Assuming you don't honor a night game on Netflix as a legitimate start to an entire season, we're 24 hours from baseball's Opening Day, which means it's time to rank the most essential White Sox for the 2026 campaign.
Due to the amount of out-of-options candidates the White Sox had to consider, I waited until the publication of the Opening Day roster to finalize this year's list of the most essential White Sox.
In the end, the White Sox decided to carry six outfielders including Everson Pereira, Derek Hill and Tristan Peters (who actually has options). Meanwhile, Curtis Mead was designated for assignment along with Korey Lee, whose departure had been previously tipped.
Here's the full roster:
Starting pitchers
- Shane Smith
- Sean Burke
- Anthony Kay
- Davis Martin
- Erick Fedde
Bullpen
- Seranthony Domínguez
- Grant Taylor
- Jordan Leasure
- Sean Newcomb
- Jordan Hicks
- Tyler Gilbert
- Chris Murphy
- Jedixson Páez
Catchers
- Edgar Quero
- Reese McGuire
Infielders
- Munetaka Murakami
- Chase Meidroth
- Miguel Vargas
- Colson Montgomery
- Lenyn Sosa
Outfielders
- Luisangel Acuña
- Andrew Benintendi
- Austin Hays
- Derek Hill
- Everson Pereira
- Tristan Peters
And here's the first installment of the most essential White Sox for 2026, which makes the futile attempt to capture who would contribute the most to the present and future of the White Sox with seasons that would be considered individual successes.
No. 49: Tyler Schweitzer (NR)
Provided that his experience at Charlotte in 2025 didn't traumatize him, he has a couple of ways to get to the White Sox bullpen, either by providing length or mitigating lefties.
No. 48: Jacob Gonzalez (29)
He's a former first-round pick, but he's a former first-round pick of the last front office. To the extent the pedigree could matter, there's a chance the front office turns to him for a short-term middle infielder vacancy just to see what it looks like before turning the page for good.
No. 47: Riley Gowens (NR)
He's the right-handed version of Schweitzer, in that he's a career starter whose path to the majors is likely through long relief due to platoon imbalance. He's just yet to experience Charlotte, through no fault of his own.
No. 46: Jarred Kelenic (NA)
A version of Kelenic who corrects course enough in Charlotte to attain platoon status in Chicago would have a spot on the 26-man roster, as the Sox are starved for credible outfielders with projectability beyond the next year, but he's starting his season behind the 8-ball.
No. 45: Zach Franklin (NR)
Perhaps you shouldn't talk to me until I get Adisyn Coffey, or I should be more of a Ben Peoples Person, but I'm rolling with Franklin as the right-handed up-and-down reliever of choice. M-I.Z.
No. 44: Mason Adams (NR)
He was in position to get an audition before his Tommy John surgery last spring, but as a command-oriented righty, he might need more time to regain an effective form.
No. 43: Ky Bush (NR)
He's technically on the same timetable as Adams, but if he comes back from his TJ accessing past peaks of velocity that have often eluded him, he might have a more direct track to Chicago. Also, he's already on the 40-man.
No. 42: Tanner Murray (NA)
I'm giving him Danny Mendick-like expectations at the start of his chapter in the White Sox org and adjusting as we go. He could get some run in the White Sox infield, unless all the other infielders crowd him out.
No. 41: William Bergolla Jr. (NR)
Murray has the advantage of already being on the 40-man, but Bergolla has the advantage of being five years younger. He impressed the coaching staff in the spring, and should he stand out against Charlotte, the organization may be more invested in furthering his career. Maybe he'll even hit a homer.
No. 40: Duncan Davitt (NA)
Davitt was among the first White Sox reassigned to minor league camp, and he may be a poor man's Jonathan Cannon if he can't solidify a plan of attack against lefties. In his favor, he's 26 years old, already on the 40-man and threw 152 innings last year, so there's no reason to baby him if he's shoving early, or an opportunity tumbles his way.
No. 39: Prelander Berroa (NR)
He should be the first of last year's Tommy John surgery victims to return to action (May has been floated as a rough estimate), and a full recovery would give him the liveliest stuff in the White Sox bullpen after Grant Taylor. Location was a problem before surgery, though, so it may take him a while to resume a potential leverage form.
