Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: right-handed reliever Lucas Sims has elected free agency and re-signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox. No this is not old news from a month ago. The White Sox designated Sims for assignment last week and called up pitching prospect Tyler Davis from Charlotte. After clearing waivers, Sims elected free agency, but didn’t remain a free agent for long and quickly signed a new minor league deal with the White Sox. He’ll now finish the month of April where he began in: with the Charlotte Knights.
Lucas Sims cleared waivers, elected free agency and resigned with the Sox on a minor league deal #whitesox
— Brooke Fletcher (@BrookeFletcher) April 26, 2026
The White Sox added Sims on a minor league deal this offseason and gave him a shot to compete for a bullpen spot in spring training. Sims, coming off a disastrous 2025 season that saw him post a 13.86 ERA in 18 appearances, was simply looking for an opportunity to get his big league career back on track. Despite a strong spring, Sims was not added to the White Sox roster and chose free agency, where he eventually re-signed with the White Sox on a minor league deal. After early bullpen struggles led to reshuffling, the White Sox added Sims to their big league roster on April 1.
Lucas Sims' first stint with the White Sox was unremarkable
It wasn’t a complete disaster for Sims in the White Sox pen, but he didn’t provide the reliable veteran arm the White Sox hoped for. In nine appearances, Sims allowed five earned runs over ten innings, striking out ten but walking seven. Sims’ control seemed to fail him at the worst times, including an outing against the Rays where he entered with the bases loaded and walked in a pair of runs.
It’s fair to wonder what the White Sox see in Sims that inspires them to continue bringing him back. He primarily throws a fastball, slider, and sweeper, none of which are particularly remarkable. His 15.2% walk rate in the early going is in the bottom tenth in baseball, and all of his underlying metrics suggest his results were as expected. It seems like nothing more than a depth move.
It’s a long season, so the White Sox may call Sims’ name again before the year is up, but the team made the right move in prioritizing young arms over a veteran that hasn’t produced particularly impressive results. Rookie Tyler Davis showcased excellent stuff in his first big league appearance on Saturday, and as a 27-year-old with control, he’s much more likely to be part of the team’s long-term plans than Sims. Fellow rookies Duncan Davitt and Tyler Schweitzer have made appearances on the big league roster and could factor into the team’s relief plans as the season goes on.
Hopefully, the White Sox young arms will hold up and they won’t need to rely on Sims to give them too many productive innings this season. But the White Sox inability to quit an uninspiring veteran reliever is an all-too-familiar sight for fans.
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