{"id":495791,"date":"2025-12-27T20:01:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T20:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/495791\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T20:01:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T20:01:12","slug":"white-sox-rumors-why-a-yoan-moncada-reunion-isnt-happening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/495791\/","title":{"rendered":"White Sox Rumors: Why a Yo\u00e1n Moncada Reunion Isn\u2019t Happening"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the calendar turns to 2026, Chicago White Sox<\/a> fans are hoping for \u2014 and almost expecting \u2014 more movement in free agency.<\/p>\n

The signings of Munetaka Murakami<\/a> and Sean Newcomb<\/a>, coming just days apart, gave fans a small taste of what it feels like to dominate the baseball news cycle again.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s amazing how quickly a team can feel exponentially more exciting on paper. A player with Murakami\u2019s ceiling tends to bring contagious excitement to a fanbase \u2014 especially one that hasn\u2019t had much to look forward to in recent years.<\/p>\n

But once you get a taste, you can\u2019t help but want more.<\/p>\n

White Sox fans know there are still holes on the roster, and they want to see GM Chris Getz continue hunting for upgrades. They want rumors. And they got one this week \u2014 just not the one many were expecting.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been buzz on social media about the White Sox potentially reuniting with third baseman Yo\u00e1n Moncada.<\/p>\n

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The speculation stems from a report by baseball writer Francys Romero<\/a>, who linked the White Sox, Angels, Pirates, and Blue Jays to Moncada, now 30 years old.<\/p>\n

Moncada spent the 2025 season with the Los Angeles Angels, appearing in 84 games. Once again, chronic injuries prevented him from playing a full season, but when he was on the field, he was productive: 12 home runs, 35 RBIs, and a .786 OPS.<\/p>\n

His 116 OPS+ matched what he posted with the White Sox in 12 games in 2024.<\/p>\n

In many ways, the same truths about Moncada remain today as they did during his time in Chicago. He\u2019s not a bad player. In fact, he\u2019s posted positive fWAR in nine consecutive seasons and was a 5+ fWAR player at his peak.<\/p>\n

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But durability has always been the issue.<\/p>\n

Moncada hasn\u2019t played more than 100 games in a season since 2022. Fair or not, questions about his work ethic and love for the game followed him throughout his time on the South Side \u2014 a major problem during an era when the White Sox core often lacked urgency, accountability, and consistent buy-in.<\/p>\n

So what should fans make of this rumor?<\/p>\n

In my opinion, not much.<\/p>\n

From both an on-field and off-field perspective, a Moncada reunion makes little sense for this version of the White Sox.<\/p>\n

With Murakami now penciled in as the everyday first baseman, Miguel Vargas is expected to slide over to third base. Manager Will Venable also values lineup flexibility, particularly when it comes to keeping the DH spot open.<\/p>\n

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Simply put, Moncada doesn\u2019t really have a place to play on this team.<\/p>\n

At 30 years old, coming off a solid season, he\u2019s not going to sign somewhere to be a bench piece. He needs regular at-bats to reestablish value and position himself for another contract. That doesn\u2019t happen riding the pine.<\/p>\n

Moncada would be far better served returning to the Angels or landing in Pittsburgh \u2014 somewhere he can start, log 400+ at-bats, and stay in the lineup.<\/p>\n

There’s also a clubhouse aspect to this.<\/p>\n

The White Sox have done an excellent job assembling a young core that genuinely loves baseball. This group shows up every day to compete, plays for one another, and carries real energy \u2014 so much so that several players even room together during the offseason.<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s something different about this team. They\u2019re more athletic, more lively, and they actually feel young. The joy they play with shows up nightly.<\/p>\n

The previous core, despite its age, often felt older than it should have been. Power-heavy, limited athleticism, frequent precautionary IL stints, and too little offseason urgency to improve durability or consistency.<\/p>\n

Bringing Moncada back \u2014 even acknowledging his on-paper production \u2014 doesn\u2019t align with the culture this front office is clearly trying to build.<\/p>\n

White Sox fans recognize that.<\/p>\n

It may not be fair, but Moncada\u2019s name is inseparable from unmet expectations. Fans think of the team\u2019s fall from grace, a former No. 1 overall prospect who never made an All-Star team, and a window that closed far too quickly.<\/p>\n

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Some reunions make sense. A return for Lucas Giolito<\/a>, for example, would be worth serious consideration.<\/p>\n

Yo\u00e1n Moncada is not one of those reunions.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s little reason to believe this rumor has real legs. With more pressing needs still on the roster, this is not a move the White Sox are likely \u2014 or wise \u2014 to make.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the calendar turns to 2026, Chicago White Sox fans are hoping for \u2014 and almost expecting \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2379],"tags":[5,377,66088,138,49,2561,56,585,4154,4,73,776,751,396,2562,998,3511],"class_list":{"0":"post-495791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-white-sox","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-blue-jays","10":"tag-bringing-moncada","11":"tag-chicago","12":"tag-chicago-white-sox","13":"tag-chicagowhitesox","14":"tag-los-angeles-angels","15":"tag-lucas-giolito","16":"tag-miguel-vargas","17":"tag-mlb","18":"tag-munetaka-murakami","19":"tag-pittsburgh","20":"tag-sean-newcomb","21":"tag-white-sox","22":"tag-whitesox","23":"tag-will-venable","24":"tag-yoan-moncada"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115793316060558624","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}