Prelander Berroa began his rehab assignment on Wednesday, but his outing ended after just four pitches and an injury delay in the first inning.
There's been a lot of attention recently on Chicago White Sox players who could soon return from injury to help an overachieving MLB club.
Catcher Kyle Teel is on a rehab assignment in Triple-A Charlotte and should rejoin the White Sox within the next week. Outfielders Austin Hays and Everson Pereira may not be far behind.
Before long, the White Sox could also be getting pitching reinforcements back.
A handful of promising White Sox pitchers missed the entire 2025 season with season-ending injuries. One of the arms that was expected to contribute at the MLB level was right-hander Prelander Berroa, a reliever the White Sox acquired before the 2024 season in a trade with the Seattle Mariners.
Berroa made 17 appearances out of the White Sox bullpen in 2024 and had a 3.32 ERA with 12.3 K/9. He did it with a fastball that sits in the upper 90s and a wipeout slider that generates a ton of whiffs. The control has always been an issue for Berroa, but the stuff is undeniable. And the White Sox saw that back in 2024, not just with his production, but with the underlying metrics backing up that it was no fluke.
That put Berroa in the conversation to be Chicago's closer for 2025, but after just one spring training outing, he went down with a Grade 1 elbow strain and later underwent Tommy John surgery that kept him out for the entire 2025 season.
The White Sox have remained optimistic that Berroa could return from the injury and help them at some point in 2026 at the big league level. That day now appears to be closing in...or so we thought.
On Wednesday night, Berroa officially started his rehab stint. He was back on the mound in the Arizona Complex League, facing live hitters for the first time since February of 2025.
Unfortunately, Berroa threw just four pitches, issued a four-pitch walk, and was pulled from the game after an "injury delay" in the first inning.
Having him on the mound was a great sign for the White Sox. It pointed to a possible return to the MLB level within the next month, which would provide a valuable reinforcement to Chicago's bullpen with an electric high-leverage arm.
While the White Sox bullpen has been more reliable over the last few weeks as the team has played better baseball, there are still a few upgrades that could stand to be made.
We'll have to see if Berroa is still on track after the concerning outing on Wednesday. There hasn't been much information made available yet with details on his short-lived season debut, and as things stand right now, it’s hard to know whether to fear the worst or be encouraged by the fact that he took the mound in the first place.