The Chicago White Sox showed noticeable improvements as a team last year.
After winning just 41 games amid a historically bad 2024 season, the White Sox upped their win total to 60 in 2025. That 19-win improvement is an encouraging sign for the South Siders heading into the 2026 season.
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The key for the front office this offseason was continuing to build around the core young players and putting together a more competitive team. The White Sox simply had to be more active in free agency than in years prior.
During the 2025 offseason, the White Sox weren’t exactly active in the free agent market. Their biggest signing was agreeing to a one-year, $5 million deal with a 34-year-old pitcher in Martin Perez. Perez went on to only appear in 11 games for Chicago.
Their other free-agent signings last offseason included Josh Rojas (one-year, $3.5 million), Michael A. Taylor (one-year, $1.95 million), Mike Tauchman (one-year, $1.95 million), and Austin Slater (one-year, $1.75 million). Those players weren’t exactly household names.
While the White Sox did find some hidden gems like Adrian Houser on the open market, they ranked 24th in free agent spending last offseason. The front office spent a whopping $22 million across 34 free agent deals.
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However, that limited spending in free agency changed for the White Sox this offseason. They were a lot more active in free agency and made two pretty substantial moves during the heart of the winter months.
Chicago signed Seranthony Dominguez to a two-year, $20 million deal and agreed to a two-year, $34 million contract with Munetaka Murakami. Signing Murakami is such a big move for a White Sox team that hasn’t signed many notable players in recent offseasons.
Murakami comes over to the White Sox after playing eight seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization. In the Japanese league, the left-handed slugger hit a career 246 home runs across his eight seasons, which included a 55-home run campaign in 2022.
Signing players like Dominguez and Murakami will help the White Sox be a more competitive team in 2026.
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After the White Sox ranked 24th in free agent spending last offseason, they ranked 14th in free agent spending this offseason. The team spent more money on free agents than the Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, and Texas Rangers.
Therefore, the White Sox had a semi-successful offseason. While adding another starting pitcher would have been nice, the team tripled its free-agent spending from the previous year.