As is apparent to most posters here, the Sox are going to have a logjam coming on the position side of things once Bonemer & Roch are ready. As shown below, the bulk of our positional core is controllable for three to six more years. The only two exceptions are Murakami & Benintendi, who will be free agents after the 2027 season. Conceptually, those two could go and make room for Caleb & Cholowksy eventually, but I think the Sox will push hard to resign Mune. Andrew will certainly be gone after next year though.

The question becomes who is the odd man (or men) out and how do you fit all the pieces together. I think most would agree that Cholowksy will be the eventual SS for us. Right now, it’s probably safest to assume that won’t be until 2028. Regardless, that will likely push Colson over to 3B where he would likely provide elite defense. What happens to Vargas in that situation? Does he move to 1B? Murakami isn’t terrible defensively at 1B, so not sure how he’d feel about DHing. But an infield defense of Colson at 3B, Roch at SS, Chase at 2B, & Miguel at 1B would likely be amongst the best in baseball.

Bonemer poses even more questions. He’s currently splitting time between SS & 3B, but clearly won’t stick at the former and hasn’t really distinguished himself at the latter and is behind a lot of guys there to boot. The spot most people talk about for Caleb is LF, but what do you do with Antonacci? Defensive metrics don’t like him in the OF so far, but I feel like he’s looked ok for a guy who has never played there before and think he could get better with more reps. Regardless, Sam is far too important as the leadoff hitter to not find a spot for. It’s just hard to find an obvious one though, especially with Chase looking like the best all-around 2B in the AL at the moment.

Honestly, I’m not sure what the solution is going to be. I think Bonemer will be up early to mid 2027 and will ultimately knock Benintendi out of the lineup. My guess is they use a rotating DH to make all the pieces work in the short run, with Bonemer getting time at both 3B and LF. But come 2028, someone will have to be moved if we end up extending Murakami. And that someone definitely feels like it’s going to be an infielder.

Gun to my head, but I kind of think the Sox will end up trading Colson for a high-end, controllable SP. Once you make the decision to move him off of SS, he immediately becomes more valuable for another team than the White Sox. Doesn’t mean that he can’t be extremely valuable at 3B or that we have to move him, but given certain flaws in his offensive game, I could see the Sox looking to cash in if they feel his offensive ceiling will be capped. Not sure this is what I would do personally, but a hard decision will have to be made and I could see Colson being the odd man out so to speak.

What do you guys all think? Would love to hear everyone’s opinions on this as it’s going to be a fascinating couple of off-seasons for us.

Base Lineup:

• 1B: M. Murakami | L | 26.5 | 1 Yr | 4.4 fWAR | 150 wRC+ | 37% OAA

• 2B: C. Meidroth | R | 25.1 | 5 Yr | 4.1 fWAR | 120 wRC+ | 92% OAA

• SS: C. Montgomery | L | 24.5 | 5 Yr | 2.8 fWAR | 99 wRC+ | 95% OAA

• 3B: M. Vargas | R | 26.7 | 3 Yr | 4.1 fWAR | 130 wRC+ | 6% OAA

• LF: S. Antonacci | L | 23.5 | 6 Yr | 2.7 fWAR | 124 wRC+ | 8% OAA

• CF: T. Peters | L | 26.5 | 5 Yr | 3.2 fWAR | 113 wRC+ | 97% OAA

• RF: B. Montgomery | S | 23.3 | 6 Yr | 2.4 fWAR | 101 wRC+ | 78% OAA

• DH: A. Benintendi | L| 32.1 | 1 Yr | 0.1 fWAR | 103 wRC+ | N/A

• CA: K. Teel | L | 24.5 | 5 Yr | 2.7 fWAR* | 125 wRC+ | -3 FRV

Bench Pieces:

• IF: L. Acuna | R | 24.4 | 5 Yr

• OF: B. Doyle | R | 28.3 | 3 Yr

• BC: J. Bart | R | 29.7 | 1 Yr

Other Key Pieces:

• SS: R. Cholowsky | R | 21.4 | 6 Yr

• IF: C. Bonemer | R | 20.9 | 6 Yr

• CA: E. Quero | S | 23.4 | 5 Yr

• UT: B. Baldwin | S | 26.0 | 4 Yr

• IF: W. Bergolla | L | 21.8 | 6 Yr

I think you extend Vargas and Mune right now and let the rest sort itself out over the next couple of years.

