There were a couple of notable updates on the White Sox pitching staff today. For one, the club announced that Rule 5 pick Shane Smith will make the team, along with video of him receiving the news and relaying it to his parents. In a less positive update, manager Will Venable told reporters that Drew Thorpe departed a minor league spring game due to elbow discomfort and will likely require some imaging. Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times passed along video of Venable’s comments.
Smith, 25 next month, was the top pick in the Rule 5 draft which took place in November. A Brewers prospect, he had tossed 157 innings over the 2022 through 2024 seasons, allowing 2.69 earned runs per nine. He struck out 32.2% of batters faced while walking 8.4% of opponents, with solid ground ball rates as well.
The workload was fairly minimal. The pandemic had been a major interruption in 2020 and then Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2021. That led to him joining the Brewers as an undrafted free agent. He was working in relief in 2023 but he split his time between the rotation and bullpen in 2024. He got to 94 1/3 innings on the farm last year with a 3.05 ERA.
Despite the solid numbers, the Brewers didn’t add him to their 40-man roster, allowing the White Sox to grab him in the Rule 5. That gave Smith an opportunity to make his big league debut, which he has seized. He has tossed 10 2/3 innings over four spring starts. He allowed four earned runs with 11 strikeouts and four walks. For a White Sox club with little certainty on the pitching staff, that’s more than enough to make the team. As Venable said to Smith in the clip linked above, he made the decision pretty easy for them.
In addition to making the Opening Day roster, Smith might also have a rotation spot to start the year. Venable relayed last week that four rotation spots were taken by Sean Burke, Martín Pérez, Davis Martin and Jonathan Cannon. That seemed to leave Smith and Bryse Wilson as the two favorites for the final rotation job. Wilson has experience pitching as a starter and reliever. As mentioned, Smith has done both in the minors.
Perhaps more clarity will emerge in the coming days about specific roles, but the key thing is that Smith will be with the club. Rule 5 picks can’t be optioned to the minors. If a club doesn’t want to carry a Rule 5 guy on the roster, they need to put him on waivers and then offer him back to his original club if he clears. But Smith did enough to stick around and will get a chance to face major league hitters in official games soon.
Turning to Thorpe, more information will surely come out in the next few days, but it’s an ominous diagnosis for now. One of the top pitching prospects in the league, he was twice part of a blockbuster trade last offseason. He went from the Yankees to the Padres as part of the Juan Soto deal, with the Friars then flipping him to the Sox as part of the Dylan Cease package.
The young righty posted a 1.35 ERA in 11 Double-A starts last year and got promoted to the majors in June, skipping over the Triple-A level. But he posted a 5.48 ERA in his first nine MLB starts and landed on the injured list in early August with a flexor strain in his throwing arm. A month later, it was reported that he would undergo surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow. In January, he told reporters that he needed a cortisone shot to deal with some lingering inflammation.
Here in camp, he has been ramping up with bullpens and live batting practice. That led to today’s minor league contest, his first real game action of the year. The fact that it ended with some more elbow discomfort is clearly a worrying development.
Further testing will reveal next steps but a significant injury would be unwelcome in many respects. It’s never good for a pitcher to miss notable development time but Thorpe was also set to have a wide open lane for big league opportunities. The Sox just lost 121 games last year and will have lots of starts available this year for anyone who earns them. If Thorpe is on the shelf, he obviously wouldn’t be able to take advantage of that clear path.
Photo courtesy Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
All pitchers should have TJ surgery immediately upon signing their first contract. Simplify.
That sounds logical, but I’ve read that pitcher who’ve had TJ surgery are more likely to require another one, than pitchers who’ve never had it.
Yeah it used to be if you had TJS you were likely good for your career but now we are seeing guys have at least two and not at older ages either…..
Nrd – I think the timing of that shift coincides with the big focus on spin/velocity. Before pitchers rehabbed, came back stronger, but still worked on actually pitching. Now with people just chasing velocity and spin, it puts more strain on the arm.
Wear a sling a couple hours per day
Or maybe don’t go max effort every pitch.
Mark Buehrle deserves to be in the HOF just for making 30+ starts and 200+ innings 14 years in a row, plus 198 innings in his last year.
Or being traded away from the Padres!
lol, the Dads had Thorpe for like a month
It’s just crazy. The Weathers kid is hurt down in Miami. I feel like AJ Preller should send a get well gift basket or something. Hahaha
Weathers was traded in 2023 I think?
Look around the league, pitchers going down all over the place. Padres have also had their fair share of injured pitchers that came their way in trades.
Weathers also saw his velocity from low 90s to upper 90s last season. Everyone saw it coming for him.
Elbow discomfort for Thorpe? Great, that’s not ominous at all…
Well, they’re not going anywhere this year, so maybe have the surgery and they’ll be trending up by 2027 when he’s back at full strength.
I’m not sure if I’m serious or joking.
True, not like his extra 10 wins mean much for a team that’s probably only winning 55 games at most. It’s probably 50 wins, I’m jus6 being a little optimistic.
Lord, Across: I think you’re both being a little optimistic. They won’t be contending any time this decade. And I do think the all-time record for losses is in serious danger.
At some point the Wsox have to stop trading their players and go for what they have.
Shane Smith should close for whitesox
and thorpe shoulda had TJ in aug when the original pain in his elbow popped up. so many players/tms wait and wait and wait and wait and inject and rest and wait and see and rest some more and a yr later turns out they needed TJ all along
If Smith can turn into a mid-rotation starter, it’s worth seeing that through. Can always move to BP if it doesn’t work out. Sounds like Clevenger will close for a team that may not have a ton of those opportunities.
Totally agree and Clevinger should be back in the rotation. Put guys in roles they are used to.
Good for him, one more step closer to a Major League roster
Martin Perez had a good start today.
I have White Sox owner ‘discomfort’.
So your Tommy John surgery would be to get him as an owner?
With scheduled off days, the White Sox won’t need a fifth starter until the second weekend in April. Unless another SP injury occurs, chances are both Shane Smith and Bryse Wilson will assume the role of long reliever in order to remain stretched out until their opportunity arrives.
As for Smith, it should be noted that all four of the runs he allowed this spring were in his first outing. Since then, he’s been “lights-out”. In his last 3 starts, Smith has thrown 9 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and just one walk. Five of those strikeouts came in three innings versus a stacked Dodgers lineup, including fanning NL MVP Shohei Ohtani twice. 🙂
Thorpe goes in to get bone spurs removed and he is still having issues months later.
“2.69 earned runs over 9.” As opposed to over 7. Awk-ward.
“Walking 8.4% of opponents”. Is Darragh a stringer with the high school paper? If so, he’s developing nicely. Who’s the editor though?
MLB needs a new development model. Instead of just stockpiling arms and hoping a few survive, teams should focus on long-term arm health as a competitive advantage: