The White Sox have signed right-hander Lucas Sims to a minor league contract, per James Fegan of Sox Machine. The TWC client presumably be in camp as a non-roster invitee when pitchers and catchers report next month.
Sims, 31, opened the 2025 season with the Nationals but was cut loose after just 19 appearances. The right-hander’s command evaporated entirely while pitching in D.C. He tossed 12 1/3 innings and was tagged for 18 runs in that time, thanks largely to a bloated 19.4% walk rate and a staggering seven hit batters. He also tossed three wild pitches. Sims went on to sign a minor league deal with the Phillies, but his command in Triple-A wasn’t any better; he issued walks at an 18.6% clip and plunked nine more batters in 34 innings.
Though 2025 was clearly a lost season, Sims had a decent track record prior. From 2020-24, he pitched 189 2/3 innings between the Reds and Red Sox, combining for a 3.89 ERA with a 29.4% strikeout rate. Command was an issue for Sims even during that more solid run (13% walk rate), but certainly not to the extent he showed between the Nats and Phillies last season.
Even as he struggled in 2025, Sims appears to have been healthy. He didn’t make a trip to the major league or minor league injured list, and he wound up tossing a combined 46 1/3 innings despite a two-week layoff between those two clubs. His 94.9 mph average four-seamer in the majors was right in line (slightly higher, actually) than the 94.4 mph he’d averaged across the past three seasons. He dipped to 93.8 mph in Triple-A, but that wasn’t a particularly notable drop from the prior season’s 94.2 mph average.
The White Sox recently signed veteran reliever Seranthony Dominguez to a two-year, $20MM contract. He’ll enter the season as the favorite for closing opportunities, barring another addition, while righties Jordan Leasure and Grant Taylor will give manager Will Venable a pair of setup options who each punched out more than 30% of their opponents in 2025 (34.4%, in Taylor’s case). Righty Mike Vasil and lefty Tyler Gilbert are likely ticketed for swing roles after pitching well in ’25. That’s especially true for Gilbert, who’s out of minor league options.
The rest of the bullpen spots are largely up for grabs. Chicago currently has two Rule 5 picks (Alexander Alberto and Jedixson Paez) on the 40-man roster. Other bullpen candidates include Brandon Eisert, Jairo Iriarte, Wikelman Gonzalez and out-of-options lefty Bryan Hudson. Sims joins lefty Ryan Borucki and righty Tyson Miller as one of the more experienced non-roster invitees in camp who’ll be vying for one of those final spots.
Wikelman Gonzalez looks like a potential gem for bullpen as 4th/final piece of Crochet trade. Just tighten up the command a bit.
Word is Sims got royally screwed up by the 3 B’s after being traded to the Red Sox.
Before the trade, since 2020, he had a 3.64 ERA
We all know how he’s performed since the trade.
Neither Sims or Garcia pitched well in Boston after their trades. Whether or not it was Breslow/coaching staff related or not is moot now. He wasn’t terrible in Washington and sounds like he was decent for the Phillies in the minors but it is a bit telling that, with all of the Phillies bullpen struggles, he didn’t get a callup.
Good situation to be in now, joining a young team where veteran leadership might help outshine performance, at least at the start of the season
Rsox – Honest question, why do you think Sims wasn’t terrible in Washington?
13.86 ERA
2.27 WHIP
More walks than strikeouts
10.2 BB9
.976 OPSA
39.5 HH%
Doesn’t get much worse than that.
Sims started losing it when he was still in Cincinnati. No surprise his results since, in my opinion.
11 of his 18 outings he didn’t allow a run but admittedly he was at his worse when inheriting runners. I should have looked deeper into his stats but i think he would have improved had Washington given him a longer leash
Not the LUCAS I was hoping they’d sign!
Eisert was decent last year.
He was meh last year.
Sounds like a case of Blassitis
Perfect White Sox acquisition. Useless
Maybe he could be a starter in the 5th spot in the rotation for the Sox?