With the All-Star break less than a week away, and the trade deadline coming soon after that, there are a few things that are evident about the 2026 White Sox. To sum them up simply, this team is good, but they will need help to stay competitive after All Star game and into the playoffs.
More specifically, this Sox team needs pitching. Headed into Tuesday’s 8-1 loss in the series opener against the Red Sox, their staff as a whole ranked 14th in baseball in ERA and 16th in fWAR. Separated into the starting staff and bullpen, the Sox starters 18th in baseball in wins above replacement and the bullpen, 15th.
No isolated stat is going to tell a full picture, especially when it comes to a pitching staff, but what that does help illustrate is that as the trade deadline approaches, pitching is the area of the team in most need of being addressed.
White Sox general manager Chris Getz will have to determine how aggressive he wants to be at this deadline; his team is outperforming nearly everyone’s preseason projections, so a more conservative approach at the deadline might be justified, the thinking being that another year of development internally and an upcoming offseason to improve via free agency will set the Sox up nicely for 2027.
That approach would, of course, assume a couple of things: That the team’s development will continue on a linear path and that the ongoing labor negotiations between the owners and players’ association will end with an agreement that doesn’t put next season in jeopardy. Given both of those variables, striking while the iron is hot seems like the move to make.
While it might not yet be clear what approach the Sox will take at the trade deadline, winning as many games as possible in this last homestand before the All-Star game may help spur an activity in the Sox front office.
“I think Getz is always doing whatever he can to make our team better,” manager Will Venable said. “I think we’ll see where we are at during the Break. But this team continues to win and play good baseball and I know that everyone wants to continue to support that in whatever way we can.”
Tuesday’s game helped illustrate why the Sox need to take an assertive approach to the August 3 trade deadline. Rookie Noah Schultz continued to show that his command isn’t sharp enough yet for the major league level. He lasted five innings but gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks. His most recent start raised his ERA over 6.00.
“A lot of things that I definitely need to work on,” Schultz said. “The walks have been pretty high, something that I’m not too happy with. Something that I need to clean up for sure with mechanics. I thinking I’m finding out my identity as a pitcher with pitch mixes and seeing what to throw most and figuring out different lineups and how to attack them.”
Venable said Schultz will get one more start before the All-Star break — against the Athletics on Sunday — but after that it is fair to wonder if the right move for Schultz, and for the White Sox, would be to send him back to Triple-A Charlotte to work on some of the adjustments he will need to make to find success at the major league level.
Even if that doesn’t happen, it is still evident that the White Sox rotation needs depth for August, September, and (they hope) October. Of the pitchers expected to be available at the deadline, the Sox are linked to several. There are names on that list who would help bolster the rotation and the bullpen, so if Getz plans to be as active as possible, the Sox pitching staff could look at lot different a few weeks from now.
In the meantime, however, the Sox need to keep winning. If they are still sitting at the top of their division by the end of July, then it’s probably safe to expect a busy trade deadline. Between now and then, Venable is focused on giving his general manager a reason to be working the phones.
“I think we are always looking to get better. There are a lot of different areas where we can get better,” Venable said. “I’m focused on what we can control. There’s stuff defensively, baserunning wise, the way we are executing on the mound we need to improve. My job is to make sure we are doing a better job internally. Getz will figure out what additions might be able to help us out.”
In the more immediate future, the Sox should be getting help on offense soon. First baseman Munetaka Murakami, out since May 30 with a hamstring strain, played in a rehab game in Charlotte on Tuesday, going 1-for-3 and playing first base. Venable said the plan for Murakami was to have him play at least the one game, and then assess how he feels after making that start.
According to Venable, Murakami’s trajectory toward returning to Chicago is going to be very much “day-to-day” but there is a reasonable chance he is back with the big league club by this weekend. Getting Murakami back in the lineup isn’t a trade deadline move, per se, but it’s a similar kind of boost for a group that’s done a commendable job while Murakami has been out.
“We’re getting it from every position out there,” Venable said. “Every spot in the lineup, these guys are doing a great job. Obviously there’s great stuff on the pitching side going on as well. Just the fact these guys have continued to have the same energy, the same focus on the field, been able to play at a high level even in [Murakami’s] absence is really telling of the way we’ve been going about these games and the way we’ve been winning them.”
At 90 games into the 2026 season, the Sox are easily one of the biggest surprises. They’ve sustained their success long enough to show that this is no fluke, but trade deadline reinforcements will be necessary to having success beyond an exciting first half.
