White Sox Make First Offseason Move, Claim Former Top Prospect

The Chicago White Sox made their first roster move of the offseason on Monday. Just hours before free agency officially opened, the White Sox claimed infielder Graham Pauley off waivers from the Miami Marlins.

In corresponding moves, the White Sox outrighted left-hander Ky Bush and outfielder Junior Perez to Triple-A Charlotte. These were moves that needed to happen as the injured list went away at 4 p.m. Central Time.

For the time being, Pauley is on the White Sox 40-man roster and offers Chicago some infield depth. But there's definitely no guarantee he'll stay there.

At 26 years old, Pauley has been given MLB opportunities in each of the last three seasons by the San Diego Padres and Marlins. He's played in 137 total games, hitting .209 with 10 home runs, 41 RBIs and a .636 OPS.

Pauley played in exactly 62 games for the Marlins in both 2025 and 2026 and had fairly similar production. The largest difference was his walk rate, which sat at 11.4% in 2025. It was one of the better marks in baseball, albeit in a limited sample size. That number cratered to 5.2% in 2026, leading to a .257 on-base percentage and overall inconsistent offensive production.

Pauley does have over 800 innings at third base with positive marks in Defensive Runs Saved, Outs Above Average and Fielding Run Value. He's also had brief stints elsewhere on the diamond, including second base, first base and the outfield. So there is some versatility and positive defensive production that could be what the White Sox are ultimately investing in here.

But it may be difficult to see that investment through given the current roster crunch and mechanics.

Pauley is out of minor league options, hence why he was available for the White Sox on waivers in the first place. That's going to make it difficult to carry him throughout the offseason and even more difficult when it comes time to make roster cuts prior to Opening Day.

White Sox fans should be prepared for the possibility that there's a decent chance he ends up back on waivers.

As far as the other players involved in Chicago's most recent transaction, Ky Bush underwent Tommy John surgery in February 2025 and missed the entire 2025 and 2026 seasons. He's dealt with multiple setbacks, with the latest coming in late 2026, but the current expectation is for him to return in 2027.

Junior Perez is a 25-year-old outfielder whom the White Sox acquired in a midseason trade with the Athletics. He was rather productive at Triple-A Charlotte, hitting eight home runs with a .770 OPS over 51 games in the White Sox organization. He also spent over a month in the big leagues with Chicago out of necessity, playing in 22 games and hitting three home runs with a .623 OPS.

Perez is a skilled athlete with tremendous defensive ability and a lot of raw power, but he has too many holes in his swing to be a complete MLB hitter at this stage in his career.

Both players were outrighted by the White Sox, which means they were placed on waivers, cleared waivers and have since been removed from the 40-man roster while remaining in the organization on minor league assignments.

Chicago's 40-man roster currently sits at 39.