Latest White Sox free agency rumor is nightmare fuel for fans

The White Sox are in adding mode this offseason as they look to improve on their 60-win 2025 season. The team has already added in a big way, signing Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami and adding pitchers Anthony Kay and Sean Newcomb. With needs still remaining in the outfield, bullpen, and starting rotation, the White Sox likely aren’t done adding to their team. The latest rumor to surface, however, has left many folks curious about where it would fit in the plans. 

The White Sox rumored interest in Moncada is an interesting development, but I’m struggling to justify it logically. First of all, the White Sox infield seems set, if not overcrowded. The team will likely run a starting infield of Munetaka Murakami. Chase Meidroth, Colson Montgomery, and Miguel Vargas. Lenyn Sosa remains on the roster despite potentially being the odd-man out for a starting role, and prospect Sam Antonacci and 2025 deadline acquisition Curtis Mead remain options as well. The White Sox also added 26 year-old utilityman Tanner Murray in a trade this offseason and he remains on the 40-man roster. There is no clear fit for Moncada and no path to regular at bats. In fact, I think the White Sox are likely to trade Lenyn Sosa before Opening Day to open up clearer roles for Antonacci and Mead. With major questions surrounding the team’s outfield, I feel that adding to left or right field would be a much more effective use of resources than another infielder. 

The White Sox should focus on the future instead of re-living the past

Aside from the roster fit, Moncada’s history with the White Sox is a substantial red flag. First acquired from Boston in the Chris Sale trade in 2016, Moncada became the top overall prospect in baseball and White Sox fans hoped he’d develop into a superstar. He showed promising signs in 2017 and 2018 before his breakout 2019 season where he hit 25 home runs and posted a .915 OPS. Unfortunately, Moncada was never able to replicate those numbers, and injuries stunted his development. Over his final three seasons in Chicago, Moncada never played more than 104 games in a season, and couldn’t muster better than an average season offensively. 

Moncada departed for the Angels in 2025, where he once again struggled to stay on the field. His .784 OPS in 84 games was productive, but he hasn’t been the reliable lineup staple that either the White Sox or Angels envisioned. Now 30, he’ll hit free agency again and likely be in line for another one-year contract, where he’ll hope to finally stay healthy and sustain a good stretch at the plate. 

The White Sox are a young, exciting team looking to wipe away the stain of the past. Whether Moncada was at fault or not, his development stalling was a major contributor to the failure of the White Sox rebuild, and to go back to him would be a step in the wrong direction for Chris Getz and the White Sox. 

Aside from just the on-field product, the White Sox are looking to build a culture that’s different this time around. They’ve assembled a group of young players who love each other and love baseball, and it shows in the way they play the game. The new White Sox hustle. The new White Sox work hard to get better every day. The new White Sox don’t let the expectations of anyone around the league affect their play. The old White Sox didn’t do these things. 

I’m not privy to all the clubhouse drama from the White Sox rebuild that crashed and burned, but it left a sour taste in my mouth that I’m not ready to go back to. I’m not sure whether Yoan Moncada was part of the problem or just a victim of poor circumstances. But, regardless of whether or not he was part of the problem, he certainly wasn’t part of the solution, and he isn’t now either. 

It’s unclear whether the White Sox interest in Moncada is serious or just a check on his market, but there’s no price at which bringing Moncada back is a good idea. It’s a new era of White Sox baseball, and Chris Getz needs to leave the past in the past and move on.