{"id":612843,"date":"2026-03-08T05:21:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T05:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/612843\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T05:21:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T05:21:26","slug":"who-will-make-the-opening-day-roster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/612843\/","title":{"rendered":"Who will make the opening-day roster?"},"content":{"rendered":"

GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 The Chicago White Sox are sorting through their pitching options.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a number of guys in competition for a starting-rotation job, and at some point we need to get them information so they can adjust their routines and get geared toward long relief roles or whatever they might be doing,\u201d manager Will Venable said Thursday at Camelback Ranch. \u201cIt\u2019s coming here soon. We just have decisions to make.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to give these guys clarity around their roles. It will come shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The March 26 season opener in Milwaukee is less than three weeks away. Here\u2019s how the 26-man roster could stack up.<\/p>\n

Starting pitchers (5)
\n\"WhiteWhite Sox starter Davis Martin throws in the bullpen during spring training at Camelback Ranch on Feb. 18, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Projection: RHP Shane Smith, LHP Anthony Kay, RHP Davis Martin, RHP Sean Burke, RHP Erick Fedde<\/p>\n

In the mix: LHP Sean Newcomb, LHP Chris Murphy, RHP Jonathan Cannon, RHP Mike Vasil<\/p>\n

Smith, Kay and Martin<\/a> likely will occupy three spots. The other two could go in any number of directions.<\/p>\n

Newcomb has major-league experience as a starter and reliever and could give the rotation a little more balance as another left-hander. Murphy and Cannon have had impressive spring outings.<\/p>\n

Burke bounced back after a rough four-run first-inning Thursday against the Cleveland Guardians at Camelback Ranch by retiring seven of the final eight batters he faced. Fedde followed with three scoreless innings.<\/p>\n

Vasil was dependable in multiple roles last season<\/a> and is trying to make the most of the opportunity to compete for a starting spot.<\/p>\n

Relievers (8)
\n\"WhiteWhite Sox pitcher Sean Newcomb delivers during live batting practice at spring training at Camelback Ranch on Feb. 18, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Projection: Newcomb, Murphy, Vasil, Cannon, RHP Grant Taylor, RHP Jordan Leasure, RHP Jordan Hicks, RHP Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez<\/p>\n

In the mix: LHP Brandon Eisert, LHP Tyler Gilbert, LHP Ryan Borucki, RHP Alexander Alberto, RHP Jedixson P\u00e1ez, RHP Wikelman Gonz\u00e1lez<\/p>\n

New additions Dom\u00ednguez and Hicks join Taylor and Leasure as right-handers the Sox will call on in leverage situations.<\/p>\n

Beyond Newcomb and Murphy, left-handers having strong camps include Eisert, Gilbert and Borucki.<\/p>\n

All three entered Saturday with similar spring stats, allowing just one hit over three scoreless innings. Eisert appeared in a staff-leading 72 games last season, while Gilbert had a 3.88 ERA in 46 outings. Borucki, from Mundelein<\/a>, has dominated left-handed hitters in the past.<\/p>\n

The Sox have interesting decisions to make with Alberto and P\u00e1ez, who were Rule 5 selections in December.<\/p>\n

Asked generally on Friday of the importance of a balance between lefties and righties in the bullpen, Venable said: \u201cYou want to take your best eight guys. But having guys on each side that can get lefties out and get righties out \u2014 especially now with the three-batter minimum \u2014 you\u2019ve got to have both handedness, but also guys who can get both sides out. The lefties that we have in our camp are all throwing extremely well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be tough here down the stretch, figuring out what our bullpen looks like. But it\u2019s a good problem to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catchers (3)
\n\"ChicagoWhite Sox designated hitter Kyle Teel (8) waits for a pitch against the Brewers in a Cactus League game at Camelback Ranch on Feb. 22, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Projection: Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, Korey Lee<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen if the Sox go with two or three catchers.<\/p>\n

Last season, the Sox recalled Lee from Triple A in late August to join Teel and Quero. That provided more opportunities to utilize Teel and Quero in the same lineup \u2014 one behind the plate and the other as the designated hitter \u2014 while still having another catcher available off the bench.<\/p>\n

