White Sox receive trade deadline projection fans won't like to hear

The Chicago White Sox are having an incredible 2026 MLB season so far through the middle of May. At 24-23, they're right behind the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the AL Central.

Munetaka Murakami, Colson Montgomery, and Miguel Vargas are leading the charge for a surging White Sox offense. It's been a fun year so far, as the White Sox might be real postseason contenders.

Naturally, the question now shifts to what the team's plans might be at the MLB trade deadline. Will they buy and try to contend, or will they sell, which was likely the plan coming into the year? Jim Bowen of The Athletic shared a projection for what they'll do.

"Trade deadline position: Sellers," Bowden writes. "Chicago is making progress but still has a ways to go and won't be able to stay at .500. Continuing their long-term building is the best play for them this season."

Bowden, despite seeing the success of the 2026 White Sox through 47 games, is projecting the team to still be sellers at the deadline. This projection certainly isn't one White Sox fans will like to hear.

White Sox fans won't like this trade deadline projection

The White Sox selling at this year's deadline is a very real possibility. They likely weren't expecting to be this good in 2026, so their plans likely revolved around trading some rentals to further set up their rebuild for success.

But, with Murakami mashing home runs at an AL-leading pace, and the team showing up in clutch situations frequently, it's hard not to hope this team can make the postseason.

However, if the White Sox could get something in return for players like Seranthony Dominguez, Erick Fedde, Andrew Benintendi, and other veterans, they should still consider trading them this year, even if this success continues.

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Now, trading someone like Murakami would be a mistake, but some of the others who aren't likely in the team's long-term plans would make sense to part with.

Still, this projection from Bowden would be a disappointing one for the fanbase. With how positive the vibes are this season, to wind up as sellers would be a major letdown.

Even if it might be the right call in the long-term rebuild plans of the team, the White Sox compromising their playoff odds this season to sell at the deadline would be something fans would not want to see.

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