The Chicago White Sox were one of the most fun teams of the 2026 regular season and that trend has continued into the playoffs. Wizard hats, magic wands and the power of friendship helped the White Sox go from 60 to 84 wins in just one season. Drunken Munetaka Murakami celebrations have been a highlight of the playoffs so far and Chicago has showed no signs of slowing down.
The White Sox have taken a 2-0 lead over the American League Central-rival Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS and they need just one more win to clinch the upset. Boston Red Sox fans might recognize the names of some of the heroes during Chicago's playoff run — Murakami is one, but Chase Meidroth, Kyle Teel and Braden Montgomery have also posted some incredible moments.
The White Sox swept the Houston Astros in the Wild Card series. In Game 1, early runs from Meidroth and Montgomery gave Chicago a lead. In Game 2, Teel plated the first run of the game and scored off an Andrew Benintendi (another former Red Sox and 2018 World Series champion) single, and Meidroth homered.
Teel scored another run in Game 1 against Cleveland. In Game 2, Montgomery gave the White Sox a one-run lead with an RBI double and Meidroth padded it with another RBI single in the next at-bat.
Prospects from the Red Sox's Garrett Crochet trade are thriving in the postseason with the White Sox
BRADEN MONTGOMERY FOR THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/YeBoujhaiH
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) October 5, 2026
Meidroth, Montgomery and Teel were all part of the White Sox's return in the 2024 Garrett Crochet trade — they spent years (or just a few months, in Montgomery's case) in Boston's farm system before making their major league debuts months after the trade. The Crochet trade has been a success for the Red Sox even though he missed almost all of his second season, but seeing their former players thrive in the postseason after Boston's elimination hits a nerve.
Meidroth's success, in particular, is tough to see given the long-term struggle to maintain a talented second baseman in Boston. He batted .276/.350/.415 with 31 doubles and 16 home runs over 154 games. Meidroth was the best second baseman in the AL by fWAR (4.5). Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow has said he hopes Curtis Mead will be the Red Sox's starting second baseman next season and he was well into a breakout season when he fell injured shortly before the trade deadline, but Meidroth posted an entire successful season and he's hitting the cover off the ball in the playoffs (six hits and five RBI in four games).
The Red Sox have no reason to regret the Crochet trade, especially since they followed it with an extension that will keep him in Boston for years to come. But it still stings to see so many former Red Sox prospects find success in the postseason with another team after the Red Sox's brutal playoff elimination. At least they give Boston fans a clear AL team to root for in this year's playoff race.
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