White Sox prospect Billy Carlson's return from injury came at the perfect time

When the White Sox selected high school shortstop Billy Carlson with the 10th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, they knew his development would take some time. Carlson was widely considered the best defensive shortstop in the entire class, and some scouts believed in his offensive upside, but there was no question he had some work to do on his swing. Now in his first pro season, Carlson has given the White Sox glimpses of the upside in his bat, but clearly has a long way to go. After a thumb injury put his debut season on hold, Carlson is back in the lineup, and it couldn’t come at a better time for the White Sox. 

Carlson’s first month of minor league action saw him post a .233/.359/.314 slash line, and he turned it up a bit in the month of May, hitting .293 with a .425 on-base percentage for the month. Despite decent contact, Carlson has yet to hit his first minor league home run, and he was placed on the injured list on May 23rd. He missed nearly two months before making his return following the All-Star break, and Carlson seemed more than ready to get back. During a three-game weekend series, he went 5-for-9 with a double, triple, six RBIs and five walks. He’s still waiting on the power to come, but Carlson certainly looks like he can compete at the pro level at the plate. 

Billy Carlson could headline a White Sox deadline trade for pitching

Despite his young age and promise, Carlson has been a name frequently mentioned in trade speculation as the White Sox look to upgrade their pitching staff. With the first three picks of their 2026 draft being middle infielders, the White Sox have a ton of depth at the position group, and it makes a player like Billy Carlson feel expendable in a trade for controllable pitching. With Carlson on the injured list, interested teams would have an extra obstacle to overcome if they wanted to acquire him, but now that he’s healthy, it could expedite things. The fact that he’s playing well doesn’t hurt either. 

If I were in the White Sox shoes, I wouldn’t trade Carlson for a rental, and I’d want to make sure the player we’re getting for him is someone that’s going to help the team for multiple seasons. Still, Carlson seems more expendable than someone like Caleb Bonemer, who already ranks as a top 25 prospect in baseball. With several young infielders in the system, including first overall pick Roch Cholowsky, and an infield that already seems set at the big league level for the foreseeable future, finding regular at bats for all of the White Sox young players is going to be a difficult task. All good teams have depth, but the team is in a position to make a significant deal for other positions of need. 

As tough as it would be to see Carlson go, especially this early in his development, these are the kinds of decisions that teams trying to win championships have to make. Recklessly trading prospects isn’t a sound strategy, but neither is solely relying on player development to fill every position. The White Sox have a clear opportunity to reach the postseason in 2026, and they should do everything they can to put the team in the best position to win. If that means trading a prospect like Billy Carlson, so be it.

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