OD 26 Man Roster Projection

[Chicago White Sox]

30 minutes ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:

This team looks so much worse without Robert, my god. That outfield is horrific.

Yeah, easily the worst OF on paper.  That being said, I still really like Baldwin and think he can be a nice player out there with more reps.  I think Acuna has a very high ceiling defensively and room for improvement with the bat.  If he can find a way to get more loft (which is already working on) and more routinely swing fast I think he could surpass 10 HR’s and that would make him a startable CF (by no means do I think that’s probable, but definitely in realm of possible).  I also really like Pereira and think he will be the guy who surprises with more runway.  Not a huge Kelenic fan and just feel he’s too much of a head case to radically improve his game at this point.

[Baron]

1 hour ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Yeah, easily the worst OF on paper.  That being said, I still really like Baldwin and think he can be a nice player out there with more reps.  I think Acuna has a very high ceiling defensively and room for improvement with the bat.  If he can find a way to get more loft (which is already working on) and more routinely swing fast I think he could surpass 10 HR’s and that would make him a startable CF (by no means do I think that’s probable, but definitely in realm of possible).  I also really like Pereira and think he will be the guy who surprises with more runway.  Not a huge Kelenic fan and just feel he’s too much of a head case to radically improve his game at this point.

How much faith do you have in Baldwin's defense? 

[FriendlyNorthsider]

1 hour ago, Baron said:

How much faith do you have in Baldwin's defense? 

I would give Baldwin every opportunity to improve it before giving Kelenic another chance. Hes had 1500 big league appearances and still looks lost. He had Luisangel Acuna exit velo at this point with Javy Baez K rates. 
 

Since he was drafted Baldwin has been used in a super utility role. Ultimately that’s what makes him a really nice piece on the team, but he has never really had the opportunity to go into spring knowing where exactly he’s going to play. He has 2nd percentile range with 83rd percentile sprint speed. That’s someone that could really benefit from playing right everyday. His range should jump to at least average once he improves his lines and jumps on balls to right. 

[Buehrle>Wood]

1 hour ago, Baron said:

How much faith do you have in Baldwin's defense? 

He struggled bizarrely on the most routine of plays. But otherwise I thought he showed excellent range and really good instincts so im bullish on him there.

[BamaDoc]

Because he has spent so much time moving around, I hope that you put him with the defensive outfield coach and work all spring at predominantly one position.  Can't imagine he doesn't get to decent.  With his speed and if Acuna is in centerfield, you could actually cover a lot of ground in the outfield and help your pitching staff.

[Chicago White Sox]

3 hours ago, Baron said:

How much faith do you have in Baldwin's defense? 

I have no faith yet, but he’s also very to the OF and had to learn on the fly.  If you look at his advanced metrics, his defense in the corners was bad as he wasn’t getting good reads on the ball.  His range was perfectly fine and he had actually had an average OOA in CF in a SSS.  I’m more optimistic than confidence than it makes sense.

[tray]

I was bullish on Baldwin's power, especially from the left side. He profiles as a first basemen which is a position that may not be available. 

3 hours ago, Buehrle>Wood said:

He struggled bizarrely on the most routine of plays. But otherwise I thought he showed excellent range and really good instincts so im bullish on him there.

Your characterization of Baldwin's struggles on routine fly balls is accurate. Tracking fly balls and catching them requires some innate abilities like good vision and depth perception.  For whatever reason, Baldwin has not shown enough consistency defensively to pencil him in as an outfielder. That is too bad because he can hit the ball a long way.

[Chicago White Sox]

48 minutes ago, tray said:

I was bullish on Baldwin's power, especially from the left side. He profiles as a first basemen which is a position that may not be available. 

Your characterization of Baldwin's struggles on routine fly balls is accurate. Tracking fly balls and catching them requires some innate abilities like good vision and depth perception.  For whatever reason, Baldwin has not shown enough consistency defensively to pencil him in as an outfielder. That is too bad because he can hit the ball a long way.

I have no idea why you think he profiles as 1B.

