The White Sox and Red Sox have become familiar trade partners in recent years. They made the blockbuster Garrett Crochet trade last winter and connected on a separate, smaller trade that same offseason when the White Sox received reliever Cam Booser in exchange for pitching prospect Yhoiker Fajardo. The teams made yet another trade with each other earlier this offseason when Chicago acquired reliever Chris Murphy, sending minor league catcher Ronny Hernandez to Boston.

At this point, it’s fair to say that Chris Getz and Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow are clearly comfortable trading with each other. More importantly, the groundwork for another potential deal is already in place. The White Sox are loaded with catching and infield talent but need outfielders, while the Red Sox have an excess of outfielders but questions at the catcher position. A potential swap of a catcher for an outfielder could make sense for both organizations.

White Sox Strengths and Weaknesses

From the White Sox perspective, their strengths as an organization are clear: catching and infield depth. Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero figure to be one of the better catching duos in the league for years to come, while the infield has suddenly become a major strength as well. Colson Montgomery leads the White Sox infield at the MLB level along with Miguel Vargas, Chase Meidroth, Lenyn Sosa, and Munetaka Murakami.

Even with an infield at the MLB level that is young and figures to improve with time, the best infield talent in the White Sox organization could still be in the minors. The organization features several top infield prospects in the farm system, including Sam Antonacci, Caleb Bonemer, and Billy Carlson, who are all top 100 caliber prospects. The White Sox also hold the first overall pick in the 2026 draft, with UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky as the consensus top player in the class as of now. If the White Sox draft him or another infielder, they could have an embarrassment of riches in the infield.

For as strong as the White Sox infield pipeline is shaping up to be moving forward, the same cannot be said for the outfield. Other than Braden Montgomery, who was acquired in the aforementioned Crochet blockbuster, the South Siders are very thin on quality outfielders throughout the organization. They could potentially convert some of their infielders to the outfield or sign a quality free agent outfielder over the next few years, but as things stand now, fixing the outfield represents one of the biggest challenges of the ongoing rebuild.

Red Sox Strengths and Weaknesses

The Red Sox, on the other hand, have an abundance of outfield talent. Right fielder Roman Anthony has emerged as one of the MLB’s future superstars, while Gold Glove winner Ceddanne Rafaela figures to patrol center field at Fenway Park for years to come. Jarren Duran has quietly become one of the better left fielders in the game, and they also have Wilyer Abreu in their outfield mix who has become a well-above-average player in his own right.

Boston’s catching situation is much more suspect. Carlos Narváez had a respectable rookie season behind the plate for the Red Sox, but Boston has made it clear that they want to upgrade. They reportedly inquired about reacquiring Kyle Teel multiple times this offseason to no avail, and also had interest in veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto before he ended up staying with the Phillies.

Why It Makes Sense

Given their respective surpluses and weaknesses at different positions, it is logical that the teams could fill their needs by making another trade with each other. The White Sox have made it clear that Teel isn’t going anywhere, but Quero has drawn interest from multiple teams this offseason. Meanwhile, the Red Sox outfield has become crowded enough to the point where Duran or Abreu could potentially become expendable in the right deal.

A trade involving Quero and either Duran or Abreu as the centerpieces could make sense for both sides. For the White Sox, a trade like this would fill a major hole in the outfield and turn the position into a strength. Duran has three years of team control left, while Abreu has four, so either would become part of the White Sox core moving forward. It would also give the White Sox an affordable outfielder and enough financial wiggle room to sign a free agent starting pitcher as well. For the Red Sox, they would get their franchise catcher of the future in Quero, who is only 22 years old, has six years of control remaining, and has already shown his talent at the MLB level.

Given that Duran or Abreu are far more established than Quero, the White Sox would almost certainly have to include another player along with Quero to land either of them. They could potentially deal from their infield mix in the form of Lenyn Sosa if Boston wants another MLB-ready bat in their infield mix, or perhaps a prospect like Sam Antonacci who has prospect helium and could be called up as early as this season.

Mutually Beneficial Scenario

The White Sox and Red Sox, each with surpluses matching the other’s needs, can help each other by working out another trade. With their history of trading with each other in mind, a catcher-for-outfielder swap involving Edgar Quero and other players for one of Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu seems like a way for both teams to address their needs and improve their rosters ahead of Opening Day.

One of the worst new trends in sports is advertisements making their way onto uniforms. 

Classic uniforms across professional sports are being transformed into billboards, with jerseys, hats, and helmets being plastered with corporate advertisements. In 2023, Major League Baseball ventured into the new sponsorship frontier with 25 of its 30 teams rocking sponsorship patches during the 2024 season. 

In 2024, the Chicago White Sox were among just five teams without a jersey patch sponsor, along with the Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, and Washington Nationals. That distinction will soon disappear. After 125 seasons of White Sox baseball, the 2025 season may be remembered as the last in which the team’s traditional black-and-white uniforms were unsullied by sponsorship.

The White Sox announced Wednesday that CME Group will become the franchise’s first jersey patch sponsor. CME signed a multi-year agreement that also designates the company as Chicago’s official global exchange partner. The company sponsored the Blackhawks’ bench seats from 2008 to 2019, a period that included the team’s three Stanley Cup titles.

Because of the White Sox’s long uniform history, vice president and chief revenue marketing officer Brooks Boyer told MLB.com the organization wanted a sponsor with a clear connection to the Windy City.

But the White Sox’s delay in adding a jersey patch sponsor was not entirely by choice. Boyer acknowledged that three consecutive 100-loss seasons limited some sponsorship opportunities but said the team also declined proposals from other companies.

After promoting several of the organization’s top prospects, the White Sox showed improvement in the second half of the 2025 season, winning 28 of their final 65 games. The signing of international star free agent Munetaka Murakami in December also increased the team’s appeal to potential sponsors.

The CME Group’s chairman and CEO, Terry Duffy, was born and raised on the Southwest Side of Chicago. 

Now one of his favorite teams will sport his company’s logo on its home, road, alternate, and Nike City Connect uniforms as well as all Spring Training jerseys.  But if you are sitting in the nosebleeds and are unable to see the patch, the White Sox ensured your trip to Rate Field won’t go without seeing a CME Group logo. 

Under the terms of the deal, CME Group will also have fixed signage behind home plate and promotional opportunities throughout the season. 

The White Sox and Duffey insist that the new patch, which will change colors depending on what uniform is being worn, “flows well.” But make no mistake, the patch, like the majority of sponsor patches across the league, is hard to miss and flat out ruins the aesthetic of the jerseys. 

You can’t blame the White Sox for wanting to make a quick and easy buck, especially when the majority of the league has already done the same thing. But while the sponsorship patches are a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things, it feels like a step in the wrong direction. 

In the Premier League, the name across a player’s chest isn’t the club—it’s a sponsor. Major League Baseball hasn’t reached that level yet, but the addition of jersey patches makes it feel like all major sports are gradually moving in that direction. 

Now that the MLB has dipped its toes into the jersey patch realm, there’s no turning back. In 2023, the league average for patch deals was roughly $8 million, with the Yankees and Blue Jays signing agreements worth more than $20 million each. With that kind of revenue generated, and player salaries continuing to escalte, there is little reason for owners to return to their traditional unblemished uniforms.

The exact terms of the White Sox deal were not disclosed, but MLB requires multiyear contracts for teams that add a patch. Brooks Boyer told MLB.com he hopes the partnership lasts beyond the initial agreement, meaning fans will likely be seeing the CME Group logo on White Sox uniforms for years to come.