The White Sox can make real noise in a thin AL Central without emptying the cupboard, and the blueprint here leans hard into that idea. The approach is pretty simple: spend in free agency, keep the prospect group mostly intact, and use a few surgical moves to patch the roster around the edges.
On the arbitration side, Miguel Vargas is treated as an obvious keep. Braden Doyle is framed as protection in case Tristan Peters backslides, while Huascar Brazoban and Jordan Leasure are viewed as affordable bets with enough upside to matter. Leasure also doesn’t need a 26-man roster spot while he works back from Tommy John surgery, which makes him easier to carry.
There are no impending free agents listed beyond that, but there are a few players the Sox would be reluctant to lose. Maybe Newcomb could return for another season, though the note here is that another club might pay more and give him a chance to start.
Steven Richards is useful for covering ugly innings, but the case is made for chasing a better reliever who can also be trusted in higher-leverage spots. Randal Grichuk is another tough one to let go, though the argument is that he likely wants more money and years than the Sox should commit.
Fedde gets an honorable mention, but the blunt verdict is that the team has to do better. Everyone else, in this view, can go.
The biggest spending comes in free agency, starting with shortstop. The plan assumes Colson Montgomery should begin 2026 in the minors unless he’s traded, and the Sox are positioned to choose from a few different answers.
Taylor Walls is the preferred one-year, $4.5 million option if Tampa declines its club option. If Walls stays put, Isiah Kiner-Falefa becomes the $8 million fallback.
JP Crawford is the pricier swing at two years and $36 million, and the note says that’s probably too expensive unless Colson is dealt and the club needs to wait patiently for Carlson and/or Cholowsky to arrive. Year two would include a mutual option.
In the outfield, Randy Arozarena is the big name. The projection is five years and $125 million, with an opt-out and a player option baked in somewhere.
He’d play left field and could slide to DH once Benintendi is gone, or even to first if Murakami doesn’t stick around. Tyrone Taylor is the cheaper alternative at two years and $15 million, with a mutual option in year two.
He’d give the Sox cover across all three outfield spots and serve as a fallback if they’re priced out of the Arozarena conversation.
The rotation adds another layer of spending. Shane Bieber is listed at three years and $36 million, with an opt-out after year two.
Casey Mize is the one-year, $20 million prove-it play. On the left-handed relief market, AJ Minter comes in at one year and $7.2 million, while Matt Strahm is the lower-cost answer at one year and $3.6 million.
The need there is clear if Newcomb doesn’t come back.
For the right-handed bullpen, Bryan Abreu tops the list at two years and $22 million. Pete Fairbanks is next at one year and $8 million, and Kenley Jansen is the backup plan at one year and $5 million if Abreu or Fairbanks prices out. Altogether, the free-agent plan lands between $45.6 million and $88.7 million in 2027 budget impact.
The lone trade called out is Andrew Benintendi, with the Sox retaining part of the salary and moving him with prospects Mogollon and Wolkow. The idea is to find any team willing to take him while keeping no more than 7.5 on the books. If possible, Wolkow and Mogollon are the suggested pieces to send to San Francisco.
There’s also a larger roster puzzle around Montgomery. The question is whether he can be flipped for a reliever or two.
If not, the plan is to let him start at Triple-A while Walls serves as the ideal replacement, Crawford is the expensive alternative, and Kiner-Falefa becomes the likely middle ground if no one offers him a long-term deal. If Murray gets the job instead, Acuna should be traded for a pitching prospect.
Luis Castillo is another problem without an easy fix. The expectation here is that no team will step in to solve it, so the Sox should use him either in the rotation or in the bullpen for mop-up work.
The point is to turn his salary into innings the club doesn’t want someone else to throw. Better him than Seranthony, as the piece puts it.
There’s also a strong case against rushing the younger arms. Shultz, Sandlin, Thorpe, and McDougal are all described as promising, but the recommendation is to keep them starting in Charlotte instead of using them in relief in Chicago. They can come up when they’re ready, but the Sox should shop elsewhere for proven major league starting and relief help, and if necessary, move those pitchers for it at the deadline.
The 26-man projection reflects that mix of patience and aggression. Behind the plate are Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero.
The infield includes Murakami at first, Meidroth at second, Antonacci at 2B/DH, Vargas at third, and Walls or Kiner-Falefa at short while Colson resets, with Crawford as the alternative if Colson is traded. Acuna or Murray fills the other shortstop spot.
The outfield runs through Arozarena, Tristan Peters, Brenton Doyle, B. Montgomery, and Tyrone Taylor.
The rotation is Sean Burke, Casey Mize or Shane Bieber, Davis Martin, Anthony Kay, and Luis Castillo. The bullpen mix includes Mike Vasil, Hagen Smith, Brazoban, Jordan Hicks, Bryan Hudson, Strahm or Minter, Abreu, Fairbanks, Jansen, and Grant Taylor, who could be used in long relief, as a setup arm, as a stopper, or even pushed into the rotation if he’s ready and nobody else is.
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