Biggest Surprises & Opening Day Lineup Prediction After White Sox Finalize Roster

The Chicago White Sox have made it official!

With a little over 24 hours to go until an Opening Day matchup with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Sox unveiled the 26-man unit that will start the 2026 campaign. While the final group started to come into frame over the last handful of days, there is no question that the reveal included a couple of big surprises.

Let's talk through it and make a final prediction for Thursday's first starting lineup fo the year!

Starting Rotation

Shane Smith
Sean Burke
Anthony Kay
Davis Martin
Erick Fedde

These five have been essentially locked in for weeks. The White Sox named Shane Smith as their Opening Day starter on March 8 before disclosing their next four arms a handful of days later. With that said, do not expect this to remain the starting rotation for long. While Smith and Anthony Kay should have a spot for the foreseeable future, the rest of the rotation feels pretty flexible, especially when we consider all the talent starting the year in Charlotte.

Bullpen

Sean Newcomb
Jedixson Paez
Jordan Hicks
Jordan Leasure
Tyler Gilbert
Chris Murphy
Grant Taylor
Seranthony Dominguez

All things considered, the White Sox' bullpen is looking formidable. They have several veterans ready to contribute, including potentially one of the top closers in baseball, Seranthony Dominguez. Chris Murphy also gave fans reason to be optimistic during his spring training run, and he serves as one of the most versatile arms in the pen.

If there is anyone to be excited about, however, it would be Grant Taylor. The high-octane thrower had some highlight moments last season and projects to play a significant role this year. Especially with Mike Vasil now out for the season, he will be one of the team's top young arms to watch in March and April.

Speaking of which, we should also keep a close eye on Jedixson Paez. He is arguably the most shocking addition to the Opening Day roster. Selected in the Rule 5 draft from the Red Sox, GM Chris Getz has decided to bring him straight to the majors from High-A ball. It's a massive gamble, particularly when we consider he recorded a 6.35 ERA in camp over a mere 11.1 innings pitched.

Nevertheless, much like the starting rotation, expect to see shuffling in the coming months. There is a good chance that guys like Tanner McDougal and Hagen Smith hear their names called soon and get their first taste of big league action out of the bullpen.

Catchers

Edgar Quero
Reese McGuire

If the inclusion of Jedixson Paez was the biggest shocker, the addition of Reese McGuire may be second. The White Sox caught many off guard when signing McGuire to a big-league deal in recent days. While everyone knew Kyle Teel would miss the first couple of weeks due to a hamstring strain, respected veteran Korey Lee felt like an obvious fit to sub in.

Alas, the Sox officially DFA'd Lee on Wednesday and seem to prefer McGuire's pop. The question now is what happens when Teel returns? Will the Sox carry three catchers? We should get the answer sooner rather than later, as Teel was put on only the 10-day IL to start the year.

Infielders

Chase Meidroth
Colson Montgomery
Munetaka Murakami
Lenyn Sosa
Miguel Vargas

No surprises here. While it felt like Sam Antonacci made a strong case for himself in Arizona, the White Sox opted to start him in the minors. He could be called up in the relatively near future, but it makes sense that Venable is going with some experience in the depth department. After all, Chicago is hoping to get off to a strong start.

The only notable move in this area of the field was the dismissal of Curtis Mead. The team has chosen to go with an extra outfielder over the 25-year-old who played 41 games for them last season.

Outfielders

Luisangel Acuña
Andrew Benintendi
Austin Hays
Derek Hill
Everson Pereira
Tristan Peters

The outfield presented one of the biggest battles at spring training. While Andrew Benintendi and Austin Hays were set in the corners, the center field spot and backup slots remained open. Luisangel Acuña quickly locked up center with his impressive athleticism and excellent showing at the plate. However, with some less-than-stellar results in his previous big league stints, the leash could be relatively short.

This would feel even more like the case if Brooks Baldwin is added back into the mix upon his return from the 10-day IL. Baldwin had a very solid spring and offers some valuable defensive versatility. Having said that, Derek Hill checks a very similar box and may currently have as much of Venable's trust. Even Tristan Peters has some high upside defensive chops that he paired with some solid plate appearances in camp.

As for Everson Pereira, the White Sox clearly have some high hopes for the former Top 100 prospect. He has fizzled out with both the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, but is still only 24 years old and has some undeniably intriguing raw power. It's hard to know how much of a chance the Sox will give him to impress, but they are clearly bought into the potential.

Overall, carrying six outfielders could come with its challenges. It may signal that they plan to use Acuña in the infield some, where he does have a fair share of experience. We may also see a fair share of DH opportunities for a few of these guys.

Opening Day Lineup Prediction

Feb 20, 2026; Mesa, Arizona, USA; Chicago White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery (12) celebrates with center fielder Derek Hill (25) after hitting a two run homerun against the Chicago Cubs in the second inning at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

1. Chase Meidroth (2B)
2. Colson Montgomery (SS)
3. Miguel Vargas (3B)
4. Munetaka Murakami (1B)
5. Austin Hays (RF)
6. Andrew Benintendi (LF)
7. Edgar Quero (C)
8. Lenyn Sosa (DH)
9. Luisangel Acuña (CF)

Leading Things Off ...

Manager Will Venable messed with the lead-off spot at times throughout the 2025 campaign, but the team always felt destined to stick with Chase Meidroth. He has held down the fort at the top of the order in Arizona, where he showed some good plate discipline and contact hitting. Meidroth finished Cactus League play with 15 hits and 11 walks, recording a slash line of .278/.418/.481. Also, as one of the better base runners on this roster, you want a chance to get him on the bags before two of the team's top power hitters are due up.

Here Come the Homers!

The Milwaukee Brewers likely took a sigh of relief when they first looked at their opening series of 2026. But the White Sox have the power to make Jacob Misiorowski's day end earlier than expected. Colson Montgomery has the potential to be one of the deadliest two-hitters in baseball this season after crushing 21 home runs in 71 games last season. Then, Munetaka Murakami is expected to be a 30+ home run hitter this season. The team hasn't hesitated putting him at clean-up in camp, and we shouldn't expect that to change any time soon.

Don't Sleep on the Middle

When it comes to truly moving this White Sox team in the right direction, the middle of the order holds a lot of weight. Austin Hays and Andrew Benintendi are in Chicago to be the kind of stabilizing force every young team needs. While neither is likely to put together an All-Star-caliber campaign, they both know what it takes to win games day in and day out and have experience coming through in big spots.

Future Plans at DH?

As the White Sox try to settle in, I expect Will Venable to go with an old reliable at the DH spot on Opening Day. However, we're bound to see many different faces in this spot moving forward, especially once Kyle Teel returns fully healthy. The Sox started to get both him and Quero into the lineup at the end of last season, and they have every reason to continue this trend in 2026 as the two catchers look to take another step forward.