No. 37: David Sandlin (NA)
The White Sox have plans for him, but back and elbow discomfort haven't allowed anybody to put them into effect.
No. 36: Derek Hill (NA)
No. 35: Everson Pereira (NA)
The White Sox are rolling with six outfielders, including the two right-handed ones here. Hill is theoretically too old to devote playing time to, but he does certain things well on a major league field, whereas Pereira has to solve contact issues before his tools come into view.
No. 34: Tristan Peters (NA)
If he's a good enough lefty 'tweener outfielder to get a cup of coffee with the Rays, he's good enough to get one here. Hopefully Michael Soroka enjoyed his run as the most recent Canadian-born White Sox, and Jason Frasor as the most recent Southern Illinois Saluki.
No. 33: Brandon Eisert (39)
He enters the 2026 season on the outside looking in, but considering he appeared in 72 games the year before, he should be in the mix at various points of the season. Reverse splits might limit his impact, though.
No. 32: Drew Thorpe (NR)
Like Bush, Thorpe is a Utahn who missed last year due to Tommy John surgery. Unlike Bush, Thorpe showed an ability to survive against major league hitters without his best stuff. If he can return to regularly throwing off a mound with intent -- and that can't be treated as a given since a procedure to address a bone spur preceded his UCL tear -- he might have the least work in getting right.
No. 31: Jedixson Paez (NA)
He's completed Step 1 by making the roster. Step 2 is surviving April. Mike Vasil made carrying a Rule 5 pick look way easier than it usually is.
No. 30: Reese McGuire (NA)
Perhaps the White Sox just overpaid for two weeks of lefty support for Edgar Quero and some veteran know-how in pregame meetings, but $1.2 million suggests some intent beyond the minimum stay.
No. 29: Brooks Baldwin (18)
An inability to throw without pain has clouded his prospects for 2026. Before then, there were reasons to be bullish about Baldwin, especially for those already predisposed.
No. 28: Jonathan Cannon (11)
He's the readiest to take on sixth-starter duties, and the rotation becomes a lot deeper when he's a cromulent back-end type, but he isn't missing bats and he's stopped getting grounders. He either has too many ideas or not enough of them. His Statcast page is a sea of blue, so he's adrift in many senses.
No. 27: Tyler Gilbert
He'll be in the revolving door, but unlike Eisert, Gilbert has traditional platoon splits that make him easier to deploy. Unfortunately, his willingness to pitch early or late doesn't distinguish him in this bullpen, even from the left side.
No. 26: Jordan Hicks
Even when he threw 102 with the Cardinals, Hicks didn't get as many strikeouts as one might think, instead relying on a heaping helping of ground balls. A 98 mph fastball still should play, but it's not likely to make him any better. Still, there's lots of room in a bullpen to be useful, and for what he's getting paid and the lack of options, the pitcher himself could be equally difficult to lift.
No. 25: Chris Murphy (NA)
He looked primed to spend the season bouncing between Chicago and Charlotte, but Vasil's injury widens the pathway for a reliever who can throw multiple medium-leverage innings.
No. 24: Erick Fedde (NA)
He could just as well be Erick Fodder at this stage in his career, but he's opening the season in the rotation, and he'll be allowed to stay as long as he's useful.
No. 23: Sam Antonacci (NA)
Assuming he continues to laugh off his twice-weekly HBPs, the floor to this season is Chase Meidroth's platoon help at second. After his spring and World Baseball Classic run, the ceiling to this season is, what, Everybody's Favorite Player?
No. 22: Braden Montgomery (NA)
The contact issues are real enough that a major league ETA might wait until 2027, but a Montgomery who storms his way into the White Sox outfield by August improves the outlook of next year's 26-man roster too dramatically to downplay.
No. 21: Lenyn Sosa (15)
Is it weird to lead the team in homers and drop six spots in this ranking? It's no weirder than being a first baseman who forgets to stand on first, or who addresses problems with his aggression by being more aggressive. The laws of nature struggle to apply to him, much less the rules of baseball, and we love him for it.
