In every 162-game Major League Baseball (MLB) season, some teams end up being very good, and some teams end up being very bad. From 2023 to 2025, the Chicago White Sox were the latter, losing 100 or more games each season. During those putrid summers, the White Sox lost 101, 121, and 102 games, posting an abysmal 162–324 record with a 33 percent winning percentage. Not only were the 2023–25 seasons tied, with the 2011–13 Houston Astros and 2024–26 Colorado Rockies, for the worst three-season stretch in the league since 1965, but their 121-loss 2024 campaign broke the all-time record for losses in a single season, a record previously held by the 1962 New York Mets. So, it was not a stretch to say that the South Side sluggers were in a rut.
What happened in the 2026 season, then, was a turnaround nothing short of miraculous. The White Sox won 84 games, a 24-game improvement from 2025. Before them, no team had ever made the playoffs after two consecutive 100-loss seasons, let alone three.
Their roster overhaul was accomplished at an incredible scale: of the 59 players appearing in a White Sox jersey in 2026, only 17 were on the 2025 team, only nine were on the 2024 team, and only two were on the 2023 team (outfielder Andrew Benintendi and second baseman Lenyn Sosa, who was traded away just days into the 2026 season). Of the top 10 White Sox players in wins above replacement (WAR), which measures how much more a player contributes to his team compared to a potential average-skilled alternate, only six of them were on the roster in the 2025 season, three in 2024, and zero in 2023.
So, how did this core group of 10 arrive in the South Side?
The White Sox drafted pitcher Davis Martin (No. 7 in 2026 WAR) in the 14th round of the 2018 MLB draft, shortstop Colson Montgomery (No. 6) and pitcher Sean Burke (No. 4) in the first and third rounds in 2021, pitcher Grant Taylor (No. 9) in the second round in 2023, and outfielder Sam Antonacci (No. 8) in the fifth round in 2024.
As a former first-round pick, Montgomery faced the highest expectations of the new group joining the league. However, despite hitting 31 home runs—eighth-most in the American League—he only batted .197 (the league average was .244) and struck out a whopping 227 times, setting an MLB record. Though his power was incredibly valuable, his high strikeout rate resulted in many slumps.
Meanwhile, Antonacci was a relatively unknown player before representing Italy in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, a competition between nations akin to the Olympics. Antonacci had an underwhelming tournament overall but hit a two-run homer against team USA in a group stage upset victory that would inspire team Italy’s run to the semifinals, where they would lose to Venezuela.
Though none of Burke, Martin, or Taylor contributed to the international baseball scene or the record books like Antonacci or Montgomery did, they all had very strong seasons from the pitcher’s mound. Taylor recorded 10 saves and a stellar 2.25 earned run average (ERA) out of the bullpen, Martin started 28 games throughout the year with 122 strikeouts, and Burke notched 185 strikeouts and a 3.34 ERA, both of which set him firmly in the top 20 starting pitchers league-wide.
While the fact that half the best White Sox players were draftees shows the importance of scouting and internal player development, remarkably, none of their top three players were homegrown. Miguel Vargas (No. 1 in WAR), Chase Meidroth (No. 2), and Tristan Peters (No. 3) were all acquired in trades, albeit trades of very different magnitudes. Meidroth was acquired from the Boston Red Sox prior to the 2025 season as part of a four-prospect return from Boston in exchange for all-star pitcher Garrett Crochet. Though Meidroth was projected as a rotational piece at best when he came to Chicago, he flourished in 2026, batting .276 (.308 in the playoffs).
Vargas, meanwhile, ended up in Chicago from the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a lower-profile, three-team trade also including the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024. Over 2025 and 2026, Vargas’s offense blossomed, earning him more playing time. He finished 2026 with an impressive .250 average, including 33 home runs and 93 runs batted in.
Finally, Peters was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for no one at the time. Rather, Peters was traded for either a player to be named later, who is typically a low-level minor leaguer, or just a small amount of cash. In his first full season in the major leagues, Peters hit a respectable .265, though he made his biggest impact with his defense, playing elite center field throughout the year.
The final two core players, first baseman Munetaka Murakami (No. 5 in WAR) and outfielder Randal Grichuk (No. 10), were signed in free agency. Murakami was a highly sought-after slugger from Japan who became available to the White Sox for a relatively low-cost two-year, $34 million contract because other teams feared he would strike out too much. And though he did strike out nearly 200 times, he more than made up for it with 35 home runs and numerous amusing interviews. Grichuk, an MLB veteran and journeyman, was signed to a one-year, $1.25 million contract mid-season to provide some stability and leadership. He hit .287 at the plate, and his left field defense was well above average.
If rebuilding a team was this easy, why wouldn’t everyone do it? Well, one potential hidden reason behind the White Sox’s success is living halfway around the world: Robert Prevost, better known as Pope Leo XIV, a native of the South Side and lifelong White Sox fan. He even wrote the team a letter of support before their first playoff game this year. In the letter, he gave thanks for the White Sox’s outreach following their “Pope Night” game in late August, where the team gave out 40,000 Pope hats to fans (and delivered one to the Pope).
Regardless of any external aid they may or may not have received, with these players leading the group, the White Sox won 84 games, earning the final spot in the playoffs as the second-place team in the AL Central division. From there, they swept the Houston Astros in two games and were just one game away from the AL Championship Series (ALCS) before losing to the Cleveland Guardians.
Though the season ended on a rough note, the White Sox gave the South Side many reasons to be excited for the future. With a youthful team and much of their top talent under contract for at least another year (an extension with Murakami is reportedly being negotiated), the White Sox showed the league that the franchise is moving in a positive direction. And with Pope Leo on their side, this Sox team may just be blessed.
