Chase Watkins lands with the White Sox after being released by the Cubs, gaining a clearer path to the majors in a thinner bullpen.
Last week, as both MLB and minor league rosters were being finalized, the Chicago Cubs made the decision to release 26-year-old left-handed pitcher Chase Watkins from the organization.
Watkins was originally drafted by the Cubs in the ninth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, and over the years, he’s been a fairly productive option in the minor leagues as a left-handed reliever.
The 2025 season saw Watkins spend a significant portion of the year at High-A South Bend before earning promotions to Double-A Knoxville and eventually Triple-A Iowa. Across those three levels, he logged 71.1 innings with a 2.65 ERA—strong production, even if he was pitching slightly below his age level as a 25-year-old.
For the Cubs, the decision likely came down to organizational pitching depth. Watkins doesn’t feature overpowering, swing-and-miss stuff or generate a high volume of strikeouts like a traditional late-inning reliever.
Instead, he provides value as a multi-inning bullpen option. Organizations value pitchers who can bridge the gap in the middle innings, especially across a long season when bullpen usage starts to stack up. Watkins has shown he can handle that kind of workload, and his ability to limit damage has been a consistent theme throughout his minor league career.
But with a crowded pitching picture—featuring arms like Colin Rea and Ben Brown already in the MLB bullpen, along with Javier Assad, Vince Velasquez, Jaxon Wiggins
, Ryan Rolison, and Luke Little at Triple-A Iowa—the Cubs aren’t exactly lacking in relievers capable of covering multiple innings.
Ultimately, that depth led to Watkins’ release. Now, he’s found a new opportunity—and Cubs fans may want to keep an eye on it.
Watkins signed with the Chicago White Sox over the weekend and will begin the 2026 season at Double-A Birmingham. On the South Side, the bullpen situation is far less settled, and there’s a clearer path for Watkins to earn a promotion and potentially break through at the big league level if he can build on his recent production.
The White Sox like to keep three left-handed relief pitchers in the bullpen at all times. And especially now that Mike Vasil needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2026 season, the White Sox need some innings. They haven't been afraid to directly promote someone from Double-A in the past.
This isn’t a move Cubs fans should lose sleep over, but it’s at least something worth monitoring now that Watkins has landed on the other side of town.