Manitoba's Peters a breakout star with White Sox

September 14, 2026

Key points from this story:

• Tristan Peters born and raised in Winkler
• 26-year-old outfielder
• Breakout season with Chicago White Sox
• Played in this summer's All-Star Game
• Drafted 207th overall in 2021
• Hit for the cycle in July

In fact, it's one -- Tristan Peters.

The 26-year-old Peters, who bounced around a number of minor professional league parks before finally seeing major-league duty last September, is having a breakout season with the Chicago White Sox. In fact, his play has been so outstanding that he played in this summer's all-star game at Atlanta.

Peters was drafted 207th overall in 2021 by the Milwaukee Brewers, traded to San Francisco Giants in 2022 and dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays a couple of months later. He played AA ball in 2023, moved up to AAA Durham in 2024 and was called up to Tampa last September when MLB rosters were expanded to 40 players.

Alas, in 12 late-season at-bats for the Rays, Peters had a .000 batting average, with seven strikeouts. Another trade? Yep, he was sent to the White Sox last December in a transaction that attracted little attention (other than in the Winkler-Morden Voice, perhaps). How eager were the Whites Sox to acquire Peters? They got him from the Rays, who are now lamenting their decision to dump Peters, for cash and a player to be named later.

Suddenly, however, the talent that scouts saw in Peters when he led the Okotoks Dawgs to the Western Major Baseball League championship in 2019 by batting.396 with 12 home runs and 44 RBI and earning playoff MVP honours has erupted into a major-league star on the south side of Chicago.

Overnight success? Hardly.

Heading into the final few games of the season, Peters led the resurgent White Sox in batting average, was third in OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging) and during one August stretch, homered in five consecutive games. He also hit for the cycle in a game against the Athletics in July.

"It's amazing. I don't know what words there are for what he's doing," White Sox manager Will Venable told MLB.com. "Really, really special. Really cool to watch."

Considering the previously sadsack White Sox have been leading the American League Central Division most of the season and are almost guaranteed a playoff spot, it's not too farfetched to say that Peters' performance has been one of the most important aspects of the White Sox turnaround. The Sox haven't made the playoffs since 2021 and in each of the past three seasons lost more than 100 games. In 2024, they went 41-121.

Of Peters' 12 home runs through August, three of them immediately ended games in Chicago's favour. "Walk-offs mean good things happen, obviously," said Venable.

The online fan site 'South Side Sox' proclaims Peters as the team's Most Valuable Player this year. "The most important man on this roster was bought with the change between (owner) Jerry Reinsdorf's couch cushions: Centrefielder and bunting gremlin extraordinaire, Tristan Peters. Had it not been for Peters, there's no telling where the Sox would be in the standings."

Peters' bouncing around days appear to be over.

Sports Comments:

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