The post Building the White Sox 26-man Opening Day roster appeared first on Sox On 35th.
With Opening Day on Thursday for the White Sox against the Angels, the club has been making plenty of roster cuts to get down to the final 26 players they will bring to Chicago. While we’ve gotten a lot of information about who will be making camp, there are still plenty of questions left for the White Sox to answer by Thursday. Today, let’s attempt to build the team’s initial 26-man roster based on those players remaining in camp (39 total).
We’ve seen many injuries on this roster that have affected its construction, so we can expect some changes as the season progresses and players begin to get healthy again. For now, let’s build a roster that puts players in the best positions to succeed while helping ensure the White Sox don’t lose 121 games again this season.
Starting Pitchers (5)
RHP Sean Burke, LHP Martin Perez, RHP Davis Martin, RHP Jonathan Cannon, RHP Shane Smith
This was perhaps one of the easier sections to fill out on the roster. Will Venable had already stated that (1) Sean Burke was starting Opening Day and (2) he, Perez, Martin, and Cannon would be the first four starters in the rotation this season. The White Sox were presumably leaving that fifth spot open for Drew Thorpe once he returned from injury and filling it with Bryse Wilson in the meantime; however, Thorpe now needs Tommy John Surgery, meaning the fifth rotation spot can be given on a more permanent-esque basis.
For that reason, I chose Shane Smith to finish out the rotation. Smith had an incredibly strong Spring as a Rule 5 Draft pick, and the White Sox already announced he was making the roster. In a season where it’s incredibly important to “let the kids play,” and see what the future looks like, Smith provides a better glimpse into that than Bryse Wilson does.
For Smith, however, it will be interesting to see how he handles a full starter workload in 2025, as last season he started just half of the games (16) he appeared in (32) with the Brewers between AA and AAA. As a point in his favor, he did see pretty equal success as a starter (2.96 ERA) and reliever (3.29 ERA) last season, though experienced a large bump in his strikeout rate as a reliever (9.9 K/9 as a SP; 12.8 as a RP). So, his stuff plays up, but is it strong enough out of the rotation? Time will tell.
As for the rest of this group, as I mentioned, there aren’t really any surprises outside of Sean Burke getting the Opening Day nod. For Burke, Martin, and Cannon, it will be about proving which from this group can become a part of the long-term future for a White Sox farm system that has been built on pitching. My money’s on Martin – but also, given his contract status, he’s the most likely to be traded. So, I’ll change that to Burke.
Relief Pitchers (8)
LHP Cam Booser, LHP Tyler Gilbert, RHP Jordan Leasure, RHP Mike Clevinger, RHP Penn Murfee, RHP Mike Vasil, RHP Bryse Wilson, RHP Justin Anderson
This is the most interesting section to fill out, as it’s the one with the fewest clear answers/standouts. There are really only two guarantees for the White Sox’ bullpen out of camp:
- Mike Clevinger will be making the team as an early option for the team’s closer role
- Newly claimed RHP Mike Vasil will be on the Opening Day roster. He is a Rule 5 pick of the Rays that can’t be sent to the minors – or else he’d be sent back to the Mets.
From there, six open spots remain. Murfee, Leasure, and Booser have had the strongest springs of the group being considered, while Bryse Wilson was signed specifically to be a part of the major league club. While his role has likely been reduced with the rise of Shane Smith, he will likely start with a roster spot. That leaves two spots for Justin Anderson, Fraser Ellard, Tyler Gilbert, and Brandon Eisert to fight for, with Dan Altavilla, Justin Dunn, Jonathan Heasley, Steven Wilson, and James Karinchak on the outside looking in – since two 40-man roster spots will already have to be cleared for Clevinger and a yet-to-be-named infielder to be added to the roster.
I’ll give the upper hand to both Tyler Gilbert and Justin Anderson to round out the bullpen. Anderson spent the 2024 season with the White Sox and agreed to a deal before arbitration with the team as well. It would be surprising for them to do all of that only to cut him come March. He hasn’t had a good Spring (10.50 ERA in just six innings), but the White Sox (for now) appear invested in the veteran.
