Are White Sox Preparing to Bring Back David Sandlin?

While his MLB time with the Chicago White Sox in 2026 has been hot and cold, right-handed pitcher David Sandlin has put together a strong all-around season in his first year with the organization.

After being acquired from the Boston Red Sox in an offseason trade, Sandlin has pitched in five games for the White Sox this season. In two of those outings, he was fairly dominant, delivering quality starts and earning wins in a pair of divisional games.

But when Sandlin has been off his game, he's gotten hit hard. That inconsistency has kept him from securing a permanent role with the White Sox and led to him spending much of the season with Triple-A Charlotte.

It's in those minor league starts that Sandlin has shown his potential and given the White Sox plenty to be excited about. In 16 minor league starts this season, Sandlin is 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA. He's struck out 75 batters over 69.1 innings and has been particularly sharp during his most recent stretch with Charlotte.

Since being optioned back to the minor leagues on August 8, Sandlin has posted a 1.90 ERA and earned wins in three consecutive outings. On August 29, he delivered seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. On September 4, he allowed just one earned run over 5.2 innings while striking out 11.

Now, the White Sox could be preparing to bring Sandlin back.

Sandlin was scheduled to start for Charlotte on Thursday night while the White Sox ran out another bullpen game in their series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates. But Sandlin was scratched from his start, forcing the Knights to deploy a bullpen game of their own.

And this doesn't appear to be a young pitcher simply getting pushed back for an extra day of rest.

The Knights have Shane Murphy listed as their probable starter for Friday night, with Noah Schultz scheduled to take the ball Saturday. With the MLB club needing help and a spark during its current free fall, perhaps the White Sox held Sandlin out because they have plans for him during their upcoming road trip through St. Louis and Cleveland.

It's the biggest road trip of the season for the White Sox. They'll play three games against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium before traveling to Progressive Field for three games against the Guardians.

The White Sox were just swept at home by the Pirates and currently look like a team that's falling out of the race. But it's not too late to salvage things if the bats can heat up and Chicago can receive some help from its pitching reinforcements.

After all, this is still a first-place team. Chicago has considered using Sandlin, Schultz and Drew Thorpe in some capacity as openers or short-term starting pitchers during the final stretch of the season.

Sandlin may be the next man up, with his unexpected absence from Thursday's start serving as the latest signal that a return to the White Sox could be coming.