Last night’s trade of Luis Robert Jr. to the Mets trimmed $20MM from the White Sox’ 2026 budget. General manager Chris Getz spoke to reporters this morning and made clear that some of that money will be reinvested into other areas of the roster. Via MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, Getz was asked whether he felt his outfield was set and replied that he expects to be “very active” with the “financial flexibility” that will make it easier to bring in additional talent.
Even with Robert on the roster, there shouldn’t have been much of a financial argument for Chicago to feel its roster was set. RosterResource had the South Siders at about $87MM in terms of 2026 payroll prior to moving Robert. That’s now dropped to about $67MM. The White Sox’ franchise-record Opening Day payroll, set back in 2022, is $193MM. There was already ample payroll space available, but shedding the Robert deal still clearly gives Getz & Co. more leeway relative to whatever budget has been set by owner Jerry Reinsdorf.
Looking at the White Sox’ roster, there are plenty of areas for obvious improvement. Andrew Benintendi remains entrenched in left field, but the first three seasons of his five-year, $75MM contract haven’t gone as hoped for either the Sox or the player himself. Center field and right field should be up for grabs.
Luisangel Acuña, acquired in the Robert trade, could factor into the center field mix but could play in the infield, depending on the health and development of young players like Chase Meidroth and Colson Montgomery. Other outfield options include utilityman Brooks Baldwin, journeyman Derek Hill and former top Yankees prospect Everson Pereira. Top prospect Braden Montgomery could eventually push for a spot on the big league roster, but he’s still only played 34 games at the Double-A level and none in Triple-A. Further minor league seasoning is surely on the horizon for him.
Things are at least more tentatively set in the infield. Montgomery ripped 21 homers in 71 games as a rookie and batted .239/.311/.529 overall. Strikeouts are a concern, but he’s going to get a look as the regular shortstop. Meidroth played solid defense and got on base at a decent clip, albeit with virtually no power of which to speak. Miguel Vargas popped 16 homers and turned in league-average offense at third base. NPB star Munetaka Murakami will get the chance at first base after signing a surprising short-term deal in free agency. The Sox are generally set behind the plate with young backstops Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero.
Both the rotation and bullpen could use veteran reinforcements. The Sox brought lefty Anthony Kay back from Japan on a two-year deal and signed swingman Sean Newcomb, who’ll get the opportunity to win a rotation job this spring, but the rotation still lacks experience overall. Shane Smith, Sean Burke and Davis Martin will probably open the season alongside Kay and whichever of Newcomb or Jonathan Cannon claims the fifth spot — at least as things presently stand. The bullpen is even less settled. The Sox don’t have a reliever with even three years of major league experience. Lefty Tyler Gilbert is the only one on the 40-man roster who has even two years of service time (assuming Newcomb is viewed as more of a starter than a reliever at present).
Free agency has been largely picked over, particularly in the bullpen, but there are still some interesting names remaining. The ChiSox reportedly have some interest in Griffin Canning and would be a sensible landing spot for any veteran arm on a short-term deal. The market is littered with “old friends” for Sox fans, including Chris Bassitt, Aaron Civale, Jose Quintana, Lucas Giolito and Martin Perez. Rebound candidates in the rotation market include Walker Buehler, Nestor Cortes and Chris Paddack. On the relief side of things, veterans like Seranthony Dominguez, Paul Sewald, Tommy Kahnle, Danny Coulombe, Michael Kopech and Jose Leclerc are unsigned.
It’d be unwise to anticipate a major signing along the lines of Cody Bellinger or Framber Valdez — clear roster fit notwithstanding — given the current state of the team overall. The White Sox have grown the farm system and culled payroll over the course of the current rebuild but have yet to make an earnest win-now push. Either Bellinger or Valdez would require a franchise-record commitment, and we’re only a couple months removed from Getz suggesting he’s reluctant to even sign free agents to contracts that push beyond the 2026 campaign (though he’s since done so with Kay and Murakami — albeit only after the latter’s market failed to develop as hoped).
Perhaps a notable free agent like Zac Gallen will eventually pivot to a shorter-term contract, but he’d cost the White Sox their second-highest pick, which currently sits 41st overall. That seems like a price a rebuilding club would prefer not to pay — particularly for a short-term veteran on a contract with opt-out potential.
