The South Siders are bona fide contenders this season. To be as ahead of schedule as the White Sox are is one thing, but in as weak of an American League as it’s been, it seems they could be a piece or two from taking what may be the last step to win the AL Central.

As far as those actual needs go, a reliable starting arm seems to be the priority for the White Sox, with Noah Schultz struggling. The White Sox have a 10th-ranked starter ERA at 4.21, with the combo of Davis Martin, Sean Burke, Erick Fedde, and Anthony Kay as the first four doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Schultz’s struggles with a 5.60 ERA give another slot to add an arm into, someone who could serve as a third starter in a playoff series. While the team might also look to add a bat, especially with some of their recent struggles against left-handed pitchers, the rotation and bullpen are currently the areas of highest need.

The main issue currently is not knowing the full extent of the seller’s market. There was talk of arms from the Red Sox, but a double-digit win streak has Boston inside the final wildcard slot. There could be a very sudden change from teams like the Orioles, Blue Jays, and Astros who may enter August with an incentive to deal their pitchers with less control for a stronger prospect core. All that to say, the market will likely change consistently by the time the final bell rings at 5 p.m. on August 3rd.

Even with a smaller seller’s market, the White Sox arguably have more prospect power than other clubs, but it’s still up in the air who they can afford in contracts and who they actually want to give up.

What Pitchers Could be Dealt For?

News has come of them checking in on Clay Holmes, who is rehabbing after an injury halted his Mets 2026 campaign at a 2.39 ERA through nine starts. Some others that seem like good fits include Reid Detmers and José Soriano of the Angels or potentially J.T. Ginn on the Athletics. These are all arms within their price range that have control beyond this season, which seems to be the primary profile in targets of the South Side.

As far as rentals go, Tarik Skubal seems unlikely, though they do have the prospects to make the move if they truly wanted to (I am going to put a mock together for this one, even if just for fun). Freddy Peralta is a more likely rental option, but doesn’t really seem worth the prospect haul it could take. Robbie Ray of the Giants seems the only likely option of a rental player who would make sense.

That being said, Reid Detmers, Jose Soriano, or Clay Holmes seem the most likely outcomes, at an extremely similar price for at least Holmes and Detmers. For Detmers, his season has been one of the few bright spots of the Angels, who desperately need to rebuild the farm once more, as years of trying to scrape into the playoffs with Mike Trout seem over.

Soriano and Holmes had extremely good starts to the year, both being in Cy Young contention, before, ironically, that campaign ended for Soriano at the hands of the White Sox, while Holmes suffered an injury. Both are greater risks compared to Detmers and seem less likely to be traded for, though they may fetch a lower price.

As far as the bullpen goes, big arms at the end of the bullpen seem unnecessary with Grant Taylor finding success as a closer. It likely makes more sense to find a lower-priced bullpen arm, like the Rockies’ Antonio Senzatela. A 3.31 ERA in thirty appearances is the kind of reliability the Sox would like out of the pen. Even in a depleted market, the White Sox could likely get Senzatela for a decently cheap cost from Colorado.

The main reason I also have left off pitchers like Casey Mize and Joe Ryan is that it is unlikely the Twins and Tigers trade key pieces to a divisional rival, though these are definitely arms the White Sox could pursue.

Mock Trades

Reid Detmers

White Sox Receive:

• LHP Reid Detmers

Angels Receive:

• SS. Billy Carlson (MLB.com #57 Prospect)
• LHP. Ky Bush (CWS #26 Prospect)
• RHP David Sandlin (CWS #15 Prospect)

I think Detmers is going to fetch a higher price than Soriano. His underlying numbers are better, and Soriano has not been fantastic in recent months. It seems likely that the southpaw starting arm, with as good a season as he is having, is going to cost a top prospect. While the Angels would likely want Braden Montgomery, Carlson is raking since his return from injury and is bound to shoot up the rankings since he has been back. I think Carlson is still worth less, and the Angels also likely want arms back, so Bush is sent back to the place we got him, while Sandlin is dealt as well to push that deal across the line. Bush alone likely wouldn’t get the deal done, and the Angels would love an MLB-ready starter to try and have arms ready to compete when the rest of their prospects are ready.

Detmers has had a heck of a roller coaster career. Being the youngest pitcher to throw a no-hitter since 2006, then being sent down in 2025, the lefty has been unusually unlucky. His fastball generates a lot more whiff and weak fly ball contact than others, and his four-pitch offering is tough to get going against. The slider he possesses is easily one of the best in baseball; even if his other offerings aren’t as good, he can easily carve through a lineup on a good day and get through five with a couple runs against him on a bad one.

