Two wishes for the 2025 White Sox season

Unlikely? Sure. But possible? A writer can dream ...

A new baseball season brings hope and promise of a fresh start for all teams, but for the Chicago White Sox, the sentiment isn’t completely there. Sox fans are excited to rip the Band-Aid off and begin the season, but there’s also plenty of unease and nervousness that the team will find a way to sink lower than last year.

Something dramatic has to happen for the pendulum to swing from worry and anxiety to total excitement. Although a pennant is not in the cards for this year, Sox fans can hope one of these two unlikely wishes will come true, completely altering the organization’s trajectory.

Luis Robert Jr. stays in Chicago
Hoping that Robert stays on the team is like wishing on a shooting star: The odds of it happening are minuscule, but you still do it anyway. GM Chris Getz will likely decide to deal Robert before the trade deadline, but there’s at least one alternate universe where he isn’t traded. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a world where alternate realities come true.

Barring any major injuries that deplete his value, Robert will garner plenty of trade interest. Despite playing poorly last year after a hip injury threw him off-kilter for the rest of the season, Getz still fielded offers on him over the winter. Now, Robert looks back in business with a .300/.386/.580 slash line along with eight RBIs and four home runs during Spring Training. Getz traded Garrett Crochet after he was stellar last year, so the chances that Robert plays well and stays is microscopic.

If the Sox pleasantly defy expectations and keep Robert, they’ll be like an evolved Angels. The only difference is that the 2023 Angels drained their prospects to make a playoff run while they still had Shohei Ohtani, whereas the Sox wouldn’t (hopefully) dare make the same mistake.

Justin Ishbia takes over the team
Ishbia’s purchase of Sox minority owners’ shares bodes well for a transfer of ownership in the future, but it won’t be rushed. Good ’ol Jerry Reinsdorf has had an iron grip on the franchise for a little under half a century, and there’s no sign of that changing in 2025.

Having Ishbia on the Good Guys’ side would be transformative. Imagine having an owner who wants to win and not just own a team as a hobby business. Although Reinsdorf helped the Sox win one ring in his lengthy tenure, the last three years of awful decisions and the extended, rinse-repeat rebuild have done irreparable damage to the fan base and the organization’s growth. It would be crazy to watch a good team and eat great food at the same time.

Having Ishbia as the owner would keep Robert on the team and boost fans’ spirits beyond belief. There hasn’t been an update in the three weeks after the news of Ishbia’s increased stake in the franchise broke, but there’s nothing left to do but hope that Ishbia becomes the owner this year.