The White Sox offseason plan starts with a simple idea: add real pitching and keep the core intact, and suddenly the picture changes fast.
The biggest priority is starting pitching, with the belief that Chicago can push itself into World Series contention if it brings in quality arms and protects the group already in place, especially Antonacci, Meidroth, Vargas, Mune, and Colson.
Among the arbitration-eligible players, Miguel Vargas sits at the center of the whole thing. He is described as “the best 3B in the American League and one of the best 3B in baseball,” and the case is that if the White Sox end up winning a World Series, Vargas will be the one driving that team.
Brenton Doyle is another key piece in the mix. He’s viewed as one of the most underrated defensive center fielders in baseball, and his bat is starting to catch up too.
The late-season progress at the plate matters here, even with Tristan Peters labeled as immensely valuable. Still, Doyle is seen as the better center fielder and the longer-term fit.
The rest of the arbitration group - Bart, Brazoban, Leasure, and Murphy - are not viewed as players who can deliver World Series-caliber baseball for this roster.
On the free-agent side, the plan keeps Erick Fedde, Randal Grichuk, and Sean Newcomb in the conversation. The proposed deals are one year and $2.9 million for Fedde, one year and $1.2 million for Grichuk, and two years and $9.8 million for Newcomb, which comes out to a $4.9 million average annual value.
Then come the bigger swings. Tarik Skubal is projected at six years and $240 million, Sonny Gray at two years and $50 million, Freddy Peralta at four years and $80 million, and Randy Arozarena at four years and $100 million.
There’s also a trade on the board: Billy Carlson, Tanner McDougal, Drew Romo, and David Sandlin for Shea Langeliers.
Put it all together, and the roster picture takes shape. On the pitching side: Tarik Skubal, Sonny Gray, Sean Burke, Erick Fedde, Sean Newcomb, Grant Taylor, Davis Martin, Drew Thorpe from AAA, Hagen Smith, Noah Schultz, Anthony Kay, Jordan Hicks, and Mike Vasil.
On the position-player side: Shea Langeliers, Edgar Quero, Munetaka Murakami, Chase Meidroth, Colson Montgomery, Miguel Vargas, Roch Cholowsky, Sam Antonacci, Randy Arozarena, Brenton Doyle, Tristan Peters, Braden Montgomery, and Luisangel Acuna.
In Other News...
White Sox Just Got An Early 2027 Reality Check
After a 24-win jump from 2025 to 2026 and a return to the postseason for the first time in five years, the White Sox had reason to feel like the rebuild was finally turning into something sturdier. The next step, though, is proving that last season was not just a one-year spike, and the early 2027 conversation already has a cautionary tone around Chicagos place in the league.
ESPNs first pass at the 2027 landscape put the White Sox 13th, a reminder that the market is still waiting to see whether this roster can hold its ground. The concerns are familiar for a team trying to stay on the rise: pitching depth needs attention, and the offense still has to clean up the strikeouts that can flatten an otherwise promising lineup. The offseason is going to matter here, because Chicago is trying to do more than repeat what it did in 2026, it is trying to make sure that progress actually sticks. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox First Offseason Move Could Shape Their Next Core
The White Sox have made their first notable offseason move by hiring Matt Roffe as their new scouting director, a job that puts him in charge of an area that has to hit for a club trying to rebuild its next core. He takes over for Mike Shirley, who left earlier in the year, and the hire signals that Chicago is treating talent evaluation and the draft as a priority rather than a background task.
Roffe arrives with a reputation for helping sharpen a scouting operation, coming from Milwaukee after serving as its assistant director of domestic scouting. His background includes involvement in one of the Brewers more notable recent draft successes, and the White Sox are clearly betting that kind of eye for value can help them uncover the next wave of players who fit their timeline. [Read more 🡒]
Will Venable Just Gave The White Sox Rebuild Another Huge Test
Will Venables first season steering the White Sox through the rebuild did more than steady the ship. Chicago took a meaningful step forward under his leadership and reached the AL Division Series in 2026, a sign that the organizations long reset is starting to produce real traction rather than just hope. The progress has shown up beyond the dugout, too, with Chase Meidroth, Munetaka Murakami, Sam Antonacci, Tristan Peters and Miguel Vargas all drawing award consideration after the season.
Now Venable is in position to get some individual recognition of his own, which only adds another layer to the White Soxs turnaround story. For a club trying to prove its rebuild is arriving on schedule, the managers place in the league-wide conversation matters almost as much as the wins themselves, and the next round of voting will tell whether Chicagos rise has caught the attention of the rest of the sport. [Read more 🡒]