PREAMBLE
If you consider 2024 to be year zero of the Chris Getz rebuild, then 2025 was year one. And with all things considered 2025 was a successful year for the Chicago White Sox in my opinion. They identified a manager who's shown promise in Will Venable, finished with the best odds at the first overall pick in a loaded 2026 MLB Draft. And more importantly, a core of controllable young players is starting to emerge at 35th and Shields. Guys like Shane Smith, Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, and Chase Meidroth all played well. There's also Davis Martin, Miguel Vargas, Grant Taylor, and Brooks Baldwin. While I'm going into this project thinking that 2026 is another "building year", I think they played well enough to get reinforcements around them. I think this team should be flirting with .500 in 2027 and competing in the division from 2028 on.
I want to improve this team defensively, add more power, and bring in some more OBP oriented guys to round out the position players. On the pitching front, I want to add some experience to the rotation and add some more fire power to the pen. On both sides of the ball, I'm open to signing guys to multi year deals, as long as they're the right side of 30 and project to be on the next good Sox team. Overall, I am trying to add as many interesting assets as possible that I could flip at the deadline or at the winter meetings if need be. Let's get to it.
COACHING STAFF
- Hitting coach: [Already decided]
- Pitching coach: [Already decided]
At the time of writing this, the Sox did hire Bove and Shomon to be their pitching and hitting coach respectively. In regards to the rest of the staff, I would move Sizemore to be the first base coach and to coach baserunning and the outfield. I would hire Bobby Wilson away from the Rangers to be my catching coach. He has ties to and overlap with Venable, he's a champion and he coaches Jonah Heim and Jose Trevino to Gold Glove Seasons. I understand that Walker McKinven can do a lot of the duties of a catching coach, but I don't want to overload anyone's plate and get a dedicated specialist in the building.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Mike Tauchman: Tender
- Steven Wilson: Tender
- Derek Hill: Non-tender
Wilson quietly put up an ERA+ of 123 last year. A reliever of that quality for only $1.5M is a steal. I think it's important to have guys like Tauchman on a team filled with young guys. He has a career OBP of .347and walked 11.7% of the time, however I think $3.5M is too rich for him. I won't tender him a contract but I will re-sign him at $2.75M. Derek Hill doesn't even go here.
CLUB OPTIONS
- Luis Robert Jr.: Exercise $20 million option.
- Martín Perez: Buy out for $1.5 million
Luis Robert is our 2026 OF. Martín Pérez was solid for the Sox but I'm not paying him $10M, so we have to say goodbye and thanks for the enthusiasm.
I should note that I see Braden Montgomrey coming up by June at the absolute latest, so I don't want to clog his path to a spot on the ML roster.
FREE AGENTS
Austin Slater - (1 year, $1.5M) - Our Platoon Partner For Tauchmann. Just smash lefties Austin. Ryan Fuller gets his man.
Zach Eflin (1 year, $10M, could reach $17M if inning based incentives are hit) - Zach Eflin has built himself into a quality starting pitcher. He was worth almost 5 fWAR a couple years ago, and was averaging over 9 K/9 when he was in Tampa. He suffered a herniated disk in his back last year, missed a lot of time and played through a lot of pain. He's a 3 starter on a good team. I'm trusting Bannister and Bove, the grip king, to get him back to that 9 K/9 and make him an attractive asset again.
If Eflin doesn't pass my physical then I'd sign Erick Fedde to a 1 year deal worth $5M. Fedde really seemed to flourish when he was with the Sox under the watchful eye of Brian Bannister and company. Fedde brings some experience to the back end of the rotation.
Michael Soroka (2 years, $20M. Front Loaded. Pays $9M in Year 1) - I think the Sox need to add some more fire power to the pitching staff. Soroka averages over 9 K/9 for his career, he's also under 30 and there's not a lot of bullets on his arm. This is the upside play of the free agent class as he's someone who at 29 could be on the next good Sox team.
Pete Fairbanks (2 years, $18M) - I think it's important to have a designated, established closer. It makes the game easier on the manager, it also gives you a highly coveted asset to trade when your team falls out of it. Fairbanks also brings some of that needed fire power to the Sox pen, with a career K/9 of 11.26.
