The White Sox project to be a better bad team next season

The White Sox saw a 19-game win improvement in 2025 — and all that did was get the club back to 60 victories.

That is how bad things have gotten for this franchise, which has had three straight 100-loss seasons. But at least the 2025 season had a different vibe compared to the horrific 2023 and 2024 seasons.

The debacle of 2023 marked the contention window slamming shut abruptly due to self-inflicted wounds. The follow-up in 2024 was the worst 162-game season known to mankind.

Hope emerged out of the 2025 season thanks to the arrival of promising youngsters like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, Chase Meidroth, Shane Smith and Grant Taylor. The talent level floor seemed to be raised with young veterans such as Davis Martin, Lenyn Sosa and Miguel Vargas proving they are capable supporting cast players.

Things are looking up on the South Side, but that does not mean the Pale Hose are ready to contend next season.

Projected to still be bad … but talent is improving

FanGraphs’ Dan Szymborski recently ran his ZiPS projection for how things will shake out for the White Sox next season. A big takeaway is that his forecast does not have a player ending the season with a negative WAR (wins above replacement).

That is not exactly something to celebrate. But considering how badly the talent has declined over the years, getting back to having a roster of replacement-level players or better at least shows things are trending in the right direction.

Szymborski still does not think the White Sox will pull off a surprise competitive season. He feels it is more important for the White Sox to continue to focus on the young core improving and adding in more prospects to the big-league roster:

The White Sox might keep their losses in the 90s in 2026, but I’d probably place the likelihood of a Cinderella season as being far lower for them than a lot of teams in that tier, such as the Nationals. While it’s not the kind of thing you actually want to say in a press release, I hope the Sox aren’t too obsessed with the exact number of wins they get next season, and focus on making their team a long-term contender instead of, say, pushing for .500 in 2026. We’ll see.

Indeed it does sound like the front office is keeping the focus on being a long-term contender rather than looking for a quick fix to the roster. The biggest moves so far have been adding reliever Chris Murphy, outfielder Everson Pereira and infielder Tanner Murray in a couple of minor trades. A few key free agent additions could increase the club’s chances of finishing in a 70-75 win range.

General manager Chris Getz should have some money to play with this offseason to make that happen. The payroll currently stands at $56.63 million per Spotrac. If Getz could get owner Jerry Reinsdorf to authorize even a $90 million payroll for next season, that would give the GM nearly $34 million to work with.

That might be enough to get two veteran starting pitchers, a few more bullpen arms, and an upgrade in right field or first base. Getz has to show he is capable of making those additions, as the jury is still out on him in being able to pull off prudent moves.

However, $34 million still means shopping at the figurative bargain bin in free agency. That is better than adding players off the figurative scrap heap, like the past two offseasons, but still not enough to take the White Sox from terrible to good. Instead, it will make this club a better bad team.