3 Chicago White Sox free agents who won’t be back in 2025 and why

The 2024 Chicago White Sox were so bad it’s almost unimaginable. On Friday they lost their 121st game of the season, breaking the record for most losses in a single season in modern history.

Chicago needs to make some serious changes to its roster. Their reconstruction is just beginning. Many expect them to trade their two stars, Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr., either this offseason or before next year’s trade deadline.

Aside from those two, there are a few other free agents who won’t be back on the White Sox roster in 2025, either because Chicago doesn’t want them back or because they don’t want to lose 120 games again.

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For the White Sox to lose a record 121 games, they have to perform poorly across the board. Their pitching is bad, their hitting is bad, their bullpen is bad. It’s the entire squad. So if a player like Dominic Leone, a veteran right-handed reliever, leaves in free agency, the White Sox will likely part ways with him.

Leone was never a reliever, but he was never typically as bad as he was in 2024 with the White Sox. Leone pitched 19 innings with an ERA and FIP well over 6.00 and a WHIP that was close to 2.00. He was hit often and hard. When he didn’t allow hits, he was a batter.

It just wasn’t a good year for Leone. However, part of this is also due to his environment. It must be exhausting pitching for the worst team in modern history.

However, after such a bad season, I expect both parties to part ways. Leone probably doesn’t want to return to the White Sox unless that’s the only offer he has. Chicago wouldn’t want him back after his disastrous season as the younger talent could likely emerge and produce better results.

This one is pretty shaken. These two parties will not come to an agreement when Leone hits the market this offseason.

While Dominic Leone was considered a replacement due to his poor performance and is expected to leave in unrestricted free agency, the second player on this list still has a few years of arbitration left on his contract. The second player on this list who won’t be back in 2025 is veteran infielder Danny Mendick.

Mendick, 31, hasn’t spent a full season in the major leagues since the shortened 2020 season, in which there was no minor league season to send him to. He split the 2024 season roughly 50 percent with the White Sox and 50 percent with Triple-A. He wasn’t particularly impressive in either situation.

In the big leagues, he hit .197/.243/.318 with a negative WAR. In Triple-A, he hit .263/.330/.514 with 11 home runs. It’s gotten to the point where the White Sox would simply be better off letting him go and join another organization. He offers little to no value in the future rebuild and likely won’t be in the major leagues by the time Chicago is ready to compete again.

I would be surprised to see Mendick in Chicago next season.

While the first two players on this list were included because the White Sox may not want them back, this player will be here for a different reason. It’s 27-year-old starting pitcher Mike Soroka, who will enter free agency at the end of the year.

Soroka, 27, hasn’t had a great season. He failed to record a win and went 0-10, largely due to the White Sox’s terrible offense and struggling bullpen. Soroka posted a 4.93 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He wasn’t spectacular, but his career isn’t over yet.

With Soroka set to enter unrestricted free agency, multiple teams will likely be interested in signing him, either as a back-end starter or as a long-term backup option. He’s still a viable option in the big leagues, especially considering how many postseason teams have injury-plagued pitching staffs this season. Soroka will likely look to move to another team in a few months.

The only way Soroka wears the White Sox jersey in 2025 is if the White Sox are willing to significantly overpay for him. If not, I expect Soroka to move on to another organization in search of team success.