Welcome back to Bottom of the Ninth! October is finally here, which means the MLB postseason is in full swing. With no updates on the collective bargaining agreement negotiations and the potential for a lockout next season, it’s time to focus on one of the most impressive underdog stories in baseball: the Chicago White Sox.
If I had looked at the playoff bracket seven months ago, most of it wouldn’t have been a surprise. However, I never would’ve believed that the White Sox — who had preseason playoff odds of less than 5% — had a chance of even reaching 80 wins. Just two years ago, they had the worst MLB season since 1901, losing 121 games and becoming baseball’s laughingstock. This season, they finished with a record of 84–78, swept the Houston Astros in the Wild Card round of the playoffs and are up 1–0 in the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians. What could have possibly happened in those two years, you may ask? The White Sox front office led the fastest rebuild I’ve ever seen. Other teams should be taking notes.
Most of the time, a successful rebuild can take four to five years, likely with a few failed attempts and changes in leadership along the way. The White Sox weren’t able to accelerate their rebuild by spending millions on top free agents either — they ranked 27th in payroll this season, which makes their turnaround even more impressive. Instead, they traded away their veteran assets at the right time and acquired a young core that is likely to keep them competitive for years to come.
The rebuild began at the 2024 trade deadline, a time when teams out of postseason contention look to sell players on expiring contracts instead of letting them walk in free agency. The White Sox did just that, trading Erick Fedde, their most valuable player at the time, in a three-team deal that earned them Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Miguel Vargas. While Vargas struggled in his first season and a half in Chicago, he finally broke out this year and led the team in Wins Above Replacement as the third-most valuable third baseman in MLB, according to FanGraphs Baseball. Although Vargas was previously a top prospect who hadn’t lived up to his potential, the White Sox helped him fix his swing and add over three miles per hour to his bat speed, significantly improving his quality of contact.
The next move came in the 2024 offseason when the White Sox traded starting pitcher Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox for prospects Kyle Teel, Chase Meidroth and Braden Montgomery. While Crochet still had multiple years of team control under his belt, the front office correctly determined that the prospect haul would be more valuable for them in the long term. Two seasons later, these players combined for 5.5 Wins Above Replacement and all three are in the post-season starting lineup.
Finally, the White Sox took a gamble that no other teams were willing to make: They signed Japanese star Munetaka Murakami to a two-year, $34 million contract this offseason, a number that was much lower than what he was initially projected to get. While Murakami became the youngest triple crown winner in Nippon Professional Baseball, there were widespread concerns about his ability to hit MLB velocity, which is faster than what he saw in Japan. Murakami put all those concerns to rest this season, hitting 35 home runs, 21 of which came off of fastballs. Despite wealthier teams passing on his services, Murakami became the middle-of-the-order power bat that the White Sox needed and even hit his first postseason home run on Saturday against the Guardians.
While I wouldn’t expect the White Sox to win the World Series this season, they have successfully set themselves up for success and will only get better as their core players enter their primes. If you are a fan of a team that just had a dismal season, know that there could be light at the end of the tunnel. The rebuilding process involves patience and difficult decisions, but the White Sox just set an example that I’d expect many teams to follow going forward.
