One of the biggest issues facing the Chicago White Sox down the homestretch of the 2025 season will be the innings they can get from their starting rotation.
It’s hard to tell how much more in the tank the current White Sox starters have. Shane Smith, Sean Burke, and Davis Martin have already reached their career highs in innings.
Minor leaguers Noah Schultz, Tanner McDougal, and Shane Murphy are likely in the same boat.
The White Sox also released Noah Syndergaard on Sunday, eliminating another depth option.
Adrian Houser, who was a workhorse for the White Sox in June and July, was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline.
Now, the Rays are snagging another one of the White Sox options for spot starts down the stretch. 31-year-old starting pitcher Jesse Scholtens was claimed on waivers by Tampa Bay on Monday.
Jesse Scholtens last appeared for the 2023 White Sox
Scholtens made his Major League debut for the White Sox on April 7, 2023. It was just one day after his 29th birthday. At the time, Scholtens was a complete mystery for White Sox fans.
He had spent his entire career in the San Diego Padres organization after being drafted in 2016, but signed a minor league contract with Chicago before the 2023 season.
In 85 innings for the 2023 White Sox, Jesse Scholtens was 1-9 with a 5.29 ERA. Not great numbers on the surface, but his ERA might not fully capture what Scholtens did with the White Sox for a majority of the season.
Entering September, he had thrown 70.1 innings with a 3.97 ERA. He had a rough go in the last month of the season as his arm tired out, but for the most part, Scholtens looked the part of a big league pitcher.
I would have assumed Scholtens was locked in to make the 2024 White Sox out of Spring Training, but he tore a ligament in his elbow in February and had season-ending Tommy John surgery.
In 2025, Scholtens has been rehabbing with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights and has a 5.28 ERA in 29 innings.
White Sox DFA Jesse Scholtens to clear 40-man spot
With the White Sox forced to activate Scholtens from his rehab assignment, he was designated for assignment on Sunday to clear his spot on the 40-man roster.
Tampa Bay took advantage of the opportunity and claimed Scholtens. He was then optioned to Triple-A and will join the Durham Bulls.
If anyone is going to be able to help Scholtens revive his late-blooming MLB career, it’s Tampa Bay.
It’s not a huge loss for the White Sox, but with Scholtens no longer in the organization, it does make me wonder who the “next man up” would be if Chicago needed a starting pitcher to eat innings in the final months of the season.