The White Sox did something no team ever did by making the playoffs after three straight 100-loss seasons. They knocked out the Astros to win their first series in twenty years, according to MLB Trade Rumors. But that magic run ended in a brutal four-game sweep by the Cleveland Guardians. Striking out 21 times during a single nine-inning shutout defeat, the team established a painful record. This was not just a bad game; it was the total collapse of a rotation that was already shaky all year.
General manager Chris Getz knows exactly where the problem lies. He told reporters at a Wednesday press conference that the pitching staff was the weakest link all season. The rotation fell apart completely by the time the playoffs rolled around. Sean Burke was the only starter who looked reliable until the very end. Even he tailed off a bit down the stretch, but he was still one of the better pitchers in the league for most of the summer. The rest of the staff was a mess of “Johnny Wholestaff” games where nothing worked.
The Cost of a Broken Rotation
The numbers show why the team struggled so much. Before collapsing with a 5.63 ERA across his final eighteen appearances, Davis Martin enjoyed a dominant eleven-game run through May. According to reports, a right calf issue bothered Martin and harmed his performance. After an All-Star rookie season, Shane Smith started only three MLB games this year. He allowed twelve runs in only 8 1/3 innings before spending the rest of the year in Triple-A with a 5.57 ERA and a 16% walk rate. These are not small mistakes; they are the reason the season ended early.
The front office has $71.25 million committed to players for 2027, but that money is mostly for position players. Luis Castillo, Munetaka Murakami, and Andrew Benintendi are locked up through 2027. The pitching help is not guaranteed. Jordan Hicks and Anthony Kay have deals, but the staff needs much more than just those two arms to survive the grind of a full season. The team needs to find a way to fix the rotation before they can even think about winning a title.
Stability Is the First Step
Getz said the team expects to bring back their entire coaching staff for 2027. He told the Chicago Sun-Times’ James Fegan that the work they did last offseason paid off. He believes having talented coaches in the locker room is a separator for the team. Stabilizing that group is the first step toward building a contender. The players are young and talented, but they need a rotation that does not crumble in October. The window is open, but it will not stay open forever if the pitching does not get better.
The Guardians beat the White Sox because their pitching was solid and the Sox could not answer. Now the Sox must decide if they will spend big to fix the holes or hope their current young arms grow up fast.
