ESPN, along with the rest of the baseball world, is highly anticipating what moves will be made ahead of the 2026 MLB trade deadline. There are several National League teams and a handful of American League teams that are poised to be buyers at said deadline, hoping to improve their rosters with impact players as they make a push for the postseason.
Additionally, there is no shortage of big-name players, pitchers in particular, that are rumored to be available for the right price. There are even more lower-profile players that will be moved, as is the case every year.
The big question, though, is which team will go big at the trade deadline and acquire one of the bigger stars on the market. One ESPN analyst believes a surprising contender no one saw coming will be among those that make a more noteworthy trades.
ESPN predicts the Chicago White Sox will go big at the MLB trade deadline
In a recent article in which they predicted answers to multiple questions surrounding the MLB trade deadline, ESPN’s baseball analysts tackled the ongoing debate over which team could go “really big” when the time comes.
Jesse Rogers, who may be a bit biased because he covers Chicago sports teams, picked the White Sox:
“TheChicago White Sox. They have the assets and a hunger to return to the playoffs. And mostly they have a chance in a wide-open division and league. After this past weekend’s draft, they also have so many infielders in their system now that there’s nowhere to play them all.”
Right before the All-Star break, the White Sox drafted UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with the first overall pick in the 2026 MLB amateur draft. They already have a young power-hitting stud, Colson Montgomery at the position, as well as other exciting players at their other infield positions.
Due to their organizational depth in the infield, Rogers believes that some of these players could be moved for a high-profile player ahead of the MLB trade deadline.
Prior to the start of the 2026 season, Chicago had lost more than 100 games in each of the past three years. No one expected them to be much better given how young their roster is. However, they are currently tied for the AL Central Division lead with a record of 51-46.
The question, though, is whether or not they think this young roster, combined with whatever high-profile player(s) they could acquire, can make a deep postseason run. If not, it would not make much sense to part with the flux of talent that they have for anyone who will not be retained beyond this current season.
Still, the White Sox have taken just about everyone by surprise already this year. Why should the MLB trade deadline be any different?
