A slow-moving free-agent pitching market has left a surplus of veteran arms available, giving the Chicago White Sox another chance to add value late in the offseason.
Opportunistic. That may be the one word that best describes what the Chicago White Sox offseason has been about to this point.
GM Chris Getz and the front office began the winter with an open-ended goal of acquiring talent—without rigid ideas about what that talent had to look like. They didn’t put limits on what was or was not on the table.
On December 1, the White Sox didn’t realistically expect to be in the mix for Japanese first baseman Munetaka Murakami. But as his market remained stagnant and his deadline to sign crept toward the end of the calendar year, Chicago saw an opportunity to make him an offer no other team was willing to.
They recognized Murakami’s desire for regular at-bats, an extended MLB runway, and a low-pressure environment that would allow him to find his footing in the United States. So they offered him a two-year contract and sold him on the culture of the clubhouse.
And they didn’t stop there.
The White Sox have done a nice job getting creative this offseason to fill various roster needs. I haven’t loved every move in a vacuum, but it’s encouraging to see the team making a real effort to be competitive while leaning on its young core to take a step forward.
Does that mean they’ll contend in 2026? Not at all. In fact, I’d bet against it.
But being opportunistic is an undeniably good quality for a front office to have. Recognize the market around you, understand a player’s needs, and figure out how you can be what they covet.
That’s how you get deals done.
And Chicago has another opportunity coming up.
They need to take advantage of the puzzling starting pitching market, which has left a large group of arms unsigned as spring training approaches.
Available Free Agent Starting Pitchers
- Lucas Giolito
- Chris Bassitt
- Max Scherzer
- Justin Verlander
- Nick Martinez
- Zac Gallen
- Zack Littell
- Patrick Corbin
- Griffin Canning
- José Quintana
That’s ten unsigned starting pitchers—enough to make up two MLB rotations, and far from the worst ones in baseball—still sitting on the market.
For whatever reason, the market has been moving at a snail’s pace. And even after Framber Valdez got his deal done with the Detroit Tigers, there hasn’t been much of a domino effect for the other veterans.
Maybe teams are waiting for rotation needs to pop up. Maybe it’s purely financial.
But it’s hard to imagine all of these pitchers are content waiting deep into spring training without knowing where they’ll be playing. The next few weeks matter if you want to start the regular season strong.
And just like Murakami with the posting rules, that uncertainty could create another deadline—one that opens the door for a team like the White Sox.
Want regular starts? A fun clubhouse? Well-regarded pitching instructors? Maybe the White Sox are for you.
Even if you’re Max Scherzer or Justin Verlander—future Hall of Famers clearly hoping to pitch for a contender in 2026—signing with Chicago offers soft ground to land on. Pitch well, and you can be flipped to a contender at the trade deadline.
Don’t deal with the stress of holding out deep into spring training waiting for the perfect on-paper fit. Come spend a summer in Chicago and immediately become one of the go-to starters in the rotation.
That needs to be the messaging.
I originally believed the White Sox were done adding after the trade that brought David Sandlin and Jordan Hicks over from the Boston Red Sox. And maybe they still are. But with the pitching market shaking out the way it has, I wouldn’t put it past Chris Getz to once again be opportunistic and make a late offseason addition to the pitching staff.