Previewing The White Sox Infield As We Head Into 2026
As we approach the new year, the White Sox have made some improvements to their roster, as they should be a much better team than the past few years. However, the bulk of the improvement is expected to come from the younger players on the team, as they are filled with a ton of talented rookies and second year players.
The White Sox currently have a full 40-man roster and will have some trimming to do if they add a few more players, as there are certainly some spots on the roster they can continue to try and upgrade.
However, it does not appear that any moves are imminent, so it seems the current roster is going to carry over into the new year. As we approach 2026, we are going to take a look at each position group to see how it will play out as we enter Spring Training. Here, we will take a look at the current state of the infield.
The Locks
The starting infield is essentially set at this point, barring any injuries or shocking trades. Come Opening Day, Miguel Vargas will be the starting third baseman, Colson Montgomery will be the starting shortstop, Chase Meidroth will be the starting second baseman, and Munetaka Murakami will be the starting first baseman. That will be your starting infield most of the season, and it will be one of the better young infields in the major leagues.
At catcher, Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero will be rotating in, but I would imagine that Teel gets most of the innings behind the plate, as he is better defensively. When one isn’t playing, I would imagine the other will DH depending on the matchup.
Lenyn Sosa will also be on the roster come Opening Day, but he is more of a curious case. He has played every infield position for the White Sox, but he isn’t known for his defensive prowess. He certainly has a major league bat, but if Quero or Teel are in the DH spot, there is not room for Sosa in the everyday lineup. Manager Will Venable will need to get creative to get Sosa’s bat in the lineup, because he certainly belongs there.
Fringe Guys
The rest of the infield is up for grabs. I would imagine they keep around six infielders, so if you include Sosa in that mix, there would be only room for one more. That wouldn’t take into account if they wanted Korey Lee on the roster and have three catchers.
Besides Sosa, there are a few more infielders on the 40-man roster. They have Ben Cowles, who they claimed late last year, Curtis Mead, who was a trade deadline acquisition, Tanner Murray, who was acquired earlier in the offseason, and Bryan Ramos.
As of right now, I would imagine that Curtis Mead has the lead over everyone else. He was a former top-100 prospect and had a very solid debut with the White Sox last season. In 41 games with the White Sox, Mead slashed .240/.280/.304 and added 11 RBIs with eight doubles. This was a solid line but it would have been much better if he had not gone 4 for 37 to end the year.
Curtis Mead goes the other way ????
— Murakami On 35th (@SoxOn35th) August 7, 2025
Mead has a ton of potential and I would love to see him get consistent at-bats. However, with the addition of Murakami, that may be hard to come by, unless the White Sox trade a player or two. However, since he has the most major league experience, I would imagine that he likely makes the Opening Day roster.
At this point, unless there is an injury or a crazy Spring Training, I see Cowles, Murray, and Ramos opening up the year with the Charlotte Knights. Each of them have potential, so if there is an injury, they would be able to fill in admirably. However, I would like to see each of them get an extended look in Chicago at some point throughout the season.
As it currently stands, the White Sox have a very young and exciting infield. Outside of Meidroth, who is more of a leadoff hitter, each could realistically hit 20+ homeruns this season. That would be a fantastic development and for the first time in a while, the White Sox have a promising lineup.