White Sox trade return for Brenton Doyle already signaling potential regret

Of the White Sox four main trade deadline deals at the beginning of the month, acquiring outfielder Brenton Doyle from Colorado was easily the strangest. The White Sox primary needs were in the starting rotation and the bullpen, and it didn’t seem like another outfielder was high on the list. In exchange for Doyle, the White Sox sent RHP Mason Adams to Colorado, parting ways with some of their possible big league pitching depth down the stretch. After Adams’ solid debut with the Rockies and Doyle’s poor start with the White Sox, perhaps some buyer’s remorse could be creeping in. 

Adams, 26, was a 13th-round pick of the White Sox in 2022 and quickly performed his way through the system. Two excellent seasons in the minor leagues put Adams on the doorstep of the big leagues to start 2025, but an elbow injury during spring training wiped out his entire 2025 season. Adams returned from surgery and took his rehab to Charlotte prior to the trade, posting a 4.25 ERA in nine outings. Adams made three starts with Triple-A Albuquerque, allowing three earned runs in 13 innings before getting the call earlier this week. 

Adams made his big league debut Tuesday night in Washington, allowing a run on three hits over four innings against the Nationals. He walked three hitters and struck out five. It wasn’t a perfect debut for Adams, but he posted a very solid performance for a Rockies team always in need of quality pitching. With the White Sox desperately in need of innings for their playoff push, it’s difficult to see how Adams wouldn’t have been able to help this staff down the stretch. 

Brenton Doyle hasn't yet unlocked what the White Sox saw in him

On the other side of the deal, outfielder Brenton Doyle came to the White Sox having struggled offensively over the past two seasons. In 19 games with the White Sox, Doyle is just 9-for-42 with a .524 OPS and has accrued -0.2 fWAR. With three years of control remaining, Doyle was always a longer term project for the White Sox, but he’s been a downgrade from Everson Pereira in the early going. Unless things improve, dealing away important depth for a pitching-needy team to take on an outfield project could age poorly.

Obviously, one big league start for Mason Adams and 19 games from Brenton Doyle is not a big enough sample size to draw any sweeping conclusions about the trade. But it could be the start of a concerning trend. If Mason Adams continues to post strong numbers at the big league level and Brenton Doyle doesn’t turn things around, this could be a trade the White Sox learn to regret.

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