Quero has a team-leading nine RBIs<\/a> this spring. Teel is participating in the World Baseball Classic with Team Italy. Lee came into Saturday tied for the team lead in walks (five) and stolen bases (three).<\/p>\n

Infielders (6)
\n\"WhiteWhite Sox infielder Munetaka Murakami waits during live batting practice at spring training at Camelback Ranch on Feb. 18, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Projection: Munetaka Murakami, Chase Meidroth, Colson Montgomery, Miguel Vargas, Lenyn Sosa, Curtis Mead<\/p>\n

In the mix: Tanner Murray, LaMonte Wade Jr., Sam Antonacci<\/p>\n

The starting infield is shaping up with Murakami at first base, Meidroth at second, Montgomery at shortstop and Vargas at third.<\/p>\n

The Sox need to determine the best role for Sosa, who had a team-high 22 home runs in 2025. Mead, who homered for Team Australia in a WBC game against the Czech Republic<\/a> on Friday, has seen time at third and first base since being acquired in a trade from the Tampa Bay Rays in July.<\/p>\n

Antonacci, who is playing with Team Italy in the WBC, has been one of the standouts this spring. He and Murray have both homered twice.<\/p>\n

The veteran Wade has contributed in several ways. He entered Saturday with a .294 average, one home run, six RBIs and five walks.<\/p>\n

Outfielders (4)
\n\"WhiteWhite Sox outfielder Luisangel Acu\u00f1a sits in the dugout during spring training at Camelback Ranch on Feb. 18, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Projection: Andrew Benintendi, Austin Hays, Brooks Baldwin, Luisangel Acu\u00f1a<\/p>\n

In the mix: Derek Hill, Jarred Kelenic, Everson Pereira, Tristan Peters<\/p>\n

The Sox will utilize Benintendi in left field and as a designated hitter. That could factor in if the team emphasizes outfield depth.<\/p>\n

Pereira continues to work his way back from tightness on his right side. He could return to game action next week. Before the setback, Pereira was having an impressive camp. A healthy Pereira creates an intriguing roster situation.<\/p>\n

Kelenic, a nonroster invitee, has hit the ball hard. And Friday, that resulted in a three-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Ariz.<\/p>\n

Kelenic also made a nice running catch in right field Friday. Speaking of defense, that is an area in which Hill excels.<\/p>\n

Hays will be starting at the corner outfield spots. Baldwin has been concentrating on the outfield. Acu\u00f1a has spent a majority of his time this spring in center but is also getting some work in the infield.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s huge,\u201d Venable said Friday of Acu\u00f1a\u2019s flexibility. \u201cWe\u2019re going to ask him to play multiple positions, center field and shortstop, second base. The same thing with a lot of these (position players), we\u2019re going to ask them to play multiple positions as we figure out what the lineup looks like each day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to optimize our defense, that\u2019s going to require guys to play multiple positions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 The Chicago White Sox are sorting through their pitching options. \u201cWe have a number of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":612844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2379],"tags":[1000,10945,124,5,1395,1001,138,49,2561,14167,10448,6524,5285,458,133,11613,5794,13095,6646,2186,4154,6278,4,73,2003,751,2539,3399,151,396,79429,2562],"class_list":["post-612843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago-white-sox","tag-andrew-benintendi","tag-anthony-kay","tag-austin-hays","tag-baseball","tag-brooks-baldwin","tag-chase-meidroth","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-white-sox","tag-chicagowhitesox","tag-chris-murphy","tag-colson-montgomery","tag-curtis-mead","tag-davis-martin","tag-edgar-quero","tag-erick-fedde","tag-grant-taylor","tag-jonathan-cannon","tag-kyle-teel","tag-lenyn-sosa","tag-luisangel-acuna","tag-miguel-vargas","tag-mike-vasil","tag-mlb","tag-munetaka-murakami","tag-sean-burke","tag-sean-newcomb","tag-seranthony-dominguez","tag-shane-smith","tag-spring-training","tag-white-sox","tag-white-sox-opening-day-roster","tag-whitesox"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116191881201207743","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612843","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=612843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=612843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=612843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=612843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}