Grading the Opening Day roster

Presenting your 2025 White Sox … please direct all grievances where they belong, the team’s front office

Today is officially the first day of the new and improved White Sox — or that’s at least what general manager Chris Getz wants fans to believe. For most Sox fans, today is the first day of a long season that will be filled with some moments of delight and hope, but mostly frustration. And after the Sox released their Opening Day roster late last night, the season will start on a note of frustration.

At first glance, this roster is … rough, to say the least. Most of these players are still getting their sea legs, a few are past their prime, and the rest are just warm bodies filling a spot. To say that there’s much to be desired is the understatement of the century. But oh well, this is what we’ve got to work with for now. If a ball is hit, someone will be there to field it. Usually.

Here are the grades for this year’s Opening Day roster.

Catcher: Korey Lee, Matt Thaiss
Lee and Thaiss are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Lee had great rapport last year with young pitchers, which will hopefully continue this year. Thaiss, on the other hand is just an average catcher, but that’s expected given he was drafted as a corner infielder. Both looked good during Spring Training, but their regular seasons were subpar. For a rebuilding organization, having weaker catchers isn’t a surprise. Grade: D

Infield: Andrew Vaughn, Lenyn Sosa, Brooks Baldwin, Jacob Amaya, Nick Maton, Miguel Vargas
Putting my opinions about Vaughn aside, this infield isn’t bad. Amaya and Maton are the weakest links, but it’s no surprise that shortstop would be troublesome. On the upside, Sosa and Vargas have the hottest bats on the team, and overall the defensive floor is higher than last year. The infield will bang the ball around a little, but don’t expect Gold Glove Award-level defense or crazy offensive output. Grade: D+

Outfield: Luis Robert Jr., Michael A. Taylor, Austin Slater, Travis Jankowski, Andrew Benintendi
Bordering on geriatric, this seasoned outfield is most recognizable throughout the league. This crew’s biggest strength is defense, with three Gold Glove Awards and two All-Star nominations to go around. Benintendi and Jankowski have been on World Series champions, and nearly everyone has been on a winning team at some point in their careers. The outfield could be underrated, but for now it’s just a hair better than average. Grade: C-

Starting pitchers: Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon, Davis Martin, Martín Pérez, Shane Smith
There’s a lot of potential with this primarily young group of starting pitchers. Although Cannon seems to still be finding his groove, Burke looks ready to build off of his solid performance last year. Martin looks invigorated and much better this spring than he did in 2024, and Smith appears to be a steal of a Rule 5 draft pick from the Brewers. This starting rotation may be the best part of the entire roster by the end of the season, but to start it’s just sufficient for three or four innings. Grade: C-

Relief pitchers: Cam Booser, Fraser Ellard, Brandon Eisert, [redacted], Jordan Leasure, Penn Murfee, Bryse Wilson, Mike Vasil
On the other hand, these relief pitchers are rough, and that’s putting it kindly. Watching this squad pitch three or four innings every game won’t be easy. Without wearing out Booser’s and Murfee’s arms (who are the best of this bunch), the Sox will likely blow several close games. It’ll be fewer than last year’s 36, but that’s not saying much. Grade: F