The White Sox may still go shopping for bullpen help before the MLB trade deadline, but if they decide to stay in-house, they’ve got a few names worth watching.
That matters because Chicago enters July with a two-game lead in the AL Central and a clear need on the mound. Pitching is the priority, both in the rotation and in relief. How aggressive the White Sox get is still an open question, though, and that leaves the door open for internal arms to step into the mix over the next few weeks.
One of the more intriguing candidates is Wikelman Gonzalez. The right-hander was part of the Garrett Crochet trade, and with Braden Montgomery already in the big leagues and Kyle Teel back from injury, he’s the only pitcher from that return still working his way toward a larger role.
Gonzalez shifted to the bullpen in 2025 and debuted in the majors that same year, putting up a 2.66 ERA in 16 games. He opened 2026 in Charlotte and looked sharp before a lat strain sent him to the shelf in late April.
Since returning this month, he’s logged two rehab outings with the ACL White Sox, two more with High-A Winston-Salem, and then went back to Charlotte on Tuesday night. In all, Gonzalez has a 2.40 ERA in 12 appearances for the Knights, along with 20 strikeouts and only five walks.
He looks like a strong candidate to see major league innings soon.
Peyton Pallette is another arm the White Sox could lean on. The past couple of years haven’t unfolded the way Chicago hoped when it took him in the second round in 2022, but there’s still plenty of familiarity there.
Pallette started out as a starter before control problems pushed him to the bullpen in 2024. He turned in a strong run in Birmingham in 2024 and 2025, which had White Sox fans thinking late-inning upside was coming.
Instead, he faded in Charlotte to close 2025, then was lost to Cleveland in the Rule 5 draft. The Guardians later sent him back to Chicago after more control trouble in his big league stint, and he returned to Triple-A Charlotte at the end of May.
Since rejoining the organization, Pallette has been solid. He posted a 2.45 ERA in June, and seven of his eight appearances that month were scoreless.
If he can tighten up the walks, he has the kind of big league experience that could make him useful in the White Sox bullpen.
Then there’s Jairo Iriarte, another pitcher who has been easy to forget but is still in the picture. He came over in the trade that sent Dylan Cease to the Padres and has long been defined by a loud arsenal paired with shaky command.
The White Sox used him as a starter in his first season in the organization in 2024, and he also reached the big league bullpen late that year. The walks never really went away, and 2025 was a rough one.
Chicago pulled him from game action and sent him to Arizona to work on his mechanics, but the results didn’t change much after he returned, and he finished the year with a 7.13 ERA. The White Sox designated him for assignment this offseason and took him off the 40-man roster, but he cleared waivers and stayed in the organization.
In 2026, though, the numbers have been much better. Iriarte has a 1.89 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A, with 41 strikeouts in 38 innings.
If that keeps up, he could get another shot at a bullpen job.
In Other News...
White Sox May Try A Surprising Plan With A Top Pitching Prospect
Tanner McDougal is getting close to pitching again, which gives the White Sox another important arm to monitor as they think about how best to handle one of their higher-upside young pitchers. The organization has been patient with the right-hander while he works back from a flexor strain, and his return comes at a time when Chicago is still sorting through long-term plans for its pitching pipeline.
What makes McDougal especially interesting is the possibility that his next step might not be the straight line most prospects take. The White Sox have precedent for easing talented arms in through relief before stretching them out later, and there is at least some logic to that path for a pitcher whose workload still needs to be managed. Whether that becomes a short-term bridge or something more meaningful for his development is the question hanging over his comeback. [Read more 🡒]
Two White Sox Pitching Rehabs Just Became Worth Watching
Two White Sox pitching rehabs are suddenly worth tracking in Winston-Salem, where Shane Smith and Tanner McDougal both opened their assignments with scoreless work for the Dash. Smith handled two innings without allowing a walk or hit batter, while McDougal came back with a clean inning of his own and two strikeouts in three batters faced, a tidy pair of first steps after time away from game action.
For a Chicago club still sorting through arms, the timing matters as much as the results. Smiths return gives the White Sox another chance to monitor a pitcher trying to reestablish himself, and McDougals outing arrives with the possibility that his path back could be shaped by what the organization needs most in the final weeks. The next few appearances should show whether these are just encouraging first reps or the beginning of something more useful for the big league picture. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Could Be Pulled Into A Brutal Crosstown Pitching Chase
The starting-pitching market around the deadline always gets tricky, and this one may get especially awkward on the South Side. The Cubs are looking to shore up a rotation that has been battered by injuries and uneven performances, and ESPNs David Schoenfield has pointed to one of the more intriguing arms on the board as a possible fit. Even with a 4.81 ERA, the right-hander is still being viewed as one of the better available starters, which says plenty about how thin the rental market can be this time of year.
For the White Sox, the timing matters because they are in the same conversation for the same kind of help. Any pursuit of rotation depth can quickly turn into a race, and the possibility of both Chicago clubs chasing the same arm only adds another layer to a deadline that already figures to be busy. The question now is whether the Sox are willing to push hard enough to keep pace if the market starts moving faster than expected. [Read more 🡒]