Despite a productive year, the Chicago White Sox have plenty of development left to complete. And after deciding to completely transform their team by dismissing four key coaches, it’s clear that general manager Chris Getz is ready and motivated to prepare for 2026. While forward thinking has rarely hurt the Sox in the past, it’s worth staying in the present for just a little longer.
From plenty of lows to a fair share of highs in 2025, the Sox glean valuable lessons. While hindsight is always 20/20, these reflections shouldn’t be forgotten as the Sox look to make another pivotal advancement in their franchise’s makeover.
Sometimes, holding on is worse than letting go
The Sox learned the sunk cost fallacy isn’t fictitious with the one and only Andrew Vaughn. The No. 3 overall draft pick in 2019 hit below the Mendoza Line and posted a -1.8 WAR in Chicago before being demoted to Triple-A. Vaughn’s hitting slightly improved in Charlotte, but he still wasn’t swinging like a starting first baseman should. Instead of expending more time and investment into his improvement, the Sox finally exchanged him for Brewers starter Aaron Civale in June, pulling the plug on a six-year project that fell well below par.
As difficult as it was, the Sox made the right decision. Civale wasn’t an ace, but he ate innings and prevented young arms from being overtaxed before August. For a team that put three starting pitchers on the 60-day IL before May, any rotation help was helpful.
The Sox couldn’t develop their own first round draft pick, which is an indictment on them and not Vaughn, but at least they identified a player who could help the team in some capacity. No one could’ve predicted how much better Vaughn would hit in Milwaukee, but he was never going to hit like he is now if he stayed on the South Side.
Teams need an identity to win
Fostering a new identity with new players was painful but necessary for Chicago’s rebuild. With so many rookies mixing with free agents brought in on short deals, the Sox took a while to figure out their personality. For the first three months, Will Venable experimented with every possible lineup combination. Part of this constant trial-and-error was due to injuries to critical players like Mike Tauchman and Andrew Benintendi, but a lot of it should be attributed to Venable trying to figure out how all the puzzle pieces fit. No matter the reason, it wasn’t until August that Chicago’s identity finally emerged.
After the All-Star break, Chicago entered its new era. Venable had fully embraced having a prospect-dominated infield, and it felt like the team’s rapport for the next few years was finally emerging. And instead of having an outfield platoon, the starting outfielders were whittled down from nine to four. Although their winning percentage was worse than .500 in the second half of the season, the Sox at least had the foundation of its team for the near future.
While there’s still plenty of winning to be done, the Sox quickly learned that team identity shouldn’t be overlooked. Showing up and cashing your paycheck isn’t enough — feeling valued and part of a bigger effort makes a world of a difference on and off the field.
