Hey, it's Zack.
Before I get into the White Sox story I want to highlight the players who owned the month of May. Two hitters. Two pitchers. And every one of them has a story worth telling.
MAY PERFORMERS
Nick Kurtz | Oakland Athletics | 1B
Nick Kurtz had one of the best months any hitter has had in baseball in 2026. Through May he hit .333 with five home runs and 26 RBI in 28 games posting a 1.025 OPS. The AL Player of the Month for May. The reigning AL Rookie of the Year. He started the season cold and people questioned whether a sophomore slump was coming. May answered that question.
JJ Bleday | Cincinnati Reds | OF
JJ Bleday was the fourth overall pick in the 2019 draft by the Miami Marlins. Seven years later he is finally looking like that pick. The Marlins traded him to the Athletics. The Athletics designated him for assignment at the end of 2025 after a disappointing season. The Reds signed him. He started 2026 in Triple A Louisville. Was called up April 25. In May he hit .301 with eight home runs, 25 RBI and a 1.018 OPS in 27 games. NL Player of the Month.
Spencer Arrighetti | Houston Astros | SP
Spencer Arrighetti was not even in the Houston opening day rotation. He was called up in early April after injuries hit the staff. What he has done since is remarkable. In May he went 4-1 with a 0.93 ERA in 29 innings across five starts. The AL Pitcher of the Month. He held hitters to a .165 batting average.
Cristopher Sanchez | Philadelphia Phillies | SP
Cristopher Sanchez did not allow a single earned run in May. Not one. Across five starts he went 4-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 39 innings with 45 strikeouts. The NL Pitcher of the Month. His 0.72 WHIP ranked second in the majors. His season ERA of 1.47 currently leads all of baseball. Sanchez is quietly putting together one of the best seasons by any pitcher in baseball.
Now let's dive into the White Sox.
THE ENTRANCE
Two years ago the Chicago White Sox lost 121 games. The most losses in the history of Major League Baseball in a 162 game season. It was not just bad. It was historically bad. A franchise record. A baseball record. A low point that seemed like it would take years to recover from.
One year ago they lost 102 games. Still awful. Still one of the worst teams in baseball. But something was quietly changing on the South Side.
This year the White Sox already have 33 wins. In 2025 the White Sox did not win their 32nd game until Game 95. In 2024 it took until Game 141. In 2026 they reached 32 wins in 59 games. That is a pretty impressive turnaround.
So how did this happen?
General manager Chris Getz deserves a lot of credit. When he took over a franchise in crisis he preached patience. He rebuilt the front office. He rebuilt the farm system. He brought in manager Will Venable and established a culture of accountability and development that had been missing for years.
What makes Getz unique among general managers is where he comes from. He was a player. He was drafted by the White Sox in the fourth round in 2005 out of the University of Michigan. He played parts of seven seasons in the big leagues for the White Sox, Royals and Blue Jays. He knows what it feels like to be in that clubhouse. He knows what players need to develop and what kills development. After retiring in 2014 he joined the Royals organization and was part of a World Series winning culture. He brought that experience back to Chicago. The combination of knowing the game from the inside and embracing analytics and sports science in player development is exactly what this rebuild needed. A former player who understands both worlds is a rare thing in a front office.
The key was not chasing big free agents to paper over the problems. It was building from within and letting the young core develop. That process took longer than any fan wanted. But the results are showing up now.
The centerpiece of the turnaround has been two players. Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery.
Murakami is one of the most decorated players in Japanese baseball history. He holds the NPB single season home run record with 56 in 2022, breaking a record held by Sadaharu Oh. He won two Central League MVP awards, a Triple Crown and an Olympic gold medal before signing with Chicago on a two year $34 million deal this offseason. He hit 12 home runs in March and April alone and added eight more in May before landing on the injured list with a hamstring strain on May 30. He has energized the fan base and expanded the team's international profile in a way nobody expected from a White Sox team that was losing 100 games two years ago.
Colson Montgomery has become equally vital. The shortstop made his MLB debut last July and has been one of the best players at his position in the entire league. Through his first 56 games of 2026 he has hit 14 home runs and driven in 35 runs.
The White Sox are not done building. GM Chris Getz has been clear that he is not looking to make drastic changes at the trade deadline. He wants to continue developing the young core rather than mortgaging the future for a quick fix. That is smart organizational thinking. The farm system is still loaded. The best may be yet to come.
THE DELIVERY
Here is what makes this story interesting from an organizational standpoint.
The White Sox did something that most struggling franchises are afraid to do. They committed fully to the rebuild. No half measures. No veterans brought in to paper over the losses and keep fans patient. They tore it down completely and trusted the process.
That takes patience from ownership, front office, coaches and fans. And it takes the right people making the right decisions at every level of the organization.
The comparison to the Kansas City Royals is interesting. Manager Matt Quatraro had a 56 and 106 record in 2023 when he took over in Kansas City. The following year the Royals went 86 and 76 and made the playoffs. The White Sox are following a similar path. Young talent developed correctly with the right culture in place moves fast.
There is also a lesson here for every organization in baseball. The teams that try to compete while rebuilding rarely do either well. The White Sox had the discipline to go all the way down before coming back up. That discipline is now paying off.
The concern going forward is health. Murakami's hamstring injury is concerning. Any team built around young players faces the reality that injuries can derail a season quickly. The White Sox have the depth to absorb some losses. Whether they have enough to compete in a division with Cleveland and Kansas City if things go wrong remains to be seen.
There is also one big question that hangs over all of this and White Sox fans know it well. Jerry Reinsdorf has owned this franchise since 1981. In that time the White Sox have never given out a $100 million free agent contract. Not once. Andrew Benintendi's $75 million deal is the largest in team history. Reinsdorf has been willing to spend when the time was right but never at the level the market demands for elite talent.
Last October reports surfaced that Reinsdorf was open to selling the team. In June of 2025 the White Sox announced a long term investment agreement with billionaire Justin Ishbia that establishes a framework for him to obtain controlling interest as early as 2029. Ishbia is already making capital infusions to help pay down team debt. No transaction can take place before 2029 and there is no guarantee one will happen. But the possibility of new ownership willing to spend at the highest level is something White Sox fans have never had before.
The real question for this organization going forward is this. The young core is in place. The culture is being built. The farm system is loaded. But at some point to win a championship you have to add elite talent. That costs money. The White Sox have proven they can rebuild from the ground up. What they have never proven is that they can take that next step and spend what it takes to go from contender to champion. That moment is coming. Whether ownership has the will to seize it will define this era of White Sox baseball.
THE SAVE
Two years ago this franchise was a punchline. 121 losses. The worst in baseball history. Nobody wanted to play there. Nobody wanted to cover them. The South Side felt forgotten.
Today they are one of the best stories in baseball.
That does not happen by accident. It happens because the right people made the right decisions and stuck with them even when it was hard. Even when the losses piled up. Even when the fans were frustrated and the media was brutal.
The long game. That is what this has always been about. Organizations that understand that and build accordingly are the ones that win. The White Sox are proof of what patience and organizational discipline can produce.
They are not done. The best of this group may still be ahead of them. But right now on the South Side of Chicago something real is happening.
And after everything those fans have been through they deserve every moment of it.
Talk soon, Z
The Save is a personal newsletter based on my own experiences, opinions, and recollections. The opinions expressed here are mine alone and do not represent any team, organization, union or employer past or present. When discussing players, contracts or organizational decisions I am sharing my perspective as a former player — not making legal or financial claims. When I share stories involving others I am telling them from my point of view. When I share tips or lessons I am sharing what worked for me. Always do your own research and consult professionals when making important decisions.