PREAMBLE
I see the White Sox building on the 2026 season and competing for the division again in 2027. The roster needs a few tweaks, especially with pitching, but the team has a good core to build off of.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Miguel Vargas: Tender
- Brenton Doyle: Tender
- Joey Bart: Non-tender
- Huascar Brazobán: Tender
- Jordan Leasure: Non-tender
- Chris Murphy: Non-tender
Vargas is a no-brainer, Doyle's defense is critical, and Brazoban because he's inexpensive.
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
- Erick Fedde
- Sean Newcomb
Fedde, 2 years $10M, Newcomb, 2 years $16
FREE AGENTS
Kaima Taira (4 years, $52M), Tatsuya Imai (3 years, $39M), Trent Grisham, (1 year $6M), Hiromi Itoh, (years, $50M)
TRADES
Trade Tristan Peters to New York Yankees for Will Warren
SUMMARY
C, Teel and Quero, 1B Murakami, 2B Meidroth, SS Montgomery, 3B Vargas, LF Antonacci, CF Doyle, RF Montgomery, DH Benintendi, Bench Acuna, Grisham, Brooks Baldwin, SP: Burke, Warren, Itoh, Kay, and Castillo BP: Taylor, Taira, Newcomb, Fedde, Hudson, Martin, Hicks, Brazoban
My goal was to build on the progress made in 2026 without disrupting the young core. I wanted to improve the pitching staff while giving some of the younger position players a chance to establish themselves.
I went after two Japanese pitchers, Hiromi Itoh for the rotation and Kaima Taira for the bullpen, while bringing back Newcomb and Fedde. I also traded Tristan Peters to the Yankees for Will Warren, giving the Sox another young, controllable starter.
I'm taking a bit of a gamble in the outfield with Antonacci and Braden Montgomery, but I'd rather see what they can do than spend money on another veteran. I added Trent Grisham as a left-handed bat off the bench who can also back up Doyle in center.
I went a little over the $130 million budget, but I think the pitching upgrades are worth it. Hopefully, this is a team that can build on 2026 and make a run at the division without sacrificing the future.
