Chicago White Sox 2026

#526      
Roundball Sage
One more thing to add.

One White Sox player played with pride and passion – Sam Antonacci. He is the sole hero on this team in the playoffs that has nothing to be ashamed of. Maybe he is the leader going forward that the Sox lack.
 
#528      
Second place is 1st loser
Roundball Sage said:
One more thing to add.

One White Sox player played with pride and passion – Sam Antonacci. He is the sole hero on this team in the playoffs that has nothing to be ashamed of. Maybe he is the leader going forward that the Sox lack.
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You do have to remember that this team outplayed expectations by about 20 games. The talent is....ok. You noted the issues at 1B and SS. Meidroth and Antonacci are glue guys that are at their best as a supplement to a really good offense.

The only player that anyone can really say is an All Star caliber player is Vargas. He's only making $805K and is arbitration eligible in 2027. That price tag is going to skyrocket, which is going to effect the rest of the roster setup. His contract comes up in 2030 and it's easily going to be $100M+. You're probably looking at $25M+ per year. Will they ante up? They'll have to see what the price tag is on him.

With MM, he's currently making $17M. He didn't help himself in the second half, but there will be no shortage of teams that will pay significantly for 35+ HRs. Kyle Schwarber has made a career out of those numbers and that'll be th comp. He's making $30M per year...5 years/150M. Are the Sox ready to go there? All of the powerhouses will be involved.

Do they find guys like Grichuk? What did he do this year to his value? He's a bat that will also be coveted in a platoon situation.

Both sides of town have the pitching issues. When you need significant help in the rotation, that's going to cost a ton. If you have to buy it, the money has to come from somewhere. The Sox had two months of bullpen games to stay afloat. It destroyed the pen late, but they didn't have a choice. It's a major, major problem.

Along with playing 20 over expectations, it has to be recognized that the stars completely aligned for them this year. The AL Central was awful. The AL, as a whole, was awful. The power spenders in the AL will not stand pat. In the absence of Seattle, Toronto, Texas, etc not being worth a lick....it's unreasonable to expect that this will be the case going forward. The same can be said about Cleveland. The Sox, as the #6 seed, got to play a division winner that was exactly .500. When will a #6 seed ever see that again? Then, they got to play the #2 seed was Cleveland, which also benefitted from what the AL was this year. Most seasons, the Sox, Cleveland and Houston don't even make the playoffs. Those three teams, despite what they are, avoided the Yankees, Boston and Tampa. If the Sox ended up in Boston or NY in round one, season over. Again, you couldn't ask for a more perfect set of circumstances.

The good news is that Getz knows all of the above to be facts, which is why he didn't do anything stupid at the trade deadline. For the most part, he understood their good fortune and didn't succumb to fan pressure.

It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. I wouldn't be down on them after they delivered a completely unexpected season. Do they take a step back next year? Probably. It won't be because they got worse rather their peers will bounce back. They took advantage of what unfolded in their favor and they shouldn't apologize for that.
 
#529      
Roundball Sage
Second place is 1st loser said:
It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. I wouldn't be down on them after they delivered a completely unexpected season. Do they take a step back next year? Probably. It won't be because they got worse rather their peers will bounce back. They took advantage of what unfolded in their favor and they shouldn't apologize for that.
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All good observations.

Sox fans have been way too disappointed for way too long (generations!) and have settled for less way too long. We deserve better. We invest our time and money and passion in this (maybe we shouldn’t, but that’s what fans do). While I am pleased (but not totally surprised) with their improvement this year – this still isn’t good enough.

To be a good as the Dodgers and Tampa and the Yankees (for lots of years) you have to set that as the standard and nothing less. The Sox franchise has to set the bar up there.. and so do Sox fans. Of course, that also has to come from the Very Top. And that is just not the standard coming from the Very Top. At least not yet.

