Chicago White Sox 2028 Lineup

2023 Record: 61-101 (4th)

2024 Record: 41-121 (5th)

2025 Record: 59-102 (5th)

Greetings! I just came back from a trip to the year 2028, and I have returned with valuable knowledge: the 2028 Chicago White Sox’s full Opening Day roster.

…Wait, you wanted next week’s winning lottery numbers instead? Sorry, I’m saving those for myself. The trip to 2028 was expensive, and I need to pay the debt as soon as possible.

I have bad news for the White Sox fans: unfortunately, Jerry Reinsdorf still owns the team, and in an effort to extract as much profit from the team as possible before the sale to Justin Ishbia is complete, he has refused to spend a single dime more than necessary on the roster, meaning no free agent signings or current player re-signings have been made: only players currently in the organization with team control through 2028 are on the roster.

So without further ado, here are your 2028 Chicago White Sox!

Offense

28th - .232/.301/.372, 641 R, 163 HR, 85 SB, 496 BB, 1396 K

C - Kyle Teel
1B - Miguel Vargas
2B - Lenyn Sosa
3B - Caleb Bonemer
SS - Colson Montgomery
LF - Braden Montgomery
CF - Brooks Baldwin
RF - George Wolkow
DH - Curtis Mead

BN-C - Edgar Quero
BN-IF - Chase Meidroth
BN-OF - Dominic Fletcher
BN-UT - Tim Elko

Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero still share the catching duties, but at this point, Teel has pulled ahead as the primary catcher due to better offensive numbers vs RHP as well as better defensive numbers overall. Quero still gets the starts against lefties, and both see time at DH as well.

Due to his poor defense at third, Miguel Vargas has been moved to first base, making way for 2024 2nd round pick Caleb Bonemer to become the new third baseman. He’s played more shortstop than third in the minors, but with Colson Montgomery already cemented as the face of the franchise with better defense at short, Bonemer shifts over to third. With Lenyn Sosa also becoming an above-average bat at second base, Chase Meidroth gets relegated to a bench utility role, filling in at second, third, and short to give the starters off days.

Andrew Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr.’s contracts both expire by 2027, so the White Sox move forward with a youth movement in the outfield led by Brooks Baldwin, Braden Montgomery, and George Wolkow. It’s not pretty defensively, but what is pretty is their swings when they connect with a baseball and make it leave the yard. Dominic Fletcher is on the roster as a fourth outfielder, letting the regulars get some rest and getting in late in games as a defensive replacement when needed.

Pitching

20th - 4.29 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 1277 K, 595 BB, 25/49 SVO, .249 BAA

SP1 - Noah Schultz
SP2 - Hagen Smith
SP3 - Shane Smith
SP4 - Drew Thorpe
SP5 - Tanner McDougal

LRP - Mike Vasil
MRP - Peyton Pallette
MRP - Ben Peoples
MRP - Steven Wilson
MRP - Prelander Berroa
SU7 - Wikelman González
SU8 - Jordan Leasure
CL - Grant Taylor

Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith are now in the bigs, and they form a strong 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation as dominant lefties (that have yet to be traded to the Red Sox). Shane Smith has also come into his own as a starter as he’s learned to pitch deeper into games, and Drew Thorpe is back from his 2025 Tommy John surgery and is more existent than ever.

The White Sox have several options to fill out the fifth spot, most notably Davis Martin, Sean Burke, and Jonathan Cannon. However, Tanner McDougal’s high-octane fastball (that can touch triple digits), paired with a low-80s curveball (with spin rates on par with Nolan McLean’s), made him the upside option that the White Sox selected. Mike Vasil stays in the bullpen as a long reliever in case anybody has a bad outing, and the three aforementioned starters stick in Triple-A to fill in for spot starts and injury replacements.

Despite a bad ERA in his rookie season, Grant Taylor is the team's closer. His elite peripherals combined with his 101 mph perceived velocity fastball (99 mph raw plus 7.4 feet of extension) make for some very uncomfortable ABs. Jordan Leasure gets bumped to the eighth inning, and Wikelman González, acquired from the Red Sox for Garrett Crochet, has solidified himself as another high-leverage option with the help of his nasty fastball/slurve combo.

To fill out the rest of the pen, there’s Prelander Berroa, Steven Wilson, Ben Peoples, and Peyton Pallette. Berroa is a fastball/slider reliever who relies on stuff over command; his fastball can touch triple digits. Steven Wilson doesn’t have great velocity, but a fastball with ride and a sweeper with good horizontal movement, given his high arm angle, make him tough to barrel up and do damage. Peoples is similar to Berroa, but with a harder slider. His fastball isn’t quite as firm (still 96 mph), but it has cutterish movement, and there’s a changeup that he can use against lefties. Pallette rounds out the bullpen, with a four-pitch mix, good command (for a reliever), and the ability to cover multiple innings if necessary.

Playoff Aspirations

By 2028, the White Sox are in the playoff hunt, with the help of a good offense, an average rotation, and a great bullpen. They don’t quite have the firepower to take down the Tigers for the division, but they’re definitely better than the Twins, and they’re likely better than the Royals and Guardians, depending on how many prospects pan out and if certain players get banned from baseball for betting on games. With all those in-division wins, they’ll definitely be in the mix for a Wild Card spot, and if they make it, anything can happen.

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