The White Sox made a low-risk, potentially high-reward move by claiming left-hander Ryan Rolison off waivers from the Braves - and it’s exactly the kind of gamble that makes sense for a team still deep in the rebuilding process.
Rolison, 28, has had a winding journey since being taken 22nd overall by the Rockies in the 2018 draft. At one point, he was viewed as a key piece of Colorado’s future rotation.
But like many promising arms, his development was derailed by a mix of bad timing and bad luck. The canceled 2020 minor league season didn’t help, and shoulder issues kept him sidelined for long stretches, including the entire 2022 season.
From 2021 to 2023, he barely saw the mound.
He finally made his long-awaited MLB debut in 2025, but the results weren’t what he or the Rockies had hoped for. Over 42 1/3 innings, Rolison posted a 7.02 ERA - a number that jumps off the page for the wrong reasons.
His 47.9% ground ball rate suggests he was keeping the ball down, which is a good sign, but the rest of the profile needs work. A 13% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate simply aren’t going to cut it at the big-league level.
Still, there’s more to the story. In Triple-A with Albuquerque - a notoriously hitter-friendly environment - Rolison showed flashes of the pitcher scouts once projected him to be.
He logged 29 2/3 innings with a 3.34 ERA, a strong 25.2% strikeout rate, a manageable 7.1% walk rate, and a ground ball rate just shy of 49%. That’s not just decent - it’s quietly impressive given the conditions and competition in the Pacific Coast League.
Despite that solid showing, the Rockies designated him for assignment last month. Atlanta picked him up in a cash deal, but a roster crunch pushed him off the 40-man again when the Braves signed Robert Suarez. That’s where the White Sox stepped in.
For Chicago, this is a smart, no-pressure move. The Sox dropped 102 games in 2025 and remain in clear rebuild mode, which gives them the flexibility to take chances on players like Rolison - guys with pedigree, flashes of upside, and something still left to prove.
Importantly, Rolison has a minor league option remaining, so the Sox can shuttle him between Triple-A and the bigs without risking losing him. He also has less than three years of MLB service time, meaning if he finds his footing, the club could control him through the 2029 season.
In a season where the White Sox are still looking for long-term answers, Rolison fits the mold of a worthwhile project. If he can stay healthy and rediscover the form that made him a first-round pick, this could turn into a sneaky-good pickup.
And if not? The Sox didn’t give up anything to find out.
That’s the kind of move rebuilding teams should be making - and in this case, they just might have found something worth developing.