Despite ranking near the bottom of MLB in walk rate and chase rate, Sosa says his answer is to be “even more aggressive” at the plate — a mindset that could limit his demise.
It’s not often that a player comes off the best season of his MLB career — a season in which he led his team in hits, home runs, and RBIs — and still doesn’t have a regular place in the lineup.
But that’s the reality for Lenyn Sosa with the Chicago White Sox in 2026.
Sosa had a breakout season in 2025, batting .264 with a .727 OPS, 22 home runs, and 75 RBIs. That may not sound overly impressive, but seeing as he entered 2025 with a career .229 average and a .604 OPS at the MLB level, it was a huge step forward.
For most of Sosa's young career, he had dominated Triple-A pitching but couldn’t quite make the transition to the big leagues.
And while it’s easy to get caught up in counting stats like hits and home runs, 2025 — in my eyes — was still very revealing about Sosa and his future with the team. Because even at his best, even in a breakout season in which he led the White Sox in those categories, his offensive output was still just slightly above league average.
A 101 OPS+ is nothing to write home about. And it becomes increasingly difficult to justify when you consider the fact that he doesn’t have a defensive home.
Sosa was subpar at every defensive position he played in 2025. The White Sox gave him opportunities at first base, second base, and even some third base in hopes of finding something that stuck. They didn’t find it.
At the plate, there’s also a fairly clear ceiling on Sosa’s offensive potential due to his lack of plate discipline. Among all qualified hitters in Major League Baseball, Sosa had the second-worst walk rate. He was also in the third percentile in chase rate.
In 1,122 MLB plate appearances, Sosa has just 36 walks compared to 256 strikeouts. That’s borderline unplayable.
With the White Sox having depth on the infield, it made sense to explore trading him this offseason. But for all the reasons the White Sox might be frustrated with Sosa — the lack of plate discipline and the absence of a defensive home — those are the very same reasons no other team would go out of its way to acquire him.
Hence why we’ve reached spring training with Sosa still on the roster, but his role very much unclear.
So as we head into 2026, with a crowded infield mix and the standard rising as the team pushes toward competitiveness, what did Sosa do to better himself and prepare for the new season?
In my opinion, the answer is more concerning than encouraging.
“The focus was on my defense. I worked on my defense to improve my range,” Sosa told Jay Cohen of AP Sports through a translator at White Sox spring training on Saturday.
Sosa was referring specifically to his time in the Venezuelan Winter League — an opportunity he pursued for personal reasons. Playing in Venezuela gave his family a chance to watch him play while he continued working on his game.
I have no problem with any of that. I like that he was taking live at-bats and getting more in-game reps. I like that he was prioritizing his defense and working on his range. If he can settle into a position, it becomes much easier for the White Sox to find him playing time in 2026.
Here’s where I have an issue.
“The plan for this year is to be even more aggressive,” Sosa continued. “What I mean with that is just trying to really crush pitches that are in the strike zone. Last year, a pitcher was attacking me with pitches that were outside the zone. I was being aggressive with the pitches. Then he threw strikes, and I kind of changed my approach. Now I know I have to have my approach since first pitch.”
“If I’m able to take that approach and be consistent with that approach, I can bring damage being as aggressive as I can,” Sosa concluded.
Now I’m going to go out on a limb and say that for a player who had the second-worst walk rate in all of baseball, ranked in the third percentile in chase rate, and tanked his offensive value — despite leading the team in home runs and RBIs — because his on-base percentage was just .293… the answer probably isn’t becoming even more aggressive at the plate.
The last thing the White Sox need is Sosa becoming even more free-swinging.
Sosa talks about plate discipline as if it’s a binary issue. Either you’re fully aggressive and doing damage on strikes, or you’re patient and missing out on mistake pitches in your wheelhouse.
Obviously, there’s a balance required to be a successful MLB hitter. The entire purpose of plate discipline — of not expanding the strike zone — is to force pitchers into it. When you’re willing to take walks and you have strong pitch recognition, you get more out of your swings and increase your chances of doing damage. You're getting your pitches.
Otherwise, sure, you might hit 20 home runs. But you’re not getting on base frequently enough. You’re not putting together mature at-bats often enough. And that’s not a profile that earns regular playing time on a team trying to raise its floor.
At least from these comments, I don’t have much reason to believe Sosa fully understands the flaws in his game. It doesn’t sound like he’s focused on improving pitch recognition or becoming a more patient, polished hitter. It sounds like he truly believes the answer to having no plate discipline is...doubling down on aggression.
I’d wager against that working out.
With a crowded infield mix and more talent on the way in the organization, Sosa will have a significantly shorter leash in 2026. He’ll likely begin the year in a bench role, with occasional starts at designated hitter against left-handed pitching.
But if he doesn’t show tangible progress — if he doesn’t raise his floor as a hitter — the White Sox have plenty of other options to give those at-bats to, and they won't hesitate to do so.