White Sox should beat the market and be aggressive with their most obvious trade chip

If you were to poll Chris Getz and the Chicago White Sox front office on the players they'd most like to trade this offseason, you'd almost certainly come away with a list that had Andrew Benintendi ranked first and Luis Robert Jr. ranked second, with a smattering of names following them. However, if you were to ask the same group to rank the team's most tradeable players this offseason, odds are Benintendi and Robert would be quite a ways down the list.

This is simply the nature of failing to strike while the iron is hot in baseball. Robert looked like a prime trade candidate at the July deadline, and then an ugly second half wiped out most of his perceived value. Benintendi, meanwhile, is still owed $32 million over the next two seasons and has been worth -0.2 fWAR since coming to the South Side of Chicago.

That's why soon-to-be 35-year-old Mike Tauchman is the team's most obvious trade chip. And, given his age, lack of remaining team control, and a crowded reserve outfield market this winter, Getz and company would be wise to move fast and ship Tauchman out of town before the ship sails on him as well.

A Mike Tauchman trade makes too much sense for the White Sox

Tauchman had a hot July that fueled a lot of trade talks at the deadline, but the White Sox ultimately decided to hold onto him as a veteran presence for a young team that was debuting top prospects Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, Colson Montgomery, and Chase Meidroth.

Tauchman fulfilled that role admirably in 2025, but he's got one final year of team control left via arbitration now. Though Tauchman remains defensively capable even in his mid-30s, worth three defensive runs saved in 2025, he declined badly in the second half at the plate, hitting .244/.338/.369 (103 wRC+) after posting an .809 OPS and 129 wRC+ before the Midsummer Classic.

Sure, the White Sox could look to hold onto Tauchman into the regular season and hope he rehabs his value ahead of the 2026 trade deadline, but 35-year-old fourth outfielders with no team control remaining aren't exactly fit to command large returns.

In addition, reserve outfielders may not be in much demand after free agency. Though the top of the market is harrowingly thin after Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger, there's a laundry list of Tauchman facsimiles who are available, including Harrison Bader, Cedric Mullins, Mike Yastrzemski, and Max Kepler. Tauchman, a Chicago-area native, may prefer to remain close to home for the remainder of his career, and the White Sox could certainly benefit from his leadership in the clubhouse, so the argument could be made to keep him.

But baseball is a business, and before all of the other options find a new home and drown out Tauchman's market, the White Sox should at least gauge interest in their elder statesman. Who knows? Maybe they can even get a good return if they act quickly enough.