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Offseason In Review: Chicago White Sox

The White Sox surprisingly landed a slugger out of Japan and won the draft lottery. The also finally found a trade match for Luis Robert Jr. and added a half-dozen veterans on shorter-term deals.

Major League Signings


Option Decisions


Trades and Claims


Notable Minor League Signings


Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses


Last year’s White Sox offseason was marked by the Will Venable managerial hire and the franchise-altering Garrett Crochet trade, against the backdrop of owner Jerry Reinsdorf showing some willingness to sell the team. During the summer we gained clarity on the ownership situation, with a plan in place to transfer ownership to Justin Ishbia at some point from 2029-34.

So executive vice president and general manager Chris Getz was operating from a somewhat more stable place this winter, his third offseason in the big chair. It was an active one, with the Sox adding larger contracts than which we’ve been accustomed to under Getz.

A day after the 2025 regular season ended, the White Sox announced that pitching coach Ethan Katz and hitting coach Marcus Thames would not be returning, among others. Katz was initially hired back in the Rick Hahn era, and Thames was an early Getz addition. With a year under his belt as manager, Venable was able to provide input leading to the early November hires of Zach Bove as pitching coach and Derek Shomon as hitting coach.

Bove had a winding path to the job, and his last position with the Royals was “heavy on analytics, especially pitch design,” according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Shomon, a native of the Chicago suburbs, has an unconventional background as well. His previous job was with the Marlins, known as an analytical club, and Shomon is often linked to Kyle Stowers‘ success last year.

In a reminder that plans change and GMs don’t always tip their hand, Getz kicked off the winter by downplaying his desire to do multiyear free agent deals and saying the club was planning on center fielder Luis Robert Jr. staying put.

Getz’s first signing was indeed for two years for Anthony Kay, but at a modest $12MM total. Kay, a southpaw who turns 31 soon, is a former Mets’ first rounder who was dealt to Toronto at the 2019 trade deadline in the Marcus Stroman deal. He failed to stick in the Majors, bouncing around on waivers before heading to NPB and the Yokohama BayStars for the 2024-25 seasons. Kay had a nice run for the BayStars, particularly his 1.74 ERA last year.

Kay developed a sinker in Japan, leading to groundball-centric success. That might not match up well with the current White Sox infield outside of Colson Montgomery. Still, 150 innings of 4.50 ball would suffice at this price, as $12MM doesn’t usually buy you one year of a decent fourth starter. Kay seems unlikely to match Erick Fedde’s initial run with the White Sox (3.11 ERA in 21 starts), which stands as a clear win for Getz given that it netted the team’s starting third baseman in Miguel Vargas plus a couple of infield prospects.

A day after the Kay signing, the White Sox had a monumental win: their 27.73% chance of landing the first overall pick in 2026 came through. These things can change, but at present the clear favorite to go 1-1 is UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky. Last September, Carlos Collazo of Baseball America called Cholowsky “the most impressive college shortstop prospect in the last 10 years,” naming top draft picks Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman “reasonable benchmarks.” Though the White Sox are flush with infield talent hoping to join Montgomery, that presumably won’t stop them from taking Cholowsky if he’s atop their board on July 11th.

Winning the top pick was not the most likely outcome for the White Sox, but we knew the exact odds of it happening. If you’d asked me back in October to assess their chances of signing Yakult Swallows slugger Munetaka Murakami, I’d have put the odds lower than 28%. I liked the idea, suggesting as much in my Offseason Outlook as a means of the White Sox planting a flag in the Japanese market after sitting it out for roughly 20 years. But at the time I expected the 26-year-old to secure $100MM+ and did not think Jerry Reinsdorf would approve that, given that the club has never guaranteed more to a player than Andrew Benintendi‘s disastrous $75MM deal.

