The White Sox keep circling the same problem, and it’s the one sitting in plain sight.
Chicago’s offense has stayed among the best in baseball, and the bullpen has somehow held up through a massive workload, entering Tuesday with the sixth-lowest ERA in the majors despite leading the league in innings. But the rotation has been anything but settled.
Sean Burke, Davis Martin, Anthony Kay, and Erick Fedde have all shown flashes, yet none has offered steady production for long. Luis Castillo was supposed to give the group length and reliability after the trade deadline, but in his first month in Chicago he’s given them neither.
That’s why the handling of Drew Thorpe stands out so sharply. The right-hander is working back from spring 2025 Tommy John surgery, and Tuesday night will be his ninth rehab start with Triple-A Charlotte.
Nine rehab outings is a lot by any measure, especially when other pitchers coming off Tommy John this season returned after far fewer. Tigers right-hander Jackson Jobe needed five rehab starts before getting back to Detroit.
The Astros brought Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesnesky back after five apiece. Gerritt Cole made six rehab starts before his season debut with the Yankees.
Thorpe, meanwhile, is still waiting for rehab start No. 9.
The strange part is that he’s been pitching well enough to force the issue.
Through eight rehab starts, Thorpe has logged a 3.13 ERA across 31.2 innings. He has struck out 31 and walked only eight, so there’s no control red flag here.
His fastball velocity has returned to pre-surgery levels, and his changeup is still drawing whiffs at a strong clip. From a pure baseball standpoint, there’s little argument against giving him a shot in Chicago already, especially with the rotation as unsettled as it is.
His 2024 numbers may not jump off the page at first glance, since he finished with a 5.48 ERA. But that mark was inflated by a couple of rough outings right before he landed on the injured list.
In nine Major League starts, Thorpe went at least five innings and allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of them. If his arm wasn’t fully right late in that run, that would help explain the pair of blowups before the IL stint.
Either way, there’s enough in his track record and pitch mix to believe he can be a useful big-league starter, and that’s exactly the kind of arm the White Sox could use right now.
The clock is ticking, too. Chicago has only 19 regular-season games left, and with uncertainty hanging over the 2027 season because of lockout concerns, there’s no guarantee Thorpe gets back to the big-league mound in Chicago this year, if he gets there at all.
I’m certainly not privy to all the discussions in the White Sox front office, but something isn’t adding up here. Hopefully, we find out an answer soon.
In Other News...
Which White Sox Prospects Are Closest To Helping In 2027
After an unprecedented wave of MLB debuts in 2026, the White Sox are already turning the page toward the next batch of help from the farm system. The conversation around 2027 begins with Caleb Bonemer, who is viewed as the most MLB-ready of the group, and it also includes a handful of younger names who could push their way into the picture if their development keeps moving in the right direction.
Roch Cholowsky, the 2026 No. 1 overall pick, is still working back from injury, while Joey Volchko brings elite velocity that could move him quickly through the system. Mathias LaCombe has also started to trend in a better direction as a reliever, giving the White Sox several different kinds of upside to monitor as they sort out who might be closest to making an impact when 2027 arrives. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Playoff Push Suddenly Rests On One Unexpected Strength
With 19 games left and a division lead still in hand, the White Sox have had to survive a stretch that looked a lot shakier than the standings suggested. August brought too many runs allowed and too many early exits from the rotation, leaving the pitching staff leaning harder than expected on a bullpen that was supposed to be the concern, not the solution.
Instead, that relief group has helped steady everything, with Grant Taylor, Jordan Hicks, Sean Newcomb and Bryan Hudson giving the White Sox meaningful innings and keeping games from unraveling. The rotation still has to do more down the stretch, especially after a month marked by a high ERA and limited volume, but if Chicago is going to finish the job, it may be the bullpen that buys them the margin they need. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Vasil Is Giving The White Sox More Than Anyone Expected
Even while he remains on the injured list, Mike Vasil has turned into one of the more interesting presences around the White Sox this season. The right-hander is still working back from Tommy John surgery, but he has made himself part of the daily fabric of the clubhouse, showing up for games and giving teammates a steady dose of encouragement. In a year when the White Sox have needed any edge they can find, they have even leaned into a little clubhouse good fortune tied to a wand associated with Vasil.
The biggest sign of progress came with a recent medical checkup, when Vasil was cleared to throw from 45 feet. It is still early in the long road back, but the step matters for a pitcher trying to reclaim his place on the staff. For now, the White Sox are getting value from him in a different way, with his presence and energy becoming part of the teams day-to-day rhythm while he continues to build toward the mound. [Read more 🡒]