The White Sox have been one of baseball’s biggest surprises, but hanging around .500 may not be enough to seriously challenge a Cleveland team already pacing toward 90-plus wins.
It's time we change the narrative about the AL Central and what it might take for the Chicago White Sox to sit atop the standings in 2026.
Between a surprising start for the White Sox that currently has them at 25-24, sitting in the second wild card position in the American League, and a slow start for many of the AL Central favorites like the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals, there has been a lot of discourse circulating about how “if the White Sox can just hang around .500, they can make some noise in the division.”
“It’s the worst division in baseball,” is a phrase used to describe the AL Central ad nauseam. But winning this division won't be as easy as the discourse would lead you to believe.
The Cleveland Guardians have won five games in a row and currently sit with a 29-22 record. That's a .569 winning percentage, which puts them on pace to win 92 games over the course of a 162-game season.
Cleveland is 3.0 games up on the White Sox and also 3.0 games better than the Athletics, who currently lead the AL West. The Guardians have the same number of wins as the Milwaukee Brewers, who are in first place in the NL Central at the moment - considered by the public to be one of the better divisions in baseball.
The Guardians have also done it with their best players underachieving. Jose Ramirez has an OPS of .785. He hasn't had an OPS under .800 since 2015. Steven Kwan's OPS is at .603. Former No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana has been an impact player for Cleveland in 20 games since making his debut on April 28. They've looked like a different team since Bazzana joined them.
Not only are the Guardians on pace for 92 wins, but they're only going to get better as the season goes on.
It's been an incredible start to the 2026 season for the White Sox. 25-24 is much better than most people were expecting, and the fact that we are closing in on the end of May and still having a conversation about the White Sox being in a division race is wild enough as is.
But let's not be delusional about what it's going to take to be a playoff team. Given how disappointing and uninspiring some of the teams in the division look, the AL Central winner is going to be whoever beats up on divisional opponents and propels themselves to 90-plus wins.
The White Sox may be able to hang around in a playoff spot by floating around .500. The American League is weak overall, and just last season, we saw the Cincinnati Reds punch a ticket as the final wild card with 83 wins in the NL.
But it's going to take more than just .500 baseball to win the division. It's going to take dominant stretches and winning streaks, and it's going to require the White Sox to avoid any real slumps as a team.
There's a pretty big difference between hanging around .500 and reaching that 90-win mark. Cleveland is going to go 20 games over if this pace continues. So the best thing the White Sox can do right now is stay focused on themselves, take it one game at a time, and try to play winning baseball.
If you're above .500 come July, then take a look up at the standings and see if you're within striking distance to make some noise.
