Chris Getz did not sugarcoat where the White Sox need help, and in the process he made one thing plain: the Guardians are sitting in a much better place on the mound.
Chicago’s 2026 season was a major step forward. After three straight 100-plus-loss seasons, the White Sox reached the postseason and even grabbed a 2-0 lead over Cleveland in the ALDS before falling to the Guardians. That turnaround gave the franchise real momentum, but it doesn’t carry over automatically into 2027.
That was the message from Getz during his post-mortem press conference earlier this week. He hit on several topics, but his clearest admission was that the White Sox simply weren’t good enough in a few key areas. The biggest one: the starting rotation, which finished with the fewest innings in MLB.
That gap matters even more because the White Sox don’t have the same built-in pitching stability Cleveland does. Getz may still look for rotation help this offseason, though that’s far from certain with the impending lockout hanging over everything. And even if Chicago does add, the Guardians won’t need the same kind of overhaul thanks to a staff stocked with young, controllable arms.
The White Sox already took a swing at fixing the rotation at the trade deadline, sending three players, including Nolan Jones, to the Mariners for Luis Castillo. The move did not pay off. Castillo posted an 8.42 ERA in 31 innings, and he was left off the postseason roster.
Getz offered some context by noting that Castillo was injured late in the year, but the bottom line remains the same: Castillo is owed $24 million next season and is hardly a sure thing to open in the rotation.
At the moment, the names that look locked into Chicago’s 2027 rotation are Sean Burke, Noah Schultz and David Sandlin. Grant Taylor and Hagen Smith also appear set to get some kind of opportunity in the mix.
The Guardians, on the other hand, have a very different outlook. Parker Messick and Gavin Wiliams sit at the top of the rotation as bona fide aces, with Tanner Bibee and Joey Cantillo giving Cleveland more quality depth behind them.
No club ever really has enough starting pitching, but the Guardians are in as strong a spot as anyone in baseball heading toward 2027.
That’s what makes the American League Central race so interesting going forward. Cleveland should be right in the thick of it, and could even be coming off a World Series title. The White Sox, Tigers and Royals could all be in that conversation too, but only if they make the right moves this offseason.
Chicago has already signaled where it wants to improve. Now comes the hard part: seeing how the rest of the offseason unfolds.
In Other News...
Guardians Loss May Have Quietly Set Up The Rest Of This Series
The Guardians did enough early to make Game 4 feel like a chance to even the ALCS, but the game slipped away once the Rays pushed across runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Even so, the loss may not have been as damaging as it first looked, because Cleveland managed to avoid leaning too heavily on the bullpen and preserve its most important relief arms for the rest of the series.
That matters with the matchup still hanging in the balance, especially after Tampa Bay also went through several pitchers in the same game. Both clubs now have some moving pieces to sort through on the mound, and the way each staff is managed over the next few days could end up shaping the rest of the series just as much as the score from Game 4. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Face A Real October Decision On Travis Bazzana
Travis Bazzana has given the Guardians enough at the plate to keep his name in the lineup conversation, but the glove has made things a little less straightforward as October has worn on. The rookie second baseman has flashed real offensive value, yet his seven errors at the position have become hard to ignore, and the latest reminder came in a recent game against the Rays.
Stephen Vogt has already shown he is willing to make a late-game switch at second, turning to Angel Genao in postseason situations to tighten things up defensively. So the question hanging over Cleveland is a familiar one for any contender with a young infielder in the spotlight: how much offense can they afford to keep in the lineup if the defense keeps giving away outs? [Read more 🡒]
Travis Bazzana May Have Just Changed Cleveland's ALCS Outlook
Travis Bazzana delivered his best postseason game yet in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, reaching base three times against the Tampa Bay Rays and giving Cleveland a jolt when it needed one. The rookie second baseman finished with a home run, a walk, a run scored and an RBI, and his first career playoff homer helped spark a rally even in a loss.
For a Guardians lineup that has been searching for steady production in a tight series, Bazzana's timing mattered almost as much as the box score. Cleveland did not finish the job, but the performance helped level the matchup at two games apiece and hinted at a player who may be starting to settle into the postseason stage at exactly the right time. [Read more 🡒]