White Sox fans receive their first bit of troubling injury news as 2026 Spring Training got underway. RHP Drew Thorpe, who the White Sox acquired from the Padres in the Dylan Cease trade, revealed earlier this week that he’s been experiencing some elbow soreness amid recovery from Tommy John surgery and has scaled back his rehab a bit.
“I haven’t gotten off the mound,” Thorpe said in a statement to Sox Machine’s James Fegan. “I got out to 120-ish, was feeling it a little big, so went and saw Dr. Meister last week. Said the ligament looks good, everything looks good in there. Dealing with some flexor stuff so slowing it down a little bit. We’ll see how the next couple of weeks go.”
Drew Thorpe's setback is a frustrating development for the White Sox
While it’s good news that the scans came back clean, it’s a frustrating update for Thorpe and the White Sox, who hoped to have the righty back at some point in 2026. Acquired as the main piece of the Cease trade, Thorpe immediately slotted high on the White Sox top 30 lists and showed why during his 2024 season. Thorpe opened the 2024 season with Double-A Birmingham, where he posted a miniscule 1.35 ERA in 11 starts before getting called up straight to the big leagues. Thorpe’s first big league stint was a mixed bag. The righty threw quality starts in six of his first nine big league games, but surrendered 21 earned runs in the other three.
At his best, Thorpe was locating his low-90s fastball and generating whiffs with his plus changeup, but poor location led to hard contact during the starts he struggled. Thorpe missed the final two months of 2024 with bone spurs in his elbow, and discovered a torn UCL requiring Tommy John surgery during 2025 Spring Training. The White Sox surely weren’t expecting him back until midseason or later in 2026, but his recent setback may further delay his return.
White Sox reliever Prelander Berroa, who also underwent Tommy John surgery during Spring Training last season, has thrown off the mound three times, and according to MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, has added a changeup to his arsenal during his rehab.
Prelander Berroa has been off the mound three times within the Tommy John rehab process, including yesterday, and feels great. He's also added a changeup to his repertoire during his work.
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) February 11, 2026
Despite having the surgery around the same time as Thorpe, it appears Berroa is a few weeks ahead in his rehab, and his role in the bullpen will likely allow for a quicker return. Starters Ky Bush and Mason Adams, who also underwent the surgery early last year, are in Arizona for Spring Training, but their progress in rehab is not known as of this writing. The White Sox have several other young arms to provide depth, but maintaining the health of their young pitchers is going to be of utmost importance for the remainder of Spring Training.
With Jairo Iriarte removed from the 40-man roster and Thorpe’s struggle to return from surgery, the Dylan Cease trade is looking questionable for Chris Getz and the White Sox. There’s still time though, and the team will certainly hope that a couple weeks of dialing back will help knock out the extra soreness and allow Thorpe to get back on track as soon as possible.