From the MLB Winter Meetings, Chicago White Sox GM Chris Getz shuts down the idea that top prospect Braden Montgomery could be the team's right fielder on Opening Day.
The Garrett Crochet trade from over a year ago already looks like a resounding success for the Chicago White Sox.
Don’t get me wrong — it’s not like they fleeced Boston. The Red Sox extended Crochet and now have club control over one of the best starting pitchers in all of baseball. Crochet was even more dominant in 2025 with Boston than he was during his breakout 2024 campaign in Chicago.
But the batch of prospects GM Chris Getz received in return all had promising first years in the organization.
Chase Meidroth and Wikelman González may have limited ceilings, but the White Sox were optimistic both could make an MLB impact by the end of the 2025 season. That came to fruition, with Meidroth earning an early-season promotion and putting up a 1.3 fWAR as a rookie while flashing potential as a long-term complementary infield piece.
Kyle Teel had a rookie season that exceeded incredibly lofty expectations. He was a Top 100 prospect when acquired and now looks like one of the best young catchers in baseball — so much so that the Red Sox reportedly have interest in… trading for him back?
He’s a future core piece of the next contending White Sox team, and he wasn’t even the headliner of the trade. That says everything.
Braden Montgomery is currently the No. 1 prospect in the White Sox organization. The 2024 first-round pick just posted an .804 OPS with 34 doubles across three minor-league levels in his first professional season. He’s a switch hitter with a huge arm in right field who’s only going to grow into more power as he acclimates. He impressed even more in the Arizona Fall League, and there’s a reason he’s now the No. 35 prospect in all of baseball.
And yes — the White Sox, as always, have a need in right field. They non-tendered Mike Tauchman, making him a free agent, and don’t currently have enough outfielders on the roster. Getz has already said corner outfield is a spot the team could address in free agency.
So many fans have wondered — and probably hoped — that someone like Montgomery could break camp with the team and be the Opening Day starter in right field.
After all, Sox fans are restless. The rest of this core can’t get here soon enough. The sooner players like Montgomery reach the big leagues and shine, the sooner the White Sox can start to push their chips toward contention.
But don’t expect that to happen right out of Spring Training.
Speaking from the MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando on Monday, Getz — without directly saying it — essentially shut down the idea that Montgomery could open the season in Chicago.
“We’re always open-minded. But with that being said, I see Braden getting into the mix for being on the major-league club next year. I don’t anticipate that happening out of spring training,” said Getz. (via Kyle Williams)
Most prospect evaluators give Montgomery an MLB ETA of 2027. I tend to believe he can earn his way to the big leagues at some point in 2026, but it’s a bit naive to think he’s ready right now.
He still has fewer than 500 career at-bats across the minors and the Arizona Fall League combined.
Montgomery played just 34 games at Double-A Birmingham in 2025, and that’s likely where he opens 2026. But he could be in Charlotte by May or June and in Chicago sometime around the All-Star break if everything clicks.
Next season will be another year for the White Sox to figure out what they have — and that likely includes Montgomery, Sam Antonacci, Hagen Smith, and Noah Schultz all debuting if they hit the right developmental benchmarks.
But for Montgomery, it won’t be on Opening Day. We can put that dream to bed now.