It’s unknown what other offers Murakami received, but the White Sox were able to beat out the Red Sox and get it done for just two years and $34MM, plus a $6.575MM posting fee paid to the Swallows. Murakami didn’t offer much insight as to why he chose Chicago, but it’s safe to assume his market didn’t materialize as expected.

In signing with the White Sox, Murakami enters a low-pressure environment and maintains the ability to re-enter free agency (post-lockout) still a few months shy of his 28th birthday. He brings 70-grade power with a 40-grade hit tool, with strikeout rates even in NPB approaching 30%. He also crushed 39 home runs per 650 plate appearances over his last three seasons, and that doesn’t include his 56 homer 2022 campaign (an NPB record for a Japanese-born player). Murakami “struggles with offspeed and spin,” per Baseball America, but they think he has the bat speed to catch up with the high-velocity fastballs he rarely saw in NPB.

70-grade power is rare, though. Five years ago, prospects landing that grade by BA included Pete Alonso, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Nolan Gorman, Wander Franco, Jo Adell, and Eloy Jimenez. Alonso’s hit tool was 45 and Gorman’s was 50, for reference. There will be plenty of swing and miss with Murakami, but if he can manage a .330 on-base percentage with 30 home runs anyway, it won’t matter. This is an excellent opportunistic addition by the White Sox, and Murakami adds to the growing excitement around the team that began with Montgomery’s instant success last July. Even if Murakami goes bust, it will have been a risk worth taking for a team still running the third-lowest cash payroll in the game at $82.17MM (according to Ethan Hullihen).

Just before the holidays, the White Sox added a solid and affordable upgrade to the pitching staff with the signing of 32-year-old southpaw Sean Newcomb for $4.5MM. Like many pitchers, Newcomb would like to get back to starting if possible, not having done so in any significant capacity since his time with the 2018 Braves. Newcomb pitched quite well out of the A’s bullpen following a May trade, but he did go 60+ pitches eight times last year and features six different pitches. Newcomb seems likely to begin the year in the bullpen and is pretty easily the club’s best lefty reliever, but it’s not hard to see a starting opportunity emerge for him.

The White Sox’ next couple moves were minor league signings: outfielder Jarred Kelenic and lefty reliever Ryan Borucki. Given Getz’s highlighting of these pickups, both seem likely to make the team. Kelenic, 26, was drafted sixth overall by the Mets in 2018 and was key to the club getting Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz six months later. Regarded as a top-five prospect in baseball prior to 2021, Kelenic had modest success in Seattle in ’23 and was effectively purchased by the Braves. The signing might not amount to much, but this is definitely the outfield to join for a former hotshot seeking an opportunity.

A bad White Sox outfield got even worse in mid-January, as Robert’s time with the club came to an unceremonious end with a trade to the Mets. Robert peaked in 2023, his only season topping last year’s 110 games. That club won 61 games and fired Hahn for Getz in August. I wrote in March of 2024, “Luis Robert may be at peak value coming off a healthy 5-WAR season, and he’s controlled through 2027. A case could be made that if his performance is largely irrelevant on bad teams in ’24 and ’25, and the team might just be turning the corner in ’26, the optimal move is to cash him in now for the maximum return. But the White Sox probably don’t see their timeline that way, and keeping Robert simply as a reason to watch the team is defensible.”

So I wasn’t beating Getz up at the time for holding on to his star, but in hindsight keeping Robert all these years was the wrong move. The main piece of the Mets trade is Luisangel Acuña, younger brother of Ronald and a former top-75 prospect. Acuña’s star has dimmed considerably, as he’s struggled to hit Triple-A pitching. He’s out of minor league options and seems ticketed for a long runway trying to replace Robert in center, and otherwise a utility role. We don’t know what Getz turned down in his two-plus years of fielding offers for Robert, but it had to have been better than the return he ultimately received.

