MNiewoonder’s offseason blueprint starts with a simple idea: keep the White Sox moving forward without getting trapped by the usual young-team regression. After a 2026 season he calls a year of “great improvement” and more youth pushing up to the Big League Club, the goal is to add enough help on both sides of the ball to keep the momentum going.
The first decisions come with the arbitration group. Vargas is an easy keep at his salary.
Doyle also stays in the picture as a defensive specialist and as part of a short-side platoon with Peters in center field. Brazoban, with his low salary and remaining minor league options, is another logical retention as a bullpen piece who can be moved off quickly if he struggles early.
The other three arbitration-eligible players, in his view, are expendable at their price points. He could also see Leasure returning on a minor league contract after rehab, which would let the White Sox hold onto him while clearing a 40-man spot.
On the free-agent side, Erick Fedde is the lone impending free agent he wants to bring back, and the deal he lays out is 1yr/5M. He sees that as a slight discount from Spotrac’s market value, but enough to keep Fedde on the South Side for another season.
His free-agent shopping list is headlined by Seiya Suzuki, who he targets on a three-year, $80 million deal with salaries of 25/27.5/27.5 and a club option on the third year with a $12.5 million buyout. Sonny Gray is next at two years and $40 million, with a club option on the second year and a $10 million buyout. After that come Brock Burke for two years and $8 million, AJ Puk for one year and $1.5 million, and Elias Diaz for one year and $1 million.
The trade market is where the roster gets reshaped. In his first deal, Luis Castillo, Colby Shelton, Peyton Pallette, and $10 million go to the Athletics for Clark Elliott, a minor league outfielder. He frames that as the A’s getting innings, a rising infield prospect, a bullpen arm with MLB experience, and cash, while the White Sox free up money for other needs.
The second swap sends Andrew Benintendi, Jonathan Cannon, Shane Murphy, and $7.5 million to the Rockies for Ryan Ritter, a utility player with options. In that deal, Colorado gets a veteran bat plus two pitching prospects who could spend time with its big league club, while Chicago again clears money for elsewhere on the roster.
The third trade sends Bryan Hudson, Jaden Fauske, Christian Oppor, and Ryan Burrowes to the Yankees for Ryan Weathers, a left-handed starting pitcher. The logic here is that New York has plenty of starting pitching and needs left-handed bullpen help, while the White Sox land another rotation piece with multiple years of control.
All of that adds up to a roster he says nearly fits the budget at $130.1 million, just $0.1 million over. He notes that the plan creates some platoon work and some juggling at DH, but also leaves room for flexibility and for players like Bonemer and/or Cholowsky to arrive when they’re ready.
The rotation he lays out has S. Burke at No. 1, followed by Sonny Gray, Ryan Weathers, Martin, and then a fifth-starter competition among Thorpe, Schultz, and Sandlin.
In the bullpen, Kay handles the long-relief role, with H. Smith, Brock Burke, AJ Puk, Erick Fedde, Brazoban, Hicks, and Taylor filling out the group.
Behind the plate and across the lineup, the plan is just as specific. Teel catches, Murakami plays first, Meidroth is at second, Vargas at third, C.
Montgomery at short, Suzuki in left, Peters in center, B. Montgomery in right, and Antonacci at DH.
The bench includes Elias Diaz, Acuna, Doyle, and either Baldwin or Murray.
The biggest priorities, as he sees them, are clear. The rotation gets proven arms and a real battle for the fifth spot.
The bullpen leans left-handed, with the idea that Puk’s health gamble is worth it and that Kay and Fedde can share swingman and long-relief work. Suzuki gives the lineup right-handed power and protection for the lefties, with a 3-4-5 of Vargas, Mune, and Suzuki looking especially dangerous.
He also values Suzuki’s defense in the corners, which would let Antonacci still get reps in left without being forced out there every day and give the club cover in right if B. Montgomery needs rest or more development time.
Diaz would serve as a low-cost veteran backup catcher who can defend and hit right-handed, while Quero, Romo, and Turner continue rotating at catcher and DH in Triple-A until one earns the job. The utility spot is left open for Baldwin and Murray to compete for after injuries, but it also leaves a path for Bonemer, Cholowsky, or Acuna if they force the issue during the season.
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The next step has been the hard one. Rosado has another shot coming at Double-A in 2027, and for a pitcher in his stage of development, that level tends to tell the truth quickly. Chicago does not need him to be perfect, but it does need to see that the stuff that played against younger hitters can hold up when the competition gets sharper and the margin for error gets thinner. [Read more 🡒]