Ryan Rolison Gets a Fresh Start with the White Sox After Rocky Road in Colorado
Ryan Rolison is getting another shot to prove he belongs in the big leagues - this time with the Chicago White Sox.
Once viewed as a key piece of the Rockies’ future, Rolison was claimed off waivers by the White Sox after a brief stint in the Braves organization. Atlanta had picked him up just weeks earlier in a trade with Colorado, but he became the odd man out when the Braves needed to clear space on their 40-man roster. Now, the left-hander - Colorado’s 2018 first-round pick - heads to Chicago looking to carve out a role in a rotation or bullpen that’s wide open for competition.
Let’s be clear: the White Sox aren’t just rebuilding - they’re starting almost from scratch. After a historically rough 2024 season that saw them set a franchise record for losses, Chicago is heading into 2025 with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft and a front office overhaul led by new president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta. Rolison’s arrival fits the mold of a team looking to buy low on former top prospects in hopes of finding value where others gave up.
For Rolison, it’s another chapter in a career that’s been anything but smooth. Drafted 22nd overall out of Ole Miss in 2018, the lefty was once seen as a potential front-line starter for the Rockies.
But injuries, inconsistency, and a lost 2020 minor league season due to COVID stalled his development. He didn’t make his MLB debut until 2024 - nearly seven years after draft day - and even then, the results were a mixed bag.
In 31 appearances for Colorado last season, Rolison posted a 7.02 ERA over 42.1 innings. He struck out 25, walked 20, and allowed opponents to hit a hefty .324 against him.
It wasn’t the kind of debut anyone envisioned when he was fast-tracked through the minors. But considering the hurdles he faced - including multiple shoulder injuries that kept him off the mound entirely in 2022 and for large stretches of 2023 - just getting to the big leagues was a milestone.
Back in 2021, the Rockies added him to their 40-man roster with hopes he was ready to compete for a rotation spot. He was coming off a season in which he went 4-3 with a 5.27 ERA across multiple levels, including Triple-A Albuquerque. He struck out 77 and walked 22 in 71.2 innings, but hitters still managed a .272 average against him - a sign that his stuff wasn’t fooling upper-level bats the way it had in college.
Then came the injuries. Rolison missed all of 2022 and pitched in just four games in 2023 before being outrighted back to Triple-A.
By 2024, the Rockies shifted him into a bullpen role, hoping a change in usage might unlock something. He pitched across three affiliates, making 29 appearances (five starts), finishing with a 2-3 record and a 4.47 ERA.
In 46.1 innings, he struck out 35, walked 15, and held opponents to a .254 average - a notable improvement from his big-league numbers.
It’s not uncommon for pitchers to find new life in a relief role, especially when command or durability has been an issue. And for a White Sox team that’s reshaping its entire pitching infrastructure, Rolison becomes a low-risk, potentially high-reward arm to evaluate in spring training.
Chicago’s roster is in flux, and the pitching staff is far from settled. If Rolison can stay healthy and show flashes of the talent that once made him a first-round pick, there’s a real path for him to stick. Whether that’s as a lefty out of the bullpen or as rotation depth remains to be seen.
What’s certain is that Rolison’s journey - from first-round promise to waiver-wire pickup - has been winding. But baseball’s full of second chances, and for Rolison, the South Side of Chicago might just be the right place at the right time.