Some might say that within the bounds of this offseason, picking up Robert’s option and swapping him for Acuña and a lottery ticket arm in Truman Pauley was a modest win. But since the team’s current payroll actually sits lower than it was at the end of the 2025 season, ditching Robert’s $20MM (and his $2MM buyout for 2027) seemed unnecessary if the return was Acuña. The decision doesn’t line up well with the choice to bring in Murakami on roughly the same terms Robert would’ve had if his ’27 option was picked up. If you’re moving toward being an interesting and watchable team, why not just keep Robert?

I know fans may say Robert was hardly watchable these last couple years, but he clearly has value as a Major Leaguer if the Mets were willing to take on his entire salary and pay a 110% tax on it. I wonder if the Mets would’ve surrendered something better had the White Sox eaten money. All that said, it’s hard to find major beef with moving on from a player who was worth 1.8 WAR over the last two years.

So Robert’s salary was duly unloaded, and Getz promised to spend the savings on a bunch of cool stuff. Seranthony Dominguez was signed for $20MM, effectively consuming the entire savings but over two years. Dominguez, 31, averages nearly 98 miles per hour on his heater and punched out over 30% of batters faced in 62 2/3 innings last year. That came with a 13.8% walk rate, sixth-worst in MLB for relievers with at least 50 innings pitched. Dominguez pitched another 11 1/3 in the postseason for Toronto, issuing free passes to 22% of batters faced and beaning one too.

This was Getz’s first multiyear deal for a free agent reliever; the club had taken about four years off from giving those out. The White Sox sometimes overspent in this area under Hahn. In Getz’s case, the Dominguez deal was fairly harmless, in that the club is still below last year’s payroll. There are only so many places to spend money if you’re a rebuilding team.

More bullpen money was spent on Jordan Hicks, though the White Sox absorbed $16MM of his $24MM over the next two years more as a means of purchasing a 50-grade MLB-ready arm from Boston in the person of David Sandlin. The White Sox sent back a lesser pitching prospect, Gage Ziehl, in the deal. Sandlin will start the season in the minors. I don’t recall this type of trade from the White Sox previously, so props to Getz for using financial flexibility to bolster the farm system. A change of scenery and full bullpen commitment to Hicks could pay dividends as a cherry on top. With Dominguez, Hicks, and Grant Taylor, the White Sox have a trio of upper-90s righties in their bullpen, and Jordan Leasure has above-average velocity as well.

The rest of the Robert savings went to Austin Hays, who jumped at the chance to secure regular at-bats for the first time since 2023. Hays has destroyed lefties for the last couple of years, but has just a 78 wRC+ against righties. He adds a veneer of credibility to what still projects to be the worst outfield in baseball. Andrew Benintendi, Acuña, Derek Hill, and Everson Pereira figure to round out the group. Outfielder Mike Tauchman, the team’s third-best hitter last year, was non-tendered and went to the Mets on a minor league deal.

Unloading Benintendi and some portion of the $31MM owed to him over the next couple years would certainly be fine. But according to James Fegan of Sox Machine, Getz said in February, “In regards to interest from other clubs, we haven’t had too many conversations about Andrew, so we anticipate he’s going to be on this club come opening day.” Benintendi has been below replacement level in his three years with the White Sox, and may yet finish his contract in another uniform, but there’s little trade value to be mined here.

The White Sox capped off their offseason by bringing back Erick Fedde on a cheap one-year deal. Fedde seems to have leapfrogged Newcomb for a rotation job despite being one of the worst regular starters in the game last year. I assume this is based on the 21 solid starts Fedde gave the White Sox in 2024. I don’t expect much here, but at $1.5MM it’ll be easy to cut bait if necessary. Newcomb, Sandlin, Tanner McDougal, Jonathan Cannon, Austin Voth, and others will be on hand to join the rotation as needed. Drew Thorpe, key to the Dylan Cease deal two years ago, should be back from Tommy John surgery around the All-Star break.