The Sox went as far as they could with what they had. They proved at the end that they just didn’t have enough of everything. Cleveland didn’t either – but they went out there and grabbed both the division and the playoff matchup because nothing was going to stop them. You could seem them playing with confidence while the Sox played scared. That winning attitude was completely missing in the Sox in the final three games. And Cleveland has field-leaders which the Sox sorely lack.

The Sox Trophy Case has lots of empty room in there. It would be nice to see them start filling that up instead of always waiting for Next Year. The Sox need more THIS Years’.
 
#530      
Illinicpa14
Second place is 1st loser said:
You do have to remember that this team outplayed expectations by about 20 games. The talent is....ok. You noted the issues at 1B and SS. Meidroth and Antonacci are glue guys that are at their best as a supplement to a really good offense.

The only player that anyone can really say is an All Star caliber player is Vargas. He's only making $805K and is arbitration eligible in 2027. That price tag is going to skyrocket, which is going to effect the rest of the roster setup. His contract comes up in 2030 and it's easily going to be $100M+. You're probably looking at $25M+ per year. Will they ante up? They'll have to see what the price tag is on him.

With MM, he's currently making $17M. He didn't help himself in the second half, but there will be no shortage of teams that will pay significantly for 35+ HRs. Kyle Schwarber has made a career out of those numbers and that'll be th comp. He's making $30M per year...5 years/150M. Are the Sox ready to go there? All of the powerhouses will be involved.

Do they find guys like Grichuk? What did he do this year to his value? He's a bat that will also be coveted in a platoon situation.

Both sides of town have the pitching issues. When you need significant help in the rotation, that's going to cost a ton. If you have to buy it, the money has to come from somewhere. The Sox had two months of bullpen games to stay afloat. It destroyed the pen late, but they didn't have a choice. It's a major, major problem.

Along with playing 20 over expectations, it has to be recognized that the stars completely aligned for them this year. The AL Central was awful. The AL, as a whole, was awful. The power spenders in the AL will not stand pat. In the absence of Seattle, Toronto, Texas, etc not being worth a lick....it's unreasonable to expect that this will be the case going forward. The same can be said about Cleveland. The Sox, as the #6 seed, got to play a division winner that was exactly .500. When will a #6 seed ever see that again? Then, they got to play the #2 seed was Cleveland, which also benefitted from what the AL was this year. Most seasons, the Sox, Cleveland and Houston don't even make the playoffs. Those three teams, despite what they are, avoided the Yankees, Boston and Tampa. If the Sox ended up in Boston or NY in round one, season over. Again, you couldn't ask for a more perfect set of circumstances.

The good news is that Getz knows all of the above to be facts, which is why he didn't do anything stupid at the trade deadline. For the most part, he understood their good fortune and didn't succumb to fan pressure.

It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. I wouldn't be down on them after they delivered a completely unexpected season. Do they take a step back next year? Probably. It won't be because they got worse rather their peers will bounce back. They took advantage of what unfolded in their favor and they shouldn't apologize for that.
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Great post and agree with 95% of this.

I’d add that after seeing the hitting in bigger leverage games, I think we have a good regular season lineup with the non-quit and big swing approach when teams have to play a lot more worse pitchers.

Once we got to those last 3-4 games, I really only trusted Vargas to hit the ball hard in a big spot. Guys should continue to improve but they will need to. I’m also not sure what to make of the last 2 months of Braden and Colson. They seem like less sure things going forward but we had a lineup for a strong part of the year that had 2 auto-outs. A full season of Teel should help too.
 
#531      
Miles Leonard
Sucks how it ended but it's hard for me to get too upset over a team that was given a 1.1% chance to make the postseason on Opening Day. Very flawed team that took advantage of a weak American League, and unfortunately those flaws were exposed down the stretch.
 
#532      
splitter
Bad Behaviour Jealousy GIF
to all of you
The season didn't end with games 3 or 4.
Game 5 saw a great pitch to a future hall
of famer by a young star pitcher. Yes too
many strike outs by the homerun hitters
we have been asking for for many years.
Games 3 4 and 5 shows management
what we need now is starting pitchers
and continued development of the great
team we know we have for the future.
Oh and add in the Railyards too, please.
 
