The offseason is officially over and White Sox Spring Training is officially underway. The White Sox hosted their first workout for pitchers and catchers on Tuesday, with the first full squad workout scheduled for Sunday and Cactus League action beginning in just over a week. The White Sox will bring a young and exciting group to Arizona, supplemented by an active offseason that should put the team in a better position to win more games in 2026. With an increase in talent comes an increase in the number of interesting roster battles. Here are a few of the best for White Sox fans to keep an eye on: 

The Outfield Picture

The current state of the White Sox outfield is an interesting mix of veterans and high-upside young players. Andrew Benintendi and Austin Hays will be regulars in the lineup, and the White Sox also brought back veteran defensive specialist Derek Hill. The team added Luisangel Acuna, Everson Pereira, and Jarred Kelenic, who could all factor into the outfield mix and tap into their potential with regular opportunities. Brooks Baldwin was a factor on the 2025 team and his strong second half could put him back in the mix this season. At this point, it’s too early to tell what everyone’s role will be, but the White Sox won’t be able to keep all these players on the Opening Day roster, so some tough decisions will need to be made. The next few weeks will certainly be a factor.

The Starting Rotation

The White Sox brought in RHP Erick Fedde to seemingly round out their rotation this week. He’ll presumably join Shane Smith, Davis Martin, Anthony Kay, and Sean Burke as the most likely starting five at the beginning of the season. It may not be that easy though. The White Sox are reportedly giving multiple other pitchers a chance to compete for a rotation spot, including Mike Vasil, Sean Newcomb, David Sandlin, Duncan Davitt, Jonathan Cannon, and Tanner McDougal. It’s very possible that someone unexpected comes along and opens eyes this spring, much like Shane Smith did a year ago. In addition, the White Sox dealt with a large number of injuries to their rotation last spring, so penciling in a starting five right now is premature. Even one injury or underperformance will create a very interesting competition. 

The Bullpen

The White Sox bullpen, which contributed to the team leading baseball in one-run losses last season, was certainly a point of emphasis for improvement this offseason. The White Sox added Seranthony Dominguez and Sean Newcomb to help shore up higher leverage innings, and will hope for another year of development from Grant Taylor and Mike Vasil. The White Sox added Lucas Sims and Ryan Borucki on minor league deals, both of whom have experience in various bullpen roles. With a solid mix of lefties and righties, it’ll be interesting to see which arms battle their way into the big league bullpen. A possible wrinkle to the bullpen scenario is the addition of two rule five picks in Jedixson Paez and Alexander Alberto, who cannot be optioned to the minor leagues without being offered back to their previous teams. 

1st @MLB strikeout for Grant Taylor! pic.twitter.com/1yhVZhTnsx

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 13, 2025

Spring Training game action is almost ready to get underway. Each year, roster surprises are inevitable, and it’s possible that someone who isn’t even with the organization right now will end up on the big league roster. Regardless, the White Sox have an intriguing group and it should make for an interesting spring.