José Soriano

White Sox Receive:

• RHP José Soriano

Angels Receive:

• LHP Christian Oppor (#7 CWS Prospect)
• C Fernando Graterol (#23 CWS Prospect)

At a sub-one ERA to start the year, Soriano lit the baseball world on fire before he finally cooled down at the end of April. With an ERA of 5.14 in his last seven starts, it seems like a worse option than others here and unlikely he returns to the form he had in the beginning of the year. His arsenal is gross, but weak fastballs and command issues make him a risk, even if he isn’t a true rental. The ceiling is astronomical if he can figure it out wearing black and white.

Clay Holmes

White Sox Receive:

• RHP Clay Holmes

Mets Receive:

• RHP Mason Adams (#10 CWS Prospect)
• LHP Blake Larson (#14 CWS Prospect)

Clay Holmes is coming off a fibula injury, so what he is dealt for really depends on what offers New York gets for the rehabbing pitcher. This package could be too little if he is highly sought after, though he is mostly a rental since his 2027 option is a player option. In his last forty starts, Holmes has posted a 3.33 ERA and 55.4% ground ball rate in 213.2 innings of work. Trading for a ground ball pitcher would be interesting, to say the least, with the defense being improved this season, but I think Holmes still makes a lot of sense. Weak contact worked for him on previous Mets squads lacking more defensive talent than the South Side infield has this season. Oh, and did I mention he throws a disgusting high 90s sinker that can get up to triple digits with a disgusting arsenal to boot?

Tarik Skubal

White Sox Receive:

• LHP Tarik Skubal

Tigers Receive:

• INF Caleb Bonemer (#16 MLB.com Prospect)
• RHP David Sandlin (CWS #15 Prospect)
• RHP Gabe Davis (#22 CWS Prospect)

I’m unsure if this even gets the deal done, but it’s fun to speculate things that won’t happen. In the case of who we’d lose, I certainly hope it doesn’t, with the loss of Bonemer and Davis, two guys with elite tools, on top of Sandlin’s ability to play a role at the big league level. Position players ranked as highly as Bonemer don’t often get moved at the deadline, much less for rentals, and with the White Sox not possessing either top-tier tradable arms or back-half of Top 100 list hitters, it’s not exactly a perfect match here. That is, unless the team is willing to trade Schultz or the Tigers are higher on Hagen Smith than the rest of the industry.

Antonio Senzatela

White Sox Receive:

• RHP Antonio Senzatela
• RHP Zach Agnos

Rockies Receive:

• One of RHP Aldrin Batista (#20 CWS Prospect) / LHP Blake Larson (#14 CWS Prospect) / RHP David Sandlin (#15 CWS Prospect)
• (Potentially) 1B Anthony DePino (#28 CWS Prospect) / LHP Carson Jacobs

This deal is an interesting one, as Senzatela is definitely an arm that contributes at a higher level right now, but Agnos is a real prize here as well. I have added three options at the top, notably because of the fact that Agnos could warrant a higher price.

There is a world this deal gets done with only one of the three options as the deal for one or both Rockie relievers, but all of them fit a prospect Colorado might be interested in. Sandlin could come into their rotation immediately with a strong fastball and slider combo being capable of drawing significant swing and miss. Batista and Larson fit as higher-risk, similar-archetype guys who are far off. I don’t imagine the Rockies want any young player who doesn’t have extremely high ceilings if they pan out, which Batista and Larson fit with potent stuff.

DePino and Jacobs are older prospects with some upside as sweeteners, should the Rockies get more offers for Senzatela, which seems unlikely.

Senzatela has silently become one of the better relief options in the market, as he has suddenly turned his long career around, working with a higher strikeout percentage and ground ball rate than ever before in his age-31 season. He’s more of a rental, but he could become a very reliable longer-inning arm as a former starter who has found his groove in the bullpen.

Agnos had a cold start but has a 3.29 ERA in his last seven appearances. In his two seasons as a Rockie, Agnos has an ERA over six, with streaks of pure, lights-out dominance mixed in with frustrating lows. He attacks the zone, featuring fantastic breaking balls, but gets hit around in Coors Field. I think it really adds to this deal as a player that might be able to see a few tweaks and suddenly become a reliable inning-eater down the stretch. His ability to miss barrels contributes to weaker contact, with only a single barrel given up in 2026. His pitches may work much better at the Rate than in the treacherous confines of Colorado as well.

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