[Bob Sacamano]

2 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

I have no idea why you think he profiles as 1B.

He came up as more of a middle infielder. Of course he’s got 1B written all over him!

[tray]

He can catch grounders but has issues with routine fly balls.  Baldwin's height and reach would be assets at 1st base, but 1st base is not a position that would be available on this team, so it's kind of a moot point to argue over.

[DoUEvenShift]

I still wanna see Baldwin rotate all 9 positions in 9 innings in a meaningless September game. 

[Jerksticks]

48 minutes ago, DoUEvenShift said:

I still wanna see Baldwin rotate all 9 positions in 9 innings in a meaningless September game. 

  
 

Why not go for it in the meaningless April games?  Could generate some extra early revenue for Jerry to pump back into the roster.  

[DoUEvenShift]

2 minutes ago, Jerksticks said:

  
 

Why not go for it in the meaningless April games?  Could generate some extra early revenue for Jerry to pump back into the roster.  

Ooh and they could do a bobblehead promo, give him 9 arms with 9 different gloves. 

And he can switch sides of the plate every pitch like this kid:

 

[Tnetennba]

11 hours ago, Bob Sacamano said:

It's not if you imagine the "Acuna" listed is Ronald!

I'm not convinced that Getz knows it isn't...

[chitownsportsfan]

9 hours ago, Buehrle>Wood said:

He struggled bizarrely on the most routine of plays. But otherwise I thought he showed excellent range and really good instincts so im bullish on him there.

I've said this a billion times at this point but when I saw him from the 3rd row or whatever here he stood out even as a shorter guy as a fairly explosive athlete. Just park him in LF 5 days a week and see what happens.

He has the profile to become what in today's game is a 3 WAR corner player. Hell all you gotta do is slash 250/310/420 and play a slightly above avg corner OF. The statcast stuff on him bears this out, he's got a little juice, just hopefully needs seasoning. If not who cares, move on to the next guy. No reason not to give him like 300 PA before the ASB.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

16 hours ago, PaleAleSox said:

So it basically looks how it would 40 games in after he pulls something. 

And its not as if his April & May were even much better than Billy Hamilton with juice. 

Maybe by LOOKING so much worse without Robert he meant they didnt look as tall, dark and handsome. 

[Lip Man 1]

19 hours ago, DoUEvenShift said:

I still wanna see Baldwin rotate all 9 positions in 9 innings in a meaningless September game. 

April 23, 1990 - It was an unusual event even though it happened in an exhibition game. Utility player Steve “Psycho” Lyons played all nine positions for the Sox during the annual “Crosstown Classic” game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Manager Jeff Torborg moved him all over the field during the contest won by the Sox 6-5. Outfielder Dave Gallagher threw out the potential tying run at home plate to end the game

[Eminor3rd]

On 1/22/2026 at 7:44 AM, Chicago White Sox said:

Time to bump this thread.  Here are my new projections for the OD roster:

Lineup:

• 1B: Murakami (L)
• 2B: Meidroth (R)
• SS: C. Montgomery (L)
• 3B: Vargas (R)
• LF: Baldwin (S)
• CF: Acuña (R)
• RF: <Veteran> (L) 
• DH: Benintendi (L)
• CA: Teel (L)

Bench:

• BC: Quero (S)
• IF: Sosa (R)
• OF: Pereira (R)
• OF: Kelenic (L)

Rotation:

1. <Veteran> (R)
2. Shane Smith (R)
3. Davis Martin (R)
4. Anthony Kay (L)
5. Sean Burke (R)

Bullpen:

• CL: Leasure (R)
• SU: Taylor (R)
• SU: Vasil (R)
• MR: Newcomb (L)
• MR: Gilbert (L)
• MR: Gonzalez (R)
• MR: Alberto (R) 
• LR: Paez (R)

DFA or Returned:

• BC: Lee (R)
• IF: Mead (R) 
• IF: Ramos (R)
• OF: Hill (R)
• RP: Hudson (L)

One thing to note regarding the rotation: thanks to fangraphs/roster resources fancy new contract incentive tracker, I noticed today that Sean Newcomb has a ton of incentives tied to number of games started as well as IP numbers that are well into the range of a full time starter. I have got to imagine that he signed his deal with the understanding that he’d, at the very least, be considered strongly for a role in the rotation out of spring. While I don’t think that guarantees him anything, I do think it gives me some hesitation toward the idea that they’re going to go and sign another veteran, at least to a guaranteed mlb deal. 