6 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

As is apparent to most posters here, the Sox are going to have a logjam coming on the position side of things once Bonemer & Roch are ready. As shown below, the bulk of our positional core is controllable for three to six more years. The only two exceptions are Murakami & Benintendi, who will be free agents after the 2027 season. Conceptually, those two could go and make room for Caleb & Cholowksy eventually, but I think the Sox will push hard to resign Mune. Andrew will certainly be gone after next year though.

The question becomes who is the odd man (or men) out and how do you fit all the pieces together. I think most would agree that Cholowksy will be the eventual SS for us. Right now, it’s probably safest to assume that won’t be until 2028. Regardless, that will likely push Colson over to 3B where he would likely provide elite defense. What happens to Vargas in that situation? Does he move to 1B? Murakami isn’t terrible defensively at 1B, so not sure how he’d feel about DHing. But an infield defense of Colson at 3B, Roch at SS, Chase at 2B, & Miguel at 1B would likely be amongst the best in baseball.

Bonemer poses even more questions. He’s currently splitting time between SS & 3B, but clearly won’t stick at the former and hasn’t really distinguished himself at the latter and is behind a lot of guys there to boot. The spot most people talk about for Caleb is LF, but what do you do with Antonacci? Defensive metrics don’t like him in the OF so far, but I feel like he’s looked ok for a guy who has never played there before and think he could get better with more reps. Regardless, Sam is far too important as the leadoff hitter to not find a spot for. It’s just hard to find an obvious one though, especially with Chase looking like the best all-around 2B in the AL at the moment.

Honestly, I’m not sure what the solution is going to be. I think Bonemer will be up early to mid 2027 and will ultimately knock Benintendi out of the lineup. My guess is they use a rotating DH to make all the pieces work in the short run, with Bonemer getting time at both 3B and LF. But come 2028, someone will have to be moved if we end up extending Murakami. And that someone definitely feels like it’s going to be an infielder.

Gun to my head, but I kind of think the Sox will end up trading Colson for a high-end, controllable SP. Once you make the decision to move him off of SS, he immediately becomes more valuable for another team than the White Sox. Doesn’t mean that he can’t be extremely valuable at 3B or that we have to move him, but given certain flaws in his offensive game, I could see the Sox looking to cash in if they feel his offensive ceiling will be capped. Not sure this is what I would do personally, but a hard decision will have to be made and I could see Colson being the odd man out so to speak.

What do you guys all think? Would love to hear everyone’s opinions on this as it’s going to be a fascinating couple of off-seasons for us.

Base Lineup:

• 1B: M. Murakami | L | 26.5 | 1 Yr | 4.4 fWAR | 150 wRC+ | 37% OAA

• 2B: C. Meidroth | R | 25.1 | 5 Yr | 4.1 fWAR | 120 wRC+ | 92% OAA

• SS: C. Montgomery | L | 24.5 | 5 Yr | 2.8 fWAR | 99 wRC+ | 95% OAA

• 3B: M. Vargas | R | 26.7 | 3 Yr | 4.1 fWAR | 130 wRC+ | 6% OAA

• LF: S. Antonacci | L | 23.5 | 6 Yr | 2.7 fWAR | 124 wRC+ | 8% OAA

• CF: T. Peters | L | 26.5 | 5 Yr | 3.2 fWAR | 113 wRC+ | 97% OAA

• RF: B. Montgomery | S | 23.3 | 6 Yr | 2.4 fWAR | 101 wRC+ | 78% OAA

• DH: A. Benintendi | L| 32.1 | 1 Yr | 0.1 fWAR | 103 wRC+ | N/A

• CA: K. Teel | L | 24.5 | 5 Yr | 2.7 fWAR* | 125 wRC+ | -3 FRV

Bench Pieces:

• IF: L. Acuna | R | 24.4 | 5 Yr

• OF: B. Doyle | R | 28.3 | 3 Yr

• BC: J. Bart | R | 29.7 | 1 Yr

Other Key Pieces:

• SS: R. Cholowsky | R | 21.4 | 6 Yr

• IF: C. Bonemer | R | 20.9 | 6 Yr

• CA: E. Quero | S | 23.4 | 5 Yr

• UT: B. Baldwin | S | 26.0 | 4 Yr

• IF: W. Bergolla | L | 21.8 | 6 Yr

I hope you're right about pushing hard to sign Mune.

2 minutes ago, PaleAleSox said:

I think you extend Vargas and Mune right now and let the rest sort itself out over the next couple of years.

I think extending both should be a priority. To me, they are hands down the two most important players for the offense. That being said, I do think you have to have a plan in place to convince them to resign. Some guys really hate being full time DHs, so it’s very possible one or both of them would want assurances of that not happening. Vargas also may not want to move off 3B for that matter.

