The Chicago White Sox have just nine games remaining in the 2025 regular season, and the race to avoid 100 losses is not looking good.
As the team closes in on another last-place finish, an important part of the schedule wrapped up this past weekend. The White Sox were swept at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians last weekend, which marked the final games of the season against AL Central opponents.
Despite Chicago's final record likely improving by nearly 20 games from 2024, the White Sox still struggled mightily against the AL Central this year. The team finished just 18-34 against their own division, leaving an obvious area for the 2026 White Sox to improve.
Division struggles are nothing new for the White Sox
The White Sox have struggled with most teams over the past three seasons, but AL Central games in particular have been an issue since the start of 2024. An 18-34 record this season was actually a significant improvement over 2024, when the White Sox went just 10-42 against divisional opponents.
The AL Central produced three playoff teams in 2024, but seeing as all of them failed to advance in the postseason, an argument can be made that this only happened because of how frequently they were able to play the White Sox.
In fact, the Kansas City Royals, who finished 86-76 last year and made the playoffs, went 12-1 against the White Sox, and only 74-75 against the rest of baseball. The Detroit Tigers finished with the same overall record, but they went 10-3 against the Sox and 76-73 against everyone else. Both of these teams may not have made the playoff if they didn’t have the luxury of playing the White Sox 13 times last year.
The White Sox don’t need to dominate their division for it to make a difference. Even playing .500 ball within the division would be enough for significant improvement. Coincidentally, the last time the White Sox finished with a record above .500 against the AL Central was 2021, the same year they won the division and made the playoffs.
The White Sox have not played fundamentally sound baseball
There are a few reasons why interdivision struggles have been particularly bad over the past couple years. Facing the same team 13 times in one season is just plain difficult. These teams learn a lot about each other by meeting so frequently, and they exploit each other's flaws.
The Royals and Guardians are known as fundamentally sound baseball teams that pitch well and play defense. They take advantage of any mistakes by their opponent.
The White Sox brand of baseball has been particularly sloppy and mistake-filled over the past couple years. It should be no surprise that teams like Kansas City and Cleveland beat up on the White Sox.
Superstar players like José Ramírez, Byron Buxton, Tarik Skubal, and Bobby Witt Jr. playing in the division certainly doesn’t help, either.
The White Sox have a long way to go to be a real threat to win the Central, but the transition from rebuilding to contending should be starting to happen now. Winning games in the division will be a crucial step toward contention, and the White Sox should focus on improving in this area beginning in 2026.