One of the biggest questions the Chicago White Sox will need to answer this offseason is what they’re going to do at the corner infield positions.
They need to lock in a first baseman and a third baseman, and while there are competent internal options, none of it is set in stone as the 2025 MLB Winter Meetings begin in Orlando.
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Power bats and left-handed hitters remain clear organizational needs. GM Chris Getz has already said as much. The natural assumption is that the White Sox will look to address both in one swing with a free agent addition at first base.
Signing someone like Ryan O’Hearn or Nathaniel Lowe could help in both areas — O’Hearn is the better fit, but his contract demands remain a mystery.
In that scenario, the newly signed free agent becomes the everyday first baseman on the South Side, while Miguel Vargas likely settles in as the regular third baseman — making Lenyn Sosa more expendable.
Yes, Sosa led the team in hits, home runs, and RBIs in 2025. But his defense is shaky across the board, and his lack of plate discipline limits his offensive ceiling even in his best years.
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Sosa and Vargas posted OPS+ marks of 101 and 100, respectively. You wouldn’t know it with all the hype some are giving to Sosa. But when you look at their defensive trajectories and offensive ceilings, Vargas is clearly the more valuable long-term asset.
The question remains: where should he play?
Most assumed third base, but Vargas just finished the 2025 season with +4 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) at first base and –3 DRS at third base.
That complicates things for the White Sox as they explore signing a veteran first baseman in free agency.
And to cloud the picture even more, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reported that the White Sox have already received outside trade interest in Vargas.
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“I did hear over the last couple of weeks that there was some outside interest in Vargas,” said Merkin on The White Sox Podcast with Chuck Garfien. “If they don’t move him and he’s not part of some deal, I think he’ll be the third baseman to start the year.
“I don’t know what the level of interest is — I just know there are some teams who like him as a player. I know the White Sox like him as a player,” Merkin continued.
That opens up a whole different can of worms for what direction the White Sox could go in this offseason.
It’s hard to say what Vargas could net in a winter deal, but it would certainly be more than whatever Chicago could get for Lenyn Sosa — which is probably next to nothing. Vargas is under club control for another four years and seemed to turn a corner in 2025, both on the field and in the clubhouse. Because of that, it still feels unlikely that the White Sox would seriously entertain moving him.
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But the organization does have a growing collection of infield options. Sam Antonacci could make his MLB debut in 2026. Caleb Bonemer has the upside to become a Top 10 prospect in all of baseball by this time next year. And Colson Montgomery also projects as a viable third-base option in the future if a shortstop like Bonemer, Billy Carlson, or — dare I say — Roch Cholowsky (should the White Sox land the No. 1 overall pick) arrives in the next few years.
I don’t know exactly what this looks like, and frankly, it’s not a bad problem to have. The point is simply that having plentiful infield options gives the White Sox flexibility — the chance to sign a first baseman in free agency and potentially include Vargas in an offseason trade that helps them retool the roster in a way that makes more sense for their timeline.
I’d still bet against it. But with the new information that teams have already reached out with interest, it’s hard to rule anything out at this stage of the offseason.