José Urquidy will make his first traditional MLB start in nearly three years as the White Sox look for much-needed length from their depleted pitching staff.
The last time José Urquidy took the ball for the Chicago White Sox, he dazzled with six scoreless innings and eight strikeouts in a crucial win over the Chicago Cubs on August 17. It was just Urquidy’s second outing in a White Sox uniform. He's earned the win in both appearances.
Given his recent success and the team’s need for reliable starting pitching, the White Sox have shifted their strategy with Urquidy ahead of Monday night’s game against the Texas Rangers.
In each of Urquidy’s last two outings, the White Sox used an opener before deploying him as a bulk-inning relief pitcher.
On August 14, Sean Newcomb tossed 1.1 scoreless innings before turning things over to Urquidy in the bottom of the second. Urquidy pitched through the fifth inning, allowing three earned runs, and four home runs from the White Sox offense helped power Chicago to an easy 9-5 win over the Tigers.
Newcomb also preceded Urquidy with two scoreless innings at Wrigley Field last week. But Newcomb has been the only truly reliable opener for the White Sox as of late.
Bryan Hudson allowed two home runs in the first inning before turning things over to Erick Fedde during the Crosstown Classic, and the White Sox already used Newcomb ahead of Fedde on Sunday afternoon against the Mets.
So rather than forcing another opener into the equation, the White Sox are allowing Urquidy to make a traditional start against Kumar Rocker and the Texas Rangers on Monday evening. It will be the first time he has started a major league game since September 29, 2023, with the Houston Astros.
Urquidy did six scoreless innings in that game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Urquidy did make three traditional starts in the minor leagues with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights before being promoted by Chicago. He completed five innings in two of those outings and posted a 2.25 ERA.
While Urquidy has not thrown more than 73 pitches in a game since joining the White Sox organization on July 9, he did pitch seven innings of one-run baseball and throw 97 pitches for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians while in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.
With any luck, he’ll be equally as efficient as he was in his last outing at Wrigley Field. The White Sox will look for Urquidy to do what many of their starting pitchers have been unable to do recently and provide length at the top of the ballgame.
A bullpen game on Sunday, with Erick Fedde serving as the bulk-inning relief pitcher, came on the heels of Luis Castillo completing just 2.2 innings during his Saturday night start, which forced the White Sox to burn several of their relief arms. Grant Taylor, Sean Newcomb, Tyler Schweitzer and even Hagen Smith are all likely unavailable for the White Sox on Monday night.
The hope will be for Urquidy to get them through the lion’s share of the ballgame, with Hudson, Jordan Hicks and Trevor Richards available to cover the final few innings. The White Sox have a much-needed off day coming on Thursday after their three-game set with Texas.
But it has now been two weeks since their last day off, and the pitching staff is officially running on fumes. So, once again, the White Sox will turn to Urquidy to help the ballclub in a big spot.
