No one is expecting the Chicago White Sox to contend in 2026.
That much is universally accepted.
Even with incremental improvement, the franchise remains far removed from relevance in a division that often feels more forgiving than competitive.
The American League Central has seen its share of flawed contenders in recent years.
Even so, the White Sox are still miles away from threatening anyone at the top.
And the latest projected lineup only reinforces that reality.
Chicago’s recent trade with the New York Mets removed their most recognizable offensive presence.
Luis Robert Jr. is gone.
With him went speed.
With him went power.
With him went the illusion of lineup danger.
The immediate result is a gaping hole in center field.
And the solution, at least for now, is as surprising as it is revealing.
According to FanGraphs’ Roster Resource, the White Sox plan to deploy Luisangel Acuña as their center fielder.
Not only that.
They intend to bat him seventh.
That projection alone has left many Mets fans scratching their heads.
And not for flattering reasons.
From Mets Afterthought to White Sox Fixture
Luisangel Acuña’s rise to a projected everyday role says less about his development and far more about Chicago’s current state.
With the Mets, Acuña was a fringe option.
With the White Sox, he is suddenly a lineup fixture.
This is a player who produced virtually no power at the major league or minor league level last season.
His home run total was indistinguishable from zero.
On a professional scale, he hit as many home runs as the average fan watching from the couch.
That is not hyperbole.
It is context.
Yet here he is, penciled in as a starting center fielder and hitting seventh.
Not ninth.
Not buried at the bottom.
Seventh.
If nothing else, this should serve as a reminder to the White Sox of just how far the rebuild still has to go.
The Murakami Comparison Makes It Worse
The lineup projection becomes even more jarring when examining who Acuña is expected to hit behind.
That player is Munetaka Murakami.
Murakami entered the offseason with expectations bordering on mythological.
Dubbed the “Japanese Babe Ruth,” he was widely projected to command a contract north of $200 million.
The Mets were frequently mentioned as a possible destination.
Instead, Murakami signed a two-year, $34 million deal.
A respectable contract.
But nowhere near the generational payday once imagined.
Now picture the White Sox lineup card.
Murakami batting sixth.
Acuña batting seventh.
The contrast borders on absurd.
One is a celebrated international slugger.
The other is a powerless speed-first utility type.
If Acuña hits behind Murakami, does that make him the Dominican Lou Gehrig.
The joke lands because the reality is uncomfortable.
Position Change Is Fine. The Lineup Spot Is Not
To be clear, the White Sox converting Acuña into a center fielder is not inherently problematic.
He has the athleticism.
He has the speed.
He has the defensive versatility.
If Chicago wants to invest time and patience in that transition, it makes sense.
Rebuilding teams are supposed to experiment.
They are supposed to stretch development timelines.
What does not make sense is batting him seventh.
Ahead of him in the lineup projection sit players who were more productive by virtually every offensive metric.
Behind him sit hitters who actually produced at a higher level last season.
Edgar Quero posted an OPS just under .700.
Brooks Baldwin did the same.
Acuña, by comparison, finished with a .567 OPS.
That gap is not marginal.
It is significant.
Batting Acuña ahead of those players suggests that the White Sox are betting heavily on something other than track record.
The Winter League Mirage
That “something” appears to be Acuña’s performance in the Venezuelan Winter League.
Chicago seems to be banking on it translating.
Winter league success can be meaningful.
It can signal growth.
It can reflect confidence.
It can also be misleading.
The level of competition varies.
The sample sizes are small.
And the leap to major league pitching is substantial.
Projecting a seventh-spot major league hitter based largely on winter ball performance is an aggressive gamble.
One that rebuilding teams often lose.
The Mets Already Tried This
What makes the projection even more puzzling is that the Mets have already tested Acuña in similar roles.
The results were telling.
Acuña started four games batting sixth and four more batting seventh for the Mets last season.
Those opportunities came under specific circumstances.
Hayden Senger was catching.
Tyrone Taylor was starting.
Brett Baty was struggling.
In other words, Acuña was