#533      
Illini2010-11
Illinicpa14 said:
Great post and agree with 95% of this.

I’d add that after seeing the hitting in bigger leverage games, I think we have a good regular season lineup with the non-quit and big swing approach when teams have to play a lot more worse pitchers.

Once we got to those last 3-4 games, I really only trusted Vargas to hit the ball hard in a big spot. Guys should continue to improve but they will need to. I’m also not sure what to make of the last 2 months of Braden and Colson. They seem like less sure things going forward but we had a lineup for a strong part of the year that had 2 auto-outs. A full season of Teel should help too.
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They did what rookies tend to do. Pitchers adjusted to their game after their honeymoon period in the Bigs. Sure they both struggled down the stretch, but each also came through with a clutch hit during the playoffs (Colson homerun in Houston and Braden RBI double in Cleveland). They will have to start adjusting again to the big league pitching adjustments.

Given the extreme youth in the lineup, it should have come as no surprise that they struck out a ton against a very good Cleveland pitching staff. As you mentioned, Vargas was probably the only true established hitter in the lineup and it showed with the Cleveland pitching strategy to unintentionally walk him to get to Marakami in the high leverage bases loaded situation late in Game 5.

There are certainly a lot of questions (like is Marakami's propensity to strikeout in the Bigs fixable?), but there is so much youth that will continue to develop next year. And your last bolded sentence is the key to success for the club, IMO. Teel is a gamechanger for the Sox (again IMO), and his injuries this season derailed him a bit.

I am personally less concerned with the extent of strikeouts (this should start to come down as the rookies continue to develop) and way more concerned with the starting pitching moving forward. We lost Game 5 because of running into great pitching, but we lost Games 3 and 4 because the bullpen was absolutely gassed. There is a great need for starting pitching with this club, but management has proven to not want to pay out the large starting pitching contract. If this club could get one to two very good starting pitchers, this team could be very good moving forward. It is insane that the Sox got as far as they did with the way they taxed their bullpen all year...a true tip of the cap to the resiliency of those men in the pen this year. Correct some deficiencies in the starting staff and get an upgrade at the corner outfield position, and this team can be really, really good next year.
 
#534      
SeattleSlim
After this season, and with the likely Manager of the Year at the helm, the Sox might be a more appealing destination for SP/RP free agents. Should be an interesting offseason.

It’ll also be interesting to see the timetable for bringing up Cholowsky next year (and maybe Bonemer?). And then what’s going on with Brooks Baldwin and Shane Smith?
 
#535      
Illini2010-11
SeattleSlim said:
After this season, and with the likely Manager of the Year at the helm, the Sox might be a more appealing destination for SP/RP free agents. Should be an interesting offseason.

It’ll also be interesting to see the timetable for bringing up Cholowsky next year (and maybe Bonemer?). And then what’s going on with Brooks Baldwin and Shane Smith?
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But will senior leadership pay the market value for these high-end pitchers (particularly for Starters)? Management has gone out and paid for the closer position in the past (and other relievers), but they have been very unwilling to pay what is needed to get the high-end starter (i.e., Skubals or the World). Instead they have moved to promote from within the farm system (trading the talent away before the large contract is owed) or bringing in the journeyman SP on a one-year deal looking for a bounceback season. That strategy makes sense if they are very risk averse to the higher possibilities of arm injuries in pitchers. However, at some point, they will need to dig into the pocket to get the true ace. History has shown that Sox management is not willing to spend the money in the Starters market, but hopefully this changes with the movement in ownership.
 
