It’s always interesting to watch former White Sox players receive other major league opportunities. Some, like Blue Jays starter Dylan Cease or Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet, earn large paydays and thrive in new environments. Others, like new Blue Jays Eloy Jimenez and Lenyn Sosa, are simply a desperate attempt to fill at bats vacated by injury. Earlier this week, two more former White Sox players resurfaced in the major leagues, as former White Sox hurler Jake Eder was promoted to the Dodgers and infielder Braden Shewmake was acquired by the Astros in a trade.
Jake Eder and Braden Shewmake are reminders of failed White Sox development
Eder, now 27, only reached one big league game for the White Sox in 2025 before being designated for assignment and claimed by the Los Angeles Angels. He appeared in eight games for the Angels in 2025, posting a 4.91 ERA and striking out 15 in 18.1 innings. Eder was traded to the Washington Nationals in a deadline deal but never appeared in a major league game for Washington before being dealt to the Dodgers for cash at the end of spring training. Eder was added to the Dodgers active roster earlier this week and appeared in Monday night’s game, allowing an earned run in one inning against the Rockies.
Perhaps best known as the return for the 2023 Jake Burger trade, Eder never regained his control after being sidelined with Tommy John surgery. He posted an ERA over six in each of the last three seasons, but was off to a strong start with Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to his call-up. Burger, meanwhile, has hit 59 home runs over the last two and a half seasons since leading the White Sox and has posted above-average offensive numbers in each season of his career thus far.
Braden Shewmake was first acquired by the White Sox in the deal that sent lefty Aaron Bummer to the Braves following the 2023 season. A former first-round pick of the Braves, Shewmake appeared in 29 games for the White Sox that season. He hit just .125 with a .337 OPS in that span and spent the rest of the year with Triple-A Charlotte. Shewmake was claimed on waivers by the Royals before the 2025 season but didn’t last through spring training and was claimed again by the Yankees, where he spent the entire year with Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Shewmake was dealt to the Houston Astros on April 19th and added to the Astros major league roster, where he’ll play his first big league game since 2024 this week.
See what was going through the mind of Braden Shewmake as he launched his first MLB hit out of the park in the first edition of First of Many. pic.twitter.com/cDKlRwSLxa
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 22, 2024
It’s unlikely that Shewmake or Eder will ever become mainstays at the major league level, but it’s cool to see former White Sox flameouts getting another shot. There are plenty of former highly-touted prospects who couldn’t make it work with the White Sox, and the goal is to cut down on that number as the team looks to build a contender.
Chris Getz and the White Sox player development staff have their work cut out for them if they’d like to avoid creating too many Jake Eders and Braden Shewmakes in the future.
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