{"id":2313279,"date":"2026-03-05T02:52:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T02:52:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2313279"},"modified":"2026-03-05T02:52:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T02:52:04","slug":"better-know-your-enemy-the-chicago-white-sox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/better-know-your-enemy-the-chicago-white-sox\/","title":{"rendered":"Better know your enemy: The Chicago White Sox"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"zephr-anchor\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The White Sox lost 100+ games for the third year in a row, but last year actually marked a 19-win improvement for them. They finally seem to be digging out of the hole they created for themselves through some shrewd trades and smart pickups. They continued to turn the roster over by trading All-Star outfielder Luis Robert Jr., but they actually added to the roster as well, signing free agent slugger Munetaka Murakami from Japan and closer Seranthony Dominguez.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The White Sox are still a long way from contending, but their roster looks a lot closer to Major League than it did a few years ago, and they likely won\u2019t be a total pushover.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>2026 PECOTA projection<\/strong>: 69-93<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>2026 ZIPS projection<\/strong>: 69-93<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Key additions<\/strong>: Luisangel Acu\u00f1a, Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez, Erick Fedde, Austin Hays, Jordan Hicks, Anthony Kay, Jarred Kelenic, Munetaka Murakami, Sean Newcomb, Everson Pereira, Lucas Sims<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Key losses:<\/strong> Tyler Alexander, Cam Booser, Yoendrys G\u00f3mez, Mart\u00edn P\u00e9rez, Luis Robert Jr., Josh Rojas, Mike Tauchman, Michael A. Taylor, Steven Wilson<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The White Sox were fourth-worst in runs scored among all MLB teams last year, but they have some promising young hitters who could improve their run scoring in 2026. Colson Montgomery came up mid-season and smacked 21 home runs in just 71 games, earning some Rookie of the Year votes. Catcher Kyle Teel, the plum from the Garrett Crotchet trade, showed very solid offensive numbers. His 12.5 percent walk rate was fourth-best among all rookies with at least 250 plate appearances. Edgar Quero could also find time behind the plate, giving the White Sox a potential two-headed monster at catcher.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Munetaka Murakami battled oblique injuries last year, but still smashed 22 home runs in just 56 games. Andrew Benintendi bounced back from two disappointing seasons to be a league-average hitter, although his defense in left is quite poor now. Austin Hays is a lefty masher Royals fans were hoping to bring in, but he\u2019ll do his damage from the South Side of Chicago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><em>All statistics from 2025. *-indicates numbers in Japan<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--block-placement jgpyd51 jgpyd50 duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<div style=\"position:relative\">\n<div class=\"_1nfb3k4j\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div style=\"background-image:none\" class=\"duet--media--content-warning _1i91r6b0\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--image-gallery-image _1eezmj00\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.474654\" id=\"c2IxNDA6aW1hZ2U6OTQ2MTI=\"><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"_1eezmj01\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-hitters-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100\" data-pswp-height=\"868\" data-pswp-width=\"1280\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The White Sox were 20th in runs allowed last year, but showed signs of promise with a trio of starting pitchers all 28 years old or younger &#8211; Shane Smith, Davis Martin, and Sean Burke. They\u2019ll add groundball artist Anthony Kay, back in the States after two years in Japan. The rotation could also get contributions from Jonathan Cannon, former Royals farmhand David Sandlin, and top prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The White Sox had the fewest saves in baseball last year, but they\u2019re hoping Seranthony Dominguez can improve on that. His 30 percent strikeout rate last year was <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fangraphs.com\/leaders\/major-league?pos=all&amp;lg=all&amp;qual=y&amp;type=1&amp;season=2025&amp;month=0&amp;season1=2025&amp;ind=0&amp;stats=rel&amp;sortcol=6&amp;sortdir=default&amp;pagenum=1\">25th among relievers<\/a>, and right behind him was Jordan Leasure, a promising young White Sox reliever. Rule 5 pick Mike Vasil had the largest gap between ERA and FIP among all relievers, so there could be some regression there, considering his low strikeout rate. The White Sox signed veteran lefty Sean Newcomb after he had an impressive two months with the Athletics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><em>All statistics from 2025. *-indicates numbers in Japan<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--block-placement jgpyd51 jgpyd50 duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<div style=\"position:relative\">\n<div class=\"_1nfb3k4j\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div style=\"background-image:none\" class=\"duet--media--content-warning _1i91r6b0\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--image-gallery-image _1eezmj00\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.358708\" id=\"c2IxNDA6aW1hZ2U6OTQ1NzY=\"><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"_1eezmj01\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100\" data-pswp-height=\"867\" data-pswp-width=\"1178\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img alt=\"\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"w91vxg0\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=256 256w, https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=376 376w, https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=384 384w, https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=415 415w, https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=480 480w, https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=540 540w, https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=750 750w, https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=828 828w, https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1080 1080w, https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1200 1200w, https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1440 1440w, https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1920 1920w, https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400 2400w\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.royalsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2026\/03\/White-Sox-pitchers.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The White Sox are widely expected to finish dead last again, but there are signs of hope for White Sox fans. They have some good young talent with a high ceiling that could make them feistier than expected. The Royals took 10 of 13 games against the White Sox last year, but they\u2019ll likely have to fight harder to have that kind of success against them this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.royalsreview.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The White Sox lost 100+ games for the third year in a row, but last year actually marked a 19-win improvement for them. They finally seem to be digging out of the hole they created for themselves through some shrewd trades and smart pickups. They continued to turn the roster over by trading All-Star outfielder [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2313280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[445712],"class_list":["post-2313279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty","tag-kansas-city-royals-analysis"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Better-know-your-enemy-The-Chicago-White-Sox.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2313279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2313279"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2313279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2313281,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2313279\/revisions\/2313281"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2313280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2313279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2313279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2313279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}