{"id":532715,"date":"2026-01-21T18:15:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/532715\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T18:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:15:09","slug":"white-sox-will-be-very-active-following-robert-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/532715\/","title":{"rendered":"White Sox Will Be “Very Active” Following Robert Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last night\u2019s trade<\/a> of Luis Robert Jr.<\/a><\/strong> to the Mets trimmed $20MM from the White Sox\u2019 2026 budget. General manager Chris Getz<\/a><\/strong> spoke to reporters this morning and made clear that some of that money will be reinvested into other areas of the roster. Via MLB.com\u2019s Scott Merkin<\/a>, Getz was asked whether he felt his outfield was set and replied that he expects to be \u201cvery active\u201d with the \u201cfinancial flexibility\u201d that will make it easier to bring in additional talent.<\/p>\n

Even with Robert on the roster, there shouldn\u2019t have been much of a financial argument for Chicago to feel its roster was set. RosterResource had the South Siders at about $87MM in terms of 2026 payroll prior to moving Robert. That\u2019s now dropped to about $67MM. The White Sox\u2019 franchise-record Opening Day payroll, set back in 2022, is $193MM. There was already ample payroll space available, but shedding the Robert deal still clearly gives Getz & Co. more leeway relative to whatever budget has been set by owner Jerry Reinsdorf.<\/p>\n

Looking at the White Sox\u2019 roster, there are plenty of areas for obvious improvement. Andrew Benintendi<\/a><\/strong> remains entrenched in left field, but the first three seasons of his five-year, $75MM contract haven\u2019t gone as hoped for either the Sox or the player himself. Center field and right field should be up for grabs.<\/p>\n

Luisangel Acu\u00f1a<\/a><\/strong>, acquired in the Robert trade, could factor into the center field mix but could play in the infield, depending on the health and development of young players like Chase Meidroth<\/a><\/strong> and Colson Montgomery<\/a><\/strong>. Other outfield options include utilityman Brooks Baldwin<\/a><\/strong>, journeyman Derek Hill<\/a><\/strong> and DFA pickup Everson Pereira<\/a><\/strong>. Top prospect Braden Montgomery<\/a><\/strong> could eventually push for a spot on the big league roster, but he\u2019s still only played 34 games at the Double-A level and none in Triple-A. Further minor league seasoning is surely on the horizon for him.<\/p>\n

Things are at least more tentatively set in the infield. Montgomery ripped 21 homers in 71 games as a rookie and batted .239\/.311\/.529 overall. Strikeouts are a concern, but he\u2019s going to get a look as the regular shortstop. Meidroth played solid defense and got on base at a decent clip, albeit with virtually no power of which to speak. Miguel Vargas<\/a><\/strong> popped 16 homers and turned in league-average offense at third base. NPB star Munetaka Murakami<\/a><\/strong> will get the chance at first base after signing a surprising short-term deal in free agency. The Sox are generally set behind the plate with young backstops Kyle Teel<\/a><\/strong> and Edgar Quero<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Both the rotation and bullpen could use veteran reinforcements. The Sox brought lefty Anthony Kay<\/a><\/strong> back from Japan on a two-year deal and signed swingman Sean Newcomb<\/a><\/strong>, who\u2019ll get the opportunity to win a rotation job this spring, but the rotation still lacks experience overall. Shane Smith<\/a><\/strong>, Sean Burke<\/a><\/strong> and Davis Martin<\/a><\/strong> will probably open the season alongside Kay and whichever of Newcomb or Jonathan Cannon<\/a><\/strong> claims the fifth spot \u2014 at least as things presently stand. The bullpen is even less settled. The Sox don\u2019t have a reliever with even three years of major league experience. Lefty Tyler Gilbert<\/a><\/strong> is the only one on the 40-man roster who has even two years of service time (assuming Newcomb is viewed as more of a starter than a reliever at present).<\/p>\n

Free agency has been largely picked over, particularly in the bullpen, but there are still some interesting names remaining. The ChiSox reportedly have some interest<\/a> in Griffin Canning<\/a><\/strong> and would be a sensible landing spot for any veteran arm on a short-term deal. The market is littered with \u201cold friends\u201d for Sox fans, including Chris Bassitt<\/a><\/strong>, Aaron Civale<\/a><\/strong>, Jose Quintana<\/a><\/strong>, Lucas Giolito<\/a><\/strong> and Martin Perez<\/a><\/strong>. Rebound candidates in the rotation market include Walker Buehler<\/a><\/strong>, Nestor Cortes<\/a><\/strong> and Chris Paddack<\/a><\/strong>. On the relief side of things, veterans like Seranthony Dominguez<\/a><\/strong>, Paul Sewald<\/a><\/strong>, Tommy Kahnle<\/a><\/strong>, Danny Coulombe<\/a><\/strong>, Michael Kopech<\/a><\/strong> and Jose Leclerc<\/a><\/strong> are unsigned.<\/p>\n

It\u2019d be unwise to anticipate a major signing along the lines of Cody Bellinger<\/a><\/strong> or Framber Valdez<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 clear roster fit notwithstanding \u2014 given the current state of the team overall. The White Sox have grown the farm system and culled payroll over the course of the current rebuild but have yet to make an earnest win-now push. Either Bellinger or Valdez would require a franchise-record commitment, and we\u2019re only a couple months removed from Getz suggesting he\u2019s reluctant to even sign free agents to contracts that push beyond the 2026 campaign (though he\u2019s since done so with Kay and Murakami \u2014 albeit only after the latter\u2019s market failed to develop as hoped).<\/p>\n

Perhaps a notable free agent like Zac Gallen<\/a><\/strong> will eventually pivot to a shorter-term contract, but he\u2019d cost the White Sox their second-highest pick, which currently sits 41st overall. That seems like a price a rebuilding club would prefer not to pay \u2014 particularly for a short-term veteran on a contract with opt-out potential.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are opportunities available beyond the free agent market. Trade candidates abound throughout the league \u2014 some of whom could be acquired at minimal cost if the White Sox opt to use their currently tiny payroll to absorb unwanted contracts. Jose Berrios<\/a><\/strong>, Kodai Senga<\/a><\/strong>, Taijuan Walker<\/a><\/strong> and Eduardo Rodriguez<\/a><\/strong> are among the names who could fit that description, and the Sox have an improved farm that could help them pull in more meaningful, controllable talent if Getz and his staff find an opportunity to their liking.<\/p>\n

Speaking in broad terms, Getz acknowledged the wide-open slate of possibilities before him (again, via Merkin<\/a>): \u201c[Additions] could come in starting pitching, relievers, balancing right-handed vs. left-handed. So we are very open minded and excited in getting to work in being creative and bringing in that talent.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last night\u2019s trade of Luis Robert Jr. to the Mets trimmed $20MM from the White Sox\u2019 2026 budget.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":532716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[10],"tags":[27047,62,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-532715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-luis-robert","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115934456986940956","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}