National voices like what Chicago has done this winter, but their reasoning reveals how little they believe in the White Sox actually turning the corner.
The Chicago White Sox are suddenly getting national attention, with pundits on TV and baseball writers across the country praising what Chris Getz and Chicago’s front office have done this offseason.
That’s not a world many White Sox fans expected to be living in before the winter began. But over the last few months, there have been more than a few pleasant surprises.
And yet, I can’t shake the feeling that the White Sox are being praised for all the wrong reasons.
Earlier this week, baseball columnist Joel Sherman wrote an article in the New York Post titled “How the White Sox (yes, really) emerged as an offseason standout.” He expanded on that opinion during an appearance on MLB Network.
On the surface, it sounds like something White Sox fans should be excited about. But Sherman’s reasoning doesn’t quite line up with what fans actually want to hear.
“You know how I know I like it? I think there's a high chance that the big things they did — there's a high likelihood that they go wrong,” Sherman said. “And I still think a team in their situation should be doing players like this.”
He's referring to the additions of Munetaka Murakami, Anthony Kay, and Sean Newcomb in free agency. He went on to explain why.
“Like Zack Littell, for example, is a good major league pitcher. He doesn't make sense on the White Sox. I know what he's going to do next year. A team like this has to go for upside."
"They’ve lost 324 games over the last three years — that’s the third-most in the history of the game. And yet they made a 19-game improvement last year, which was second-best in baseball to Toronto. So they’d like to keep improving.”
Sherman then laid out six reasons why he believes the White Sox had a strong offseason:
- There’s upside with each move
- If they don’t work out, the commitment is short
- None of the moves block top prospects
- They help the team in the short term
- If the players hit, they can be traded
- Signing Murakami opens the Japanese market
There’s a lot to unpack there. But to me, it highlights exactly why the praise feels misplaced.
I do like what the White Sox have done this offseason. I like that they’re chasing upside. For a team without World Series expectations in 2026, taking on more risk than a contender makes sense. Swinging for upside beats playing it safe.
I also like that the front office is making a conscious effort to improve the major-league roster. That alone is a welcome change from the “washed-up veteran on a one-year deal” approach we’ve seen in recent years.
But the way this is being framed nationally feels like a backhanded compliment.
In the same breath that Sherman praises the White Sox, he says he expects most of these moves to fail. He suggests that good major-league pitchers don’t make sense for this roster. And if the moves do work? The implication is that Chicago will just trade everyone away within a year or two.
That’s not what the fan base wants to hear. And it shouldn’t be what the organization is aiming for.
Yes, there’s value in signing veterans with the hope of flipping them for long-term assets. But at some point, the White Sox need to sign players they believe can actually help them win. Players they are committed to keeping as part of the next competitive core.
Take Munetaka Murakami, for example. Fans aren’t excited about his signing because they see him as a trade chip. They’re buying Murakami jerseys because they want to watch him grow alongside this young core — as someone who can help the White Sox take the next step.
If Murakami has 25 home runs by July and gets traded eight months after signing, the White Sox aren’t moving forward. They’re running in place. That’s not how you climb out of the 100-loss range.
That’s why hearing national media talk about the Sox this way frustrates me. It feels patronizing. Like the rest of baseball is saying, “That’s cute. Good for them.” As if these moves only matter because they can eventually be undone.
You see it in the way Los Angeles Dodgers fans are already talking about Murakami as a future free-agent fit in 2027 — as if there’s no chance the White Sox would ever keep him long-term.
It’s the same logic behind the assumption that Luis Robert Jr. will inevitably be traded for pennies on the dollar. Beacuse surely the White Sox won’t pay him $20 million or try to win games this season, so what leverage could they possibly have?
That mindset massively underestimates what Getz is trying to build.
Yes, this front office cares about asset management. But that doesn’t mean they believe they’re as far away as the rest of baseball seems to think. The White Sox want to win games in 2026.
Will they contend? Almost certainly not. I’ve tempered my expectations accordingly.
But make no mistake — these moves weren’t made with the intention of flipping everyone and starting over again next winter.
If Murakami shines out of the gate, I think an extension is more likely than a trade. As Sherman said, the White Sox don’t have a first-base prospect knocking on the door, so keeping him around long-term to hit in the middle of the order makes sense.
And for what it’s worth, someone like Zack Littell makes perfect sense for this roster. He’s a reliable veteran who raises the floor for a young pitching staff — and that reliability is the entire point of adding a starter like him in the first place.
The national baseball world doesn’t see the full picture yet. They’re praising the White Sox — but for the wrong reasons.
Chicago isn’t just stockpiling trade chips. They’re adding to an already built foundation. And they’re hoping to surprise people in 2026 in the process.