The 51 plans submitted to the Sox Machine 2025-26 Offseason Plan Project harvested a total of 97 different free agent suggestions for the White Sox, and Chris Getz has taken exactly two people up on one shared idea with the two-year, $12 million signing of Anthony Kay. Congratulations to Josh and Grab Some Bench for seeing the same possibility, unless it blows up in their faces.
Granted, Kay is the only free agent the White Sox have signed to a major league deal thus far, but others have been taken off the board by other teams.
Two-thirds of them were pitchers, which makes since given the multiple vacancies in the rotation and bullpen. The position-player side of the equation has its share of needs -- outfield, namely -- but a combination of emerging prospects and out-of-options candidates clutters the picture, so trades were the more feasible way to create space.
That said, as we look at the most popular free agent suggestions, we may as well start with non-pitchers, since it's smaller pool and each signing takes a bigger chunk out of the field. In fact, one happened just this morning.
Infielders
Receiving multiple votes:
- Ryan O'Hearn (6)
Josh Naylor (4)-- 5 years, $92.5M with Seattle- Rhys Hoskins (3)
Pete Alonso (2)-- 5 years, $155M with BaltimoreLewin Diaz (2)-- 1 year, $1.3M with Samsung LionsJosh Bell(2) -- 1 year, $7 million with Minnesota
Bell just came off the board this morning, signing a contract with the Minnesota Twins that will pay him $5.5 million with a $250,000 signing bonus up front, and a $1.25 million buyout.
Naylor was the winter's first big signing, and while White Sox fans have been conditioned to accept an Alonso-sized commitment as an impossibility, the exercise is what you would do under the White Sox's budget constraints, so I commend the architects who dared to dream.
O'Hearn is surviving thus far, and he's a free agent the White Sox have been tied to. The question is whether he can find an equally interested team with more to play for in 2026, given that he's an above-average bat who has played for the Orioles and Padres over the last three years. Diaz won the KBO triple crown last year, and it seems as though he'll get a chance to defend his title.
Receiving single votes:
- Bo Bichette
- Luis Arraez
- Paul Goldschmidt
- Isiah Kiner-Falefa
- Jorge Mateo
- Kazuma Okamoto
- Munetaka Murakami
Bichette is the only one with the kind of cachet to set market agendas, and he seems to be enjoying the process. Ken Rosenthal posted updates on Murakami (whose negotiating window closes a week from today) and Okamoto (who can negotiate up until Jan. 4), but potential destinations remain a mystery.
Outfielders
Receiving multiple votes:
Mike Yastrzemski (6)-- 2 years, $23M with Atlanta- Austin Hays (5)
- Harrison Bader (5)
Cedric Mullins (5)-- 1 year, $7M with Tampa Bay- Rob Refsnyder (5)
- Austin Slater (4)
Lane Thomas (4)-- 1 year, $5.25M with Kansas CityTrent Grisham (4)-- Accepted qualifying offer from the New York Yankees- Jarred Kelenic (3)
Ramon Laureano (3)-- $6.5M option exercised with San Diego
Yastrzemski seems like the outfield analog of O'Hearn, a helpful player who won't break the bank, and he ended up finding that sort of situation with the Braves. We discussed the potential effects of Mullins' signing on Luis Robert Jr.'s market, and Thomas is part of a Kansas City outfield makeover that now includes Isaac Collins after a trade with the Brewers.
There appear to be no material updates on the other suggested free agents, although the window has closed on Austin Slater being able to use the "top target" joke again because it's almost a month later than the first time he signed with the White Sox.
Receiving single votes:
Kyle Schwarber-- 5 years, $150M with Philadelphia- Cody Bellinger
- Jose Siri
- Manuel Margot
- Max Kepler
- Randal Grichuk
- Dylan Carlson
- Leody Taveras
Franmil Reyes-- 1 year with Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters- Starling Marte
Even though he'd be a DH, Schwarber played eight games in the outfield last year, so he saved a header. It's immaterial, since he returned to the Phillies as expected for a contract that's exactly twice as large as the biggest deal in White Sox franchise history. The Phillies also just added Adolís García, as his non-tender added a free agent to the pool.
Bellinger's market is starting to stir, but it's quiet elsewhere. Of this list, Kepler feels like the most White Sox-like signing if Mike Tauchman doesn't return, but Tauchman himself wasn't covered by this exercise, since his status was addressed in the tender/non-tender section.
Catchers
Not a single one. Given that the White Sox have three MLB-caliber catchers, and Korey Lee is out of options, nobody overthought it. At this quiet point of the White Sox offseason, that feels like art imitating life.
