2026 Chicago White Sox

2026 Chicago White Sox / Franchise: Chicago White Sox / BR Team Page

Record: , Finished in AL Central Division (2026 AL)

Managed by Will Venable

Coaches: Zach Bove, Bobby Hearn, Justin Jirschele, Jose Leger, Joel McKeithan, Walter McKinven, Derek Shomon and Matt Wise

Ballpark: Rate Field

History, Comments, Contributions

The 2026 Chicago White Sox were looking to establish some respectability after setting the American League record for most losses in a season with 121 in 2024, and improving their record by 19 games but still ending up with 102 losses in 2025. There were some early signs that this objective was not entirely impossible, when they made a big signing in the off-season, inking Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami via the posting system; it helped that, unlike many of his countrymen, Murakami specifically stated that he did not want to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They also signed a few free agent pitchers in Seranthony Domínguez, Jordan Hicks and Anthony Kay, the latter coming back from a stint in the Korea Baseball Organization, but mainly the White Sox were looking to improve from within, through their many young players taking a step forward or reaching the majors for the first time.

Things did not start great for a team wanting to establish a new narrative as they were swept in three games by the Milwaukee Brewers, and then lost two of three against the Miami Marlins, both series being played on the road. Their next opponents, for a three-game series at Rate Field were no less than the defending AL champions, the Toronto Blue Jays. The Sox could have sunk into a deep hole with another poor showing, but after their opener was pushed back by 24 hours by inclement weather, taking place on April 3rd, they did the unthinkable: they swept the Blue jays in three games, with Domínguez picking up a win and a save against his old team and Murakami increasing his home run total on the season to 4. Mainly, though, they took advantage of a team whose starting pitching was in shambles behind former White Sox ace Dylan Cease who started the opener, as the Jays had to resort to a bullpen game in the second game, and to remove an obviously under-the-weather Eric Lauer after just two innings in the finale. They could thus tee off on a sub-par corps of relievers, but they also got some solid pitching performances of their own, with Sean Burke giving up just 1 run in six innings as a bulk man in the opener, and Kay going 4 2/3 while allowing just 2 hits in the same role in the middle game and Davis Martin providing an excellent six scoreless innings in the final game to earn his second win of the season. These strong pitching performances were all the more surprising that the White Sox had given up 52 runs in their first six games, negating any improvement they may have made on the hitting side of the ledger. The sweep marked the first time the White Sox had started their home schedule with three wins since 2004.

Even more impressive, on May 13th, the White Sox managed to reach .500 after 42 games, when they were 21-21 following four straight wins over the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals. There were only five teams in the AL playing .500 ball at that point, so in other word the Sox would have been playing postseason ball had the season ended that day. They got some bad news on May 29th when Murakami, who had just hit his 20th homer of the season, had to leave a game with a pulled hamstring, and then was placed on the injured list for an expected four to six weeks. But even that injury did not deter the young team as they finished the month of May on a high, with five straight victories, to give them a record of 32-27 at that point thanks to their impressive 18-10 performance during the month. But in spite of losing their offensive leader, the White Sox continued to win, with other youngsters taking the fore: on June 9th, they defeated the Atlanta Braves, 6-5, on a walk-off homer by Braden Montgomery, who was making his major league debut that day - only the fifth player in major league history to pull off such a feat. Another win over Atlanta the next day put them in first place by half a game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians with a record of 36-31 - the third best in the entire AL!

Awards and Honors

• All-Star: Miguel Vargas

Further Reading

• Brent Maguire: "It's not just Murakami ... 5 other players vaulting White Sox back to contention", mlb.com, May 28, 2026. [1]
• Scott Merkin: "With sweep of AL champs, White Sox accomplish feat not seen in more than 30 years", mlb.com, April 5, 2026. [2]
• Scott Merkin: "Everything you need to know about the White Sox Pope Hat giveaway", mlb.com, April 11, 2026. [3]
• Scott Merkin: "White Sox reach .500 after 40-plus games for first time since 2022", mlb.com, May 13, 2026. [4]
• Scott Merkin: "There's some magic around this White Sox team, and they found the source", mlb.com, May 18, 2026. [5]
• Scott Merkin: "White Sox rally for 5th straight win to end torrid May", mlb.com, May 31, 2026. [6]
• Scott Merkin: "Home Sweet Home on the South Side! Sox move into top Central spot", mlb.com, June 10, 2026. [7]
• Travis Sawchik: "Are the White Sox for real? A deep dive into baseball's Cinderella team", mlb.com, May 20, 2026. [8]

2026 MLB season by team