As Major League Baseball’s postseason reaches its late stages and the field of teams continues to narrow, many organizations have already begun to shift focus to the offseason ahead. The White Sox and their 102 losses weren’t close to making the postseason, and despite the exciting young talent arriving on the South Side in 2025, the team has a long way to go to contend for a World Series.
But the improvement and emergence of the young players has the White Sox in a different situation than they were last offseason. The White Sox are now in a position to focus on actively improving their Major League roster with their offseason moves, including free agents and trades to supplement the long-term core of young talent. This opens the door to some interesting possibilities, including one that may be controversial, but I believe the White Sox should consider.
The White Sox could trade from a catcher surplus to fill a need
When someone mentions a trade to acquire Major League talent, many folks assume it means getting a veteran from a rebuilding team in exchange for minor league prospects. Trades of the sort are very common, and the White Sox have made several of those trades in recent years. But another option when it comes to trading to improve your big league club is a swap of Major League players– trading from a surplus to get a position you need.
The catcher position was a hot topic for White Sox fans all season long, with many folks, myself included, frustrated at the playing time distribution for top catching prospects Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero. It became less of an issue down the stretch, as manager Will Venable seemed more inclined to put the two backstops in the same lineup more often towards the end of the season. But questions about the long-term sustainability of having two starting catchers on the roster remain.
Theoretically, the White Sox could simply alternate Teel and Quero at catcher and designated hitter and get both bats in the lineup nearly every day. Another possibility is having either Teel or Quero learn a new position, such as first base or left field, to get themselves in the lineup. But I’d argue that the most practical solution, and one the White Sox should consider, is to trade Quero to fill another position of need.
One major weakness of the current Major League lineup, and truthfully, the entire White Sox organization, is the team’s lack of offensive power. After finishing dead last in 2024 in home runs, the White Sox were among the bottom few teams in 2025 as well. A late season power surge, largely thanks to Colson Montgomery, moved them into respectable territory, but the team still lacks a significant number of home run threats. Both Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero flashed power at times, but are more contact-oriented hitters, and filling a “power” position like first base or DH with a contact hitter will make it even tougher for the White Sox to address this issue.
During their rookie season, both Teel and Quero had their moments, but Teel looked like the overall stronger all-around talent, and he could pair nicely with the right-handed bat of Korey Lee. It’s not that Edgar Quero was bad by any means, although his defense is surely a work in progress, but rather than trying to find at-bats for a second contact-hitting catcher, the White Sox could look for a catching-needy team and target someone who will fill a different need.
The White Sox could look to the Blue Jays for inspiration
One example of a very similar situation happened prior to the 2023 season, when the Toronto Blue Jays sent young catcher Gabriel Moreno to the Diamondbacks for outfielder Daulton Varsho. The Blue Jays, with Moreno, Alejandro Kirk, and Danny Jansen on the roster, had a surplus at the catcher position, and used it to fill an area of need in the outfield. Varsho, of course, is also an example of a catcher successfully moving to the outfield, but he’s quite a bit more athletic than Teel and Quero, so it was much easier for the Diamondbacks to make that move. The White Sox could look to pull off a similar trade with Quero, who won’t turn 23 until after Opening Day and has shown the ability to work quality at bats at the Major League level. Giving up Quero would hurt, but it could land the White Sox some much needed power in the outfield.
This is all speculation, and it takes two to make a trade, so there’s no guarantee that this kind of deal is even out there for Chris Getz, but I think it’s something worth exploring as he looks to build this roster for 2026 and beyond. I believe that as a General Manager, Getz should be exploring every possibility to improve the team, and shutting down a path without consideration would be malpractice. I think the most likely scenario is a 2026 Opening Day lineup in Milwaukee featuring both Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero in a White Sox uniform, but don’t be shocked if Quero is sent elsewhere this offseason.
The time is now for Chris Getz to start improving this team, and a minuscule projected payroll makes the possibilities endless. So Sox fans: sit back, relax, and strap it down, as an interesting offseason is coming your way.