White Sox Option Opening Day Starter To Triple-A 

Less than six months after being named the Opening Day starter, the White Sox have optioned Sean Burke to Triple-A Charlotte. 

On Monday, the team announced that Burke was heading back to the minor leagues, with right-hander Owen White getting recalled to the big league club ahead of their series opener in Atlanta. 

The move comes after Burke allowed three runs in 3.2 innings against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday, raising his ERA to 4.28 on the season. While Burke was only charged for two earned runs, he allowed five hits, including two homers, with a walk and three strikeouts. 

The 25-year-old right-hander has thrown 117.2 innings for the White Sox this season across 24 appearances, 20 of which were starts. It’s been a mixed bag for Burke this year, who has five quality starts but has also struggled to miss bats. 

The former third-round pick ranks in the bottom half of the league in chase, whiff, and strikeout rate, with an expected ERA of 5.13 that sits in the bottom 15 percent of MLB. Burke’s 10% walk rate and 35.2% ground ball rate have also been a concern, as opponents are hitting .253 off of him. 

However, things have not been all bad for Burke. His curveball has emerged as the best pitch of his arsenal, producing a .209 opponent batting average and a 25% whiff rate. Of his five pitches, it is the only one with a positive Run Value, aided by 59 inches of vertical drop, which is much higher than the league average. 

The move to the minors could be aimed at managing Burke’s innings or addressing issues that are tougher to fix at the big-league level. Jonathan Cannon’s demotion earlier this month left one hole in the White Sox rotation. Martín Pérez should help absorb some innings, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Burke back in Chicago before the season is over.

White was claimed off waivers from the Yankees in February and has thrown 6.2 innings for the White Sox this season, posting a 4.05 ERA across two appearances. He only has 13.2 career MLB innings under his belt, with the other seven innings coming as a member of the Rangers in 2023 and 2024. 

White has started 15 games for the Charlotte Knights this season with a 4.93 ERA in 69.1 innings of work. During that stretch, he struck out 56 batters but handed out 38 free passes. 

With Yoendrys Gómez, Shane Smith, and Aaron Civale tapped as the White Sox next three probable starters and Perez likely to start the series opener in Minnesota, it remains unclear whether White will get the next turn or if the team will again turn to its opener strategy.