Luis Robert Jr. Trade Could Open Door For Braden Montgomery's MLB Debut

The White Sox outfield is shaping up as a position of weakness heading into spring training.

Last season's top two outfielders –– Mike Tauchman (1.9 bWAR) and Luis Robert Jr. (1.4 bWAR) –– are gone, and so are Michael A. Taylor, who played a team-high 123 games in the outfield, and four others who combined for 120 appearances.

The team's 40-man roster currently consists of outfielders Andrew Benintendi, Brooks Baldwin, Derek Hill, Everson Pereira and Tristan Peters. Luisangel Acuña, acquired in the Robert trade, also figures to play some center field, and former top-100 prospect Jarred Kelenic will compete for a roster spot in spring training.

Injuries limited Benintendi, 31, to just 116 games, 44 of which came as the designated hitter. Baldwin was worth -0.5 bWAR. Pereira is a former top-100 prospect who struggled in 50 major league games with the Yankees and Rays, while Peters has just four career big-league appearances. Hill, 30, has moved between the majors and minors throughout his career.

Before even considering each player's production, it's difficult to imagine how manager Will Venable will align the outfield for 162 games. Projecting even further, none have solidified themselves as part of the rebuilding organization's future.

That's where Braden Montgomery –– ranked No. 1 among White Sox prospects and No. 35 overall by MLB.com –– could factor into the equation. The 22-year-old switch hitter slashed .270/.360/.444/.804 across three minor league levels in 2025, his first professional season after being selected 12th overall out of Texas A&M.

Despite a few intriguing offseason additions, the White Sox still aren't in a position to compete for a playoff spot in 2026. So Montgomery won't be rushed to the major leagues with the goal of simply increasing the team's win total.

But if he continues to excel in the minors, a weak White Sox outfield opens the door for Montgomery's MLB debut in 2026.

"With players like Braden, obviously super talented, high engine type athlete that can play all three outfield spots," general manager Chris Getz said Wednesday. "He has power from both sides. He’s only continuing to get better. He’s shown that. Once he got up to Double-A and finished in the AFL, it was really trending in a good direction."

"Coming into Spring Training, I want him to come in and compete for a spot. I think at some point he could come into the mix. So we are open minded, we always are with young players. But I just want him to go out and focus and be the best player he can be. It’s really about the long term for Braden Montgomery and the White Sox. It's not about Braden Montgomery making the Opening Day roster."

Related stories on the Chicago White Sox