The White Sox may have found something interesting in former Rule 5 pick Shane Smith, who pitched well enough last year to represent them in the All-Star Game and will take the ball against his old team in Milwaukee on Opening Day. Smith came on particularly strong with a 27.6 K% over his final dozen starts. The rotation is thin otherwise as the Sox wait to see if top lefty pitching prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith will bounce back from off-years. Out of the gates, the starting five is likely to be Smith, Davis Martin, Sean Burke, Kay, and Fedde. As it stands, the White Sox have one of the worst rotations in baseball.

When I see an $82MM payroll and a guy like Fedde filling out the rotation, I wonder why the White Sox couldn’t have found someone more compelling. The problem is that good free agents generally don’t want to join 60-win teams unless they vastly overpay. For example, Cody Ponce is more interesting than Anthony Kay, but how much over the Blue Jays’ $30MM offer would the Sox have had to go to lure him away from the defending AL champs? Lucas Giolito‘s best years came in a White Sox uniform, and he remains unsigned, but the Fedde signing suggests the Sox don’t want to commit decent money to this rotation spot.

The White Sox’s catching depth is worth a mention. Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero took most of the team’s innings behind the plate in 2025, and both have six years of control remaining. Teel’s 125 wRC+ ranked sixth in baseball among catchers with at least 250 plate appearances. Teel seems to be ahead of Quero defensively, though the latter’s struggles with pitch framing may be muted by the implementation of the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System this year. Quero managed to hold his own at the plate with a 95 wRC+.

This depth led to some rumored trade inquiries during the offseason, but nothing came of it and the young pair can certainly coexist on the White Sox. Korey Lee, who is out of minor league options, may wind up traded. However, Teel’s unfortunate hamstring strain in Italy’s victory over Team USA in the World Baseball Classic should buy Lee some time.

The White Sox haven’t played .500 ball since doing exactly that in 2022, and that streak is likely to extend to four years in ’26. Their farm system seems to sit middle of the pack or worse, but part of that is due to graduations of quality players. The team’s core is coming along nicely, and will get a big boost with the first overall pick in July.

Core pieces are emerging in the Majors on the South Side, mainly Montgomery, Teel, and Smith. The next phase figures to be locking some of these guys up, even if Hahn’s 2019-20 series of extensions didn’t really work out. All three could make sense in the immediate future. None are fully proven in the Majors, but the price will go up if they establish themselves.

Though Murakami may end up more of a short-term win, the White Sox franchise is making long-term progress. They’re looking solid at catcher and shortstop, they’ve got six top-100 prospects, and a plan is in place for better ownership. Can a team projected to win fewer than 70 games make any kind of noise this year? Once in a while, a team with this kind of projection flirts with a .500 record, and that’s probably the best case scenario for the 2026 White Sox.

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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/03/offseason-in-review-chicago-white-sox-18.html
 
AL Central Notes: Valera, Collins, Baldwin

Guardians outfielder George Valera has made a solid case for the left field job this spring. The 25-year-old has an .833 OPS across 10 games. Valera hasn’t been in the lineup since Monday, and manager Stephen Vogt revealed his dealing with a mild left calf strain. He’ll remain sidelined for a few more days, relays Tim Stebbins of MLB.com.

Valera made his debut in the final month of the 2025 campaign. He delivered a respectable 113 wRC+ in his brief stint with Cleveland. The lefty-swinging outfielder was on the bench in Game 1 of the Wild Card round with Tarik Skubal on the mound for the Tigers, but drew the start in right field for the next two games of the series. Valera homered off of Casey Mize in the first inning of Game 2, setting the tone for Cleveland’s lone win.

The Guardians struggled mightily to find consistent offense in the outfield last year. Steven Kwan had a fine season, but Cleveland finished dead last in OPS in both center field and right field. Angel Martinez was the main culprit in center, with Nolan Jones dragging down the numbers in right. The current plan for the upcoming season is for Kwan to move to center field, with Valera and top prospect Chase DeLauter handling the corners, at least against right-handed pitching. Martinez and Johnathan Rodriguez could factor in against lefties.