Of course, there are opportunities available beyond the free agent market. Trade candidates abound throughout the league — some of whom could be acquired at minimal cost if the White Sox opt to use their currently tiny payroll to absorb unwanted contracts. Jose Berrios, Kodai Senga, Taijuan Walker and Eduardo Rodriguez are among the names who could fit that description, and the Sox have an improved farm that could help them pull in more meaningful, controllable talent if Getz and his staff find an opportunity to their liking.
Speaking in broad terms, Getz acknowledged the wide-open slate of possibilities before him (again, via Merkin): “[Additions] could come in starting pitching, relievers, balancing right-handed vs. left-handed. So we are very open minded and excited in getting to work in being creative and bringing in that talent.”
They are going to be very active… After most of the big free agents signed already.
They’ll be very active shopping in the bargain bin
Very active, my behind. Maybe active in the garbage bin?
Red Sox better look out, sounds like we’ll have competition on the “interest” front!
Redsox are stacked
I think the Sox roster is good, bordering on very good. But I’m not ready to declare it stacked until we figure out what the infield is going to look like, and unless/until the lineup stops being a strikeout factory.
Wow! Beansys budget basement dumpster look out. We’re going shopping. What a joke they are
A team like the White Sox really isn’t in a good position to sign free agents. But moving Robert’s contract might mean they can take on a little bit of salary.
I’d agree it would be more prudent for them to use that freed up room to basically buy a prospect instead of sign some retread free agent they’ll probably struggle to move at the deadline.
Yes, they can shore up positions in which they have no ready internal replacements. For instance Braden Montgomery is slated for something like a 80 wRC+ in projections (seems low) so Austin Hays, Hoskins, Conforto etc are some of the possibilities. They can then be dangled at the deadline if they do well.
They’ll be as active as they were in on Machado a few years ago.
What “big” free agent was ever going to sign with the White Sox? I’m an Angels fan and I say the same thing to my fellow Angels fans who complain about the Angels not signing the big free agents. Why would a star who has contending teams interested in him sign with the current editions of either of these teams?
Do you want Zac Gallen? That’s someone the Angels have a chance at.
Sure, the White Sox will be shopping on a budget. Being one of the few teams in rebuild mode, it would not make sense to sign a high dollar multi year contract until they know what positions they actually need going forward.
I was talking about the Angels.
Im pretty sure they’ll be looking for younger talent and not the insane money teams are paying for marginal players. They in a rebuild not re-tooling. Most people here screaming about Robert still being on payroll all off-season & now after trading, non White Sox fans continue to whine. Yall just a bunch of whiners…
I would have kept Robert, but whatever that shipped sailed. If Getz wants to get an outfielder, Bader is still an option, although I’m not sure if he’d want to sign with a rebuilding club.
They got the Mets to take on the whole contract and got a guy with a little prospect shine left in return. White Sox came out like bandits imo. No way LRJR gets $20m if he were a free agent
ohyeadam:
Bandits? The Mets were more than willing to make this trade at the trade deadline but the White Sox thought they could get more. They dumped his contract, but they picked up the option in the first place. They didn’t have to pick up that option. They could’ve just not picked it up. So what did they really dump? The option they agreed to pick up? They got a utility infielder. That’s better than nothing.
Yeah, I’m still upset Getz didn’t wait, but hopefully Acuna develops into something decent. But yes, you’re right.
I think it came down to the idea of are you going to sign him to another long term deal in ’27 if he has a big season? I think the answer was no.
Can you get more at the trade deadline if Robert has a big first half? I think Acuna is about as good as you could do in trade.
The problem with a trade deadline deal is you still have to pay him until the trade deadline. And they decided they didn’t want to do it.
Bader is a nothing for a rebuilding team, He’s not that good of a player either
Giolito makes a good fit to a one year deal with him being flipped at the deadline. While he should get better offers after last season, he may not due to injury concerns and going back to where he is familiar to show all he’s healthy seems to make sense.
That bridge is burned. They fired his high school pitching coach and there was that contract dispute over $50k a few years ago. No way Giolito is coming back.
A reunion with Bassitt? Maybe
I agree with you regarding Lucas Giolito.
I seriously doubt that a “reunion” with Chris Bassitt is in the cards. Bassitt turns 37 next month and I’m guessing he will prioritize his likely one-year contract be with a contender.
