Yes? No? Debating both sides of White Sox biggest winter questions

This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- White Sox general manager Chris Getz officially lit the Hot Stove with two trades involving six players Tuesday night. But regarding major offseason significance for the team, those moves were just an appetizer.

Here’s a look at four decisions of note over the upcoming weeks and months, and with all due respect to George Strait and his best-selling single, we’ll be checking both "yes" and "no" in this exercise.

Should the White Sox trade a catcher?
Yes: This question was already answered, as the team moved Minor League backstop Ronny Hernandez to Boston for left-handed reliever Chris Murphy Tuesday. But let’s focus on the White Sox having Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero and Korey Lee, who are each big league talents.

Keeping all three seems a bit redundant, despite Getz’s mantra of “Catching is gold,” which might be on his business cards. Chicago won’t keep three on the active roster, and manager Will Venable didn’t have a strong desire to play Teel and Quero in the same lineup regularly in 2025.

So, moving Teel or Quero, while representing a tough decision, could repurpose talent at another position. It could make better sense if one of the catchers is paired with a player such as Luis Robert Jr., as an example, to enhance the return.

No: The White Sox want to take a step forward from three straight seasons with 100-plus losses, jumping off from last year’s youth-will-be-served 60-win performance. But they aren’t quite in a contending mode for ’26.

As Getz said at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas, it doesn’t seem like the time to make these sorts of moves. Let this young core play together longer to really see what it has.

Is Miguel Vargas the team’s third baseman?
Yes: Vargas not only developed as a player in 2025 after an extremely rough on-field run when arriving from the Dodgers in ’24, but he seemed to grow even more as a person. He’s outgoing, funny and an integral part of this burgeoning clubhouse.

Although he also can play first base and is willing to do whatever is needed to help the team, Vargas prefers third base, as he told me at the end of last season. He has the potential for power and solid defense at that key spot.

No: I’ve heard other teams have interest in Vargas, who turned 26 on Monday and hit 16 homers with 32 doubles, 80 runs scored, 60 RBIs and a .717 OPS over 138 games in 2025. Getz has to listen to all offers at this stage of the rebuild, as he has said, and if something were to happen with Vargas, they have Curtis Mead, who could take over at third.

Is Lenyn Sosa part of this core?
Yes: Nobody on the roster deserves more of an apology than Sosa -- at least that idea holds true in my beliefs. I thought the White Sox should move on from the right-handed-hitting infielder after he went 37-for-199 with 52 strikeouts and six walks over his first two years in the Majors.

Those who followed the Minors a little closer than I did reminded me how Sosa struggled at the outset of every new level, but he eventually found his ground. In 2025, Sosa was quietly as potent as any hitter in the lineup, with 22 home runs, 20 doubles and 75 RBIs.

No: While Sosa has proven his value and then some with the bat, he really hasn’t found a true defensive home. He played 99 games at second last year -- where Chase Meidroth is now situated -- and 42 games at first. Getz and the White Sox might be looking for left-handed production at first, even if Sosa stayed as the right-handed-hitting member of a platoon, and there are some teams interested in acquiring the 25-year-old’s services.

Will Robert stay?
Yes: Let’s cut to the chase with Robert: The White Sox clearly believe in him as an integral part of the team. His immense on-field talent was on display during the 2023 All-Star season, and even if he never gets to that lofty level again across the board, he has the skills to take over offensively in extended stretches while also providing stellar defense in center field and stolen-base potential.

Robert fits on the South Side. He’s not exactly blocking anyone in center, as has been pointed out to me numerous times.

No: His White Sox status is uncertain beyond another $20 million team option with a $2 million buyout for 2027. There’s certainly no need to force a deal just to make one at this point, as is the case with any move, but while a Robert trade might be geared for more of a future return, it gives Getz added offseason spending room in the present.