Outside of a stumble in his first taste of Triple-A, Valera has typically held his own as a hitter at every minor league level. Injuries limited his workload in 2025, but he slashed .255/.346/.457 in 28 games at Columbus.

A newcomer to the division is dealing with a minor injury of his own. Isaac Collins of the Royals is working through back/side tightness, reports Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The outfielder hasn’t suited up for a spring game since Tuesday. Collins downplayed the issue to Rogers, describing the injury as something he doesn’t want to attempt to play through with Opening Day around the corner.

Kansas City acquired Collins and right-hander Nick Mears from the Brewers for Angel Zerpa in mid-December. The outfielder was a bit of a late bloomer, debuting as a 26-year-old with Milwaukee in 2024. He only appeared in 11 games that season, but emerged as an everyday player this past year.

Collins posted a 122 wRC+ across 441 plate appearances in his first extended chance as a big leaguer. He chipped in nine home runs and 16 stolen bases. Braves catcher Drake Baldwin took home NL Rookie of the Year honors fairly comfortably, but Collins finished fourth in the voting, just behind former teammate Caleb Durbin.

Similar to the Guardians, the Royals had a tough time finding reliable offensive production in the outfield last season. The club made sure to address that need this winter, trading for Collins and signing Lane Thomas and Starling Marte. The two veteran additions are right-handed, making them sensible platoon partners for Kyle Isbel and Jac Caglianone. The switch-hitting Collins should be ticketed for an everyday gig in left field, assuming this injury isn’t too serious.

The White Sox outfield will be missing a familiar face this year, with longtime center fielder Luis Robert Jr. getting dealt to the Mets. His potential replacement is now dealing with an arm injury. Brooks Baldwin has been sidelined with elbow inflammation, per Kyle Williams of the Chicago Sun-Times. The versatile 25-year-old hasn’t appeared in a spring game for more than a week. “Talking to the trainers, we got an image, we got everything done,” Baldwin said. “But a lot of soreness in there, [we’re trying] to get it to calm down and take it day to day and see where we’re at.”

Baldwin spent the majority of the 2025 season with the big-league club, slashing .240/.290/.407 with 11 home runs across 103 games. He made 64 starts in the outfield, but also picked up double-digit appearances at second base, third base, and shortstop. Baldwin is headed for regular center field work this year, flanked by Andrew Benintendi and new arrival Austin Hays. If he’s forced to miss time, journeyman Derek Hill and former Yankee Everson Pereira would be candidates to see increased opportunities.

Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/03/al-central-notes-valera-collins-baldwin.html
 
Injury Notes: Vasil, Neto, Jung, Wheeler

White Sox right-hander Mike Vasil left today’s Spring Training game with elbow soreness, the team announced. He is set to undergo further testing. Vasil started the game with 3 2/3 scoreless innings before issuing two walks, calling for the trainer, and ultimately departing. That continued his effort to build up as a starter after working mostly in relief in 2025. In 101 innings over 47 appearances (three starts), he posted an excellent 2.50 ERA, albeit with less-shiny peripherals including a 4.32 FIP. On the plus side, Vasil induced groundballs 51.4% of the time and provided plenty of value by eating innings. Though he proved himself in the bullpen last year, he had an outside shot at joining the rotation in 2026, according to manager Will Venable.

The Sox open their season on March 26 on the road against the Brewers, so Vasil may not have time to fully build up if he is anything more than day-to-day. If he misses time, the club will roll with Davis Martin, Sean Burke, Anthony Kay, and Erick Fedde in the rotation behind 2025 All-Star Shane Smith. Given that he’s stretched out for multiple innings, Vasil could return to long relief at first then join the rotation later if there’s an injury.

