The White Sox went into the trade deadline needing pitching help, and they paid for it in a big way.
Chicago was sitting atop the AL Central when the deadline passed, but with less than a month left in the regular season, the Guardians are still close enough to make the division race uncomfortable. The Sox brought in arms to steady the rotation, yet the early returns have been ugly. Huascar Brazoban has disappointed, and Luis Castillo has been even tougher to stomach.
That’s where the money starts to sting. As USA Today’s Bob Nightengale pointed out, Chicago took on the full $30 million remaining on Castillo’s contract in the deal with the Seattle Mariners, a move that already looks risky given how little payoff they’ve gotten so far.
"Castillo is yielding a 7.52 ERA and has lasted just 26.1 innings in his six starts," Nightengale writes. "Oh, and they assumed the entire $30 [million] remaining in his contract too."
Castillo came in as a buy-low swing: a former three-time All-Star who had been struggling in Seattle, but still carried the reputation of a proven starter. Instead, the White Sox have gotten a pitcher who has looked far removed from that version of himself.
Since the trade, Castillo has posted a 7.52 ERA for Chicago and has become one of the club’s worst midseason additions in the middle of a tight AL Central fight with Cleveland.
The numbers have only gotten more damning. In six appearances for the White Sox, Castillo has already been worth -0.5 bWAR, making him a clear negative for the team barely a month after arriving.
His latest start in September was the low point. Castillo lasted only four innings against the Houston Astros, gave up six earned runs, and took part in a crushing loss that left his former team further behind in the AL West chase and the Wild Card picture.
There is still time for Castillo to settle in, both this season and over the next two years on his contract, which runs through 2027 and includes a vesting option for 2028. But at 33, the right-hander has not given the White Sox much reason to believe a turnaround is coming soon.
In Other News...
White Sox Stadium Push Is Already Turning Into A Chicago Fight
A fresh stadium push has quickly become more than a White Sox business story. Minority owner Justin Ishbia has put forward a proposal for a new ballpark in the South Loop area known as The Railyards, with a broader mixed-use vision that would pair the stadium with retail space and possible healthcare offerings from Northwestern Medicine. For a franchise that has long searched for a long-term home beyond Guaranteed Rate Field, the idea adds a new layer to the conversation about where the club could be headed next.
But the reaction around the neighborhood has already made clear this will not be a simple sell. Community members in Bridgeport and the South Loop have voiced opposition to the plan, setting up a familiar Chicago debate over development, neighborhood impact and public space. With the White Sox lease at Guaranteed Rate Field set to expire in 2029, the timing gives the proposal real urgency, even if the road to getting it approved looks like it could be just as complicated. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Stadium Push Just Ran Into A Bridgeport Backlash
The White Sox ballpark push along the Chicago River has already become more than a baseball story, because the plan depends on moving an Amtrak maintenance facility into Bridgeport and that has sparked a wave of resistance. Local residents and Illinois politicians are raising concerns about health risks and the broader impact on a neighborhood that would be asked to absorb a major industrial site in the name of a stadium project.
Justin Ishbias proposed new park has given the franchise a fresh vision for the future, but it also puts the team in the middle of a political fight over land use, community trust and who gets asked to make room. Governor JB Pritzker has said the White Sox and Ishbia need to listen to local voices, and the pushback now stands as a reminder that any stadium plan in Chicago will have to survive more than just financing and design questions. [Read more 🡒]
Hagen Smith Is Giving The White Sox A Very Good Problem
Hagen Smith has turned his first taste of the majors into one of the more intriguing developments in the White Sox rebuild. The high draft pick from 2024 moved through the minors and reached Chicago in 2026 as a reliever, where he has been overpowering enough to give the team a real reason to pause and think about what comes next.
Smiths work out of the bullpen has been so sharp that it only underscores the bigger question around him. Chicago expects to send him back into a starting role in spring training, but his control, his health and his overall effectiveness will help decide whether that plan sticks, or whether the Sox wind up facing a much different kind of decision than they anticipated. [Read more 🡒]