[Chicago White Sox]

Time to bump this thread again.  Update post Domínguez signing.

Lineup:

• 1B: Murakami (L)
• 2B: Meidroth (R)
• SS: C. Montgomery (L)
• 3B: Vargas (R)
• LF: Baldwin (S)
• CF: Acuña (R)
• RF: <Veteran> (L) 
• DH: Benintendi (L)
• CA: Teel (L)

Bench:

• BC: Quero (S)
• IF: Sosa (R)
• OF: Pereira (R)
• OF: Kelenic (L)

Rotation:

1. <Veteran> (R)
2. Smith (R)
3. Martin (R)
4. Kay (L)
5. Burke (R)

Bullpen:

• CL: Dominguez (R)
• SU: Taylor (R)
• SU: Leasure (R)
• MR: Newcomb (L)
• MR: Vasil (R)
• MR: Gilbert (L)
• MR: Gonzalez (R)
• LR: Paez (R)

DFA or Returned:

• BC: Lee (R)
• IF: Mead (R) 
• IF: Ramos (R)
• OF: Hill (R)
• RP: Alberto (R)
• RP: Hudson (L)

[Chicago White Sox]

In terms of next steps, I think we add one of the better SPs remaining.  Obviously not Framber or Gallen, but I think anyone else theoretically could be in our price range. Given the likely price points, these guys will all come with some warts (with age being one of them).  That being said, I would actually love to add someone like Verlander on a one-year with the intention of flipping at the deadline.  I wouldn’t expect a huge return by doing that, but I think he’d stabilize the top of the rotation and more importantly be a tremendous asset to have around all the young arms during camp and the first half of the season.  I’m certainly open to other guys that would require a two year deal like say Giolito, but there is a lot of young pitching coming and I’d probably rather save my 2027 dollars for someone more impactful.

The other move needed is adding a veteran OF.  The remaining OF list is rough to say the least.  IMO, CF needs to be a mix of Acuna and Baldwin (and possibly some Pereira).  I think you can get by in one corner spot with a mix of Baldwin, Pereira, & a little bit of Benintendi.  I have Kelenic projected to make the OD roster, but that is a reflection of what I think will happen and not what I hope happens.  Either way, he can’t be relied on to be a starter from day 1.  Given the hope that Braden Montgomery could pushing for a shot by mid season, a cheap stop gap is the type of addition to make.

Bader is too expensive for what we need and would block the younger guys for CF reps.  Hayes is just a completely blah player who does nothing for me.  Andujar is a bad defense, short side platoon bat who will likely regress next year.  That leaves Tauchman or Conforto as possible options.  I loved what Tauchman gave us last year and would bring him back in a heart beat if healthy.  Conforto had terrible production last year, but the underlying offensive metrics were mostly still there.  He is slow now and his defense has suffered accordingly, so any deal would have to be dirt cheap ($2M to $3M) so he’s cuttable if the bat doesn’t return to form.

[ChiSoxFanMike]

54 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

In terms of next steps, I think we add one of the better SPs remaining.  Obviously not Framber or Gallen, but I think anyone else theoretically could be in our price range. Given the likely price points, these guys will all come with some warts (with age being one of them).  That being said, I would actually love to add someone like Verlander on a one-year with the intention of flipping at the deadline.  I wouldn’t expect a huge return by doing that, but I think he’d stabilize the top of the rotation and more importantly be a tremendous asset to have around all the young arms during camp and the first half of the season.  I’m certainly open to other guys that would require a two year deal like say Giolito, but there is a lot of young pitching coming and I’d probably rather save my 2027 dollars for someone more impactful.