Hunter Harvey (1 year, $4M) - Let's give Zach Bove a project he's already familiar with. Maybe he can net the Sox another high draft pick, like he did the Nationals.
Michael Kopech (1 year, $5M) - Another reunion? Yes, I think Kopeck brings interesting upside as a fireman/high leverage reliever type. Hopefully he'll listen to Bannister and Bove this time as he was really good when he did before being shipped out to LAD.
TRADES
#1: Grant Taylor, Brandon Eisert, and Lenyn Sosa to Athletics for Tyler Soderstrom, Denzel Clarke and Will Johnston.
The Sox get their long term first baseman in Tyler Soderstrom, who I'd immediately sign to a long term extension at 7 years and $70M. He'll also get some playing time in LF for the team. He'd immediately be the team's best hitter. Denzel Clarke would slot in as our every CF'er. Clarke is a bet on our coaching staff, he's arguably the best center fielder in the game with the glove, we just need him to be closer to league average with the bat. This would move Robert to RF which should lead to less strain on his body, helping him stay healthy. Johnston would be converted to the pen as a power lefty.
#2: Andrew Benintendi and $16M to the Reds For Carlos Jorge - Got this from the 108 guys. Ishiba steps up to get a black hole off of the roster. We get an interesting up the middle guy in return. The team is much better defensively with Benintendi off the roster.
SUMMARY
Roster Lineup:
Chase Meidroth - 2B
Tyler Soderstrom - 1B
Edgar Quero - DH/C
Colson Montgomery - SS
Miguel Vargas - 3B
Kyle Teel - C/DH
Luis Robert - RF
Denzel Clarke - CF
Tauchman/Slater - LF
Bench: Korey Lee - C
Brooks Baldwin - UTL
Curtis Mead - CIF
Tauchman/Slater - OF
Rotation
1: Shane Smith
2: Zach Eflin
3: Mike Soroka
4: Davis Martin
5: Sean Burke
Bullpen:
LR: Yoendrys Gómez
MR: Mike Vasil
MR: Steven Wilson
MR: Cam Booser
MR: Hunter Harvey
SU: Jordan Leasure
HL: Michael Kopech
CL: Pete Fairbanks
I think this is a really intriguing roster for the Sox in 2026. With the addition of Denzel Clarke in CF, moving Robert to RF and getting Benintendi off the roster, the defense is significantly better. Plus having a real first baseman on the roster helps the infield defense as well. Soderstrom brings a proven young star to the Southside with some serious power.
As you can see, I didn't mention any of the prospects waiting in the wings. I don't think prospects should weigh too much on offseason roster construction, I choose to look at them like bonuses. That being said, Braden Montgomery, Tanner McDougal, Hagen Smith, Noah Schultz, and Sam Antonacci are going to be up sooner than later in my opinion and would provide this team with some serious helium and some long term solutions. Getz has prioritized guys who can get on base and guys who can control the strike zone. That's not Denzel Clarke at all but I think he can be a high end defensive CF who has the potential to hit 15+ homers annually. I like what Shomon did with Kyle Stowers, can he work his magic again here? Can Ryan Fuller's grading system help Clarke with swing decisions like it did with Ryan O'Hearn and Austin Hays? This sounds crazy but I'm betting on the Sox development staff.
I think that is a very interesting roster that could play close to .500 ball, and make themselves attractive to free agents next offseason where the team should be looking to start making some noise. The team is loaded with guys who can be flipped at the TDL for prospects and other interesting assets. My calculations have the team budget at $82.6M, nicely below the $90M threshold. What do you think?
BONUS: The White Sox win the draft lottery and select Roch Cholowsky with the first overall pick. Here's the prize of the rebuild, here's the star of the team when they're good. Here's the Sox version of Alex Bregman, or their version of Kris Bryant but at a more premium position. I know he's a shortstop and the Sox have been loading up on shortstops but you should always take the BPA. And shortstops can play anywhere. Sign me up for a lineup that features Cholowsky, Carlson, Montgomery and Bonemer.
