The White Sox have money to spend and clear holes to fill, but they don’t have to limit their offseason shopping to free agency. With a lockout looming, November could turn into a scramble across the league, and that makes the trade market just as important as the open market. For Chicago, the starting rotation is the obvious place to look, and three names stand out as possible fits.
Reid Detmers is the loudest of the bunch. The Angels left-hander was a frequent topic in trade chatter before the deadline, but Los Angeles never found a team willing to meet the asking price, so he finished the year in Anaheim.
That patience paid off for Detmers, who broke out in 2026 with a 3.36 ERA over 185 innings in 32 starts. He was even sharper after the deadline, turning in a 1.50 ERA in 30 innings in August and a 2.40 ERA in 30 innings in September.
With two years left on his contract and the Angels possibly headed into a full rebuild, he could be the kind of arm they’re willing to move for a strong prospect return. He’d cost the White Sox real talent, but they’d be getting a top-of-the-rotation lefty with multiple seasons of control.
As an Illinois native, Detmers may also have interest in an extension. Personally, I’d consider parting with any prospect not named Caleb Bonemer or Roch Cholowsky to get Detmers, and it’s an avenue I expect the White Sox to explore.
Shane McClanahan is the higher-risk, higher-upside swing. Tampa Bay once had him in Cy Young conversations after a 2022 season in which he put up a 2.54 ERA in 28 starts, but injuries have kept him from staying on track.
Tommy John surgery wiped out 2024, and a tricep nerve issue kept him off the mound for all of 2025. He finally got back to work in 2026 and posted a 3.34 ERA in 118 innings, though back and forearm problems still sent him to the injured list twice.
Now he’s entering the final year of his contract, and the Rays have decisions to make, including what they do with right-hander Drew Rasmussen and his option. That could shape McClanahan’s future.
His injury history and contract status should keep the price more manageable, and the White Sox could end up with a rotation option that still has plenty of upside.
Logan Gilbert is the rental who makes sense if Chicago wants reliability without paying top-tier acquisition costs. The Mariners right-hander had his worst season since his rookie year in 2026 and still finished with a 3.73 ERA in 32 starts.
He’ll be 29 on Opening Day and is heading into his last year before free agency. Seattle also has no shortage of arms, with George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, Emerson Hancock, top pitching prospects Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan, plus rehabbing right-hander Logan Evans in the mix.
The Mariners reportedly listened on Kirby at the deadline, but Gilbert looks like the cleaner move because he has less control left. A rental shouldn’t cost the White Sox too much, but Gilbert’s track record makes him one of the steadier starters who could be available.
If Chicago is willing to use prospects to upgrade the rotation, he should be on the list.
In Other News...
White Sox Offseason Blueprint Hints At A Much Bigger Reset
The White Sox are heading into the offseason with a roster that already looks like it could use a few more layers of clarification, from arbitration-eligible players to looming free agents and a handful of moving parts left over from recent transactions. The broader picture in the clubs planning is easy enough to see: Chicago is sorting through depth, role fit and a potential lineup structure for next season, while also weighing how aggressive it wants to be as the front office keeps reshaping the roster around a long-term plan.
Recent trades have only added to the sense that this winter could bring more turnover, with the team already pulling in Braxton Ashcraft and sketching out how players like Freddy Peralta and Alec Bohm fit into the larger discussion. The intriguing part for White Sox fans is how much more movement might still be coming, because the current blueprint suggests the organization is still willing to make bigger, harder choices if it means accelerating the reset. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Link To Superstar Starter Raises A Bigger Front Office Question
As the White Sox head toward free agency, the conversation around their roster fits is already bigger than just plugging a few holes. Starting pitching remains a need, and so does outfield depth, which is why Jim Bowden of The Athletic linked Chicago to Tarik Skubal while ranking the left-hander as the top free agent on the market and putting the Dodgers and Mets in the same bucket of possible suitors.
The tougher question is whether a club still operating under financial constraints and a fairly cautious roster-building philosophy can realistically chase that kind of impact arm. Bowdens broader point was less about a likely chase and more about the kind of decision the White Sox front office has to make if it wants to accelerate the rebuild, because the market for a star starter of this caliber is expected to test every teams appetite for spending. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Rotation Search Just Got Real About One Harsh Limit
The White Sox are already being pushed into the 2026 starting-pitching market, and the early list is a reminder of how hard it is to build a rotation from the top down. Tarik Skubal sits at the center of the conversation because he is the sort of arm every team would want to chase, but the reality is more complicated than the name alone. Chicagos search has also turned toward a handful of other free-agent and trade possibilities, with each one carrying a different mix of cost, risk and fit.
Freddy Peralta is emerging as the more realistic high-end target for the White Sox, which says plenty about where the clubs search may actually lead. Clay Holmes, meanwhile, still lingers as a name worth watching after past trade chatter, but he looks more like a fallback than a front-line answer. Beyond that, Chicago is sorting through left-handed options such as Foster Griffin and Trevor Rogers, trying to find a path that makes sense without overreaching for the wrong kind of help. [Read more 🡒]