After promoting Rikuu Nishida on Monday, it appears the White Sox aren’t done making moves.
Elijah Evans of FutureSox reports that right-hander David Sandlin has gotten the call from Triple-A Charlotte. The team hasn’t confirmed the move as of publication, but will likely do so before Tuesday’s game.
Sandlin was the main piece of this offseason’s trade with the Red Sox centered around reliever Jordan Hicks. The right-hander was someone the Sox believe could be added to their rotation at some point, and it appears that the team now feels this is the appropriate time to do so. At 25 years old, the righty is coming off a 106-inning campaign with the Red Sox across the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2025. He was strong in 17 games (13 starts) in Double-A, posting a 3.61 ERA while striking out 25% of hitters. He was then moved to the Triple-A bullpen, where he struggled in 15 appearances and 23.2 innings, posting a 7.61 ERA.
Coming off some early injuries, Sandlin has an 0.55 ERA with a 1.41 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in six starts between High-A Winston-Salem and Triple-A Charlotte this season. Standing at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, it’s fair for the White Sox to eventually give him a chance out of the rotation with that starter-type frame. He’s posted velocities in the mid-90s late into games, and has been able to run it as high as 101 miles per hour in controlled, bullpen settings.
However, a closer look at those ERA and WHIP numbers tells a story of a player who will likely have some further development work to do in the majors. While he is striking out 35.1% of hitters, he is walking 14.9% of them, a rate that is unsustainable for a major league starter who needs to get his team late into ballgames. Perhaps the White Sox take their time in moving Sandlin to the rotation and instead ease him in as a multi-inning, higher-leverage reliever. Since the team has not yet announced a move, it is unclear what their current usage plan for Sandlin might be; however, he has been starting games this season after returning from brief issues with elbow soreness and back discomfort earlier this year.
As for his stuff, Sandlin features above-average metrics across a wide pitch mix (four-seam, cutter, slider, sinker, sweeper, curveball, and changeup), so the White Sox will have to continue to refine the arsenal and help rein Sandlin into the strike zone more consistently.
Once the White Sox announce the news and make some corresponding roster moves, we will continue to provide updates. However, Sandlin represents another exciting opportunity for the White Sox to get a look at what their future on the mound might look like.
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So, who goes down. Leasure again?