PREAMBLE
2026 was a wonderful, unexpected gift -- one of the most fun years I've had as a baseball fan. As I've said, it was like watching a bunch of puppies in a basket, if the puppies could hit lots of home runs and beat Houston in the wildcard series. Thank you, White Sox.
2026 is also over. And the team faces 2027 with a lot of question marks. The White Sox may play in a large city, but they are the second team here, and they are right to see their peers as the Brewers and Rays, and not the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, or Cubs. It was painful when Jerry said that the Sox "obviously" weren't going to be in the hunt for Shohei Otani's services, but it was also obviously true. And Tarik Skubal isn't walking through that door, either.
What do the Brewers and Rays have in common? One thing is that their front offices are ruthlessly unsentimental. They trade away popular players, either because they know that they won't be able to resign them, or because they don't quite fit. The White Sox under Chris Getz, or Red Traphagen, have to do that, too. So, I'm trading Munetaka Murikami.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Miguel Vargas: Tender
- Brenton Doyle: Tender
- Joey Bart: Tender
- Huascar Brazobán: Non-tender
- Jordan Leasure: Non-tender
- Chris Murphy: Non-tender
Vargas is the best player on the team.Doyle is a good platoon partner for Peters in center, and an elite outfield glove. Bart is the most likely in-house option to be a cromulent backup to Teel. Leasure and Murphy are worth offering minor league contracts.
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
- Randal Grichuk
- Sean Newcomb
Fedde and Newcomb each gave the Sox 2.0 bWar last year, but Newcomb only needed 90 innings, while Fedde needed 141. This suggests that Newcomb should have pitched more innings, and maybe that Fedde should have pitched fewer. I'm looking to use Newcomb as a real swingman, and figuring he'll pitch around 130 innings. I'll offer him two years at $7 million per year. Fedde, unfortunately, I don't have room for. Randal Grichuk was lightning in a bottle for the Sox last year. I don't think he'll repeat his performance, but I also don't see a lot of better options to fill the DH-back up outfielder spot. I'm offering one year, $2.5 million.
FREE AGENTS
- Randy Arozarena (5 years, $25 million per). A long term contract for a left fielder. Best outfield bat on the market, and Sox need slug in the outfield. Antonacci moves to second, his natural position.
- Raisel Iglesias (1 year, $16 million). I'd like a real closer. Iglesias is going to be 37, so I don't think a long term contract is in his future. The Braves paid him $16 million last season, but have younger internal options, so may not want to pay him that much again. The Sox can take a chance that he has another year in him.
TRADES
- Munetaka Murakami and Anthony DePino to Seattle for Logan Gilbert and Lucas Kelly
I've said a couple of times that the Sox will have to decide this winter whether to trade or extend Murakami. I still believe that, and after his second half, I think an extension is too risky. Beside, Miguel Vargas needs to get off of third base, and on to first. The Mariners have a lot of pitching, and can't afford to sign all of it to free agent contracts. They also need slug in a big way.
With Vargas as the long-term first baseman, DePino is blocked. If I need to throw in another mid-level position player prospect to get this done, I will.
Gilbert is now our best starter. Like Murakami, he has one year of control left. I'm offering Gilbert $15 million to avoid arbitration, or three years at $22, $23, and $25 million.For purposes of this exercise, let's assume he takes the longer contract. Lucas Kelly is 23, finished last year at AA. Closer stuff, middle relief floor.
- Andrew Benintendi and Davis Martin and $8 million to anyone who wants them for a low A pitcher or outfielder.
Beneintendi has some value, just not the $14.5 million in cash he's owed next year. This is similar to the Red Sox giving the White Sox David Sandlin and cash in exchange for taking Jordan Hicks's contract. Sox get salary relief and free up a spot for a position player on the roster. As for Davis Martin, thanks for a great first half of last year, but there's a reason why "crafty righty" is generally not a thing.
SUMMARY
Vargas is moving to first, Antonacci to second, Meidroth to short, Colson to third. Outfield from left to right is Arozarena, a Peters/Doyle platoon, and Braden. Teel catches. Grichuk is the DH, and can back up in left. Bart is the backup catcher, Tanner Murray and Brooks Baldwin are both super-utility guys on the bench. The theory here is that Meidroth can actually play short at least as well as Colson, and that Colson improves the defense at third. Antonacci moves to his natural position, where he has more value than in left. The two big question marks are the Montgomery brothers. We have to hope that the Colson of the last three months of 2025 and the first two of 2026 is still in there, and that Braden's hitting improves in his second year. They are both still very young.
Five starters are Gilbert, Burke, Hagen, Kay, and Castillo. Hagen looks ready, and I'm excited to see him in the rotation. It would be nice if Castillo turned out to be just a wildly overpaid fifth starter, and not an unplayable disaster. We'll see.
Relievers are Newcomb, Vasil, Taylor, Hicks, Hudson, Sandlin, Davis, and Iglesias. Newcomb, Taylor and Sandlin are all candidates for multi-inning opener or bulk guy roles, or swinging into the rotation if needed, and they might be.
I counted all the pre-arb guys at $800K, and Jordan Hicks at $8M because I applied half of the $8M the Sox got from Boston to take the last two years of his contract. With that, I have $45.8M going to my 13 position players, and $85.55M going to 13 pitchers. $22.75M to Luis Castillo is not great. The total is $131.35M, close enough $130 M. Throw in the $8M I'm paying in the Benintendi trade and $1.5M owed to Hendriks, you get to $140.85M. If Jerry says I have to spend less, I'll look for a cheaper closer than Iglesias, but I'll ask him if he remembers how last year's discount aisle closer, Serathony, worked out.
A lot of good things had to happen last year for the Sox to win 84 games, and a lot of good things will have to happen in 2027 for them to win that many, too. Chiefly, Colson has to get back to the guy we loved to see at the plate, not the guy we dreaded. Arozarena has to hit at age 32 about like he did at age 31. Braden needs to be at least a league average hitter. Teel, a little better. Young players who were good last year (Vargas, Antonacci, Peters, Meidroth) have to be good again, or at least not fall off too badly. Pitchers need to pitch well -- there's always a lot of year-to-year variance with pitchers, I think.
Anyway, here are your 2027 White Sox, at least in a world without a long lockout. I'm afraid that I may spend next summer watching the Chicago Bandits and Sky instead of the Sox. Maybe I'll read a few more books, too.
