Last year marked the first time in five years that the White Sox made it back to the playoffs. And while several now-former prospects for Chicago played a role, so did offseason acquisitions made last winter. Sean Newcomb, Anthony Kay, Munetaka Murakami, and Tristan Peters all wound up being significant assets. Now, as 2027 nears, the White Sox have some interesting needs.

Biggest needs for White Sox

For all of the positives from 2026 regarding the White Sox’s offense, one troubling element of it showed up in the playoffs in spades.

The White Sox’s team Whiff% was 33.9% during the playoffs, ahead of the Red Sox for the highest in that category. Granted, a lot of credit should be given to the Guardians in that regard. But the regular season, thanks to the likes of Colson Montgomery and Munetaka Murakami, illustrated just how home run-reliant the club’s offense could be at times.

This was, to a certain extent, a problem that the Mariners dealt with for several reasons. Seattle addressed that in 2025 with Josh Naylor, and again in 2026 with Brendan Donovan. How? Adding players who can do different things and, importantly, push runners along the basepaths by putting the ball in play.

The other element at play here is that the White Sox have an awfully large number of left-handed hitters. Kyle Teel, Murakami, Andrew Benintendi, Sam Antonacci, Tristan Peters, Colson, and Braden Montgomery (switch) are all left-handed hitters. Realistically, a right-handed bat who can help push runners along would make a ton of sense.

Another issue is the bullpen core. The White Sox may have a permanent answer at closer, as Grant Taylor cemented himself as a premier high-leverage arm in the playoffs. Chicago also has Chris Murphy and Bryan Hudson as returning southpaws, while Sean Newcomb went to free agency.

Bringing in another arm would make a lot of sense, as it does for most playoff contenders.

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