The same logic holds for Tyler Gilbert, who the White Sox traded for RHP Aaron Combs over the offseason. Fraser Ellard, at the same time, had the strongest Spring of the group and has the highest upside; based purely on results, he should finish out this bullpen. However, it’s not always that easy. In addition, the number of options for each player could come into play here, as Gilbert has just one option year remaining while both Ellard and Brandon Eisert have multiple (three and two, respectively). This is on top of the fact that Gilbert comes with starter’s experience at the big-league level.
At the end of the day, it would make sense that the White Sox prioritize Gilbert with such a young starting pitching staff as an insurance policy. That being said, a merit-based pick in Ellard would be preferred.
As for the aforementioned Vasil: it’s been a while since he’s seen the success that made him a highly regarded name out of Virginia, and in 2024, he posted a 6.04 ERA across 134 innings in AAA. However, he does have a strong arsenal that makes sense on paper for the White Sox to take a chance on to start the year. He struggles with command and doesn’t have even an average fastball, despite strong secondary offerings. While the sinker grades out positively, it’s a bit too similar to the shape of his changeup to be super effective. If the White Sox can either improve the shape of his fastball (more ride/run) or cutter (more ride), he will have the ability to re-capture some of his potential. Plus, as a reliever, there’s a chance his stuff plays up in shorter appearances.
A final note: I would’ve originally included Gus Varland as part of this list; however, the White Sox made the decision to option him to AAA Charlotte to begin the season. He did struggle a bit with command this Spring, so it’s likely he’ll get a chance to hone his command at the minor league level before being up in some form with the White Sox this season. I still think he has a chance to be a very good reliever for the White Sox in short order.
Catchers (2)
Korey Lee, Matt Thaiss
Perhaps the easiest position to guess, the White Sox didn’t bring in much in the way of short-term competition for Korey Lee this offseason. He and Matt Thaiss – both 40-man roster players – will split time until Kyle Teel or Edgar Quero (or perhaps both) are ready for the big leagues. To Lee’s credit, he’s more than deserving of an opportunity due to his strong Spring (.925 OPS in 32 AB). However, as we saw last year, Lee has struggled to adjust as the league adjusts to him – perhaps a year of experience under his belt will help prevent a repeat of that in 2025.
As for Thaiss: the left-hander can spend some time at first base as well this season while playing platoon matchups behind the plate. He too has had a strong Spring, posting an .892 OPS in 35 AB. While both of their bats are incredibly likely to regress, Lee and Thaiss make up a strong defensive duo in different aspects of their game (Thaiss: blocking; Lee: pop time/controlling run game).
Infielders (6)
1B Andrew Vaughn, 2B Brooks Baldwin, SS Chase Meidroth, SS Lenyn Sosa, SS Jacob Amaya, 3B Miguel Vargas
With Colson Montgomery being optioned to AAA Charlotte – a surprising move for some – the White Sox have left themselves without a clear starting shortstop for the first time since before Tim Anderson’s time on the South Side began in 2016 (yes, Paul DeJong counts last year). Montgomery will – rightly – be asked to force the issue after an underwhelming 2024 campaign. Additionally, Josh Rojas’ injury opens up an additional spot that wouldn’t have previously been available in the infield. With that spot, I’m adding a second player to the 40-man roster that isn’t currently there: Chase Meidroth.
Without Rojas’ injury, I wouldn’t necessarily have started Meidroth on the Opening Day roster – while he doesn’t have much left to prove in AAA, he didn’t have a strong Spring and would likely benefit from getting regular at-bats for his new ballclub in Charlotte. However, Rojas’ injury opens up the ability to give Meidroth some pretty consistent at-bats. Additionally, as opposed to Bryan Ramos or Colson Montgomery, Meidroth isn’t considered a *huge* part of the future yet and still has much to prove. Thus, there is no need to play service time games or delay the team’s ability to evaluate his role in the future.
At the same time, I could easily see the White Sox choosing to stick with Jacob Amaya as a purely expendable option once Colson Montgomery is ready. Amaya leaves much to be desired and really doesn’t provide anything that Meidroth doesn’t. Even if Meidroth doesn’t make the roster, Amaya won’t last beyond Rojas’ return from the IL.
Elsewhere, Lenyn Sosa is out of options, so a slightly above-average Spring has likely earned him one last chance to stick at the big-league level. Miguel Vargas and Matt Thaiss both serve as backup first basemen, so there isn’t a real need for someone other than Andrew Vaughn to be listed at the position (nor is there truly a viable option in the minors right now). Brooks Baldwin will likely spend the rest of his career fighting to be a utility man, so no better time to start that than the present.
