White Sox focused on young core over long-term free agents
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CHICAGO -- A gradual belief in good things to come is building for the Major League Baseball organization on Chicago’s South Side.
That feeling emanating from White Sox players themselves, essential cogs in this turnaround, makes the belief a little more believable.
“Yeah, it's fun,” said infielder Sam Antonacci, the team’s No. 11 prospect per MLB Pipeline, during an Arizona Fall League interview with MLB.com. “The [organization] is definitely taking a turn for good, and we're just happy.”
“You look at the whole organization, we have a bunch of talent,” said left-hander Hagen Smith, the No. 5 White Sox prospect and No. 88 overall. “I feel like a lot of people are super close.”
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Building and developing that young core, ranging from top prospects such as Smith to fast-rising players such as Antonacci to everyone in between and below, is at the crux of White Sox success. The same importance rings true for getting the right front-office personnel in place, as general manager Chris Getz has done, and the right people on the coaching staff alongside manager Will Venable, Getz’s co-pilot in the dugout.
It's fine-tuning the overall process and having a plan for each of the game’s disciplines taking priority again during the 2026 season, a point Getz reiterated during a Zoom session earlier this week. It’s the base of rolling this rebuild over the top after the last one beginning in 2016 fell short following great promise.
But rebuilds don’t become playoff contenders or champions without adding impact veterans to that core. Those additions will come from free agency or via trade, and if the patient White Sox fans had their way, they would start in earnest this offseason.
They have embraced this latest rebuild yet again, but after three straight seasons of 100-plus losses, including 121 during the ’24 season, they also want to see victories and decidedly upward moves. Getz plans to take immediate steps to improve the club, but bigger multi-year free-agent deals don’t look to be the upcoming focus based on his recent comments.
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“Free agency is an avenue to bring in players to help in the win total,” Getz said. “But to go beyond this upcoming season I think would be a little premature considering the state of our club right now and the development of these young players.
“More than anything we want to strengthen our coaching staff, improve our processes within the front office and go out there and try to win as many games as we can next year. That’s something we can control, and then in the future years, when we are approaching that ’27 season, we’ll adjust and put together the best club for the future that we can after the ’26 season.”
Veteran hurlers Martín Pérez, Adrian Houser and Aaron Civale combined to throw 191 2/3 innings out of the ’25 starting rotation, helping protect the burgeoning young arms. The White Sox will need to fill that vacancy or two in ’26.
After losing 14 games when leading after six innings, 10 when leading after seven, six when leading after eight and 50 after scoring first last season, they will focus on leverage arms for the bullpen even if the payroll checks in a little above or a little below the $79,960,763 from ’25, according to Spotrac.
“We’ll take a look at it, like we have in the past. If there are opportunities to improve the club, we are going to,” said Getz, shortly before free agency began. “We will be active.
“To what extent is yet to be seen … We’ll get an idea of what the market is, but we do know we have areas we want to improve and there are different ways to do it. One of them is free agency.”
Significant jumps from 102 losses in ’25 to ideas of contention or even just reaching .500 for ’26 will be based in continued growth from young talent who received their first extended look in ’25. It was an incredibly strong opening for shortstop Colson Montgomery, who hit 21 home runs with an .840 OPS in 71 games, not to mention starter Shane Smith, who went from the No. 1 Rule 5 pick in ’24 to All-Star status in ’25 to flirting with a no-hitter in the last game of the regular season at the Nationals.
Moves will be made, even if they aren’t the ones necessarily desired by the fans. It’s about strengthening the core to build the best overall team.
“We got a lot of grinders and a lot of people who play the game the right way,” Antonacci said. “You don't see that as much anymore and I'm just excited for the future.”