Good problem to have, but one that will require intervention at the same point.

16 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

I think extending both should be a priority. To me, they are hands down the two most important players for the offense. That being said, I do think you have to have a plan in place to convince them to resign. Some guys really hate being full time DHs, so it’s very possible one or both of them would want assurances of that not happening. Vargas also may not want to move off 3B for that matter.

Good problem to have, but one that will require intervention at the same point.

I'd like to get them locked up sooner rather than later bit I suspect both the Sox and their agents are going to want to see what the next CBA looks like and when they'll actually be playing baseball in 2027 before any potential discussions.

Edited 16 hours ago16 hr by Lip Man 1

I see it playing out like this, if everything goes perfect/well:

C - Teel

1B - Vargas

2B - Meidroth

SS - Roch

3B - Colson

DH - Murakami

LF - Bonemer

CF - Peters

RF - Braden

Super Sub: Antonnaci

Thanks to Ant + Vargas able to swing between 1B and 3B, I think you'd be able to get pretty flexible and get everyone a good amount of time in the field.

Easy to cast aside Colson because of the low BA K's and hitting with RISP.

That said, keeping Vargas at third and Mune at first seems more ideal for keeping both of them engaged.

Vargas is closer to the overall best 3B than he would be over at first base.

That leaves Bonemer splitting time with Antonacci in left and DH.

Not really ideal.

Then what to do with Billy Carlson as well...when he's the best SS and likely 2B as well.

CF, maybe catcher depending on Teel's health and ANY/ALL pitching are where the talent needs to be added.

Carlson also provides the most WAR value on the middle infield.

9 minutes ago, Quin said:

I see it playing out like this, if everything goes perfect/well:

C - Teel

1B - Vargas

2B - Meidroth

SS - Roch

3B - Colson

DH - Murakami

LF - Bonemer

CF - Peters

RF - Braden

Super Sub: Antonnaci

Thanks to Ant + Vargas able to swing between 1B and 3B, I think you'd be able to get pretty flexible and get everyone a good amount of time in the field.

Antonacci is too important to the Sox lineup (and scrappy/grindy side of the offense) to bench.

Arguably one of their best hitters with runners on base, and improving by the month defensively in left.

Edited 15 hours ago15 hr by caulfield12

They’ll trade Chase and move Antonacchi to 2nd

1 minute ago, SkokieSox said:

They’ll trade Chase and move Antonacchi to 2nd

Never.

Edited 15 hours ago15 hr by The Mighty Mite

1 hour ago, Chicago White Sox said:

I think extending both should be a priority. To me, they are hands down the two most important players for the offense. That being said, I do think you have to have a plan in place to convince them to resign. Some guys really hate being full time DHs, so it’s very possible one or both of them would want assurances of that not happening. Vargas also may not want to move off 3B for that matter.

Good problem to have, but one that will require intervention at the same point.

They tried extending Vargas before the season but he refused and now it will be even harder. He might also just want to go to FA in a few years now that he has exploded. I dont remember where I saw this but there was some speculation that eventually he wants to be in Miami.

I think Mune will definitely be extended, Ozzie was hinting a couple weeks ago at it. We literally have almost no payroll, and it's possible there could be a cap floor, so they will literally be forced to start writing some big checks soon.

20 minutes ago, SkokieSox said:

They’ll trade Chase and move Antonacchi to 2nd

I think they will find a way to keep both guys. Getz loves the high OBP grinders and both are very valuable.

I don't really want to remove Colson's 30+ HR potential as an average or slightly better MLB SS. His defense has picked up again, even if his bat is league average, that's a 3 WAR player. And that's probably his floor.

7 minutes ago, SoCalChiSox said:

They tried extending Vargas before the season but he refused and now it will be even harder. He might also just want to go to FA in a few years now that he has exploded. I dont remember where I saw this but there was some speculation that eventually he wants to be in Miami.

I think Mune will definitely be extended, Ozzie was hinting a couple weeks ago at it. We literally have almost no payroll, and it's possible there could be a cap floor, so they will literally be forced to start writing some big checks soon.

This.

I think you only really have to move one guy and just rotate the DH spot. All I know for sure is it’s a good problem to have.

1 hour ago, Quin said:

I see it playing out like this, if everything goes perfect/well:

C - Teel

1B - Vargas

2B - Meidroth

SS - Roch

3B - Colson

DH - Murakami

LF - Bonemer

CF - Peters

RF - Braden

Super Sub: Antonnaci

Thanks to Ant + Vargas able to swing between 1B and 3B, I think you'd be able to get pretty flexible and get everyone a good amount of time in the field.

