GLENDALE, Ariz. — After a promising second half to last season, the Chicago White Sox are hoping to take their rebuild to new heights. They point to an active winter combined with young talent, and a bond which goes beyond teammates, as reasons for hope after three consecutive 100-loss campaigns.
“I think we’re going to be good,” pitcher Mike Vasil bluntly stated on the first day of spring training on Tuesday. “I think we’re a good team. We also have a lot of energy. I think we’re all bonded over experiences. And we’re all friends. That plays such a vital role on a team. You’re not just a work partner. We genuinely care about each other.”
Vasil is part of reworked bullpen which now includes closer Serathony Dominguez and Jordan Hicks. On offense, the team added Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami as well as outfielder Austin Hays. They join a group which finished in the top half in OPS in the second half last year, including the top 10 in home runs.
“When you’re at home in the offseason and you’re seeing the team is improving, it’s very, very exciting,” Vasil said.
That second half improvement last season resulted in a 28-37 record after the All-Star break. It’s more than respectable for an organization which just two years ago set the modern-day record for losses in a single season at 121 and then followed that up with a 102-loss year in 2025. Chicago is hoping the worst is behind them.
“There’s a fair amount of momentum that’s been created both because of the second half last year and some of the acquisitions that we were able to make in the offseason,” general manager Chris Getz said. “So yeah, we feel really good about where we’re at. The room is excited, they’re hungry, but we have to go out and play good baseball. And that’s why we’re out here in spring training to really set the stage for that.”
Chicago’s rotation added a veteran player this week, bringing back righty Eric Fedde. He’ll join Davis Martin, Jonathan Cannon, Sean Burke, Shane Smith and newcomer Anthony Kay on the mound after pitching for them in 2024.
The team has similar competition in the outfield where Hays joins fellow newcomer Luisangel Acuna, whom the Sox acquired from the Mets for Luis Robert Jr.
“All that competition is good,” Cannon said. “It brings out the best in us. We’re all friends. That breeds all sort of success.”
Cannon was asked if winning was the No.1 priority after a couple developmental years in Chicago.
“One thousand percent,” he answered. “I think this clubhouse is focused on winning. We know we can. We have a lot of talent in this clubhouse. We acquired guys this offseason. We’re excited to see them play. I think it’s a great unit. I’m excited to see where it takes us this year.”
The AL Central didn’t have a 90-win team last year, but it’s been its own version of competitive over the last couple of seasons, sending three teams to the postseason in 2024 before both Cleveland and Detroit advanced again in 2025. Can the White Sox enter the playoff chat?
“We won some really, really good series against some good ball clubs,” Getz said of the team’s second half last year.
More than one player pointed to a September series win in Detroit as a signature second-half moment for them, but not long after that they got swept by the Guardians, Orioles and Yankees to push them past 100 losses again. So it’s still unclear how big of a leap the team can take in 2026, but with an improving offense, help in the bullpen — and the No.1 pick in the amateur draft this summer — there’s some optimism for the White Sox for the first time in years.
“The last couple of years you heard a lot of growing as a group,” Cannon said. “Now, we have a couple seasons under our belt. It’s time to go out there and win some ballgames.”
