CHICAGO – The White Sox are at an interesting point of their current rebuild with the approach of the 2025 Winter Meetings, beginning Monday in Orlando, Fla.
General manager Chris Getz has built a cohesive front office, not to mention having the right man in place as manager in Will Venable. He has a plan of what he wants for the organization and has been following said plan.
Yes, the team is coming off a third straight season with 100-plus losses. But if focus for the ’25 campaign is placed upon post-All-Star break action, when the young prospects were getting everyday playing time and produced a 25-25 mark through Sept. 11 before finishing at 28-37, there was definite progress.
A culture has been built and defined, a culture which Getz will attempt to enhance during what is expected to be an active offseason.
“At the end of the year, everybody felt we had a lot of meat on the bone,” White Sox right-hander Davis Martin told MLB.com during a recent interview. “It was one of those deals where if we had this team all year, I think we could have done some really exciting stuff.
“Now we have the opportunity to do that this coming year. We are in a good spot right now. … The foundation has been set, and I really enjoy having a culture that’s ours. That when people come in, our culture is telling them, 'this is what we do, this is how we do it.' Everybody gets on the same track, the same foot, hitting Spring Training and the season running instead of trying to find our identity in Spring Training, which is always tough.”
Getz already stressed the development of this young core will be the driving factor in growth and improvement within the organization in 2026. That group includes shortstop Colson Montgomery, who launched 21 home runs in 71 games to finish fifth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. It also includes catchers Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero, infielders Miguel Vargas and Chase Meidroth and infielder/outfielder Brooks Baldwin.
Right-hander Shane Smith, the team’s lone ’25 All-Star representative, also joins Martin, Sean Burke and Jonathan Cannon as current rotation candidates for ’26. It features relievers such as Grant Taylor, Jordan Leasure and Mike Vasil.
“This year is the kind where you learn from your mistakes from last year, or you learn from the good things you did last year and kind of run with it,” Smith told MLB.com. “I don’t think there’s any reason the core nine, 10, 12, whatever it is, why we can’t compete every single day and compete for 162.”
“I feel like we found our identity this past season. We found our culture,” Martin said. “It’s exciting. You go a whole offseason and have something to look forward to and are ready to continue to build.”
Left-hander Anthony Kay has been added via free agency, with the veteran returning from a strong season in Japan to a two-year, $12 million deal not yet announced by the team. Getz has talked about bringing in a left-handed bat, a focus on improving corner outfield spots and the possibility of high-leverage additions in the bullpen.
Important White Sox action at the Winter Meetings won’t come at the high end of the free-agent market, and it won’t necessarily center on trades and free agents. The White Sox have the most favorable odds at getting the top pick out of the Draft Lottery, set for Tuesday evening, and figure to select a player in Wednesday’s Rule 5 Draft.
“It’s going to be a bunch of young guys just trying to let it rip every day, just trying to do their best,” Smith said. “I feel like guys are going to come out swinging and jacked up for the year. Let’s carry that on, carry it as long as we can and something crazy always happens in a baseball year. Let’s put ourselves in a position for it to be us.”
“Whoever we bring in, I feel excited and confident they are going to be a great piece of this team, and we will be able to rock and roll as soon as they get in,” Martin said. “We trust whatever Getzie has in store. Our job was to set the foundation and the culture with what Will put in front of us, and we kind of ran with it.”