With the Milwaukee Brewers taking home their first-ever World Series crown on Wednesday night, the MLB offseason is in full swing.
The free agent marke t is starting to come together as both teams and players make decisions on contract options. The Chicago White Sox were a part of that process on Thursday, as a handful of familiar faces hit the open market.
According to the team, six players have elected free agency following the end of the 2026 campaign: Erick Fedde, Randal Grichuk, Sean Newcomb, Trevor Richards, Tommy Pham, and Jake Rogers. To be clear, none of these names come as a surprise. The expectation was that all six would be up for grabs this winter. However, it does officially give Chris Getz a clear idea of which roster holes he has to fill.
Oct 7, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Sean Newcomb (15) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians in game three of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The good news for the White Sox is they aren't necessarily losing anyone of significance. With such a young and controlled team, they will have all their regular position players back in the mix in 2027. That's great for a group that just made an unprecedented ALDS run after three consecutive losing seasons.
At the same time, it's not as if they can ride into this offseason with their feet kicked up. The expectations have changed on the South Side, and there are some clear areas in which they have to improve. Not to mention, there are still a few players on the way out who played a pretty significant role in this team's turnaround.
Sean Newcomb comes to mind first. He was easily Will Venable's most reliable reliever before slightly losing his touch down the stretch. Newcomb handled every role in the book and finished the year with a 3.09 ERA in 90.1 innings of work. To be frank, out of any White Sox free agent, he could be the one Getz works hardest to re-sign.
Erick Fedde's market will also be rather interesting. He's really only found success at the major league level in recent years with the White Sox. There is something about their infrastructure that works for the veteran, who threw a 3.83 ERA this season in 141.0 innings, which tied his career high. Fedde may not be someone the White Sox can trust to go very deep into games, but he proved to be a serviceable spot starter and bulk starter throughout the year. It was probably his most consistent season of major league ball yet.
As for the position players, the only one who may give this front office reason to think. twice is Randal Grichuk. Waived by the New York Yankees in May, the White Sox were quick to agree to a deal with Grichuk amid injury trouble. The journeyman proved to be a very important veteran and gave the White Sox a great platoon player in left field.
Grichuk slashed .299/.328/.598 in 101 games, which is good enough for a stellar .926 OPS. He hit for 15 home runs and 44 RBIs. All things considered, the White Sox got way more out of him than initially expected. Could that be reason enough for them to agree on another one-year deal?
The one thing working in their favor is that Grichuk is 35 years old. Bringing him back shouldn't necessarily cost a ton. Also, while the White Sox may have some other young players waiting in the wings, it never hurts to have a veteran voice in the clubhouse.
Regardless, it should be pretty fascinating to see how the White Sox approach this offseason. While they undoubtedly have a reason to be extra aggressive after their best campaign in years, this is also a young group built for sustained success. Running it back with some improvements around the margins, specifically in the starting rotation, might not be a bad idea!
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/whitesox/onsi as 6 White Sox Players Officially Hit Free Agency as Key Offseason Begins .
