The White Sox surprising season ended in heartbreaking fashion over the weekend, with the Southsiders dropping a decisive Game 5 in Cleveland on Saturday night and striking out a record 21 times. After taking a 2-0 series lead, the White Sox failed to take care of business at home, letting the Guardians climb back into it, and got shut down by a great pitcher in Game 5. After the initial heartbreak of the loss wears off, the focus will shift to 2027. The majority of the White Sox young core will be back together the next time baseball is played (whether that’s 2027 or not), but there are a few players I wouldn’t expect to be back.
LHP Sean Newcomb
After a strong 2025 season that saw him post a 2.73 ERA in 92.1 innings between the Athletics and Red Sox, Sean Newcomb landed a one-year pact with the White Sox in hopes of returning to a starting role. He was given a chance to compete for a rotation spot in the spring, but the White Sox instead chose to use him in the bullpen. Newcomb quickly emerged as one of the team’s most reliable multi-inning and high-leverage relievers, even starting six games as an opener in the regular season, and another one in the Postseason. Overall, Newcomb finished with a 3.09 regular season ERA, and a 2.57 postseason mark in a total of 97.1 innings. Now 33, Newcomb will hit free agency and look to cash in on one more multi-year contract. He was an important part of the White Sox bullpen, and I believe they’ll try to re-sign him, but Newcomb could be looking for a starting role at this stage in his career, and his price may move outside where the White Sox are comfortable. If Newcomb exits in free agency, his role will be a big one the team needs to fill either via free agency or trade this winter.
RHP Erick Fedde
I’ll admit, I wasn’t super thrilled when the White Sox signed Erick Fedde to a one-year deal to round out their rotation. After a strong first half with the team in 2024, the White Sox dealt Fedde to the Cardinals in the three-team deal that landed them Miguel Vargas at the trade deadline. He finished 2024 strong but had a brutal 2025, struggling with three different teams and finishing with a 5.49 ERA. Fedde was thrown back into a rotation role with the White Sox, and he finished the year with a surprisingly solid 3.83 regular season ERA, and allowed just two runs in 5.2 innings in the playoffs. Fedde will be 34 before the 2027 season starts and will once again be a free agents. It seems like he’s earned himself another big league deal, but the White Sox need to upgrade their starting rotation and I’d like them to pursue a bigger name. I wish Erick Fedde the best of luck elsewhere, but I don’t need to see him back in Chicago next year.
Erick Fedde is pumped! https://t.co/JcIyILC6nr pic.twitter.com/K3df6WJe7W
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 9, 2026
DH/OF Tommy Pham
This one may seem obvious, but Tommy Pham was only on the White Sox roster for a month and I don’t expect to see him back on the team in 2026. After playing just nine big league games with the Mets before September and going hitless, Pham joined the White Sox for the team’s final stretch. In eight games, he went 3-for-17 with a homer and four walks, mostly serving as a DH against left-handed pitching. The 38-year-old was likely auditioning for a big league job next season, and it’d be surprising if anyone gives him a big league deal this offseason. He’ll likely land a minor league deal and compete for a big league spot out of spring training. I suppose that could be with the White Sox, but I don’t think there will be any urgency to make that happen.
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