A few other injury updates from around the league:

  • Angels shortstop Zach Neto injured his left hand on a head-first slide into home in today’s game against the Mariners. He was set to undergo tests after the game, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Neto ended the 2025 season on the injured list with a left hand strain, and he underwent surgery in 2024 to fix a right shoulder injury that he incurred from a head-first slide. Today’s injury doesn’t seem nearly as serious, with manager Kurt Suzuki saying “it was a little more optimistic” after he spoke to Neto in the dugout. If Neto misses time, one of Vaughn Grissom or Oswald Peraza could draw some early starts at shortstop for the Halos.
  • Rangers third baseman Josh Jung took six plate appearances on a back field today, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. He’ll take a few more tomorrow, then play against the White Sox on Monday. Jung has been out of action since February 24 due to a Grade 1 adductor strain, though manager Skip Schumaker downplayed the severity of the injury. Jung batted .251/.294/.390 with a 91 wRC+ in 131 games in 2025. He stayed healthy outside of a minimum IL stint at the start of the year, but it marked his first below-average offensive campaign since his 26-game debut in 2022. Both Jung and Shumaker seem confident that the former will be ready for Opening Day.
  • Phillies ace Zack Wheeler threw a live batting practice session today, his first time facing hitters since undergoing thoracic outlet surgery in September. He will throw a bullpen session on Tuesday, manager Rob Thomson told reporters including Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer. That could set him up to appear in at least one game before the end of Spring Training, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Granted, this is more of an expected progression in Wheeler’s rehab than a sign that he will make an early return. Wheeler himself emphasized that “We’ve still got a long way to go,” while Thomson said last month that Wheeler could be back in action not “too far beyond” Opening Day.

Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/03/injury-notes-vasil-neto-jung-wheeler.html
 
White Sox Place Alexander Alberto On Waivers

The White Sox have placed Rule 5 pick Alexander Alberto on waivers, reports James Fegan of Sox Machine. Another club could claim the right-hander but would be subject to the standard Rule 5 restrictions, meaning Alberto would not be eligible to be optioned to the minors. If he clears waivers, he will have to be offered back to the Rays.

This effectively means that Alberto isn’t breaking camp with the Sox. Chicago made two Rule 5 picks in December, taking right-hander Jedixson Paez from the Red Sox and Alberto from the Rays. Alberto has tossed 6 2/3 innings over seven spring appearances, having allowed ten runs, eight of them earned. He struck out seven batters but allowed 12 hits, issued four walks and threw one wild pitch.

Under the regulations of the Rule 5, the selecting team must pay $100K to the club they take the player from. The player cannot be optioned to the minors and must therefore stay on the active roster or injured list. If he survives a full season with his new club, including at least 90 days on the active roster, then his rights fully transfer over to the drafting club.

With Alberto’s rough spring showing, it seems the Sox aren’t going to break camp with him. It was always a long shot pick, as Alberto’s career topped out at High-A last year. To skip over Double-A and Triple-A and stick in the big leagues, even with a rebuilding club, would be a tall order.

It’s possible some other club takes a chance on the stuff. Last year, Alberto tossed 48 2/3 innings on the farm, allowing 2.59 earned runs per nine. His 10% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 30.6% of batters faced and induced grounders on 54.4% of balls in play. His cut fastball sits in the upper 90s while his upper 80s slider is considered a strong pairing. If no other club grabs him via waivers, he must be offered back to the Rays for $50K, half of the initial selection fee. The Rays would not need to carry Alberto on their 40-man roster.

Photo courtesy of Arianna Grainey, Imagn Images
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/03/white-sox-place-alexander-alberto-on-waivers.html
 
White Sox’ Mike Vasil To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

White Sox righty Mike Vasil will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2026 season, the team announced Tuesday. Vasil exited his most recent Cactus League outing due to elbow soreness and had been sent for imaging.

