White Sox’s biggest mistake after 2026 MLB trade deadline

The Chicago White Sox have had a remarkable season and they have shown incredible growth from where they were just two seasons ago. The White Sox set the record for the most losses by any team in the expansion era in 2024. Now they are in first place in the American League Central as they prepare for the home stretch of the 2026 season.

Manager Will Venable deserves credit for getting his team to believe in itself and come through in the late stages of key games. The White Sox have a 59-54 record and that has given them a 3.0-game lead over the second-place Cleveland Guardians. They are 4.0 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers.

While neither lead is safe, the White Sox are in a great position to win the American League Central and go into the postseason with momentum.

General manager Chris Getz did not take anything for granted as the White Sox prepared for the trade deadline. He was happy with his team’s performance this year, but he was not about to sit still. His goal was to improve his team, and he has attempted to do so by trading for starting pitcher Luis Castillo of the Seattle Mariners. The White Sox gave up reliever Seranthony Domínguez, outfielder Nolan Jones and catcher-left fielder Boston Smith.

The White Sox also acquired reliever Huascar Brazobán from the Mets for pitchers Gabe Davis and Zach Franklin.
They brought in outfielder Brenton Doyle from the Rockies for pitcher Mason Adams and shortstop Carlos Vielma. Additionally, they traded for catcher Joey Bart from the Braves for pitcher Duncan Davitt.

Getz made multiple moves in an attempt to improve the team. However, were they the right moves? In particular, the acquisition of Castillo must be questioned.

Castillo is expected to provide an upgrade to Chicago’s starting staff.

Castillo was one of the American League’s best pitchers. He is a three-time American League All-Star, but he has struggled badly this season and there are legitimate questions as to whether he is still effective at this point in his career.

The White Sox obviously believe that he is and that a change of scenery will allow him to regain his status and start pitching in a shutdown manner once again. That may be a bit of a stretch.

Castillo has struggled badly this season and he has a 3-9 record with a 5.06 earned run average. He is no longer the strikeout pitcher he once was. He has struck out 86 batters in 99.2 innings and he has given up 32 bases on balls and 16 home runs.

Castillo has pitched in 20 games this season and he has made 17 starts. Only 4 of those are listed as quality starts. That’s one of the reasons that the decision to trade for Castillo is very likely a mistake. A change of scenery could help, but he has not been effective this season. Taking off a Mariners uniform and pitching for the White Sox is not going to be enough to get him back on track. He needs to correct the flaws that have impacted his delivery this year.

Starting pitching has become an issue for White Sox

The White Sox may be in first place, but their starting pitching has slipped badly. Sean Burke has pitched well at the top of the rotation. He has a 7-6 record with 144 strikeouts in 128.2 innings pitched. He has made 19 starts this season and 9 have been quality starts.

However, Davis Martin has slipped badly after a solid first two-plus months this season. He has a 9-6 record, but his ERA is now 4.13. It will be difficult for Venable to trust him going forward.

Castillo will make his first start Thursday for the White Sox against the streaking Red Sox. The White Sox are counting on him to hold down that offense and do more of the same going forward.

Newcomers may not be able to hold up

The White Sox hope that Bart can get the job done behind the plate until No. 1 catcher Kyle Teel is healthy enough to return to competition. Teel suffered a high ankle sprain in late July and the White Sox are hoping he could return in early September.

Bart is not an offensive threat. He is slashing .220/.391/.367 while playing in 41 games this season for the Braves and Pirates in addition to the White Sox. The catcher has 4 home runs and 13 runs batted in.

He should be fairly effective in handling the pitching staff and in all of his defensive duties, but he is a liability as a hitter and that could hurt the White Sox whenever he is in the lineup. Brazoban and Benton do not look like game-changing players either.

The White Sox made multiple moves at the trade deadline, but it seems that none of the new players may be good enough to give the team a boost down the stretch.

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