White Sox fans can have a pretty simple rooting interest in this World Series: Andrew Vaughn.
The Sox aren’t about to circle back on Vaughn in free agency this offseason. At first base, they’re set with Munetaka Murakami. But Vaughn is in position to play in Milwaukee’s first World Series in 44 years, and that’s a twist nobody in Chicago had on the radar when he was dealt last season to the Brewers.
That trade has worked out for Vaughn in a big way. Since landing in Milwaukee, he’s hit .306/.384/.466. The power and run production haven’t fully matched what he showed in Chicago, but he’s giving the Brewers exactly what a lot of fans value most: getting on base.
That was the part that never really clicked with the Sox. Vaughn could leave the yard, sure, but there wasn’t enough of the rest of the package. He struck out at least 100 times in three of his four full seasons and carried a .248/.303/.407 line when Chicago moved him.
His final stretch with the Sox was even rougher. In 2025, he hit .189/.218/.314 and finished with the team’s worst bWAR at -1.8, even though the season ended with him in Milwaukee. For the Brewers, he posted a 1.3 bWAR that year, which ranked eighth on the club.
That’s why the story lands where it does: Vaughn wasn’t going to solve things in Chicago. He needed a reset, and the Sox needed the kind of organizational overhaul they were in the middle of when the deal went down. It also matters that most of his time with the team came before Chris Getz was named general manager.
So this isn’t really a case of the White Sox letting a star slip away. Vaughn was struggling when they traded him, even if the Brewers have helped unlock the version of him that was there all along. Chicago just couldn’t get it out of him.
That leaves room for a little perspective - and maybe even a little pride - if he ends the season with a ring. Vaughn has earned some good fortune after everything he’s gone through since reaching the majors, and both he and the Sox are in better spots now.
If he ends up spraying champagne one more time this year, it would be bittersweet. But it would also be deserved.
In Other News...
Brewers Just Got A World Series Break They Desperately Needed
After sweeping the Dodgers to clinch a spot in the World Series for the first time in 44 years, Milwaukee can finally exhale for a moment. This has been a season built on pitching depth and relentless run prevention, with Jacob Misiorowski giving the staff an edge even if he has not been asked to go deep in October games.
The bigger benefit now may come from the calendar. A few extra days before the World Series should help a bullpen that has carried a heavy workload through the playoffs, with Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby and Trevor Megill all taking on a lot of responsibility along the way. For a team that has leaned so hard on its arms, the pause could be just as valuable as any on-field adjustment. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Ashby Is Giving The Brewers An October Weapon Few Teams Ever Find
Aaron Ashby has turned into one of those October arms managers dream about but almost never find. The Brewers left-hander has delivered multiple scoreless, multi-inning relief outings in their postseason run, helping steady games in both the NLDS and the NLCS while pushing his name into a conversation usually reserved for elite playoff relievers. The company is notable too, with Ashby drawing comparisons to the kind of postseason weaponry associated with Bruce Sutter, Goose Gossage, Andrew Miller and Yusmeiro Petit.
For Milwaukee, the bigger point is what Ashby has meant in the moment: every time he has taken the ball this postseason, the Brewers have won. In an October shaped by thin margins and short benches, having a pitcher who can cover more than an inning and still miss bats has given the club a valuable edge, and it has raised the question of just how deep this run can go if he keeps being available in the biggest spots. [Read more 🡒]
William Contreras Is Giving Brewers A Playoff Edge Few Fans Noticed
William Contreras has quietly become one of the most interesting postseason players in Milwaukee, and not just because he has been behind the plate for every inning of the Brewers 2026 playoff run. The Brewers catcher has leaned hard into the ABS challenge system, staying engaged on nearly every pitch and helping shape games in a way most fans may not have fully noticed while following the bigger swings in the box score.
His impact has shown up in a few different ways. Contreras has already thrown out two base-stealers and allowed only two stolen bases across eight playoff games, but the more unusual edge has come from his work on ball-strike calls, where he has generated the most run value among postseason catchers. Milwaukees trust in him has paid off deep into October, and his NLCS work only added to the sense that the Brewers have found another layer of value from their everyday backstop. [Read more 🡒]