The Chicago White Sox made two trades this month. But neither, to date, has had an immediate impact in terms of additions to the major-league roster.
There’s still time to make moves, with the trade deadline looming Monday.
And with a 1½-game lead in the American League Central entering Wednesday’s game against the New York Yankees at Rate Field, the Sox are in a position to be buyers.
“I expect the deadline to come and go, and (general manager) Chris (Getz) and the group to do everything they can to take advantage of the opportunity to make our team better, which I think he’s shown that he’s done every step of the way here,” manager Will Venable said Wednesday. “So I don’t know what that means really, but I know that he’s grinding every single day like from day one to make our team better, so if there’s a path to do that I know he’ll do it.”
Here are three areas the Sox potentially could target.
Catcher
Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson watches his home run against the Rockiets on July 19, 2026, in Denver. (David Zalubowski/AP)
The Sox haven’t had a whole lot of production at the plate from the players behind the plate.
That partially is due to injuries, with Kyle Teel missing a large chunk of the season. He has appeared in just 19 games and is on the IL with a left ankle sprain. Teel is 12-for-63 (.190) with two home runs and 14 RBIs. The rough initial timeline for the latest injury, suffered July 20, was six to 12 weeks.
Edgar Quero and Drew Romo have handled a bulk of the catching duties this season. Quero, recalled from Triple A after Teel’s injury, had a .181 average with two home runs and 15 RBIs in 58 games entering Wednesday. Romo was hitting .137 with five home runs and 11 RBIs in 41 games.
The trade market for catchers recently took a hit when the Athletics’ Shea Langeliers suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Available catchers could include the Cincinnati Reds’ Tyler Stephenson and the Athletics’ Jonah Heim. Stephenson is hitting .248 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 81 games. That includes a .333 average in 16 games in July.
Heim has a combined .220 average with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs in 60 games with the Atlanta Braves (12 games) and Athletics (48). He appeared in 131 games during the 2023 season with the World Series-winning Texas Rangers.
Starting pitchers
Angels starter Reid Detmers delivers against the Cardinals on July 22, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (Mark J. Terrill/AP)
The innings are beginning to stack up for the Sox rotation.
Davis Martin entered Wednesday’s start with 111 innings. He had a career-high 142 2/3 last season. Sean Burke, slated to start Thursday, is at 118 1/3 innings. His career high, established last season, is 134 1/3 innings.
Anthony Kay is at 103 2/3 innings after Tuesday’s start. He pitched 155 innings last season while with the Yokohama BayStars in the Nippon Professional Baseball Japanese Central League.
Veteran Erick Fedde and rookie Noah Schultz round out the rotation.
Nearly every contender looks to add pitching depth. And there’s always plenty of speculation.
Los Angeles Angels lefty Reid Detmers and New York Mets right-hander Clay Holmes have been among the names tied to the Sox in reports. Detmers has a 4.03 ERA in 22 starts this season with 145 strikeouts in 125 innings.
Holmes has a 2.39 ERA in nine starts. He’s making his way back from a right fibula fracture and has major-league experience as a starter and reliever.
Relief pitchers
Padres closer Mason Miller celebrates after closing out the game against the Rockies on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at Petco Park in San Diego. (Luke Johnson/ San Diego Union-Tribune)
Sox relievers have the fourth-best ERA (2.70) in the majors since June 23.
During that span, relievers have combined to allow 38 earned runs in 126 2/3 innings, with 140 strikeouts and a .203 (94-for-463) opponents average.
Jordan Hicks, Sean Newcomb, Bryan Hudson and Grant Taylor have been among the players filling in in a variety of high-leverage roles as of late.
Some answers for more help might come from the farm system. Right-hander Tanner McDougal has been getting work out of the bullpen recently at Triple-A Charlotte. And José Urquidy, acquired Sunday in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates, has seen action as a starter and reliever. He pitched five scoreless innings in a start Tuesday for the Knights.
With right-hander Seranthony Domínguez working on his consistency, the Sox don’t have a designated closer. Will that be a spot to pursue through a trade?
The most fascinating name on the market for closers is the San Diego Padres’ Mason Miller, who has multiple suitors. The Padres, as of Wednesday afternoon, were 2 games back of the final National League wild-card spot, as were the Miami Marlins, who have Pete Fairbanks as a ninth-inning option.
Regardless of what’s ahead, Venable said the players on the roster have done a nice job not letting the deadline become a distraction.
“I don’t hear a bunch of conversations about the deadline,” Venable said. “I hear conversations about what are we going to do to this pitcher tonight and how are we going to get better, whatever it might be. Those types of things, which gives me confidence they’re thinking about the right things.”
Schedule update
The start of the team’s Sept. 6 game against the Minnesota Twins at Rate Field was changed to 5:20 p.m. It will be on Peacock and NBCSN. The game originally was slated for a 1:10 p.m. start.