The White Sox made the boldest move of their 2026 deadline by betting on Luis Castillo, and the early returns are starting to make the gamble look a lot better.
Chicago was hunting for starting pitching that could cover innings when it sent RHP Seranthony Dominguez, OF Nolan Jones and catching prospect Boston Smith to Seattle for the three-time All-Star. Castillo came with baggage: the worst season of his career, a $22.5 million salary and plenty of skepticism about whether the White Sox were giving up too much for a bounce-back project.
Two starts in, though, Castillo has already flashed the upside Chicago was after. After working through some ugly batted-ball luck against Boston and running into the hottest team in the league, he got a crack at his old club, the Cincinnati Reds, on Wednesday and delivered exactly the kind of outing the White Sox had in mind.
Castillo threw seven scoreless innings, gave up only two singles and punched out 10. He piled up 22 whiffs, needed 104 pitches and gave Chicago the length and quality it was missing.
The most encouraging part may be the shape of the outing, not just the line score. Castillo’s changeup has long been his best pitch, but its usage has slipped over the last two seasons.
In 2023 and 2024, he was throwing it about 25% of the time. Over the past two years, that number has dropped to around 18%.
Even with his stuff still showing plenty of life this season, the combination of reduced changeup usage and shaky location on his other pitches has helped explain the dip.
Wednesday night suggested a different path. Castillo threw 57 pitches to left-handed hitters, and 20 of them were changeups.
That 35% rate was a huge jump from his 19% mark for the season, and he handled it well. The plan was clear: get back to leaning on his best weapon, then let everything else play off it.
When the changeup is working, the rest of his arsenal becomes a lot harder to sit on.
That doesn’t mean every start is going to look like this one. It was only the second time since 2023 that Castillo has struck out 10 in a game, which tells you plenty about how unusual this performance was even across two strong seasons. But it does offer the White Sox a blueprint for how he can get back toward his All-Star level.
Castillo’s next turn is scheduled for Monday against the Cubs, who have been one of baseball’s best offenses lately. The matchup is a rough one for a fly ball pitcher at hitter-friendly Wrigley Field, but the command he showed Wednesday gives him a real chance to carry over the momentum.
If this is the version of Castillo the White Sox get more often, the deadline deal starts to look a lot less controversial.
In Other News...
Kyle Teel's Recovery Could Give The White Sox A Needed Lift
Kyle Teels recovery is moving in the right direction, and for a White Sox team that has already had to shuffle around its catching situation, that is a meaningful development. The starting catcher has been working back from the high left ankle sprain he sustained on July 20, and manager Will Venable said the rehab has continued to progress without any setbacks.
Teel has ramped up his running and started hitting drills, but the club still has not put a firm return date on the calendar. Venable said a rehab assignment could be in play around the end of the month, which at least gives Chicago a clearer sense of the next checkpoint as it waits to get one of its more important regulars back behind the plate. [Read more 🡒]
Drew Thorpe Just Gave White Sox Fans A Reason To Watch Closely
Drew Thorpes first turn for Charlotte on Aug. 13 was the kind of rehab outing the White Sox could only have hoped for after a long stretch away from the mound. Working back from Tommy John surgery and earlier elbow trouble, the right-hander looked like a pitcher trying to reestablish both his rhythm and his identity, and the early signs were encouraging for a club still tracking his progress closely.
Thorpe filled up the zone, kept traffic to a minimum and showed the pitch that has long stood out in his profile. The changeup was especially sharp, missing plenty of bats, while his fastball and the rest of his mix held steady with what he has shown in past seasons. For Chicago, the bigger question is no longer whether he can get back on a mound. It is how quickly he can turn a strong first step into something more meaningful. [Read more 🡒]
Tim Anderson Left White Sox Fans With One Memory Theyll Never Forget
Five years later, the first Field of Dreams game still sits near the top of the White Sox memory bank. The August 12, 2021 matchup in Dyersville, Iowa had the kind of cinematic setting baseball can only dream about, and Chicago delivered enough offense to match it, with home runs from Jos Abreu, Seby Zavala and Eloy Jimnez helping turn the night into a showcase.
But the moment people around the White Sox still circle back to belongs to Tim Anderson, who announced his retirement and left fans with a lasting image from that game. In a matchup that also featured blasts from Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, Andersons walk-off two-run homer gave the White Sox the kind of finish that lingers long after the field lights go out. [Read more 🡒]