Bassitt shouldn’t ever been traded in the 1st place. Good job Kenny.
Jose Quintana would be nice back in Chicago but I don’t know how many bridges were burned during the mid 2010s Sox
Getz says they’re being active. Cut to cheesy Frank Stallone soundtrack montage we see White Sox chopping wood, towing sled dogs, running uphill in the Siberian tundra all in anticipation of avenging their pal Creed: taking down the fearsome Drago
Maybe thinking of Franks slightly more famous brother perhaps?
Frank did have a cameo or two in those movies
There is something seriously wrong with you.
Nothing wrong with that, mind you.
U won’t believe this but Frank Stallone is an alias of George Clooney.
Sox Fans–can you feel the whoosh from all that activity?. If I were Manfred, knowing I had a difficult CBA negotiation coming up, i’d urge them to use the money from Roberts for something other than dividends to ownership…but Manfred’s opener to the Union is going to be a low ceiling–and a low floor. MLB wants to get to a salary structure where the CWS will set the tone on salaries teams are willing to pay…but with just enough flexibility to allow the big market big media audience teams to keep the turnstiles humming and the revenue sharing dollars flowing.
Maybe they can absorb some bad contract paired with some shiny prospect?
Good idea for CWS, since the prospect wouldn’t likely be on a 40 man–maybe an overpriced contract but with a player who has some limited value on the field,
I thought it was just the Chicago wind…
Im happy with the way rebuild is going. Im a huge Sox fan & no not that lost Sox fan that plays in Fenway. There BIG move was …Contreras…yeah..good movve
CWS really screwed up with Roberts. Last season they could have had 2 really good prospects. They overplayed their hand and ended up with borderline major leaguer a d a 12th round dart throw pitcher. What makes anyone think that any future move with this GM will result better decisions?
His value was in a downward spiral from the geico so getting something for him rather than nothing is better than declining his option.
Please tell me you think the phrase is “from the geico” and it’s not a typo.
And say it with that almost British accent.
I dont who they could have landed last season but Acuna has a lot of athleticism and a lot of potential.
Hopefully Robert has a great season with the Mets.
I think the Mets need to trade Baty too, he is a good defensive third baseman and as it sits the Mets have Bichette at 3B.
Hopefully the White Sox can get a Baty for Murakami deal on the table and bring Baty in too.
I would be stoked with Baty and Montgomery at the corners.
I would give up on the Murakami spectacle if it meant landing Baty.
I am looking forward to the season, Paez and Alberto in the bullpen is exciting. Acuna, Id like see Colson at first base. Second year with Teel and Meidroth. Baldiwn is an exciting player and Vargas started to hit last season.
Sox don’t need Baty since they have a surplus of infielders especially SS that could slide over to 3B.
I disagree, Baty at 3B would be a nice addition.
Montgomery can play 3B, and that works if you can’t land Baty but your short a glove at 1B. Murakami / Quero / Teel / Sosa / Elko are the options without an outside addition. None are as good defensively, or offensively for that matter, as Montgomery could be.
Montgomery could be great at 1B.
Murakami is likely best at DH.
I like Vargas at 3B too with Montgomery moving to first and Acuna at SS.
Get real Trading for Acuna is like when we signed Tatis Jrs’ brother to try to offset that historically bad trade with SD. Genetics doesn’t guarantee Acuna will play like his superstar brother.
And do you seriously believe the Sox will move Colson to 1B after spending $34M on Murakami?? This is Reinsdorf we’re talking about.
I dont know what the Sox will do, I would move Colson to first base and trade Murakami as soon as possible.
I think Murakami is great for the fans but if you could use Murakami to get Baty, save a bundle in the process, Id be on that trade.
Sox likely looking to lineup a trade on Benintendi too.
I’d be all for giving Bader a three year deal in CF, if you can move Murakami. Bader is a legitimate CF and Id pay Bader his ask if it was reasonable and start him everyday.
Benintendi / Bader / Baldwin would be a great OF.
Acuna going to take the southside by storm this season!
Baty ks too much, Winker the best. maybe Conforto
He does have loads of athleticism. He just can’t hit a baseball to save his life.
The White Sox traded Luis Rober for Leury Garcia 2.0, and I hated Leury Garcia 1.0.
