How Mike Vasil's Tommy John surgery upends White Sox 2026 bullpen

Ask anyone who watched more than a few games about the strengths of the 2025 White Sox and I doubt many would mention the bullpen. The unit as a whole finished 18th in baseball with a 4.16 ERA, leaving room for improvement heading into 2026. The White Sox made a few moves to bolster the bullpen mix this offseason, but also planned to rely on internal options who showed flashes last season. Unfortunately, the depth suffered a major blow as one such option, Mike Vasil, suffered a torn UCL this weekend and will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery. 

Vasil was a consistent force in an otherwise inconsistent bullpen in 2025. After heading to Tampa in the Rule 5 draft in December, White Sox claimed Vasil on waivers just before the season started and added him to their Opening Day roster. Vasil served in a bit of a Swiss Army Knife role, starting three games, closing a few games, and totaling 101 innings altogether. He posted a 2.50 ERA during that span. 

Vasil entered camp this spring with a chance to compete for a rotation spot, and he’d built up to four innings in Saturday’s outing before his elbow injury cut it short. As is the case with most elbow injuries, White Sox fans quickly feared the worst, and those fears were validated with the team announcing that Vasil will undergo Tommy John surgery in the next few weeks, wiping out his 2026 season and likely the first part of 2027 as well. 

The White Sox could look internally or externally to fill Mike Vasil's role

The White Sox now have the unfortunate task of filling a Vasil-sized hole in their bullpen. Replacing 100+ innings of 2.50 baseball is going to be near impossible, but the White Sox will have a few options. Left-hander Chris Murphy, who has reportedly made the White Sox Opening Day roster, will be able to serve as a swingman after stretching out this spring. Free agent signing Sean Newcomb has also stretched out to do multiple innings after competing for a rotation spot this spring. Rule 5 pick Jedixson Paez has an intriguing starter pitch mix, but hasn’t pitched above High-A and could be a candidate to serve in a long relief role if he makes the big league roster. The White Sox could also turn to non-roster invites Ryan Borucki and Lucas Sims to contribute to the mix. 

Could Chris Getz and the White Sox turn to an external addition to fill the void left by Vasil? A free agent likely wouldn’t be ready in time for Opening Day at this point in the spring, but the White Sox can open up several 40-man roster spots by moving players to the 60-day IL, and could look to make a waiver claim similar to when they added Vasil last season. All 30 teams will be making cuts to their roster over the next week and there could be a number of interesting players available that don’t make other clubs. It’s certainly a market the White Sox front office should be watching closely in the coming days. 

Whether Mike Vasil’s replacement comes internally or externally, it’s not going to be an easy void to fill. The White Sox have their work cut out for them to replace one of their most reliable pitchers from last season. Whether it’s a player currently in camp or not, someone will need to step up.