The Chicago White Sox are once again in a rebuild.

That means highly touted prospects such as Colson Montgomery, Edgar Quero, and Kyle Teel have a shot to make the Opening Day 26-man roster.

It also means there are five players currently on the 40-man roster who should be on their last shot to make an impact. In the case of one player, it is just a matter of proving he can stay on the field. If that does not happen, that player will no longer be considered an asset to the franchise.

Luis Robert Jr.

2025 is looking like Robert Jr’s final season on the Southside. He may not even break camp with the White Sox as the front office seems intent on trading him before Opening Day.

There were reports last week that the Cincinnati Reds and the White Sox were engaged in trade talks but could not find common ground to send the former All-Star to the NL Central.

One speculated reason behind the front office wanting Luis Robert Jr. traded before Opening Day is they do not trust him to stay healthy to rebuild his full trade value before the in-season trade deadline.

If he suffers another injury where he misses significant time like he did in 2024, the White Sox seriously have to consider buying him out for $2 million rather than exercise his team option for $20 million in 2026.

Andrew Vaughn

He has produced just replacement-level numbers during his first four seasons.

That is not good enough for a player who was touted as a cornerstone piece when he was selected No. 3 overall in the 2019 draft.

His first-half slump in 2024 helped put that team on a trajectory to have a historic losing season. Luis Robert Jr also missing 60 games was a big part of that too. Vaughn being unable to make up for Robert Jr’s bat missing for that amount of time contributed to the offense being the league’s worst.

The Sox let franchise icon Jose Abreu walk in free agency after the 2022 season just so Andrew Vaughn could play his natural first base position. So far, he has been unable to carry the torch passed to him by Abreu.

The Sox decided to tender him a contract this offseason, and he is under club control for only one more season.

If he does not produce at the plate, there is a good chance the team could decide to non-tender him next offseason.

Lenyn Sosa

He finished 2024 strong with a .388/.405/.588 slash line and four home runs over the final 28 days of the season.

However, he was demoted twice to Triple-A last season and had a .174/.193/.186 slash line during the month of August.

Maybe his red-hot September was the sign of Sosa figuring things out. It could just be he had a hot month.

Sosa was once a highly regarded White Sox prospect who has never been able to establish consistent play at the big-league level. Well, for a while he has been consistently bad outside of that hot streak in September.

That tremendous September did do enough to earn him a shot to compete for the starting second or third base job depending on what the Sox want to do with him in the infield.

Although, he is a terrible defender.

This season must be his final chance to prove he can be a viable everyday big-league player as he is out of minor-league options.

Oscar Colas

How he is even still on the 40-man roster is a mystery.

He has gone from being the potential long-term solution in right field, to the dog house with how recklessly he played in 2023, to only playing in 13 big-league games last season, and then not even getting a September callup.

Yet, he is still on the 40-man roster despite general manager Chris Getz not giving Colas a ringing endorsement during the Winter Meetings.

Colas is no longer considered a young prospect since he is 26. He does have one minor-league option left, but it still does not make sense to keep him around, given the advocates for him in the organization are gone, and the team is going with veterans Austin Slater and Mike Tauchman in right.

Miguel Vargas

He was the crown jewel in the return of what is trending toward an ill-fated three-team deal Getz made at last year’s trade deadline, where he sent pitcher Erick Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham to St. Louis and pitcher Michael Kopech to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Vargas was terrible once he came to the White Sox. He struggled to hit velocity, and possibly, he struggled to go from the best team in baseball to the worst.

He looked shellshocked most of the time after coming over from the Dodgers.

Vargas is still 25 and a headliner in a major trade, so he is going to be given another shot to live up to his immense potential.

However, the Sox do have options at third base if he does not work out. Bryan Ramos is still considered a top-30 prospect for the Sox. The team did sign veteran Josh Rojas, and third base is his best fielding position.

Vargas has to figure out how to hit heat or otherwise, he is never going to reach his immense potential.