The White Sox have a rotation problem that isn’t going away just because they added Luis Castillo from the Seattle Mariners at the MLB trade deadline. Even with that move in the books, Chicago still needs help on the mound, and the safest path appears to be free agency.
One name already tied to the White Sox is Freddy Peralta, the former New York Mets starter who now fits the bill as a classic high-risk, high-reward target. CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa listed Chicago as one of the “Super early possible landing spots” for Peralta, along with the Angels, and made the case that the right-hander could be a buy-low play for teams willing to bet on a rebound.
"... Peralta's track record is very strong, and he's shown the aptitude for making adjustments.
You can be sure several teams will see Fastball Freddy as a buy-low candidate who is a tweak or two away from rediscovering his pre-2026 form," Axisa writes. "Super early possible landing spots: Angels, White Sox."
Peralta’s market may be softer than it once would have been. In the 2025-2026 offseason, Chicago likely would have needed to pay a premium to pry him away from the Milwaukee Brewers. But after a 4.99 ERA with the Mets and a 4.35 ERA with the Rays, his price tag should be much more manageable this winter.
That makes him the kind of swing the White Sox could actually consider, especially after their move for Munetaka Murakami. It’s the same basic idea: target a player with obvious questions, let other teams hesitate, and see whether the discount is worth the gamble.
The upside is easy to see. Just one year ago with Milwaukee, Peralta put up a 2.70 ERA, won 17 games, and earned the second All-Star nod of his career.
There’s plenty of risk baked into a pursuit like this, and Peralta is not the cleanest answer among the pitchers set to hit the open market. But for a White Sox team that may not be spending like the biggest players in free agency, that kind of risk could be exactly the sort worth taking.
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Montgomery leads all shortstops with 31 home runs, but his swing-and-miss issues remain just as visible as the pop, with an AL-high 197 strikeouts and a .212/.292/.437 line. For a White Sox team trying to hold off Cleveland and make a postseason push, the question is no longer whether Montgomery can change games, but whether his plate discipline can improve enough to make that impact more sustainable when the pressure rises. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Could Be Haunted By A Familiar Arm This October
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Chris Getz has already acknowledged what that could mean if Crochet does make it back and looks like himself, which is why this storyline has a little extra bite for Chicago. Crochet has not appeared at the major league level since April 25, but if Boston gets him back in October, the White Sox may end up seeing a pitcher they know well in a setting where every clean inning matters. [Read more 🡒]