On Sept. 24, 2025, the Chicago White Sox lost to the New York Yankees, 8-1. That loss secured the team’s third straight 100-loss season, and they finished the year with a 60-102 record. Just one year before, Chicago set the record for most losses in a single MLB season with 121. While Chicago had a handful of young players to build around, they still needed significant improvements to get back to an even record.
Exactly one year later, and the White Sox surprised the baseball world by punching their ticket to the postseason with a 9-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals. They were set up for a showdown with the Houston Astros, a team that won the AL West but struggled to play consistently well throughout the year. Chicago made quick work of them in the Wild Card series, sweeping the best-of-three set. Their series victory sent them to a matchup against their division rival Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS.
How did the White Sox get to this point? Their dramatic turnaround has been a hot topic of discussion throughout the 2026 season. From savvy under-the-radar free agents, to trades that paid off, to adding an undervalued star, here are a few ways the White Sox found their way back to the top.
Trade Acquisitions Paying Off
Whether it was a veteran or a prospect, the White Sox had a handful of trades in the past that provided players who gave the team a lift this year.
In the summer of 2024, the White Sox acquired Miguel Vargas from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-team trade that also included the St. Louis Cardinals. Vargas was a former top prospect who had struggled to find his footing in Los Angeles, and while the trade didn’t pay immediate dividends, the White Sox eventually got the most out of him this year. Vargas broke out with an All-Star campaign, setting career highs in home runs (33), RBIs (93), and OPS (.837).
In the 2024-25 offseason, Chicago traded ace pitcher Garrett Crochet for a prospect package of Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, and Wikelman Gonzalez. Gonzalez did not factor into the team’s success, ultimately being cut in August and picked up by the Miami Marlins.
But the other three players have made contributions throughout the season. Teel dealt with injuries throughout the year that limited his production, but he flashed his upside and came up with a few hits during the Wild Card series, including an RBI single in Game 2. Montgomery played solid defense all year and had some strong showings at the plate as well, including hitting a walk-off home run in his MLB debut.
It was Meidroth, a lesser-hyped prospect at the time of the trade, who provided the most value. Meidroth mixed solid defense with productive hitting, tallying 16 home runs and 31 doubles in his sophomore season. In Game 2 of the Wild Card series, he hit a back-breaking three-run home run to give Chicago a 7-3 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Veteran pitcher Jordan Hicks was another trade pickup, being added over the winter alongside fellow pitcher David Sandlin. Sandlin didn’t provide much value, but Hicks gave the team some valuable relief innings in the regular season and throughout the postseason thus far.
The biggest surprise, however, was utilityman Tristan Peters. Peters was better known for playing with the Savannah Bananas during the summer of 2021, and had just four MLB games to his name, going 0 for 12 with the Rays in 2025. He was picked up by the White Sox in a minor swap with the Rays that December and didn’t look back, being named an All-Star alongside his teammate, Vargas, hitting 31 doubles and providing above-average offense while bouncing around the diamond.
Under-the-radar Free Agents
The White Sox weren’t expected to contend this season, and as a result, many of their signings made were in the bargain bin of free agency. But those players provided real value to the club’s success this year.
After two successful seasons in Japan, Anthony Kay returned stateside on a two-year contract with Chicago. His 4.44 ERA wasn’t exceptional, but he made 30 starts and pitched 150 innings, which gave a young White Sox pitching staff some much-needed stability.
Another veteran pitcher, Erick Fedde, provided quality value for a young team. Fedde pitched for Chicago previously in 2024, and spent this year in a split role between the rotation and bullpen, ultimately posting a 3.83 ERA in 141 innings, closing out the Wild Card clincher with two scoreless innings of relief.
Randal Grichuk was another veteran who the White Sox found after he was released early in the year by the Yankees. Serving primarily as a platoon bat against left-handed pitching, Grichuk thrived with a .299 batting average and 15 home runs in 101 games.
An Undervalued Star Signing
When Munetaka Murakami made his way to MLB free agency after a successful career in Japan, nobody was sure what to expect. On the one hand, Murakami was an unquestionably elite slugger, winning two MVP awards and breaking the single-season home run record for a Japanese-born player in 2022 with 56. On the other hand, he was a poor defender with serious strikeout concerns.
Many believed Murakami would fetch a large contract regardless of his flaws, likely exceeding $100 million over five years. But as time went on and he remained unsigned, he ultimately had to settle for a two-year contract worth $34 million, a significant decline from what was expected for him.
Murakami did struggle in the field, and his strikeout problems were as advertised. He posted strikeout and whiff rates that ranked among the worst in baseball. But he also posted hard-hit numbers that were among the league’s best, drew walks often, and of course, delivered big power.
The slugging third baseman became the fourth player in MLB history to hit a home run in each of his first three MLB games, and led all of baseball in homers by the beginning of May. A hamstring strain cost him a little over a month of the year, but he made it back in time to participate in the Home Run Derby and finished the regular season with a team-leading 35 home runs. In Game 1 of the ALDS, Murakami hit a decisive 2-run home run off Guardians ace Parker Messick, which proved pivotal in an eventual 3-0 win.
But ultimately, it was Murakami’s big personality that endeared him to fans the most. From pulling a pair of white socks out during his press conference, to proudly proclaiming “I’m drunk” to reporters after the team clinched a postseason spot, to imitating ex-MLB player Munenori Kawasaki’s infamous “I am Japanese” cheer, Murakami has given White Sox fans a true star to root for, and given this team a beam of positive energy.