It’s as unwelcome a birthday present as one could imagine for Vasil, who’ll turn 26 on Thursday. The former Mets farmhand made his big league debut with the South Siders in 2025 and carved out a big role on the staff, piling up 101 innings of long relief over 47 appearances (three of them starts). He notched a sparkling 2.50 ERA, and while his pedestrian 19.4% strikeout rate and poor 12.3% walk rate led metrics like SIERA (4.58) and FIP (4.32) to view his work more harshly, Vasil looked like a strong candidate to make the club because of his ability to provide bulk relief behind a generally shaky rotation.

Instead, Vasil will spend the entire season on the injured list. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that he’ll accrue a full year of major league service and pay while rehabbing from the forthcoming UCL reconstruction. Vasil picked up a full year of service in 2025 as well, so he’ll be controllable for at least four more years upon his return in 2027. He’ll still have a full slate of minor league options remaining as well.

If not Vasil, the White Sox could look to free agent signees Sean Newcomb and Erick Fedde as long relief/swingman options, though Fedde at least appears ticketed for a rotation spot with the recent announcement from manager Will Venable that Newcomb will begin the season in the bullpen (via Kyle Williams of the Chicago Sun-Times). Southpaws Chris Murphy and Tyler Gilbert are also candidates to serve as long relievers out of Venable’s bullpen. Both have had solid spring showings, and both have minor league options remaining.
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/03/white-sox-mike-vasil-tommy-john-surgery.html
 
White Sox Finalize Season-Opening Rotation

White Sox manager Will Venable informed reporters (including Mark Feinsand of MLB.com) on Tuesday that the team has finalized its season-opening rotation. Opening Day starter Shane Smith will be followed in some order by Sean Burke, Davis Martin and offseason signees Anthony Kay and Erick Fedde.

Mike Vasil’s bid for a rotation spot was unfortunately dashed by an elbow injury that’ll require Tommy John surgery. Venable confirmed this afternoon that lefty Sean Newcomb will pitch out of the bullpen. The Sox optioned Jonathan Cannon, meaning he’ll open the season at Triple-A Charlotte.

There aren’t any huge surprises. Newcomb signed with an eye towards competing for a rotation spot, but Chicago’s subsequent $1.5MM deal with Fedde made it likelier the southpaw would end up in the bullpen. Newcomb also had a shaky Spring Training, allowing 10 runs (eight earned) across 12 innings. Fedde worked 8 2/3 frames of three-run ball with seven strikeouts and two walks.

Kay was more or less locked into the rotation once he signed a two-year, $12MM deal to return from NPB. The former Mets’ first-round pick has also had the best camp of anyone in the group. Kay has allowed only four runs while leading the team with 15 strikeouts across 16 1/3 frames. His fastball has averaged 95.4 mph.

No one else in the rotation mix has had a standout camp. Smith was the obvious choice to start on Opening Day after strong rookie season. Fedde was one of the worst pitchers in MLB last year but is a year removed from a solid ’24 campaign divided between the Sox and Cardinals. Martin and Burke are fringe starters but performed better than Cannon did in 2025. They entered the spring ahead of him on the depth chart. Cannon’s fine but unexceptional Spring Training numbers (11 innings, five runs, 10:5 strikeout-to-ratio) weren’t enough to flip that.

The rebuilding White Sox have begun to incorporate some potential foundational pieces on offense. The pitching is still quite a bit behind, as this is arguably the weakest on-paper rotation in the American League. The Kay signing provides an interesting wild card, though, and the White Sox added a mid-level pitching prospect (David Sandlin) by taking on part of Jordan Hicks’ contract in a trade with Boston.

Sandlin was optioned early in Spring Training but would be in the mix for a midseason promotion if he shows well in Triple-A. Non-roster prospects Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz probably have the highest ceilings of any pitchers in the organization. They each face questions about whether they’ll throw enough strikes to be mid-rotation or better arms and are looking to rebound from shaky ’25 seasons in the minors.
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/03/white-sox-finalize-season-opening-rotation.html
 
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