I was a Leury Garcia fan too, probably was my favorite player on those teams, Giolito, Rodon, I liked TA and Moncada too but thought Leury was the glue guy despite being a reserve / utility player.
Acuna hopefully gets it going with the bat this season.
What 2 good prospects you talking about? Never heard anything about 2 good prospects last year. Roberts gets hurt every year and we heard about it too much in 2025. Now they trade him & Just more Yada Yada, Blah Blah
To me he’s gone just wish he’d became the player we wish he would’ve, could’ve been.
Give Getz credit. He realizes there will be no baseball in ‘27. From his perspective no reason to be saddled with a bunch of overpriced bums.
Definitely not a full season in 2027 but I highly doubt the entire season of 2027 is cancelled.
If the 2027 season is in serious doubt, the White Sox will be wise to keep their top near MLB ready prospects down on the farm this season. The team is not ready to contend in 2026 and should consider keeping Braden Montgomery, Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith, and Sam Antonacci off of their 40-man rosters this season. I believe each lack enough minor league experience to make them eligible for the 2026 Rule 5 Draft which would necessitate them being on the 40-man roster ahead of a possible lockout.
Each of those players will have an opportunity to play full seasons at AAA in 2026 as well as beginning the next season on time. If and when the 2027 season resumes, all should be ready to contribute without having to quickly ramp up during whatever “spring training” is agreed upon before the new CBA takes effect.
The current CBA is set to expire on December 1st, 2026. If no agreement is reached between the owners and players by that time an immediate lockout is likely to occur. That would wipe out the annual Winter Meetings that happens in early December along with the Rule 5 Draft.
A lockout would also shut down free agency and trades from that point on, as it did in 2021 before that current CBA was ultimately agreed upon on March 10, 2022. The extended offseason lockout pushed opening day back from March 31 to April 7. It also allowed for a shortened spring training to get the season started sooner.
I’m guessing that if no substantial labor talks are made between now and December 1, a much longer lockout is likely. That will result in numerous games being cancelled and perhaps put the entire 2027 season in doubt.
The Owners count on playoff revenue, so the smart move by the players would be to strike before the playoffs start. They have little leverage with a lock out.
Getting rid of a big underwater contract for a dude who’s still young and used to be a significant prospect is a pretty big win, to start with. So go Chris. But couldn’t they have done this a couple months ago?
I bet they try to go really big. Like Valdez big.
Nobody know how much they tried unless you were in the room
Is Getz planning on flipping Acuna for Skubal?
Such asinine post everywhere, including this one. Geez no likes to 10 hours
They could have been active this whole time. If I was a White Sox fan, this would be a very frustrating comment to read.
How about Nick Castellanos and 17M for an old 20% coupon to Bed Bath and Beyond?
Philly
Preller is on line two, include $18 million and he is interested.
Ha!! Was just going to offer that myself!
There are still some very good starting pitchers out there. Sign two of the better ones and this team is competitive.
Plus a vet OF
They HAD one in Tauchman
True but he was on the IL 3 times last season despite posting 1.9 WAR.
This is the first time in quite awhile that I’ve seen Eduardo Rodriguez’ name come up in trade rumors, but it makes sense.
He’s a free agent
It was a take his whole contract and give us a couple guys you want to get rid of trade. The Sox are free from his contract and the Mets have very little risk here.
Except the White Sox could have been free from the contract in November. They exercised a club option.
Now that the biggest high price free agents are gone and it’s a dollar tree market., the White Sox are ready to get busy.!! Look out baseball world!!!
Moribund franchise. A fish rots from the head down.
Investing heavy to turn this 60 win ballclub into a 62 win ballclub!
Gonna raise their total payroll from the equivalent of one Dodgers player to two Dodgers players.
Sox will continue to sign players to minor league deals and will claim other teams garbage off the waiver wire.
Ebenezer Reinsdorf, will not spend. This trade was a salary dump…. nothing more.
It was never not a salary dump. Also prior to LRJ trade the Sox spent around 50M overall. Anthony Kay, Mune M, Sean Newcomb plus minor league deals.
Sign Canning, Bassitt, and Quintana. If any of them pitch well, trade them.
There’s not really any players left in the White Sox price range that will help them beyond 2026. Loading up on veterans and trading away any of them that play well for future prospects is the way to go. Sign as many as possible. Could have $33 million to play with if they set a $100 million payroll. Canning and Quintana will be cheap, maybe Bassitt less so, but all three could be had.
