As of Monday evening, MLB free agency is officially open, and the Chicago White Sox are allowed to start negotiating with players and teams in their quest to improve their starting rotation. In addition to the start of free agency, all 30 teams had to decide whether to offer impending free agents a qualifying offer or let them walk for free. Some, like the Yankees decision to extend a qualifying offer to closer David Bednar, were a bit surprising, and the results are certain to have an impact on the free agent market. One name that drew my attention for the White Sox was Orioles lefty Trevor Rogers, who did receive a qualifying offer from Baltimore.
Rogers, who will be 29 later this month, is a name I have circled for the White Sox in free agency, but the qualifying offer could complicate things. In order to sign Rogers, the White Sox would need to forfeit their second-highest pick in July’s draft. It’s not as high of a pick as it would’ve been in past years since the White Sox reached the Postseason in 2026, but it’s still a significant loss to the upcoming draft class for a team that is still built on their young talent.
In terms of the fit, Rogers would make a ton of sense. He’s left-handed, and the only left-handed rotation options the White Sox have currently are either unproven (Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith) or inconsistent (Anthony Kay). Adding a lefty to stabilize their rotation could be an important need this winter. After a small big league stint in 2020, Rogers made his presence felt during his rookie season in 2021, where he posted a 2.64 ERA in 25 starts and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. He struggled to stay on the field over the next three seasons, and was dealt to Baltimore at the trade deadline in 2024, where he’s excelled the past two years.
In just 18 starts in 2025, Rogers posted a 1.81 ERA. He was fully healthy in 2026 for the first time in awhile, and he had a 4.03 ERA in 30 starts in his contract year. The Orioles decision not to move him at the deadline and offer him a qualifying offer indicates potential interest in bringing him back, so they could be the biggest competition for any interested teams. In their Top 50 Free Agent Predictions, MLB Trade Rumors speculated that Rogers could receive a similar deal to the one lefty Ranger Suarez signed with Boston last offseason, a five-year, $130 million deal. If that’s the case, he’ll certainly be turning down the qualifying offer.
Trevor Rogers strikes out 6 batters in a row, giving him a career-high 11 Ks on the day! pic.twitter.com/niFbkzXaxJ
— MLB (@MLB) September 2, 2026
A significant upgrade to the White Sox rotation is going to be costly
If the White Sox are going to pursue a pitcher in the tier of Rogers, Freddy Peralta, or Michael King, it will likely take their first $100 million contract in franchise history. I understand the hesitancy to believe they’re going to be willing to pay that price for anybody, but they’ve tried to make similar deals in the past. The team floated a payroll close to $200 million back in 2021 and 2022 when they were in their last competitive window, so there’s no reason to believe there isn’t some wiggle room in the payroll this winter. Whether they’d be willing to part with a draft pick for Rogers when pitchers like King and Peralta wouldn’t require it, however, may be a different question.
The offseason has just gotten started and we have yet to receive any concrete rumors about which players, or even which tier of players, the White Sox could be interested in. But if the team is going to significantly upgrade their starting rotation this offseason, it’s going to be costly.
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