It’s no secret that the past three seasons have been quite miserable for the White Sox. The 2021 division title was quickly forgotten when the team underperformed in 2022, finishing just 81-81 despite championship aspirations. Hoping for a rebound in 2023, things fell apart quickly for the White Sox, and the team ended April with a record of 8-21. Unfortunately, the trend of poor starts continued the next two years, and the White Sox will head into 2026 looking to break a brutal early season stretch.
The White Sox, of course, lost 101 games after their brutal start to 2023, and the 2024 season will always be remembered as the worst season in White Sox history. They certainly couldn’t have achieved that feat without a brutal start. The White Sox lost all three games in March and finished just 6-24 in April, bringing their 2023-2024 total record to 14-45. The team improved by 19 games in 2025, but it was largely due to a second half that saw them win series against good teams and finish 25-34. It was another brutal start for the White Sox, who went 7-23 and dug themselves a hole before the calendar flipped to May.
The White Sox have aspirations of another significant step forward in 2026, and getting off to a better start will be a crucial step toward making this happen. With a young lineup full of exciting hitters and an improved bullpen backing up a young pitching staff, the team seems primed to improve on their 21-68 record in the season’s opening month. Perhaps the biggest obstacle standing in their way: their schedule.
Soxclave has come to a decision on the 2026 Schedule pic.twitter.com/obMtfWOw5W
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 26, 2025
White Sox tough schedule will make breaking recent slow start trend difficult
The White Sox open the season in Milwaukee against the Brewers team that led baseball in wins last season. Ace Freddy Peralta was dealt to the Mets and starters Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester are both expected to begin the season on the IL, so the White Sox won’t be running into the Brewers at full strength, but it’s still a very talented team that can do some damage. After Milwaukee, the White Sox will head to Miami to face a young Marlins team that nearly made the playoffs last season. The Marlins pitching staff, anchored by former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara and finally healthy top prospect Eury Perez, is no joke, and will be a tough test for the White Sox lineup.
After six games on the road, the White Sox will finally head home, but will come face-to-face with the defending American League champion Blue Jays. The Orioles, who heavily underachieved last season but spent big this winter, follow before the team heads out on their second road trip for a four-game series in Kansas City. The White Sox haven’t won a game, let alone a series, in Kansas City since 2023. They’ve lost 14 in a row at Kauffman Stadium. The schedule opens up a bit at the end of the month, with the Nationals and Angels on the docket after stops in Sacramento and Arizona, but it’s a brutal stretch to begin the season for a team who needs to get off to a strong start.
Anything can happen in baseball, so tough series don’t always mean losses. The White Sox won series against several playoff teams last season, but they’ll need to be on their A game to accomplish the same feat early in 2026. Will Venable and the players have been projecting nothing but positive energy from Camelback Ranch, and the White Sox will have the difficult task of backing it up in just a couple weeks.