The 'Fun Bad' White Sox Are Actually Much Better Than Last Year

Forbes

27-05-2025

On the day after Memorial Day, the White Sox are 17-37. They have had a few long-running losing streaks. They've coughed up a handful of games thanks to poor play, errors, and bad relief pitching. They're bad.
Against the Rangers at Rate Field on Sunday, the White Sox lost a lead late in the game thanks in part to Lenyn Sosa not having his foot on first base to secure a crucial out. To be fair to Sosa, he is not a true first baseman, so mistakes like the one on Sunday are bound to happen.
In fact, the current active White Sox roster doesn't have a first baseman on it at all, thanks to moves last Friday that sent both Andrew Vaughn and Tim Elko to Triple-A Charlotte. These kinds of things have earned the 2025 White Sox the 'fun bad' moniker.
In short, they might be bad this year, but at least the White Sox have been a little more fun to watch than they were in 2024.
Some of this could be coming from a place of a fanbase that has thrown up its collective hands at the franchise. White Sox fans are still browbeaten by last year's record-setting number of losses, and even though this year's Rockies are well on pace to beat Chicago's 41-121 mark from 2024, things still feel pretty bleak on the south side.
After all, sitting at 17 wins at this point in the season puts them just two wins better than where they were a day after Memorial Day last year. White Sox fans can be forgiven for not having a ton of hope that things are really getting better for their team.
There is, however, some reason to believe that the White Sox are actually trending in the right direction. They might be 17-37, but their expected win-loss record is four wins better, according to Baseball Reference, which suggests that at least some of the luck has not been breaking their way this season. The White Sox might be a little better than their record indicates, and there might be more fun than bad in the 'fun bad' of this team.
There are a few reasons why. Chief among them is the fact that fans are starting to see the fruits of last year's trades. Miguel Vargas, acquired from the Dodgers in the three-team trade last July, has gone from batting .104 in a White Sox uniform last season to posting a 1.3 wins above replacement mark thus far in 2025. He is one of a group of young White Sox hitters who have been working closely with new director or hitting Ryan Fuller, and the signs of improvement are there. And there's Chase Meidroth, who came over in the Garrett Crochet trade with the Red Sox, and he is emerging as a viable leadoff batter while playing solid defense up the middle.
There could be more prospects headed to Chicago at this year's trade deadline. Center fielder Luis Robert, Jr. was not dealt last summer but will definitely be on the trade block this July. He has struggled at the plate so far this season, and in order to maximize the return in a deal, the White Sox need him to start hitting. He is also working with Fuller, and although Robert, Jr. has not yet shown real signs of improvement on offense, there is reason to expect that it will come. He is doing some things really well, like walking at a higher rate than he has in his career and posting a strikeout rate that is about five percent lower than last season. Robert, Jr. has also been the victim of some bad luck of his own; he has a .250 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) this season, which is by far the lowest in his career. A few more balls will inevitably start finding some grass, which will improve his offensive numbers.
Another reason for White Sox fans to feel some sense of optimism is the starting pitching staff. In 2024, that group owned a 4.62 ERA, which put them 25th in baseball. Headed into Tuesday's games, the White Sox starting pitching staff has a 3.64 ERA, which ranks 12th in baseball. They are taking that step forward thanks to young arms too, rule-5 pickup Shane Smith among them. Taken from the Brewers, Smith has a 2.36 ERA through his first ten starts this season. The combined improvements of the offense and the pitching staff are reason to believe this year's White Sox team is bad in the same way as the 2024 iteration.
And behind all of this is the looming ownership change, though it is one that will take time. White Sox fans who have been frustrated by how current owner Jerry Reinsdorf has managed the team could find themselves in a much better situation under the Ishbia brothers. Especially if they invest in the roster in a way that Reinsdorf has not. The White Sox currently have the third-lowest payroll in baseball, and an obvious place for improvement under new ownership would be to boost that number and provide support around the young talent being developed within the organization.
Are the White Sox 'fun bad'? In some ways, yes. They are still one of the worst teams in baseball and will continue to be, at least for this year. But there is much more reason for optimism about the future than there was a year ago.