White Sox, again the worst MLB team in 2025?
While White Sox seeks to recover from a bad historical season, we discuss their prospects for 2025.
The last time we saw the Chicago White Sox, they were giving the final touches to a 2024 season of 121 losses, MLB record. Since then, they have crossed their best player – as Garrett Croche – in a winter movement and added, well, not much in free agency.
Does that mean that Chicago could be equally bad in 2025? What veterans could be transferred this season? And could anyone else end with a record worse than the White Sox? AM850 MLB Buster Olney experts Jesse Rogers and David Schoenfield think.
How does the White Sox list compare for the Inaugural day With last season?
Olney: The first chapter of the reconstruction is behind them, and the White socks They have separated from a lot of veterans who had in 2024 – from veteran barture like Eloy Jiménez, Michael Kopech and crochet at the exit of free agents Like Yoan Moncada. Naturally, then, his roster is largely full of young and not tested players. White socks will be open to more offers by the experienced players they still have, such as Luis Robert Jr, because those boys will probably not be when the team will be competitively relevant. The White Sox played background last year, and now they begin what will probably be a long and slow climb.
Rogers: Younger and less experience, especially in the mound, where Burke, 25, was designated for the opening day. He adds to Jonathan Cannon (24), Davis Martin (113 IP in his career) and the injured Drew Thorpe to the mixture, and the Sox will not have a starter with some recognition of name apart from veteran Martin Pérez.
Alignment cannot be worse to start the season than last year, but it could be equally bad, since it only has three real experience players: Andrew Vaughn, Andrew Benintendi and Robert. The best prospect, the campocorto Colson Montgomeryjust being sent to the minor leagues, so your debut will be delayed. But the newcomer Mike Tauchman will provide professional bats and perhaps a full season of Miguel Vargas gives fruit. The roster is different, but it remains to be seen if it is better in some sense.
Schoenfield: The 2024 team had more known names: Robert, Moncada, Jiménez, Benintendi, Paul Dejong and Martín Maldonado They were in the initial alignment of the opening day, for example. But that group was collectively horrible, combining for a negative War.
What the 2024 White Sox had, and that we did not know the day of the inauguration, were two excellent opening launches: Erick Fedde and Crochet, although Fedde was changed to the cardinals in the deadline of transfer. And now crochet is also gone. So, on paper, one could say that the 2025 White Sox seem as bad as last season.
How many games, more or less, will the White Sox win this season compared to the past?
Olney: You might think that the trade of one of the most dominant openers in the League would have an impact on its line of victories and losses, but it was not exactly like that on the days they launched – they had 9-23 balance in the 32 crochet games began last year. The other four teams in the division have improved and compete for the playoffs, which will not help the White Sox, but one might think that the new season will help everyday life. Last year, there was a lot of negativity around the team due to early defeats, the questions about when the manager Pedro Grifol could lose his job and the imminent transfers. That has been left behind, and there is almost always a renovation with a new captain, Will come in this case. So I think they will win more games, but not many. I would put them in 45-117.
Rogers: I think sox will have a bad start. The new manager Will Venable does not have much to work at the Bullpen, while Benintendi has been stopped by an injury in his hand. But unlike last year, when they sank when they left the pause of the All-Star, the White Sox will win more games in the second half. Montgomery’s debut will be a shake, as well as the possibility of seeing the best Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz in the Chicago mound at some point. Even the current rotation will be better later in the season. The team will look better as the campaign progresses. The result will be a 54-108 record.
David Schoenfield: Only the METS of 1962-63 have lost 110 games in consecutive seasons, so it is really difficult to be so horrible two seasons in a row (although the Orioles lost 115 and then 108 in 2018-19). White socks will improve: Let’s go with 56-106.
Who will be the best team player this season?
Olney: Without a doubt: Robert. Other teams see him as a player with value when he is healthy. Perhaps the most important issue for the Chicago Major Leagues this year is how many games Robert will play before the deadline of transfer of July 31, because the more he plays, the more he will produce, and the greater his value will be. There will be teams interested in negotiating for him, but what they are willing to pay will be directly linked to whether he remains in the field and if he beats.
Rogers: If it is not Robert, then he is injured again, it is not as good as we thought or carries a different uniform after an exchange. It is easily your best talent. Apart from that, do not discard that Tauchman is his most consistent batter. Benintendi and Vaughn have a lot to demonstrate.
The conclusion is that the White Sox are one year after their best player comes from his talented prospects. Maybe then Montgomery or one of those star pitchers. For now, it is Robert, although with some doubts about his ability to stay healthy.
Schoenfield: I guess Robert is the easy answer, given what he did in 2023 (38 homers, 5.3 War). But it is prone to injuries, it was terrible last season and could be exchanged. But there is also no second clear option. If Touchman is good, he will be exchanged. The same with Pérez. Maybe one of the opening launchers is good or Schultz appears and dominate during 15 games or Chase Meidroth achieved an OBP of .400 or something. But probably not. So Robert.
Who will be the most important name transferred by the White Sox this season?
Olney: They have a couple of other interesting players in their roster capable of rebounding, such as Benintendi, but if Robert plays well, it could be this year’s crochet, with multiple teams struggling to make a deal for him.
Rogers: Robert definitely. It will leave in July if you achieve good numbers in the first half.
Schoenfield: Robert is the easy answer, but there is a scenario in which it is good, all prospects take off and White Sox begin to think that they could be competitive as soon as 2026 and keep Robert until 2027. So I am left with Touchman.
Will they be the worst baseball team again and, if they are not, who will overcome them in that (des) honor?
Olney: Without a doubt, they will be the worst. The Miami Marlins are a year ahead of Chicago in the reconstruction process, and while the Marlins could win a third of their matches, that could be an exaggeration for the White Sox.
Rogers: He is at odds between the White Sox and the Marlins, but Miami can launch a little. I would say that White Sox ends with the worst record, but they still improve for about 15 games!
Schoenfield: I think so. Marlins could give them a race, especially because they probably change to Sandy Alcántara, but Miami should have a bullpen decent enough to avoid the worst record.
