The White Sox continued their quest to add pitching depth Friday, announcing a minor league deal with former Reds reliever Lucas Sims. The team has already added to bullpen depth in recent weeks, signing RHP Seranthony Dominguez to a two-year deal to be the primary closer. The White Sox have also added RHP Tyson Miller, LHP Ryan Borucki, and LHP Sean Newcomb as strong relief options to pair with the established young group of Grant Taylor, Jordan Leasure, and Mike Vasil.
Sims brings White Sox a wealth of experience but significant volatility
In Sims, who will turn 32 in May, the White Sox land a former first-round pick that’s primarily been a reliever since his 2017 rookie season. He’s most known for spending parts of seven seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, where he contributed in the postseason during the shortened 2020 season. Sims was traded to the Red Sox during the 2024 season, where he struggled down the stretch. He signed with the Washington Nationals for 2025, but posted a 13.86 ERA in his first 18 appearances before being released in May. Now, he’ll head to Camelback Ranch looking for a bounce-back and an opportunity to make a White Sox bullpen with potential openings.
Sims brings a history of volatility to his new home. At his best, Sims uses his mid-90s fastball, sweeper, and cutter to generate a high number of whiffs and limit hard contact. His extreme fly-ball tendency makes the quality of the contact he allows even more important, as he’s had a tendency to allow too many home runs. In both 2023 and 2024, Sims was near the bottom of the league in ground ball percentage, though that mark did improve slightly in 2025. He’ll need to improve on his extreme 19.4% walk rate as well.
Sims’ fastball seems to be his biggest issue. Opponents hit .316 off the pitch in 2025 and .281 against it in 2024. His cutter was incredibly effective in 2024 but he essentially stopped using the pitch last season. Focusing more on a Cutter/Sweeper arsenal and lowering his fastball usage could be the key to limiting damage moving forward.
Sims will have an uphill battle to make the White Sox roster with Taylor, Leasure, Dominguez and Vasil already pencilled in. Rule 5 picks Jedixson Paez and Alexander Alberto, as well as promising prospect Wikelman Gonzalez would seem to have the inside track to the final right-handed slot. Still, injuries happen and it can’t hurt to bring in extra depth and try to catch lightning in a bottle.
Getz on the potential of more roster adds even during Spring Training: "I believe that there are going to be more adds. To what level, unsure."
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) January 30, 2026
With two weeks to go until Spring Training, the White Sox will likely search for more roster upgrades. Starting pitching and outfield help could be in the cards before the team comes together in Arizona in February.
We will certainly keep you informed of any other roster changes that are to come.