PREAMBLE
Having taken the step from historically bad to just very bad, the next goal for the White Sox should be to become merely bad, by which I mean winning 75 or 76 games. I wish I could tell you that I have trades or free agent signings that will get them there, but I'm afraid that most of the improvement, if it is to happen at all, is going to have to come from players who are already in the system. On free agent signings: The salient fact about free agents is that they are free. Free to sign with any team that will have them. And the best free agents, and even the ones in the middle, will probably have offers from teams that didn't just lose more than 100 games three years in a row. Could Jerry buy their affections by offering them an above-market contract? Two responses: 1. Oh, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. 2. Probably not -- anyone you really want is going to get a big enough offer from a more attractive team that extra money wouldn't sway him. Players want to get rich, but they also, and even more, want to win. If the Sox get closer to .500, and look like a team on the upswing, they could become a more attractive destination than they are now. I have two strong convictions about the White Sox in 2026. The first is that Andrew Benintendi should not play left field, and so by default he should be the primary DH. For what it's worth, he hit much better in 2025 as a DH than as a left fielder. The second is that the White Sox need a real closer, and probably another reliever, too. As in 2024, the White Sox had the worst save conversion rate in baseball last year. Just because it was better doesn't make it close to acceptable. They still left too many wins on the table, and late inning blown leads are demoralizing to a young team, and more importantly, demoralizing to me. Improving the bullpen seems to me to be the most likely way of improving the team's record. Other than that, all I have is hope and bourbon.
COACHING STAFF
- Hitting coach: No idea.
- Pitching coach: Heck if I know.
If you have an opinion here, you follow baseball much more closely than I do. God bless you.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Mike Tauchman: Tender
- Steven Wilson: Tender
- Derek Hill: Tender
Braden Montgomery is coming in July to play right field, so it doesn't make sense to consider another long term alternative. Mike Tauchman is as good a bet as anyone to hold down the fort until then. He just has to stay in one piece for three months. My guess is that he'll end up costing less than $3.5 million, but for purposes of this exercise, I'll go with that.
The Sox need a backup CF/fourth OF who can play plus defense at any position. Derek Hill seems to fill that role adequately. He doesn't have to hit.
Steven Wilson was actually OK in 2025, following a very bad 2024. At the price, I'll keep him.
CLUB OPTIONS
- Luis Robert Jr.: Exercise $20 million contract
- Martín Perez: Buy out for $1.5 million
Do I think that Luis Robert is really going to be worth $20 million? I have no idea. How much do you pay for 1 WAR on the FA market? About $7 million? More? 3 WAR doesn't seem to be that unrealistic, if he stays healthy and plays more like he did in the second half of 2025 than he did in the first half. It's a risk worth taking, especially given the alternatives.
Mutual options aren't meant to be exercised. The buyouts are meant to be deferred compensation. I am bring Perez back, though, but at a lower price.
FREE AGENTS
Raisel Iglesias (3 years, $36 million) -- Remember what I said about how it's hard to buy an in-demand free agent with an above-market contract? Well, I'm trying anyway. Jeff Hoffman got 3 years and $33 million from the Blue Jays last winter. The Sox need a closer, and Iglesias is the best available. At his age, I'm not sure a lot of other teams will want to give him a third year.
Devin Williams (1 year, $10 million) -- He's only 31. He was a top reliever until last year, and he looked better in his September appearances. He'll probably take a pillow contract to re-establish his market value. $10 million is cheap for a top reliever. If he returns to form, he's a steal. If not, he can still be an improvement in a weak bullpen.
Martin Perez (1 year, $4.5 million with a $10 million mutual option with a $2 million buy-out, same incentives as last year) -- This is effectively a $1.5 million raise. He was great last year when he was healthy, he was a mentor to the young pitchers, and he wants to be here. That last part is important. Yes, he's an injury risk, but that's baked into the price, and in any event the risk is ameliorated by the young starters in the system who should start becoming available during the year.
Adrian Houser (1 year, $5 million) -- Your innings eater. He took $1,375,000 from the Sox last year, and looked like a steal before he was traded to the Rays. He wasn't nearly as good in Tampa, although I don't know how much of that was due to the ballpark. In any event, he posted. And maybe he liked the water here.
TRADES
I don't have a lot of great trade ideas. First, I don't really follow the minors. Second, I don't think that the Sox have a lot to trade.
At the end of 2024, I thought that the strength of the Sox system, to the extent it had one, was its young starting pitchers, and that the road back to respectability would require trading pitching for hitting. Wrong. The young starters are, as a group, underwhelming. The Sox do have a surplus of middle infielders, one of whom might bring a decent return> I'd trade him.
Note, I am not trading Edgar Quero. First, I just really like him, probably irrationally. But also, I think he's better at calling games and handling pitchers than Kyle Teel. The differences between their catcher's OPS and ERA numbers are pretty big. I want to see him develop for another year in a Sox uniform, and I have other plans for Teel.
Lenyn Sosa to Cleveland for Daniel Espino (RHP) and Josh Hartle (LHP) -- The Guardians need hitting very badly, and Lenyn did hit 22 HR last year. They could use him at first, and maybe at second. I don't think he has a future with the Sox -- There's not enough offense to make up for a glove that really only plays at first.
Espino is a high upside flier, who lost almost three years to injuries. Hartle is another guy who needs some work, but he pitched well in high A last year after being drafted in the third round by Pittsburgh out of Wake Forest.Yes, I know that this doesn't make the Sox better in 2026, unless Espino greatly exceeds reasonable expectations in Charlotte. Honestly, if you have any better ideas for Lenyn, I'd love to hear them.
SUMMARY
As I already mentioned, Andrew Benintendi is moving to DH. Kyle Teel is going to be the primary left fielder. OK, that's dumb. But he's a bat first guy, played some OF in college, and is certainly athletic enough to make the switch. Yes, I know he's going from a high value to low value position, but maybe he's not that good a catcher anyway, and he'll probably get more ABs in the outfield. And if Edgar Quero doesn't work out, or if he gets traded at the end of next year, Teel can move back behind the plate.
This is my Opening Day roster. I'm expecting a lot of movement during the season, especially among the pitching staff, and as I said, I'm expecting Braden Montgomery in July.
1B Miguel Vargas ($820,000)
2B Chase Meidroth ($820,000)
SS Colson Montgomery ($820,000)
3B -- Spring training competition among Bryan Ramos, Brooks Baldwin, and Curtis Mead ($820,000)
C Edgar Quero ($820,000)
RF Mike Tauchman ($3.5 million)
CF Luis Robert Jr. ($20 million)
LF Kyle Teel ($820,000)
DH Andrew Benintendi ($16.5 million)
Bench -- Two of Ramos, Baldwin, and Mead ($820,000 each), Derek Hill ($1 million), Korey Lee ($820,000)
SP Shane Smith ($820,000)
SP Davis Martin ($820,000)
SP Sean Burke ($820,000)
SP Martin Perez ($6.5 million)
SP Adrain Houser ($5 million)
CL Raisel Iglesias ($13 million)
RP Devin Williams ($10 million)
RP Steven Wilson ($1.5 million)
RP Yoendrys Gomez ($820,000)
RP Mike Vasil ($820,000)
RP Grant Taylor ($820,000)
RP Wikelman Gonzalez ($820,000)
Gomez, Vasil, and Taylor are all possible candidates to move to the rotation if needed, and maybe there will be other starting candidates available in the minors, so we're more or less covered if Perez goes on the DL.
If I can add, that's $79,300,00 in salaries before deferred payments owed. So, I'm well under budget. I'll use some of the extra $10 million to hire Joe Davis away from the Dodgers.
