![\"Dylan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/01ke2r3vtcpvz3n3tzz9.jpg\" "\\"Dylan")
<\/p>\nThe White Sox have made a few notable signings in free agency this offseason, adding infielder Munetaka Murakami and starting pitcher Anthony Kay to a young roster that general manager Chris Getz believes can take another step forward in 2026.<\/p>\n
A path toward doing so could be to round out the pitching staff with another starter after losing 240 innings with the departure of Aaron Civale, Mart\u00edn P\u00e9rez, Adrian Houser and Yoendrys Gomez. That leaves Shane Smith, Davis Martin, Sean Burke and Jonathan Cannon as players on the current 40-man roster who pitched at least 100 innings last season.<\/p>\n
Here’s a closer look at which free agent pitchers are off the board, who’s still available and who could make sense for the White Sox.<\/p>\n
Which free agent pitchers have already signed?<\/p>\n
San Diego Padres pitcher Dylan Cease (84) throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. | William Liang-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Dylan Cease: seven-year, $210 million contract with Toronto Blue JaysMichael King: three-year, $75 million contract with San Diego PadresTatsuya Imai: three-year, $54 million contract with Houston AstrosShota Imanaga: accepted qualifying offer from Chicago Cubs for one year and $22.025 millionMerrill Kelly: two-year, $40 million contract with Arizona DiamondbacksAdrian Houser: two-year $22 million contract with San Francisco GiantsAnthony Kay: two-year, $12 million contract with Chicago White SoxZach Eflin: one-year, $10 million contract with Baltimore OriolesTyler Mahle: one-year, $10 million contract with San Francisco Giants\u00a0Albert Su\u00e1rez: signed minor-league deal with Baltimore Orioles\u00a0Brandon Woodruff: accepted qualifying offer from Milwaukee Brewers for one year and $22.025 millionMichael Soroka: one-year, $7.5 million contract with Arizona DiamondbacksDustin May: one-year, $12.5 million contract with St. Louis CardinalsPaul Blackburn: one-year, $2 million contract with New York YankeesRyan Yarbrough: one-year, $2.5 million contract with New York Yankees<\/p>\n
(among pitchers with positive fWAR in 2025, plus Imai and Kay coming from Japan)<\/p>\n
Who’s still available?![\"Framber](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/01ke2t0jtp42q6mbkm5t.jpg\" "\\"Framber")
<\/p>\n
Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez (59) throws at Truist Park. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
(ranked by positive fWAR in 2025) <\/p>\n
Framber Valdez (7.7)Ranger Su\u00e1rez (7.5)Nick Martinez (5.5)Chris Bassitt (4.8)Zac Gallen (3.9)Zack Littell (3.7)Patrick Corbin (3.6)Erick Fedde (3.2)Justin Verlander (2.9)Miles Mikolas (2.2)Nestor Cortes (2.1)Lucas Giolito (2.0)Michael Lorenzen (1.9)Jose Quintana (1.9)Aaron Civale (1.8)Chris Paddack (1.8)Tyler Anderson (1.6)Jon Gray (1.4)Frankie Montas (1.3)Mart\u00edn P\u00e9rez (1.3)Griffin Canning (1.0)Chris Flexen (1.0)Marcus Stroman (1.0)Max Scherzer (1.0)Austin Gomber (0.9)Cal Quantrill (31, 0.9)Jordan Montgomery (0.6)John Means (0.5)Alex Cobb (0.3)Germ\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez (0.2)Tomoyuki Sugano (0.1)Who makes sense for the White Sox?<\/p>\n
I wouldn’t expect the White Sox to be in the mix at the top of the market for pitchers like Valdez, Suarez, Martinez, Bassitt and Gallen, especially after reported as a contender for Imai but missing out. There may not be a huge reason to sign a pitcher of that caliber either, given it’s still a young, ascending team \u2013\u2013 not one ready to contend immediately. <\/p>\n
So perhaps a pitcher like Zack Littell would represent the top of the market for the White Sox, based on the fWAR rankings above. But in general, the club is likely looking for a veteran with a track record of staying healthy, exceeding 100 innings and one who’s not looking for a deal past two or three years. Being able to flip them at the trade deadline would also be a plus. There’s around 10 pitchers on that list who could arguably fit the bill.<\/p>\n
Several of them are interesting reunion candidates, too, like Erick Fedde, Lucas Giolito, Jose Quintana, Aaron Civale, Mart\u00edn P\u00e9rez and Chris Flexen. Giolito is likely the best bet out of the bunch for 2026, considering P\u00e9rez’s injury, Quintana’s age and that Fedde and Flexen were designated for assignment in 2025. <\/p>\n
Another to consider is Michael Lorenzen, an All-Star in 2023 who posted a 3.31 ERA across 130.1 innings in 2024 and pitched 141.2 innings in 2025. He worked with new White Sox pitching coach Zach Bove in Kansas City, which could spark interest in teaming up again.<\/p>\n
Related stories on the Chicago White SoxChicago White Sox Add Jarred Kelenic On Minor League Deal<\/a>Chris Getz Discusses White Sox Signing Munetaka Murakami<\/a>Munetaka Murakami Explains Decision To Join White Sox And Goals For 2026<\/a>White Sox Sign Pitcher Sean Newcomb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The White Sox have made a few notable signings in free agency this offseason, adding infielder Munetaka Murakami…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-386271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-mlb","9":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}