Earlier this month during the All-Star Game, White Sox fans had some reasons to celebrate. Munetaka Murakami started off the fun by hitting some bombs in the Home Run Derby. Miguel Vargas hit a bomb of his own the following day to day to help the American League triumph.
Still, seeing Dylan Cease start the Midsummer Classic, did leave a bit of a sour taste in Sox fans' mouths. This isn't because Cease would still be here; as long as Reinsdorf is in charge, he never would have gotten the contract he deserved. No, the main reason is because the Sox still have yet to see a great return on the trade that sent Cease out of town in the first place.
That may be about to change, and it just could help the White Sox get over the finish line and win the AL Central title. Scott Merkin reported of MLB.com earlier this week that a name that White Sox fans may have forgotten about looks like he's on schedule to possibly return in late August or early September: Drew Thorpe.
Drew Thorpe could see the mound in Chicago before the season is over
If he did slip your mind, it's with good reason. Thorpe has been out nearly two years thanks to a rash of injuries. First, his 2024 season ended almost as soon as it began, as he was shut down in September after just nine starts. He ended up having surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow. Then, in 2025, his attempt to come back was shut down in spring training, and this time Thorpe had to have Tommy John surgery. He took the mound in Arizona last week, firing two scoreless innings, and took the mound again Friday night with High-A Winston-Salem. Thorpe provided some insight earlier this week on the plan for his rehab moving forward.
Drew Thorpe said he's throwing a rehab outing this Friday at High-A Winston-Salem. He's expecting to go 3 IP, then have two more outings at 4 IP, then up to 5. Would imagine some of those would occur with Triple-A Charlotte.
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) July 21, 2026
He thinks he can pitch in Chicago this year.
When Thorpe - acquired along with OF Samuel Zavala and RHP Jairo Iriarte - was actually last on a Major League pitching mound, he had some success, along with some struggles. I crunched the numbers - thanks to data from Statcast - and as the table below shows, when Thorpe was at his best, he proved to be more than capable of holding his own. Thorpe's mixed results featured six good starts and three bad ones, and here's the breakdown:
W-L | ERA | GS | IP | H | BB | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3-0 | 1.54 | 6 | 35.1 | 16 | 12 | 24 | 0.79 |
0-3 | 21.00 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 9 | 1 | 3.11 |
Thorpe has a four pitch repertoire, with a changeup that shines and overcomes a low-90s fastball that doesn't overwhelm anyone, a slider, and a cutter. His return could give the Sox an extra arm out of the pen or someone to spot start. He figures to be firmly in the mix for a rotation spot in 2027. The best part is: it won't cost them a thing.
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