The 2026 White Sox have done the unthinkable. After three consecutive seasons of 100-plus regular-season losses, the South Siders are heading to the postseason. They’re the first team to reach the playoffs after at least two consecutive 100-loss seasons, let alone three.
So this begs the question: Just how did the White Sox do this? The answer is quite simple. But it encompasses a complex, years-long rebuild.
This is not the same White Sox team that set an MLB record for most losses (121) in a 162-game season in 2024.
That’s obvious, right? Two years later, players and coaching staffs will have changed to some degree, especially for a club in an obvious rebuild. But this team is REALLY different. Completely unrecognizable, really.
Hitters who appeared on both the 2024 and 2026 teams have accounted for just 19.8% of the White Sox’s plate appearances this season. On the mound, holdovers from the ‘24 team have faced 33% of 2026 batters.
Just four hitters donned the White Sox uniform in both seasons: Andrew Benintendi, Tommy Pham, Lenyn Sosa and Miguel Vargas. Benintendi was the only of that group to reach at least 400 plate appearances in both years.
Pham (297 PA in 2024, 21 in 2026) was traded at the deadline in 2024 and reacquired late this season; Sosa (369, 33) was in his first full season in 2024 and then was traded to the Blue Jays this April; and Vargas (157, 704) struggled mightily in 2024 after a midseason trade from the Dodgers before this year’s All-Star breakout.
Five players make up the pitching group of returners: Sean Burke, Davis Martin, Erick Fedde, Jonathan Cannon and Jordan Leasure. Burke (2024 debut), Martin (50 innings in 2024) and Fedde (traded at ‘24 deadline) have been regular rotation members in 2026. But Cannon pitched just two Major League games this season after a heavy 2024 role, and Leasure -- who made 33 relief appearances two years ago -- has been out since May with injury.
As Chicago prepares for the AL Wild Card Series against the Astros starting Tuesday, the White Sox’s success came this season largely on the backs of new faces. Let’s dive into some of the moves that keyed this rapid makeover for general manager Chris Getz and the front office.
Trades
Garrett Crochet for 4 prospects
The White Sox dealt a controllable ace in Crochet after a legitimate breakout 2024 season. The move set the foundation for the 2026 Sox, as three of the four players they acquired will likely grace the postseason starting lineup: Chase Meidroth, Kyle Teel and Braden Montgomery.
Meidroth was strong on both sides for Chicago this season, posting 4.5 Baseball-Reference WAR. Teel has battled injuries but is back and has huge upside behind the plate, while the powerful Montgomery has started slow with the bat (.664 OPS) in his debut season but has handled right field consistently.
3-team deal lands Miguel Vargas in Chicago
The White Sox, Dodgers and Cardinals came together on a deal in 2024 that shipped Pham, Fedde and Michael Kopech away from Chicago and brought former top-50 prospect Vargas, among others, to the South Side. Vargas had sputtered in his first taste of the big leagues with the Dodgers, and that didn’t change when he reached Chicago, with a .387 OPS in 42 games.
But Vargas took a major step forward in 2025 at roughly league-average production. In 2026, he’s been the White Sox’s best hitter, a breakout fueled by a high-end approach and an incredible power surge, smacking 33 home runs on an .837 OPS.
Signings
Mune-mania
Munetaka Murakami, a former two-time MVP in Japan’s NPB, was a polarizing case this offseason. His light-tower power and propensity to walk were sure to translate in MLB, but his defense and strikeout potential were concerning. That allowed the White Sox to pounce on an opportunistic contract, and Murakami has been pretty much everything they could have asked for.
A second-half swoon dampened his numbers, but the first baseman hit 35 home runs with an .826 OPS. And if you ask anyone in the clubhouse, there’s no doubt Murakami’s presence alone was a huge factor in this team’s improvement.
Familiar Fedde
The White Sox brought Fedde back to MLB in 2024 after a year in Korea’s KBO, and he found enough success to help them land Vargas in trade. Fedde bounced around in 2025 and didn’t stick, but he was among Chicago’s most valuable pitchers back on the South Side. Fedde wasn’t an ace by any means, but he had a solid season (3.83 ERA) and ate innings (141) for a rotation that needed it.
Draft finds
Sean Burke
If you’re going to make a rebuild work, you have to hit in the Draft. The White Sox certainly did with Burke in the 2021 third round. Burke made a leap in his second full year in the rotation, becoming the certified ace of the staff in 2026 with a 3.34 ERA in 172 1/3 innings.
Sam Antonacci
If Murakami’s signing signaled a shift in the White Sox’s fortunes, Antonacci’s arrival did the same for the club’s mentality. The 2024 fifth-rounder was the epitome of the club’s underdog mentality in his debut year. Antonacci posted good numbers offensively (.766 OPS), often out of the leadoff spot, and played all over the diamond defensively. It’s also no wonder he led the AL with 29 hit-by-pitches.
Grant Taylor
The Chicago bullpen has turned in a top-10 team ERA this season, and Taylor was the most valuable Sox reliever in 2026, with 2.8 bWAR on a 2.25 ERA. The 2023 second-rounder did a bit of everything out of the ‘pen in his sophomore season, recording 10 saves, frequently going multiple innings and serving as an opener on occasion. His 84 innings were 12th-most in MLB this season among pitchers with at least 80% of their appearances in relief.
Diamonds in the rough
Tristan Peters
In what was a storybook season to begin with for the White Sox, no individual player’s campaign felt more like a fairy tale than Peters’. A seventh-round pick of the Brewers in 2021, Peters was traded twice before making his debut with the Rays in 2025. He did not record a hit in four games and was then designated for assignment last December. The White Sox sent cash to the Rays for Peters’ services, and all the 26-year-old rookie did was reward them with 3.6 bWAR, a .774 OPS and 12 home runs. The season of heroics included an All-Star Game, an improbable cycle and a five-game home run streak for the one-time Savanah Banana.
Randal Grichuk
Grichuk’s value to the White Sox this season was pretty simple to determine. Among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances against left-handed pitching this season, he ranked:
- 4th in wRC+ (181)
- 2nd in OPS (1.025)
- Tied-9th in home runs (11)
Grichuk, 35, started the year with the Yankees but was designated for assignment at the end of April. The White Sox signed him on May 4, and he became one of the best in the business in his role: mashing lefties.