Or they could stop this never-ending ridiculous rebuild and get some players who could help them win.
What players do you think are available and would be willing to sign with them?
Sty it was more of a quit goofing around and try putting a decent product on the field than adding specific player or players you want me to name specifically. Or,to twist your brain a little, they had all winter to do something and didn’t. Think about that instead.
Rather have Giolito than Quintana on the rebound machine. Sox should be willing to run with the young guys as position players with the Number 1 pick coming in July The Sox have good young pitching but it needs seasoning. A couple of vets on the rebound would be just the ticket here. Rather they got some bullpen guys but that bone is picked pretty clean.
Trade idea: Sox trade Benintendi and Jairo Iriarte to Dbacks for Eduardo Rodriguez SP, #5 Prospect Tommy Troy 2b/OF and OF Jorge Barrosa.
What would be the benefit to the Dbacks? Higher payroll for an underperformer and rookie pitcher with a gigantic minor league ERA. Seriously, they’d need to have Alex Bregman broker THAT DEAL!
A Benintendi-for-Rodriguez framework makes some sense. Benintendi at $17.1/$15.1 saves Arizona about $4 million per year replacing Rodriguez at $21/$19. If the White Sox ate another $3-5 million per year on top of that, maybe that would get you into that Tommy Troy discussion.
Very active lol. That’s some tough talk after most of the trades have been made and most of the free agents are gone. Does the guy not know that it’s January 21st? He sounds like one of those guys who gets there late for the fight and then tells everybody how he would’ve done it.
So WHAT exactly was the expectation from an inconsistent player like Benintendi? Literally if they brought up almost any half-way decent rookie and let that young man play every day, the production would be similar to Benintendi’s and wouldn’t cost them $25M/year. Ownership acts like these draft picks are solid gold value, but instead of developing players to actually play, they sign these terrible contracts with up/down players. I do not understand that philosophy or strategy. If your team is going to suck, then dump every high contract, don’t sign large AAV free agents, and market your young players to your fans as the next wave of home grown organic produce. Obviously, that needs to come with determined and dedicated minor league development though. But if they put as much effort into the minor leaguers’ development as they pretend to value them, those young men would be able to be productive players at low costs for many years. True fans DO LOVE homegrown organic produce! Nothing better than picking that fresh ballplayer from the minor league tree and enjoying the fruits for years.
So they aren’t just gonna sell a piece and pocket the money like the pohlads do in Minnesota???
what a concept!
Lol
Lmao even
Reinsdorf is in full clearance mode now and not signing anyone to a significant contract (ie.$50m+).
He’s fully committed to squeezing all the profit from this team before cashing out and selling the team.
He’s worse than a lame duck owner.
He’s a bloodsucking owner with 1 personal goal, self enrichment.
White Sox shopping for flipable parts. Harrison Bader makes sense here as the type of player Getz should try get
Active . In 2027 perhaps
Arraez and Winker coupled with a pitching staff that comes through puts us as division contenders.
With what bullpen?
How about a Benintendi-for-Yoshida change of scenery trade, with Boston including the $5MM necessary over two years to make it an even-money trade? Who says no and why?
Benintendi goes back to Boston, Yoshida joins Murakami in Chicago. Yoshida is only about a year older, an even or maybe slightly worse defender than Benintendi at this point, and coming off two seasons with slash lines more similar to Benintendi’s than you might expect.
Why would we pay down the salary of a light-hitting lefty who can nominally play some left field but belongs at DH, just to acquire another light-hitting lefty who can nominally play some left field but belongs at DH? That is essentially just giving the White Sox a pile of cash for no reason.
The White Sox are an embarrassment to Major League Baseball. They currently sit at $67 million payroll as a team. The Dodgers just signed Kyle Tucker for $60 million per year.
I am not asking the White Sox to spend $400 million….but at least give fans….life long fans like me….a reason to stay interested in this team.
Jerry, please sell this team ASAP.
3-5 years later, Justin Ishbia will be the owner by then.
As a lifelong ChiSox fan, all I can say is, the chief architect of the teardown, (C. Getz)is the chief architect responsible for the re-build and as ChiSox fans, we’re all Focked until Reinsdorf croaks and Getz is fired.