If you were looking to the Cincinnati Reds to bring years of Luis Robert Jr. trade speculation to an end, they've instead looked to other options by signing JJ Bleday and trading for Dane Myers. Neither preclude the addition of a more proven outfielder -- and indeed, the Cincinnati Enquirer says they're still in contact with the White Sox about Robert -- but if nothing else, they serve to illustrate the lack of real leverage the White Sox have in any conversation. Bleday was non-tendered and Myers is 29 and coming off a .617 OPS, but "they'll be considerably cheaper" is a valid counterargument for a team that argues that Robert's upside is nullified by the threat of a null output.
At this point, it's healthiest to pencil Robert into a 2026 White Sox roster until Chris Getz is inspired to budge, and that got me trying to pencil in the rest of a potential 26-man roster to better understand what kind of work is left as the White Sox advance into the back half of the offseason.
Starting pitchers (5)
- Shane Smith
- Davis Martin
- Anthony Kay
- Sean Burke
- Sean Newcomb
Jeff Passan said back on Dec. 18 that the White Sox were in the hunt for mid-tier starting pitchers, and that market hasn't really changed. Zach Eflin is the only such pitcher who has found a home over the last 11 days after re-signing with the Orioles on Sunday for one year and $10 million, and he might not even fit that description. He posted a 5.93 ERA over 71⅓ innings and underwent back surgery in August.
We'll find out more about the intentions behind the Newcomb signing when the White Sox hold a Zoom call for him. But with James hearing that Newcomb’s most likely role is a swingman, it seems like a successful offseason would include one more pitcher who bumps the new left-hander to the bullpen, or makes Burke and Jonathan Cannon battle it out for the last spot if Newcomb's immediate starting aspirations are legit.
Relief pitchers (8)
- Grant Taylor
- Jordan Leasure
- Mike Vasil
- Brandon Eisert
- Tyler Gilbert
- Bryan Hudson
- Wikelman González
- Rule 5 guy
The White Sox have made a few additions to the relief depth, but until we can fix Newcomb into place here, none of them are locks. "Rule 5 guy" applies to either Jedixson Paez or Alexander Alberto, since they would figure to serve different purposes while attempting to survive in the majors, and Getz likes Will Venable too much to ask him to manage both at the same time.
Gilbert and Hudson are out of options, so let's put them here for now at the expense of Chris Murphy, whom they acquired in a minor November trade with the Red Sox. This could also be a spot to introduce Tanner McDougal to major league competition, but since Getz downplayed his chances of breaking into the big leagues through the bullpen, it could be a place for Burke to eventually land if the White Sox think his fastball-curve combination is better in shorter stints.
The Sox don’t figure to come close to the five major league free agent contracts issued to relievers already this offseason on the north side of town. But every MLB team is good for a clutch of semi-interesting non-roster invite relievers each spring and the Sox have yet to reveal many of theirs as of yet.
Catchers (3)
- Kyle Teel
- Edgar Quero
- Korey Lee
Even the soundest area of the roster is a little cloudy right now. I don't think the White Sox end up breaking camp with three catchers, but as currently constructed, Lee is more of a major leaguer than the other 26th-man candidates who are out of options. He also provides more left field entertainment than Andrew Benintendi, for better or for worse. Just look at this throw home.
Infielders (6)
- Munetaka Murakami
- Chase Meidroth
- Colson Montgomery
- Miguel Vargas
- Lenyn Sosa
- Curtis Mead
An infield of Murakami at first, Meidroth at second, Montgomery at short and Vargas at third probably doesn't project all that well. But there's reason to watch all of them play their assigned positions, and having last year's home run champ as a fifth infielder is a sign of actual depth, or at least viable options in case of disaster.
Mead is out of options, so he's here for now, but barring an offensive turnaround that puts him back in the immediate plans, a better White Sox roster would probably force him to waivers while Brooks Baldwin covers whatever infield work is left over. Bryan Ramos is also out of options and it’s hard to see him, Mead and Vargas all coexisting on one roster.
Tanner Murray, recently acquired in the trade that sent Yoendrys Gómez and Steven Wilson to Tampa, is another candidate for somebody who can pick up spot duty over the course of the season. Given how much his immediate trajectory has been talked up by Sox front office types since his AFL performance, Sam Antonacci could be an even better candidate.
Outfielders (4)
- Luis Robert Jr.
- Andrew Benintendi
- Brooks Baldwin
- Derek Hill
Right now, however, Baldwin is a little too prominent in the White Sox's outfield plans, although "plans" overstates the effort that's gone into the design. The best argument against trading Robert is what the picture looks like without him, which also extends to Everson Pereira and Tristan Peters to round out the 40-man roster. Pereira is yet another position player out of options and the White Sox seemed destined to dedicate at least one corner spot to a post-hype project, but they could also really use even one (1) outfielder who is a lock to start 100 games out there. That doesn't seem like too much to ask, but the White Sox often don't have ready answers to the simplest questions.
