Cubs vs White Sox 2025 Comparison: Crosstown Rivals’ Highs and Lows

The curtain has fallen on the 2025 MLB season, and its final act was a classic. The Los Angeles Dodgers had been favorites to win the World Series all year long, but those who were certain of a second straight triumph did falter somewhat on the eve of the postseason getting underway. The underdog Toronto Blue Jays did their utmost to take full advantage of that wavering support.

Canada’s finest led the World Series 1-0 and then 3-2, putting them on the brink of a seismic upset. But the Dodgers ultimately proved too much to handle, clawing back the deficit before winning a thrilling game seven on enemy territory at Rogers Centre to  hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy for the second straight year,

But while the world’s attention turned to the West Coast for yet another coronation, Chicago’s baseball scene once again became a tale of two cities—one drenched in hope and heartbreak, the other clawing for every glimmer of daylight in a tunnel of never-ending transition. Here’s the full breakdown on where both the Mets and the White Sox stand at the culmination of the 2025 season, and where they need to strengthen in the offseason to mount a challenge next term.

Chicago Cubs and the Blueprint for Sustained Success 

The North Side faithful, scarred and seasoned, witnessed a campaign that punched well above its weight. Heading into 2025, the Cubs hadn’t reached the postseason in any of the last four seasons, and the odds providers didn’t fancy their chances. Even after amassing a blistering 92-70 record, next season’s MLB odds still make the Cubs dark horses, pricing them as mere +2500.

But the building blocks for a deep postseason run are certainly in place, despite the drama that defined this postseason. October’s opening act saw the Cubs outdueling rivals and snatching the NL’s top Wild Card, before going on to outlast the San Diego Padres. Then, however, came the test of the Milwaukee Brewers—the NL’s top seed after racking up a league high 97 wins—in a Division Series that swung like a metronome. Five feverish games which swung one way then the next, only for a pitching masterclass from Abner Uribe to cut the power on the Cubs’ hopes with the season on the line once and for all, paradise denied.

MAKE IT A FINAL – THE BREWERS BEAT THE CUBS 3-1 AND ARE OFF TO THE NLCS WHERE THEY’LL PLAY THE DEFENDING CHAMPION LA DODGERS

pic.twitter.com/nGtBvjGENq

— Bodog (@BodogCA) October 12, 2025

For all the electric moments, one Achilles’ heel kept flashing red: the bullpen. National writers branded their relief corps as untamed talent without a closer’s psyche, warning that if this group wanted more than just cameos, killer instinct had to become habit, not hope. Every blown save became a rallying cry for upgrades, and the analysts underlined the need for lockdown arms to supplement the thunder up top.

The North Side’s Next Moves

Numbers never tell the whole tale, but they frame the legend. Pete Crow-Armstrong—still just 23—put up a line of .247/.327/.489, clubbing 31 home runs and swiping 28 bags. Was this the arrival of a five-tool ace in center? With 95 RBIs and near-superhuman defense, he made believers out of every doubter. Dansby Swanson produced a classic campaign: 24 homers, a .244 average, and Gold Glove brilliance that powered his 4.8 WAR—turning tough hops into highlight reels and pressure into poise.

What now? The goal in 2026 is uncompromising: win the Central, flirt with 97 victories, and erase the ghosts of playoff stumbles. With an estimated $40 million in payroll leverage and a farm system firmly inside MLB’s top 8, Cubs brass know that if they make the right choices, their trajectory could be catapulted into World Series orbit.

Chicago waits, restless and ready. One savvy offseason, and the North Siders can push from wild-card warriors to legitimate October heavyweights.

White Sox’s Raw Rebuild

South of the Loop, optimism comes in smaller doses—and darker shades. The 2025 White Sox finished 60-102, a 19-win leap from their 41-121 nightmare of 2024, but still mired in AL Central shadows. Will Venable, a rookie skipper thrust into the fire, cycled through bruising lows: a .661 team OPS ranked dead last, and a midsummer triage list kept his lineups in flux. Yet as September waned, Guaranteed Rate Field pulsed with an unfamiliar energy—the Sox rattled off ten wins, powered by wave after wave of hungry young call-ups.

Was it enough? Not by most measures. Excruciating evolution was how some onlookers defined it—Chicago’s identity crisis played out in real time, with fans split between hope and hostility. The numbers don’t sugarcoat: attendance climbed slightly to 1.45 million, and #BabySox trended just long enough to dull the sharper edges of #SellTheTeam.

But even amid setbacks, stars began to crack through the clouds. Shane Smith delivered 145 strikeouts and a 3.81 ERA. The injury-riddled Luis Robert Jr., meanwhile, belted 14 home runs in 92 games, potentially delivering a preview of a monster 2026 campaign. That possibility alone has South Side fans dreaming of a team that will outperform its measly +50000 2026 World Series odds, the longest of any team in the entire MLB.

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