5:25pm: Perez has been diagnosed with a flexor strain, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com.
3:15pm: White Sox left-hander Martín Pérez is on the injured list with inflammation in his throwing elbow and it doesn’t appear he will be coming back soon. Jesse Rogers of ESPN reports that the southpaw won’t require Tommy John surgery but his season is effectively done regardless, though he could be throwing again in September.
The lefty departed Friday’s game after just three innings and the Sox placed him on the 15-day IL the next day. The club didn’t provide any updates about how long they expected him to be out of action, but they quickly moved him to the 60-day IL yesterday when they added Bobby Dalbec to the roster. That at least indicated they didn’t expect him back within a couple of months, but it now seems he’ll be out longer than that and may not return this year at all.
That’s obviously unfortunate for both Pérez and the Sox. The two sides agreed to a one-year, $5MM pact in the offseason. With the Sox having lost 121 games last year, the plan was presumably to have Pérez act as a stabilizing veteran presence in the rotation for at least a few months. If he pitched well into July, he would have been traded to a contender for prospects, giving him a chance to potentially play meaningful games while the Sox would add young talent to help in their rebuild.
That’s all off the table now. Pérez made just four starts before landing on the shelf and it’s possible he won’t get a chance to add to that. Even if he does make it back in September, that would only give him a chance to make a start or two. In that scenario, the Sox might prefer to give the ball to young pitchers they are hoping to evaluate before the winter sets in.
For now, the rotation on the South Side consists of Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon, Davis Martin and Shane Smith. A fifth starter will be needed at some point to replace Pérez. Jairo Iriarte, Nick Nastrini and Owen White are each on the 40-man and pitching in Triple-A so far this year. Justin Dunn is a non-roster depth arm with big league experience, also in Triple-A at the moment. Some pitchers recently designated for assignment by other clubs include Triston McKenzie and Yoendrys Gómez and Michael Fulmer.
Photo courtesy of Eric Canha, Imagn Images
What are the White Sox going to do without their ace?!
Go back to playing winning MLB baseball, that’s what!
Sounds like he’ll be back for the playoffs. Sox just need to hang in the race and make a late run to get there.
At least they play in the AL Central, which collectively finished way below 500 last year
Funny.
Last year, the White Sox record against the AL central was pathetic (10-42) so if people are hoping the Sox can somehow beat up on these other teams.. yeah, good luck with them thinking that.
The central was below 500 because of the Sox. 3 playoff teams otherwise.
@deep, CWS were the only AL Central team under .500 in 2024. The woefull overall DIV record was entirely due to them.
The Chicago White Sox organization is completely cursed and it will remain that way until it is rid of the cankerous wart of an owner in Jerry Reinsdorf.
The baseball gods are cruel, we’ll be stuck with Jerry Reinsdorf another decade. The old codger is in good spirits and healthy…
That’s just silly,Palehose—and cruel. I’m more interested in why the Sox bring up Bobby Dalbec, who has been the proverbial bust for the Red Sox, rather than to give Tim Elko a chance to see if he can produce at the MLB level.
Good Ole Bobby D… 1 Plate Appearance, 1 Strike Out.
I miss the days of believing he had a bright future.
But I agree, Reinsdorf can not be blamed for Dalbec cratering
as a White Sox fan, Im excited for Bobby Dalbec. Id like to see Elko up too.
Dunn and White should both get some starts soon. Burke to the bullpen.
Technically he can. If ‘The Chairman’ does not torpedo his the first rebuild to coax his buddy out of mothballs to manage the club (stabbing Renteria in the back to do it) Im not so sure the Sox are going through another massive rebuild right now.
Thought that myself- but remembered who is running and ruining this once Great franchise!
Dalbec is the cliche lightning in a bottle attempt. If he’s bad, no shock and Elko builds up more of a sample size in AAA to potentially be in next in line. Their approach makes sense, but the same question remains “What are the new hitting gurus teaching that has made anyone better on the roster, let alone developing minor league guys?”
Elkos prolly up eventually, but can’t object to the Dalbec call up since it was so sudden and they were in Boston. Might as well check to see if Dalbec is found money after his hot start. Begs the question why they kept the grindy but inert Vaughn over Gavin Sheets, who surprise, is hitting again w regular reps.
Really feel bad for both the ChiSox and Yankees. Both lost their key ace to stabilize their rotation. Fortunately, the pen for both teams is keeping their team in the game.
Yes Devin Williams is having an outstanding season so far.
Umm, I hope that is sarcasm, as the White Sox bullpen and its starters are pretty much are average at BEST.
A testament to their ‘brilliant’ pitching coach that oversaw the pitchers for the league’s worst record in the modern era last season..
Of course it does not help that their hitters are inept and cannot hit the broadside of a barn (and the club kept those ‘amazing’ coaches as well).. May as well call them the Southside Stormtroopers.
The rotation has promise, Burke and Smith look to be keepers when Schulz and Hagen eventually make it to the show. Question will be if Thorpe eventually realizes his promise. Martin and Cannon aren’t bad as back of the rotation guys
He can’t start throwing for five months but doesn’t need TJS? Interesting.
Yeah, and how many times do these guys try this, only to basically waste 5 months as TJS is pretty much destined for guys with Elbow issues
Perez was definitely signed with the intent of flipping him mid-season, that’s off the table now.
That’s definitely true. The big question is will Perez pick up his end of a 1M mutual option in ’26, or will he opt for FA?
Will be an interesting situation to follow.
Weird contract, a 1M mutual option with a 1.5M buyout in ’26.
As if playing for the White Sox isn’t bad enough, they’ll pay him more to leave…
The strange part about it is how what a 1M option in ’26 wouldnt have been considered in the least under any circumstances, but this injury could makes it an interesting decision for Perez.
Did he show enough in two starts to get a better deal in FA?
He likely doesnt have a rotation spot with any other team in ’26, he could still have a spot with the White Sox in ’26 but will have to essentially pay 500K for it. Funny.
Trade him now. Someone will need an arm in September.
Move B. Wilson to the rotation.
No team will trade for him now.
Call up Noah Schultz & Hagen Smith and piggyback them each for 3 innings
Yep, that should get them on the TJS bandwagon sooner than later. At least they can get it out of the way by the time this org is competitive again.
It seems a bit ominous to claim he may be able to pitch in September due to elbow inflammation. And, it seems a bit premature to rule out surgery based on that information. Just seems contradictory.
And, yes, I did watch almost all of a medical program on YouTube (well, TBH it was a 30-min special), so I am qualified to render such an opinion.
Clip,
I’ll do you one better! I got my medical license from the same place Dr. Nick from The Simpsons, got his. So I’m qualified to recommend all sorts of medical procedures!
@Acoss1331
Oh! Are you accepting patients?
Even better, I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night, lol.
If you watched the Tom Emanski Youtube video you can go help the Sox with their hitting too!
Crime dog agrees with Tom Emanski flashing the Axel Foley grin
And you stayed in a hotel motel Holiday Inn (say what?)
He’ll miss most of the season, “re-injure” himself and THEN get TJS and miss another season and a half.