#536      
SeattleSlim
Illini2010-11 said:
But will senior leadership pay the market value for these high-end pitchers (particularly for Starters)? Management has gone out and paid for the closer position in the past (and other relievers), but they have been very unwilling to pay what is needed to get the high-end starter (i.e., Skubals or the World). Instead they have moved to promote from within the farm system (trading the talent away before the large contract is owed) or bringing in the journeyman SP on a one-year deal looking for a bounceback season. That strategy makes sense if they are very risk averse to the higher possibilities of arm injuries in pitchers. However, at some point, they will need to dig into the pocket to get the true ace. History has shown that Sox management is not willing to spend the money in the Starters market, but hopefully this changes with the movement in ownership.
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Good points. Personally I think ownership will pony up to bring some arm talent in given the solid base they’re forming with the position players. I’m amped enough to consider a trip to AZ next spring.
 
#537      
AnnoyedWithGarza
SeattleSlim said:
Good points. Personally I think ownership will pony up to bring some arm talent in given the solid base they’re forming with the position players. I’m amped enough to consider a trip to AZ next spring.
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The only way ownership pays up is if Jerry is no longer calling the shots. We also have to hope Ishbia will pay for players as well (I think he will).
 
#538      
Illini2010-11
AnnoyedWithGarza said:
The only way ownership pays up is if Jerry is no longer calling the shots. We also have to hope Ishbia will pay for players as well (I think he will).
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There have to be two hopes here:

1) Jerry wants to win one more World Series before he dies and is willing to start spending money in the three seasons he has controlling interest before Ishbia gets control (Reinsdorf plus sons' trust gets to current 50% controlling interest) -- the product is very close to serious contention
2) Ishbia sees the environment at Comiskey when the Sox are in contention (those two black out games were intense) and pressures Reinsdorf to approve spending. If not, then up offer to get controlling interest sooner and spend while the opportunity is ripe.

We really cannot afford to be overly cheap in this three-year period before controlling interest starts changing hands. These years might be the best opportunities when the young core is cheap and controllable. History has shown that the Sox will not spend enough, but I am hopeful that the Reinsdorf regime will dig deep one time before they sunset their controlling ownership.
 
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#539      
Roundball Sage
Illini2010-11 said:
Ishbia sees the environment at Comiskey when the Sox are in contention (those two black out games were intense) and pressures Reinsdorf to approve spending. If not, then up offer to get controlling interest sooner and spend while the opportunity is ripe.
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You touched upon THE most important thing about the White Sox future. What happened on those last two game nights at Rate Field.

Sox fans were wild and passionate. Off-the-charts crazy energy. This took many by surprise, including Sox players. A few said they had never experienced anything like that before (and it seems that they weren’t exactly ready for it, either!) It’s hard to describe that kind of crackling energy if you weren’t in it. Many Bulls and Blackhawks games at old Chicago Stadium had that kind of thing. So much energy that you could literally feel the noise shock-waves on your skin. And there were many nights during the Sox South Side Hit Men era in 1977 just like that. You never forget this once you’ve been in it. And it is fun as all hell.

And why are those last two nights in 2026 at Rate Field important? Because City leaders also saw it. And the new potential Sox ownership group saw it. I’ll bet they were surprised, too. That Sox fans have that level of passion and commitment. Of course, to long-time Sox fans that pass Sox love down through the generations this was nothing new. We have lived it and seen it before. But it has been mostly asleep for 20 years and it woke up with a jolt.

Hopefully this will get The City and the new ownership group (if the old guy FINALLY sells) going to find a long-term solution to the Sox ball park issue. If the site across from The 78 wont work out then they need to find another one somewhere on the South Side. With all the South Side factories now gone there should be plenty of open spaces to choose from.

I don’t think looking to the current owner is going to do anything. He has already shown us that he uses the franchise just as a personal investment and little else. While he talks about winning titles it’s always more talk that deed. We have over 40 years of evidence to prove that.

And the OTHER problem? We may not get any baseball for a LONG time since players and owners never seem to agree on a salary-cap.

Sox fans proved again if you give us something good to look at we will support you like no one else in baseball can.
 
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