The White Sox have built something unusual, and Chris Getz isn’t treating it like a headache. He’s calling it a strength.
Chicago’s infield picture is crowded enough that the front office is already thinking about how all the pieces fit as the club moves beyond its breakout 2026 playoff season and toward 2027. But after loading up on talent across the big league roster and the minors, the Sox are comfortable with the math for now.
“It was a priority for us to seek players that play on the dirt, premium positions primarily, and over time we’ve been able to accumulate high-level talent,” said White Sox general manager Chris Getz during his end-of-season Zoom. “There are different ways to put together a roster. Whether you are platooning players, moving around the diamond, the outfield is an area in which we can make greater strides for improvement.
“Does that mean some of the infielders go to the outfield? Perhaps.
You have a 26-man roster, even a 40-man roster, but injuries happen or if there’s underperformance, you can fall off the cliff. The replacement-level players aren’t there to get you through that time period.
“In this case, we have a lot of different options. So, to say that it’s a surplus?
Yeah, perhaps it is,” Getz added. “There are different things you can do with a surplus, but primarily, let’s continue to develop these guys and deploy them in positions to put together the best lineup we can on a regular basis.”
That flexibility showed up all over the 2026 roster. Miguel Vargas, Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Munetaka Murakami formed the team’s infield core from third to first.
Vargas can handle third and first. Montgomery splits time at shortstop and third.
Meidroth worked at shortstop and second base, and he emerged as one of the American League’s Gold Glove finalists at second this past season.
Sam Antonacci adds another layer. He came up as a second baseman, but the rookie logged 121 games and 918 2/3 innings in left field.
And the depth doesn’t stop there. At the Minor League level, Chicago has Roch Cholowsky, the organization’s top prospect at shortstop and the top pick overall in the ’26 Draft.
He got 46 plate appearances for High-A Winston-Salem before right wrist tendinitis shut him down. The White Sox say he’s moving in the right direction and is likely to be cleared to fully swing in early November.
“He’s in a great spot. He’s just a little frustrated with not being able to play toward the end understandably,” White Sox director of player development Paul Janish told MLB.com. “I’m really excited to see how next year goes for him.
“One of the differences between us potentially and the college level in general is how much work we do on a daily basis outside of the game. Getting his body used to being able to do that and also play every day.”
Caleb Bonemer has also pushed his way into the picture. Chicago’s No. 2 prospect and No. 27 overall, he hit 37 home runs with 29 doubles and 17 stolen bases while mostly playing third base and shortstop for Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. In late August, he added outfield to the mix and is still playing there in the Arizona Fall League.
Billy Carlson, the No. 3 prospect, has become one of the Minors’ top defensive shortstop prospects. William Bergolla Jr., Chicago’s No. 9 prospect, may be the most polished infielder in the group, though his season ended early because of a right fibular stress fracture. The list also includes Cole Prosek, the No. 4 prospect, and Landon Thome, the No. 5 prospect, both from the ’26 Draft class.
“We have players such as Bonemer and Bergolla and Roch that are still developing in the Minor Leagues and aren’t quite ready to play at the Major League level,” Getz said. “We know the day is coming and probably sooner rather than later. If anything, I feel really good about the depth we’ve created.”
That depth gives Chicago options. The Sox could trade from the group to help address starting pitching or the outfield.
Or they could keep letting the infielders develop and see where the roster eventually sorts itself out. Either way, Getz made clear he doesn’t see too much talent as a bad thing.
“There's the personal, emotional piece of this, and I've talked about maintaining this identity of the clubhouse and what has made this group special,” Getz said. “Players evolve, things evolve, incentives evolve.
“We've got a really strong group to be able to recognize when change needs to happen. If we feel like there's opportunities out there to upgrade our team, we're going to go out there and do that. In the meantime, we're in pursuit of improving the players we have here … Having too many infielders is a strength of ours.”
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