White Sox are real postseason contenders with one huge asterisk

White Sox are real postseason contenders with one huge asterisk originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

There have been a ton of interesting storylines developing around Major League Baseball in 2026, but the production from the Chicago White Sox might be one of the biggest surprises.

The White Sox just beat the Chicago Cubs in their rivalry series over the weekend, and now are just one game back of the Cleveland Guardians for the top seed in the AL Central.

While things have gone well this year, is this White Sox an actual postseason contender? It's hard to imagine them as such after years of mediocrity, but as ESPN's David Schoenfield highlighted, the team is a contender.

"Verdict: Real," Schoenfield writes. "… Maybe the White Sox will be not just the surprise team of 2026, but one of the all-time shockers."

However, even though Schoenfield is willing to call the White Sox real contenders for the postseason, there is one huge asterisk: the weak American League.

White Sox are real contenders with 1 asterisk

"This one comes with a bit of an asterisk," Schoenfield writes. "Basically, a .500 team might make the playoffs in the AL…"

The White Sox are 24-22 right now, nothing overly impressive this early in the season. But, besides being just one game back in the AL Central, the White Sox have a two-game lead over the rest of the AL for a postseason spot.

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But it's not even the third and final Wild Card spot that the White Sox currently own. They have the second Wild Card spot, as they are in a good spot compared to the 22-24 Texas Rangers, who are in the final postseason spot at the moment.

Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and Colson Montgomery are some very fun players, but this team as a whole doesn't have the same potential as some of the other postseason contenders, especially in the National League.

But, residing in the weak American League, the White Sox might not need to do much to get into the playoffs this year. Schoenfield is calling the White Sox real postseason contenders, but with the asterisk of the weak AL being a big boost for their playoff odds.