The White Sox have already made several additions to the pitching staff this offseason, trading for right-hander Chris Murphy from the Red Sox and signing Anthony Kay, who revitalized his career in Japan, to a two-year $12 million deal. However, according to MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, the White Sox are still in the market for another veteran starter.
Kay figures to be a part of the White Sox rotation next season, joining Shane Smith, Sean Burke, and Davis Martin. Kay altered his pitch arsenal overseas and posted a 1.74 ERA in 155 innings with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars last season. However, there is still some uncertainty if his Nippon Professional Baseball Organization will translate to the MLB.
While Smith, Burke, and Martin are expected to get a bump in workload, the White Sox could still use a bona fide veteran starter to help eat innings.
Ky Bush and Drew Thorpe are set to return from Tommy John Surgery, but their workload will likely be limited after missing the entire 2025 season. Jonathan Cannon is another internal option to help fill out the rotation, but his 5.10 ERA in 38 career starts suggests he is better suited for a long relief role out of the bullpen.
Last season, veteran hurlers Martin Perez, Adrian Houser, and Aaron Civale covered 191.2 innings for the White Sox, while Tyler Alexander, Yoendry Gomez, and Bryse Wilson combined to cover an additional 157 innings.
Here are three free agents the White Sox could target to help reinforce the starting rotation:
Nick Martinez
Nick Martinez is an eight-year MLB veteran who is coming off a solid season in Cincinnati, posting a 4.45 ERA in 165.2 innings. His ability to bounce between the bullpen and starting rotation could make him an intriguing option for a White Sox team with some pitching prospects waiting in the wings.
Last season, he appeared in 40 games and made 26 starts. Like Kay, Martínez went overseas in an effort to revive his career. After logging more than 400 innings in his first four seasons with the Rangers, he spent four years in Japan from 2018-2021 before signing with the Padres in 2022.
During his time with San Diego and Cincinnati, he appeared in eight postseason games, an experience that could be valuable for a young White Sox staff.
While his 17% strikeout rate last season was his lowest since returning to MLB, he offset that with strong command, walking just 6% of hitters. The 35-year-old also provides durability, tossing 165 innings last season and throwing over 100 innings in each of the last four seasons.
Miles Mikolas
Miles Mikolas is another durable arm who has a history of pounding the strike zone. In ten MLB seasons, he owns an impressive 4.7% walk rate.
The 37-year-old is coming off a season that saw him produce a 4.84 ERA over 31 appearances with the Cardinals. While he has been prone to giving up a lot of homers, he has thrown over 200 innings four times and is averaging 188 innings thrown a season.
Mikolas does have a track record of success, finishing sixth in the Cy Young voting in 2018 and earning two All-Star nods. However, following his 2022 All-Star selection, Mikolas has struggled to miss bats, allowing the most hits in the MLB the following season.
Mikolas won’t strike out many hitters and gives up his fair share of hard contact, but would be a cheap short-term rental that the White Sox could plug into the bottom of the rotation.
Adrian Houser
After starting the 2025 season on a minor league deal with the Rangers, Adrian Houser found success with the White Sox. After signing with the team in late May, he posted a 2.10 ERA in 68.2 innings before getting traded to the Tampa Bay Rays before the deadline.
Houser wasn’t able to maintain that pace in Tampa Bay, posting a 4.79 ERA in his final 10 starts. Even so, the 33-year-old still profiles as a viable option for the White Sox.
His career 51.2% ground-ball rate plays well in a hitter-friendly park like Guaranteed Rate Field, and he recorded the third-highest strikeout rate of his career last season. While he isn’t known as a strikeout pitcher, his sinker generates plenty of weak contact, holding opponents to a 6% barrel rate, one of the lowest marks in MLB last season.
