White Sox add two high-upside relief pitchers on the waiver wire

The trade deadline may be in the past, but there are other ways to add players in August, and the Chicago White Sox were active on the waiver wire this weekend.

Prior to Sunday’s series finale against the Angels, the White Sox announced they claimed relievers Bryan Hudson and Elvis Peguero off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.

Both players were added to the 40-man roster and optioned to Triple-A Charlotte.

Bryan Hudson was almost an All-Star in 2024

Hudson, a Southern Illinois native, is a former third-round pick of the Cubs from the 2015 MLB Draft.

After working his way through the Cubs system as a starting pitcher, he was moved to the bullpen in 2019 and made it as high as Triple-A in 2022 before electing free agency and signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Hudson spent 2023 with Triple-A Oklahoma City and had a solid year, posting a 2.43 ERA in 46 appearances in a very hitter friendly Pacific Coast League. He appeared in six MLB games for the Dodgers, but was designated for assignment prior to 2024 and ultimately traded to the Milwaukee Brewers.

In Milwaukee, Hudson he shined with a sparkling 1.73 ERA in 43 games (61.1 innings). At the start of July, Hudson had a 0.82 ERA and 0.61 WHIP in 44 innings for the Brewers. Many baseball fans considered him one of the biggest snubs from the 2024 MLB All-Star Game.

Hudson was hoping to be a staple in the back end of the Brewers bullpen in 2025, but he got off to a rough start, walking 12 batters in just 10.1 innings to begin the season before being optioned to Triple-A.

Now 28, Hudson joins the White Sox and will look to regain his dominant form from 2024. Hudson features a fastball, cutter, and sweeper mix, though he has severely cut back on his cutter usage in 2025 and has begun dabbling with a sinker. He thrives on soft contact as his stuff isn't overwhelming.

He’ll need some tweaks to get back to his old form, but it’s a low-risk, high-reward addition that could give the White Sox another controllable lefty reliever or a potential trade chip at a future deadline.

Elvis Peguero has nasty stuff that needs to be harnessed

Right-hander Elvis Peguero was originally signed by the Yankees in 2015 out of the Dominican Republic. While he started a few games shortly after signing, he’s mostly worked as a reliever for the entirety of his pro career.

Peguero was traded to the Angels in a 2021 deadline deal, and made his big league debut for Los Angeles in 2021. He got some more big league time with the Angels in 2022, where he struggled mightily. Peguero was traded again to the Brewers prior to the 2023 season, and had his first solid run of success, posting a 3.38 ERA in 59 games.

Another solid season in 2024 - 2.98 ERA in 52 appearances - was quickly derailed by a rough start to 2025, and he was designated for assignment by Milwaukee before being claimed by the White Sox this week.

The White Sox are getting a pitcher in Peguero with big stuff that needs to be harnessed. His 95 mph sinker has 16.8 inches of tail, which helps him be consistently elite in chase rate and hard-hit percentage metrics.

Much like Hudson, there’s very little risk involved in the pickup of Peguero. 2025 is the final year that he will have minor league options, so he will need to be on the Major League roster next season to remain with the organization.

While neither of these additions are going to make too many headlines, both pitchers have track records of success at the Major League level. It’ll be on the pitching development staff to get them back on track and tap into the palpable upside.

A team in a rebuilding position like the White Sox should take advantage of every opportunity they can to add talent to the organization. Only time will tell if the White Sox mining for upside has struck gold, but there's a lot to be excited about here.