There's little doubt that the 2025 Chicago White Sox are not going anywhere. Following up arguably the worst all-around season in MLB history, there's not much for fans of the club to look forward to just yet.
To this point, the White Sox have acquired catcher Matt Thaiss from the Cubs; signed Mike Tauchman, Austin Slater, and Bryse Wilson to one-year contracts; selected Shane Smith in the Rule 5 Draft and acquired reliever Cam Booser from the Red Sox. These moves put together may earn the team one or two additional wins in the 2025 season.
In a recent piece from MLB.com, a handful of panelists selected one realistic free-agent fit for all 30 clubs as the new year approaches. Even if they're not going to be contending anytime soon, the White Sox - for reasons unknown - fall under the umbrella of being a current MLB team.
Scott Merkin, the White Sox' beat writer for MLB.com, has old friend Jose Quintana tabbed as Chicago's most realistic free-agent fit. With the field being devoid of legitimate options to come to the White Sox, it's tough to come up with one. While the Sox would definitely welcome his production with open arms, this would be a depressing outcome for Quintana himself.
MLB.com has depressing 'realistic free-agent fit' for White Sox
Quintana is now 35 years of age and a 13-year veteran in the big leagues. He started his long career as a member of the White Sox, posting five-and-half rock solid seasons as a durable and consistent member of their starting rotation. In 169 starts and three relief appearances, the southpaw went 50-54 with a 3.51 ERA and 115 ERA+.
Since then, Quintana has bounced around from the Cubs to the Angels to the Giants to the Pirates to the Cardinals to the Mets. He's been everywhere, but the results have remained consistent - especially in recent years.
The left-hander is wrapping up a two-year stint with the Mets where he padded a ton of his free-agent value. In a combined 44 starts, he posted a 3.70 ERA with a 3.93 FIP. His value is high despite the fact that he's already on the wrong side of 30.
Landing back on the White Sox would be a nice reunion story, but it'd also basically be the worst-case scenario for Quintana. Another deal with the cellar-dwelling Sox would suggest that he couldn't find a better fit anywhere else in the league. Of course, his recent performance(s) have all but guaranteed that he'll land at least a single-year pact on a non-White Sox team.
This is not to say that there's not a spot for him in Chicago's rotation, because there are multiple. Even if he did come back to where it all began, Quintana would certainly be on the club for just half a year before he is once again turned around and flipped for a player or two that could help the White Sox later on in their rebuild. Such a concept is one fans of the Sox are going to have to get intimately familiar with, but it's hard to see Quintana getting desperate enough to join a hopeless club so late in his career, especially while he still has as much value as he does.