The White Sox’s offseason blueprint here is aggressive, expensive, and built around one big idea: spend now, extend the young core, and patch the rotation with a mix of free agency and trades.
It starts with a pretty wild scene involving Tarik Skubal. At the beginning of the offseason, the Sox met with him, believed their offer was strong, and were told by Skubal’s agent that they were the top bidder and that Skubal wanted to sign.
Chicago flew him in, everyone was smiling, and then the mood changed when he got into the contract. Skubal had one issue: “Provision FMV.
If I sign, no Mike Vasil. It's me or Vasil.”
The response was firm: “Vasil. Forever.”
Skubal left angry and said, “this could have been an email.”
On the roster side, the arbitration calls are straightforward on Miguel Vargas, who gets tendered. Brenton Doyle, Joey Bart and Huascar Brazobán also get tenders, though the writer says each of those three is close and lands at 60/40 in favor of tendering. Jordan Leasure and Chris Murphy are non-tendered.
There’s also a note on impending free agents. Erick Fedde is viewed as a possible one-year swingman at $1.5 million, while Noah Newcomb is mentioned as a player the Sox should kick the tires on, even though the expectation is that he signs elsewhere.
The free-agent shopping list is short but loud. Michael King is signed for four years and $92 million, a $23 million annual average value. Teruaki Sato comes next at five years and $110 million, or $22 million per season.
The extension section is where things get really bold. Munetaka Murakami gets a two-year, $48 million deal with both a team option and a player option.
The structure runs $24 million in 2027 and 2028, then gives the White Sox a chance to jump into an additional four-year, $100 million deal after 2028. If the Sox pass on that team option, Murakami gets a one-year, $20 million option for 2029.
Chase Meidroth is extended on a five-year, $48 million pact. That deal pays $3 million in 2027, then $10 million, $12 million, $12 million and $14 million, with two team options worth $15 million apiece.
Miguel Vargas gets the biggest extension of the trio: six years, $120 million. His deal pays $10 million in 2027, then $15 million, $20 million, $25 million, $25 million and $25 million, plus one team option at $30 million.
To make the roster work, the Sox also turn to the trade market. The first move sends Billy Carlson, Drew Thorpe and Anthony DePino for Reid Detmers.
The logic is that if Sato is coming in, a second solid starter has to come from somewhere else. Detmers still has two years of control, and while the writer doesn’t love moving Carlson, it feels inevitable down the line because of the Sox infield crowding.
The concern is that this may be selling low, and Thorpe and DePino are hard to value, but the package is considered fair enough because all three prospects come with flaws.
The second deal ships Andrew Benintendi, Javier Mogollon and Alexander Albertus to the Mariners for Gabe Speier. The writer says this is not a kind of trade he enjoys making, but if King and Sato are both coming in, the Sox need to clear money. The return is a useful left-handed reliever, even if he is not cheap.
The third trade sends Luis Castillo, Jaden Fauske and Kyle Lodise to the Reds for Emilio Pagan and JJ Bleday. Again, the salary-clearing motive is front and center.
The writer says he would rather keep Castillo in the bullpen as rotation depth if possible. Pagan is described as something like a Seranthony situation, with a decent year behind him but a contract that now looks closer to an overpaid closer than a bargain.
Bleday is projected to cost about $4 million and gives the Sox a solid bench bat. If more is needed to finish the deal, someone like Pierce George could be added.
The projected 26-man roster reflects all of that movement. Kyle Teel is behind the plate, Murakami plays first, Meidroth is at second, Colson Montgomery is at short, and Vargas is at third.
Sato starts in left, Tristan Peters in center, Braden Montgomery in right, and Caleb Bonemer is the designated hitter. The bench includes Joey Bart, Brenton Doyle, JJ Bleday and Sam Antonacci.
The rotation is Michael King, Sean Burke, Reid Detmers, Davis Martin and Erick Fedde. The bullpen features Grant Taylor, Hagen Smith, Jordan Hicks, Huascar Brazoban, Emilio Pagan, Gabe Speier, Bryan Hudson and Erick Fedde.
The offense loses Benintendi and Grichuk but gains Bonemer, Sato and Bleday. The rotation adds King and Detmers.
The bullpen gets Pagan and Speier. And the front office locks up several core pieces for the future, even if it costs a major prospect haul.
The result, at least on paper, is a very young White Sox team that’s built to win now while still leaving more prospects on the way.
For depth, the Charlotte rotation would include Schultz, Sandlin, McDougal, Smith and Cannon, with Fedde in the pen. The idea also includes giving Hagen Smith and Grant Taylor creative roles now, with the hope of converting them to starters in 2028.
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