Miguel Vargas spent Thursday night doing the kind of work that can swing a season.
The White Sox third baseman turned in two huge defensive plays late at Rate Field, and Chicago rode that effort to a 3-1 win over Detroit that pushed the club back into a tie for first place in the American League Central.
The White Sox and Guardians are both 78-75 with nine games left, but Chicago owns the head-to-head tiebreaker after winning the season series over its division rival.
Vargas’ biggest moment came in the eighth, when Detroit had two outs and the tying run at the plate. Max Clark sent a chopper toward the infield, and Vargas went up to grab it.
His throw to first arrived too late, but he hustled back toward third, took a throw from first baseman Munetaka Murakami and finished the play with a sharp, off-balance tag on Brett Callahan. Callahan was initially called safe, but Chicago challenged and won the review, ending the inning.
He wasn’t done there. In the ninth, Vargas charged a grounder off Gleyber Torres and tagged out Colt Keith as he tried to advance to third, then fired across the diamond to get Torres and finish off the game-ending double play.
The night was another reminder that Vargas has been delivering all over the field. The 2026 All-Star has 31 home runs, 84 RBIs and an .827 OPS, and Thursday’s win showed just how much he can shape a game with his glove, too.
In Other News...
White Sox Could Undo Part Of Their Deadline Work This Winter
The White Sox are heading into another winter of hard roster calls, and this one could cut into some of the work they did at the deadline. With several arbitration-eligible players on the books, the club has a handful of cases to sort through, and the conversation is already drifting toward who fits long term and who might be replaced before the offseason really gets rolling.
Among the names in the mix are catcher Joey Bart, outfielder Brenton Doyle and reliever Huascar Brazoban, all recent additions who came with their own set of performance questions. Non-tendering any of them would not be a shocking development, but it would also mean parting with players acquired in the hope they could help stabilize the roster, leaving the front office to decide whether those spots are worth a reset or another roll of the dice. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Future At Rate Field Just Got More Complicated
The questions around Rate Fields long-term future only grew more pointed at a public meeting there this week, where the Illinois Sports Facility Authority tried to address two fronts at once: the White Soxs lease situation and Amtraks plans for a maintenance facility that would require part of Lot G. Chair Leslie Darling and CEO Frank Bilecki both stressed the authoritys priority remains keeping the White Sox in the community, even as the ballparks surrounding footprint becomes more complicated to manage.
ISFA also laid out broader thinking for Rate Field and its parking lots, including the possibility of redevelopment and other events, but the looming lease issue still shapes every conversation. The authority acknowledged it needs an anchor tenant to make any long-range plan work, while also recognizing Amtraks need for access and parking tied to the new facility. That leaves the Soxs home situation in a more uncertain place than before, with the calendar and the land around the ballpark both starting to matter more. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Already Have A Deadline Problem They Can't Ignore
The White Sox brought Luis Castillo in at the deadline to help shore up a rotation that needed answers, but for now the plan is shifting in a different direction. Manager Will Venable said Castillo will be used out of the bullpen, a sign that Chicago is trying to find any workable path while the rookie David Sandlin is lined up to start the next game against Detroit.
It is a revealing turn for a move that was supposed to stabilize the staff, especially after Castillo arrived from Seattle with the expectation he could help cover innings at the back end of the season. Instead, the early returns in Chicago have been bumpy, with performance issues and a dip in velocity forcing the White Sox to rethink how they can get the most out of him in the short term. [Read more 🡒]