PHILADELPHIA — In each of the last three All-Star Games, the White Sox had a lone representative. Sometimes it was a deserving player and others it was a token rep to fulfill the rule that every team gets one. The White Sox hadn’t had two All-Stars since the 2022 season.
Until this year, that is. In 2026, they have three.
This time around, first baseman Munetaka Murakami, third baseman Miguel Vargas and center fielder Tristan Peters are representing the South Side in Philadelphia. In 2021, the last time they had at least three players on the roster, they actually had four: closer Liam Hendriks, shortstop Tim Anderson and starters Lance Lynn and Carlos Rodón. That five-year gap gives a nice illustration of what this franchise has gone through in recent years.
The White Sox made the playoffs in 2021. Then they went 81-81 before falling to 61-101 in 2023. They bottomed out to historic futility in 2024, losing 121 games. They lost 101 last season again. Those four All-Stars from 2021 are long gone and the trio this season have breathed life into the ballclub during its resurgence.
“I know a couple years ago, when I got there, it was a humbling process and we tried to build to what we’re doing right now,” Vargas stated on Monday. “I’m really excited about how well we’re playing right now and I’m having fun playing great baseball.”
Sure enough, the White Sox again sit in first place in the AL Central after the rebuild.
The All-Stars might seem unlikely to some, too.
Vargas was sent from the Dodgers to the White Sox in front of the 2024 trade deadline. We could phrase it like so: The team that would go on to win two straight World Series sent him away. He was terrible for the White Sox in 2024, but made good progress last season. This year, he’s been one of the best third basemen in baseball. In 94 games, he’s hitting .245/.355/.493, which is good for a 135 OPS+. He has 20 doubles, 21 home runs, 59 RBI, 64 runs and 11 steals with 3.3 WAR.
Instead of worrying about the Dodgers shipping him out, Vargas is grateful for being desired.
“I love the White Sox,” he stated. “I love the whole organization and they’ve embraced me. I’m very proud to represent the White Sox.”
Murakami came over from NPB and garnered less of a free-agency sweepstakes than expected, as illustrated by the fact that he signed a two-year, $34 million deal with a team considered a bottom-feeder. He’s been one of the coups of the offseason and a big reason that the Sox are a bottom-feeder no more. He recently returned from a hamstring injury that kept him on the bench for almost six weeks, but remains among the league leaders in home runs. He hit 20 in 60 games with 42 RBI, teaming with Vargas to make a scary power combo (well, a trio with Colson Montgomery — the White Sox are one of just two teams right now to have three players with 20 or more home runs).
Peters is the unlikeliest of the bunch. The 26-year-old rookie played in just four games for the Rays last season. He’s a former seventh-round pick and had been with the Brewers, Giants and Rays organizations before the White Sox grabbed him from Tampa Bay for cash considerations last December. It was a relatively irrelevant move at the time. Peters has made sure to rewrite that headline, though.
He broke camp with the big-league ballclub in a bit of a surprise, but wasn’t an everyday starter at the beginning of the season.
“This whole season has been full of surprises,” Peters stated. “I wasn’t sure if I was gonna make the team out of spring training. Make the team out of spring and it’s like, wow. This whole season has just been a whirlwind and I’m so blessed to be here.”
In 275 plate appearances across 91 appearances, though, Peters is hitting .301/.354/.478 (131 OPS+) with great defense and 3.0 WAR. Just days ago, he became the ninth player in franchise history to hit for the cycle. The power remains a work in progress, but it’s coming.
“We’re trying to unlock a little more power by using my lower half,” Peters stated. “It’s funny, they’ve been saying to me, ‘If you do this or that, you’ll be an All-Star!’ And I’m like, maybe years down the road. But now, I can’t believe it’s happened.”
It’s been quite the journey. Instead of being one of the worst teams in baseball, the White Sox appear to be in position to buy at the trade deadline this season.
“One hundred percent,” Vargas stated when asked if the prospect of adding excited him. “As players, sometimes we don’t think about what’s coming in the next few weeks, and we want to focus on being in position for a good second half, but it’s exciting to think the team could make some moves to help us out.”
Meantime, the goal is to hold this first-place lead.
“It’s a special team and we’re super excited to be where we’re at, but we’re not gonna stop now,” Peters stated. “We want to make the playoffs.”
“I think our mindset going in from the get-go was to make the playoffs. Now it’s become more real.”
