The international signing period is a crucial part of every MLB team’s offseason, but it’s often very difficult to evaluate. In most cases, teams are signing contracts with teenagers and projecting how they’ll develop over time, and the highest-ranked prospects often don’t become the best players. When players are that young, someone who isn’t on many radars can suddenly emerge as a prized prospect, and that’s what happened for the White Sox with right-hander Yobal Rodriguez. Unfortunately, Rodriguez’s standout 2025 season was derailed by an injury, and he’s going to be out for a long time.
Right hander pitcher Yobal Rodriguez underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the remainder of the 2026 season.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) May 14, 2026
Rodriguez, 18, signed with the White Sox in 2025. pic.twitter.com/WKdBWxrYJN
Yobal Rodriguez's impressive 2025 numbers put him on the map
New White Sox international scouting director David Keller signed Rodriguez during the 2025 signing period as a 16 year-old from Cuba. After turning 17, Rodriguez joined the White Sox Dominican Summer League affiliate in 2025, appearing in 13 games (10 starts) and posting a 2.97 ERA over that span. He stuck out 33 hitters in 30.1 innings and posted a 1.022 WHIP. It was a strong debut season and it left the White Sox feeling like Rodriguez may have been the steal of their international class in 2025. The DSL is notoriously a hitter-friendly league but Rodriguez was able to find success. He got off to a remarkable start to the season, beginning his professional career with 18.2 scoreless innings and winning the DSL Pitcher of the Month award for June.
While Rodriguez didn’t appear on any prospect lists from mainstream outlets, White Sox-focused outlets like FutureSox and South Side Sox highlighted him as a player to watch, with FutureSox ranking him 28th on their preseason top 30. The White Sox hoped the 18-year-old would make the transition stateside in 2026, pitching in the Arizona Complex League with an outside chance of reaching Kannapolis by the end of the season, but that transition will have to wait.
It’s an unfortunate development, but injuries are a part of baseball, and it seems it’s not if but when for most pitchers nowadays. Rodriguez should have a chance to pitch in 2027 as a 19 year-old in Arizona and earn his way to full-season ball.
As the White Sox look to build a perennial contender at the big league level, establishing waves of talent in the farm system will be a crucial development. Success on the International market is something Chris Getz and the White Sox front office have set out to prioritize, and Rodriguez showed flashes of being a steal in 2025. Hopefully, he can return to health quickly and continue to develop as an exciting young arm in the White Sox system.
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