Even though I liked some of the moves the White Sox made at the trade deadline, I felt as a whole like it was incomplete. The White Sox added Luis Castillo, Huascar Brazoban, Brenton Doyle, and Joey Bart to the roster hoping to push for their first division title since 2021. With major questions surrounding the starting rotation, it didn’t feel like they’d done enough to put them over the top, but I liked some of the moves in a vacuum. One month later, it’s been nothing short of a disaster for the White Sox, and Luis Castillo’s fifth bad outing in six tries has cemented the trade deadline as a complete failure.
Luis Castillo made his 6th start w/ CWS since the trade
— Adam Wexler (@AdamJWexler) September 3, 2026
Totals: 26.1 IP, 23 R (22 ER), 7.52 ERA
He's allowed 4 ER or more in 5 of the 6, including today.#Astros lead 6-2, bot 5 and he's out of the game.
The White Sox have received very little value from any trade deadline acquisiton
Let’s start with Castillo, who allowed six earned runs in Thursday’s loss to Houston and now holds a 7.52 ERA since coming to Chicago. White Sox fans got some hope for him through his first two outings. Though the numbers don’t show it, Castillo’s first outing against Boston featured some bad luck, and he dominated the Cincinnati Reds in his second start. Since then, however, it’s been nothing but trouble. To put icing on the cake, Castillo hasn’t even done the White Sox the service of getting through five innings. He’s made it through five in only one of his six outings, so he hasn’t stabilized the team’s rotation from a performance or innings perspective. The White Sox also owe Castillo quite a bit of money in 2027, so he likely won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
Next up was Huascar Brazoban, who, unlike Castillo, was having a great season before coming to the White Sox. Things took a turn for the worse as soon as he put on the uniform, however. Brazoban posted a 6.30 ERA in ten outings before being placed on the injured list with a lat strain. His numbers haven’t even been better than Seranthony Dominguez, who he replaced on the White Sox roster. Brazoban is currently on a rehab assignment and could return to the White Sox bullpen soon, and the team will hope he returns to his early season form when he comes back.
On the position player side, Joey Bart’s unfortunate injury in his third game isn’t something the White Sox could control or predict, but it’s a tough break that basically voided that acquisition. Brenton Doyle hasn’t had a productive offensive season in two years and has continued that trend with a .548 OPS in a White Sox uniform.
Overall, there’s been very little positive impact from any of the team’s trade deadline acquisitions. In fact, there’s an argument to be made that internal pitching options and Everson Pereira would’ve made the White Sox a better team than they are right now. Luis Castillo takes the White Sox out of the game once every five days, Huascar Brazoban can’t be trusted in high leverage situations, and Brenton Doyle taking meaningful at bats continues to rarely work out. All of these players are under control for 2027, but is that even a good thing? Chris Getz may’ve been better off just standing pat.
The White Sox remain in first place in the AL Central with 22 games to go, and they’ve been able to overcome poor performances thus far. Hopefully, they’ll continue to step up when it’s needed most and overcome clear roster deficiencies. 2026 was Chris Getz’s first time buying at the trade deadline, and hopefully it’s taught him a valuable lesson about smart investments and he can make up for his colossal failure in the offseason.
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