The White Sox announced that left-hander Ryan Borucki has been signed to a minor league deal that contains an invitation to Chicago’s big league Spring Training camp. It’s something of a homecoming for Borucki, who grew up just north of Chicago in Mundelein, Illinois.
With eight MLB seasons under his belt, Borucki brings a lot of veteran know-how to an overall inexperienced White Sox relief corps. Though Chicago’s priority during a rebuild is still giving innings to these younger pitchers, having a seasoned reliever like Borucki around might be helpful if Borucki pitches well enough in camp to earn a roster spot. Brandon Eisert and Tyler Gilbert (likely the two top left-handed options in the Sox pen) are coming off so-so performances in 2025, so Borucki also provides some added southpaw depth.
Borucki has plenty to prove himself, however, as his struggles against right-handed batters and his inability to keep the ball in the park have led to middling results. Over 256 1/3 career innings in the Show, Borucki has a 4.28 ERA, 19.7K%, and 8.9BB%. While Borucki has been prone to allowing home runs, he has done a good job of avoiding fly balls in general, with a 51.8% grounder rate over 135 1/3 innings from 2021-25.
In 2025, Borucki posted a 4.63 ERA, 22% strikeout rate, and 11% walk rate over 35 innings with the Pirates and Blue Jays, while missing about six weeks due to a back injury. He signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh last winter, and caught on with Toronto (his original team) on another minors contract after being released by the Bucs in August, but the Jays also designated Borucki for assignment and then outrighted him in September after four MLB outings.
Nice guy, and his father is a great coach. Best of luck Ryan!
I read that’s he’s a Wsox fan??
A 31 year old pitcher with a 2.4 career WAR over 8 seasons. What’s not to like?
Signing a dozen mediocre castaways every year with no upside is a pretty brilliant strategy. They’ve probably spent 30-50 million dollars the past 5 years doing so, without getting one actual major league caliber player. Shrewd.
It’s a minor league deal. Relax. Every minor league deal thread has the same idiotic posts every single time.
The Sox are determined to be nothing as long as Jerry owns the team.
I was talking with Tom Dore today at my gym and he said Jerry just decided it’s too expensive to pay for talent and compete with the other teams. Great. But, now we have to wait how many more years before Ishbia takes over? 3? 4? Thanks, Jerry.
The Rockies, Pirates, and White Sox should seriously just not even bother to field teams. It is literally pointless. It is pitiful that fans of those teams pay money for tickets to see amateur level baseball while lining the pockets of owners that don’t have even the tiniest amount of respect for them.
Reinsdorf could have just parted ways with the team and sold to Ishbia. Instead, being the bitter and contemptible man that he is, he has to leave fans hanging and make the process as drawn out and painful as possible. My guess is nothing happens prior to 2030, b/c that’s Jerry for you. And he’s too evil to die before then.
Which begs the question: Why do people do it? Nothing, absolutely nothing, says you have to spend money to be a fan, especially when you know whose pockets the profits line.
Granted, broadcast subscription or other fees are a necessity but a couple of hundred $$ for that is not only affordable but also an appropriate minimum contribution in support of a team.
Spending thousands on tickets, food, drink, parking, collectibles, and team paraphernalia is a choice. Those who do and then think that somehow gives them a louder, or even any, voice in the enterprise bring to mind the definition of insanity.
Fans can NOT win when ownerships that don’t value World Series Championships as an organizational priority are allowed to (not) compete!
It’s a minor league deal
I think the author forgot the Newcomb signing.
Seems like the White Sox are going to try him as a SP, at least to open the year.