There’s no hiding the fact that the White Sox trade deadline acquisitions haven’t worked out the way they planned. Of the four main trade deadline acquisitions for the White Sox, none of them have accrued positive fWAR since joining the team. Luis Castillo, the biggest name Chicago acquired at the deadline, has posted an elevated 7.76 ERA in seven outings with the White Sox, and has only made it through five innings one time. He’s been the furthest thing from the dependable veteran innings-eater the team hoped they were getting, and it’s led the White Sox to make a tough decision down the stretch.
White Sox manager Will Venable announced before Thursday’s series opener against Detroit that Castillo will be moved to the bullpen for the remainder of the season. The 33 year-old had never pitched in the bullpen in his big league career prior to this season, where he made three relief appearances with Seattle and has made one so far with the White Sox. In his place, the White Sox will give bulk innings to 25-year-old righty David Sandlin, who they acquired from Boston in an offseason trade. Sandlin carries a 5.64 ERA over 30.1 big league innings this season, but has recently revamped his arsenal and looks much stronger than he did early in the season.
The White Sox used Sandlin for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals in an effort to push Sean Burke to the Cleveland series, and it opened eyes. Sandlin took a perfect game into the sixth inning before allowing a pair of singles. Unfortunately, a defensive mistake with two outs allowed those runners to score and saddled Sandlin with a tough-luck loss. Over his final two minor league starts prior to the call-up, Sandlin allowed just one run over 12.2 innings and struck out 20.
David Sandlin just threw a CG with 9 Ks! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/L17GRiCqZW
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) August 30, 2026
Luis Castillo may still be part of the White Sox rotation plans in 2027
The White Sox owe Luis Castillo a lot of money for 2026 and 2027, so they have little choice but to see if they can fix his struggles this offseason. Perhaps a break with some time to work on his mechanics will be what he needs to right the ship and return to his three-time All-Star form. In the meantime, the team cannot afford to continue throwing him out there every five days, as every game down the final stretch of the season will be crucial to determining whether there will be playoff baseball in Chicago in 2026. Castillo may have more experience, but it’s hard to argue against the fact that Sandlin gives the White Sox a better chance to win right now.
Should the White Sox make the Postseason, it’ll be interesting to see whether or not Castillo is included on the team’s postseason roster. He has experience pitching on the biggest stage, but his recent struggles may make carrying him on the roster difficult to justify.
Hopefully, Castillo can right the ship in the offseason and return to the White Sox rotation strong in 2027. Unfortunately, that won’t be the case this year.
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