They could do something like this, but I also think they may feel compelled to trade for some pitching. There is very little minor league pitching outside of the guys already on the 40 man roster and the arms we took in the draft. And I think at some point they will want to add a TOR starting pitcher. Hopefully they do that in free agency, but you never know with Jerry still running the team.

Sox also have some other less touted MI prospects in the low minors that are looking interesting.

If they can't resign Vargas, then trade him after the 2027 season. And/or they could trade at least one of Colson, Meidroth, Antonacci. Meidroth looks to me like a player who still will keep improving, so I'd keep him. But they need to keep the team fresh and the pipeline flowing. Seattle should have moved a couple of their veteran pitchers last offseason; things got stale, didn't fill holes and voila.

Sox could use some oomph from the OF. Can Bonemer play LF? Colson? And they need more young pitching. I wouldn't always trade the prospect; trade from the major league roster to keep things fresh.

Still, as of now, every Sox regular has at least a .700 OPS, except catcher. That's stout.

Skubal King Mize Canning Ray

Unless you think you can fix Peralta?

5 minutes ago, GreenSox said:

Sox also have some other less touted MI prospects in the low minors that are looking interesting.

If they can't resign Vargas, then trade him after the 2027 season. And/or they could trade at least one of Colson, Meidroth, Antonacci. Meidroth looks to me like a player who still will keep improving, so I'd keep him. But they need to keep the team fresh and the pipeline flowing. Seattle should have moved a couple of their veteran pitchers last offseason; things got stale, didn't fill holes and voila.

Sox could use some oomph from the OF. Can Bonemer play LF? Colson? And they need more young pitching. I wouldn't always trade the prospect; trade from the major league roster to keep things fresh.

Still, as of now, every Sox regular has at least a .700 OPS, except catcher. That's stout.

With all due respect, this is absolutely insane.

4 minutes ago, GreenSox said:

Sox also have some other less touted MI prospects in the low minors that are looking interesting.

If they can't resign Vargas, then trade him after the 2027 season. And/or they could trade at least one of Colson, Meidroth, Antonacci. Meidroth looks to me like a player who still will keep improving, so I'd keep him. But they need to keep the team fresh and the pipeline flowing. Seattle should have moved a couple of their veteran pitchers last offseason; things got stale, didn't fill holes and voila.

Sox could use some oomph from the OF. Can Bonemer play LF? Colson? And they need more young pitching. I wouldn't always trade the prospect; trade from the major league roster to keep things fresh.

Still, as of now, every Sox regular has at least a .700 OPS, except catcher. That's stout.

Moving Colson from a place where he should be at least a 3-5 fWAR player to corner/DH/1B just devalues his skill set...and he's still pretty much the emotional leader of that infield when he's playing confidently, just has that swagger a young team needs.

We have three more years of control with Vargas. Even if you can’t extend him, you hold onto him as long as the team remains competitive. If Prosek is the real deal with the bat, he could be ready to replace Vargas at 3B (if that’s where he’s still at) come 2030.

3 minutes ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:

With all due respect, this is absolutely insane.

It's what the Brewers and Rays constantly do.

Ofc they might have the same issue with Murakami, not sure they can afford to lose their two best offensive players in one calendar year.

Obviously depends on the offers.

And how much JR is willing to spend in FA.

Teruaki Sato has a lot more positional versatility (3B RF) than Mune, but at least 10-12 teams known to be pursuing him, including the majority of the big spending franchises.

Full court press of both Mune and Vargas on extensions feels like the much higher probability of paying off.

Edited 13 hours ago13 hr by caulfield12

I think best case scenario in the future is the Sox have to decide between Meidroth and Antonocci for who gets an everyday spot at 2B. That would mean Mune, Vargas, Montgomery(X2), Bonemer, Roch, and Peters/Doyle are all performing as expected (and Mune gets locked up).

If the Sox can't extend Mune I think the Dodgers would want him. That is if they don't extend Freeman, he will be 37 in September. Justin Ishbia has to get involved and don't let JR muck this up.

Edited 13 hours ago13 hr by Falstaff

2 hours ago, Quin said:

I see it playing out like this, if everything goes perfect/well:

C - Teel

1B - Vargas

2B - Meidroth

SS - Roch

3B - Colson

DH - Murakami

LF - Bonemer

CF - Peters

RF - Braden

Super Sub: Antonnaci

Thanks to Ant + Vargas able to swing between 1B and 3B, I think you'd be able to get pretty flexible and get everyone a good amount of time in the field.

That works for me.