The odd man out, for now, appears to be Bryan Ramos. Unfortunately, while he did have a fairly strong Spring, much like Colson Montgomery, he didn’t have a strong enough 2024 season in Charlotte that would qualify as “forcing the issue.” His .755 OPS sounds good on the surface, but in context, that translates to a 98 wRC+ in a hitter’s environment. So, there’s still work to be done. Plus, Ramos spent part of 2024 injured, so working through some consistent, healthy at-bats in Charlotte wouldn’t be a bad idea while the White Sox do some further evaluation at the major league level. If the team decides to move on from Lenyn Sosa, Ramos could make the Opening Day roster – but would likely have to do so as a second baseman.
The only person who hasn’t been talked about on the infield is Brandon Drury. The veteran infielder likely would’ve made the Opening Day roster if not for his fractured thumb and subsequent release. It’s quite possible that the White Sox bring him back on a re-structured contract, especially because he had such a strong Spring, has a track record of some success, and increased his bat speed by about five miles per hour this offseason working with Ryan Fuller and the White Sox’ hitting staff. But, for now, there was no way for the White Sox to justify adding Drury to the 40-man roster only to put him on the IL. My guess would be that he’s back with the White Sox on a restructured deal relatively soon.
Outfielders (5)
Andrew Benintendi, Travis Jankowski, Luis Robert Jr, Austin Slater, Michael A. Taylor
Man, what a list this has become. Mike Tauchman beginning the season on the IL left a spot open for someone, and as of now, it looks like the newly signed Travis Jankowski will get a shot. The one thing this outfield lacks, at current, is a lot of power output. Both Taylor and Jankowski are defense-first options, while Slater has struggled all Spring and hasn’t hit more than 12 homers in one season in his career. That leaves Robert Jr. and Benintendi to provide some offense, and Benintendi will likely be seen as a platoon option throughout parts of the season.
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Then there’s the question of whose spot Tauchman takes once he’s healthy. Taylor is among the best outfielders in all of baseball, so that likely leaves either Jankowski or Slater as the odd man out. Since both Jankowski and Tauchman hit left-handed, it would seem that the White Sox won’t look to have four left-handed outfielders on their roster. That would leave Jankowski to be the one heading to Charlotte or DFA’d.
Overall, this isn’t an incredibly exciting list, but an outfield of Benintendi-Robert-Tauchman most days will be relatively serviceable, with Michael A. Taylor an underwhelming but defensively strong option once Robert Jr. is inevitably traded. Corey Julks, Zach DeLoach, and Dominic Fletcher could all factor in here at some point, but none has proven to be much of a worthwhile option.
Opening Day Lineup
The White Sox will face off against LHP Yusei Kikuchi of the Angels on Opening Day, so their lineup might look a little bit different than it will throughout the season. Here’s how I’d line it up on day one:
- Miguel Vargas – 3B
- Luis Robert Jr. – CF
- Andrew Vaughn – 1B
- Korey Lee – C
- Andrew Benintendi – DH
- Austin Slater – RF
- Chase Meidroth – SS
- Lenyn Sosa – 2B
- Michael A. Taylor – LF
Now, before you freak out about the “1. Miguel Vargas – 3B” thing, consider this:
- Vargas has a career 11% walk rate. About the only thing he’s done well in his career is get on base.
- This is only temporary and will be filled by Andrew Benintendi or Mike Tauchman most days against RHPs.
That being said, Vargas has also had a good Spring and could probably benefit from moving out of a middle-of-the-order, run-producing spot for some time. The rest of the lineup is reflective of facing an Opening Day LHP. If it were a RHP, I would go with something like this:
- Andrew Benintendi – DH
- Miguel Vargas – 3B
- Luis Robert Jr. – CF
- Andrew Vaughn – 1B
- Matt Thaiss/Korey Lee – C
- Austin Slater – RF
- Brooks Baldwin – 2B
- Chase Meidroth – SS
- Michael A. Taylor/Travis Jankowski – LF
….. well, the pitching will help this team avoid 121 losses.
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The post Building the White Sox 26-man Opening Day roster appeared first on Sox On 35th.