead was "the most important thing is continuing the improvement and development of our young players."
The more interesting permutations of the White Sox offseason come if they consider dealing from some emerging positional surpluses, namely their catching duo of Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero. But at face value, the larger goal of providing runway to young players to develop leaves relatively few routes for externally upgrading -- with respect to that stretch where they were plating five runs per game -- the 27th-most effective scoring offense this winter.
Committed roles
CF: Luis Robert Jr. (assuming the winning trade offer doesn't appear after another significant injury)
SS: Colson Montgomery, some Chase Meidroth
C: Teel, Quero
In the mix
LF: Andrew Benintendi
3B: Miguel Vargas*, Curtis Mead*
2B: Meidroth, Lenyn Sosa*
1B: Sosa*, Vargas*, Mead*
RF: Tauchman? Brooks Baldwin?
*-indicates player will be out of minor league options next spring. Bryan Ramos will also be out of options next spring.
A couple of spots seem more ripe for additions than others, don't they? Especially for a front office that saw 2025 as a way of testing their ability to secure corner production through an inexpensively assembled platoon, in an intentional attempt to pivot away from overpaying on corner bats as they have in the past.
Speaking of which, while Benintendi's 2025 offensive campaign was technically his best in a White Sox uniform, not that he personally gave it a glowing grade, his defense and remaining salary make it hard to see a trade market forming for him as a role player for a contender, even before you get to the sudden development of weird reverse splits. As for Baldwin, while he also struggled on defense, he quietly hit .253/.310/.459 in the second half, though that likely just strengthens his case to retain the utility role the Sox have carved out for him.
While White Sox officials rooted most of their Mead optimism in what his ability to tap into his power would look like after a full offseason with a set plan, it's Vargas and Sosa that got specific endorsements for having some remaining ceiling left.
"These guys have taken steps forward, they have, but both of them I feel can take another step for us," said Getz. "[Vargas has] had some real stretches of helping our offense. I think there’s another step forward that he can make and he’s got the makeup to attack it in the right way to help his own game, to help our team. Lenyn has done a really nice job in the box, he has. He’s hit for power, he’s gotten big hits for us. He needs to continue to develop on the defensive side. He’s played some first base, some second base as well. He needs to maintain that versatility and ability to play other positions beyond first base or DH."
"I'm very proud of the season I've been having, but I think I have a lot more in me," said Vargas, who ended the year on a nine-game hitting streak. "I feel there's a lot of stuff that I can do better. I gave my word last year that I would get better and change my body. This coming year, I know I'm going to be able to change some things too."
To put it concisely, Mead didn't hit well after the trade deadline by any measure, the White Sox are still focused on developing Teel and Quero as catchers at last update, and it's not a swipe at Vargas nor Sosa's offensive progress to note that the league average first baseman had a 109 wRC+ in 2025, and no one in their current mix of first base options has ever posted a big league season that strong before. But if the White Sox were to add a bat worthy of 1B/DH opportunities, their organizational philosophy seems geared toward short-term, affordable finds, or someone who offers more versatility than just manning first and mashing.
"Look at historically what’s available on the free-agent market and [first base and closer] are areas that oftentimes there seems to be more options than others," Getz said. "There are more options than, perhaps, whether it be the shortstop position or catcher or center field. That’s why we’ve really focused on strengthening our team up the middle, knowing that it’s easier to at least grab some players that play the wing position.
"Versatility remains important, it does, always will. Because that flexibility allows you, if a guy has a nagging injury that you’ve got players who can play other positions. But we’ll see. Those are areas we’ll look at in the offseason. If it makes sense to attack it, we will."
With these factors all in mind, corner outfield looks like where there's the most room for the White Sox to add some offensive help. Be it a short-term caretaker for right field as Braden Montgomery pushes his way to Chicago, or finding a way to acquire another post-hype younger player seeking major league runway who can better be trusted to make 100+ starts in the outfield than Benintendi, or trying to cobble together another platoon.
There's enough potential for change here to explain why the Sox aren't committing to a Tauchman reunion until a longer look at the market landscape is available.