The other move needed is adding a veteran OF.  The remaining OF list is rough to say the least.  IMO, CF needs to be a mix of Acuna and Baldwin (and possibly some Pereira).  I think you can get by in one corner spot with a mix of Baldwin, Pereira, & a little bit of Benintendi.  I have Kelenic projected to make the OD roster, but that is a reflection of what I think will happen and not what I hope happens.  Either way, he can’t be relied on to be a starter from day 1.  Given the hope that Braden Montgomery could pushing for a shot by mid season, a cheap stop gap is the type of addition to make.

Bader is too expensive for what we need and would block the younger guys for CF reps.  Hayes is just a completely blah player who does nothing for me.  Andujar is a bad defense, short side platoon bat who will likely regress next year.  That leaves Tauchman or Conforto as possible options.  I loved what Tauchman gave us last year and would bring him back in a heart beat if healthy.  Conforto had terrible production last year, but the underlying offensive metrics were mostly still there.  He is slow now and his defense has suffered accordingly, so any deal would have to be dirt cheap ($2M to $3M) so he’s cuttable if the bat doesn’t return to form.

Regarding the outfield, I think Hays is the best option. I’m in agreement that I don’t want to pay Bader off a career year. I liked Tauchman last year, but he is starting to fall off durability wise and isn’t getting any younger. Conforto just sucks now and I don’t think they would get much of anything for him at the deadline even if he bounced back to an extent.

That leaves Hays. He has connections to Fuller from Baltimore, had a fairly good season last year, has some pop, and mashed lefties. He also has experience in both corners and would add a much needed righty bat to this lineup. Shouldn’t be that expensive either. I think he’s the guy on a 1 year deal.

[Bob Sacamano]

4 minutes ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:

Regarding the outfield, I think Hays is the best option. I’m in agreement that I don’t want to pay Bader off a career year. I liked Tauchman last year, but he is starting to fall off durability wise and isn’t getting any younger. Conforto just sucks now and I don’t think they would get much of anything for him at the deadline even if he bounced back to an extent.

That leaves Hays. He has connections to Fuller from Baltimore, had a fairly good season last year, has some pop, and mashed lefties. He also has experience in both corners and would add a much needed righty bat to this lineup. Shouldn’t be that expensive either. I think he’s the guy on a 1 year deal.

Yeah and Hays naturally slides in a platoon role if other guys rise up and Montgomery comes up.

[WhiteSox2023]

9 minutes ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:

Regarding the outfield, I think Hays is the best option. I’m in agreement that I don’t want to pay Bader off a career year. I liked Tauchman last year, but he is starting to fall off durability wise and isn’t getting any younger. Conforto just sucks now and I don’t think they would get much of anything for him at the deadline even if he bounced back to an extent.

That leaves Hays. He has connections to Fuller from Baltimore, had a fairly good season last year, has some pop, and mashed lefties. He also has experience in both corners and would add a much needed righty bat to this lineup. Shouldn’t be that expensive either. I think he’s the guy on a 1 year deal.

He’s probably the only decent OF left since Bader will be overpaid.  Not sure if Hays would be worth signing though.  He seems pretty injury prone like Tauchman.  If he comes cheap, sure.

Edited 3 hours ago by WhiteSox2023

[ChiSoxFanMike]

3 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Yeah and Hays naturally slides in a platoon role if other guys rise up and Montgomery comes up.

Yep. They are very left handed heavy right now (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), but some balance would be nice. There would be plenty of at-bats for him to give guys like Benintendi a day off against lefties.

[ChiSoxFanMike]

4 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

He’s probably the only decent OF left since Bader will be overpaid.  Not sure if Hays would be worth signing though.  He seems pretty injury prone like Tauchman.  If he comes cheap, sure.

I think adding a guy like Hays would be good for both him and Benintendi. You could cherry pick matchups for both and give both more rest in hopes of keeping them healthy.