Martin Pérez is available again, and the current White Sox pitching staff and need for innings makes it a hard fit to ignore.
The Chicago White Sox signed veteran left-handed pitcher Martin Pérez before the 2025 season with the hope that he could be an innings eater and a veteran leader for a young, developing pitching staff.
Unfortunately, for both parties, Pérez was only able to make four starts before landing on the injured list for four months. He went down toward the end of April and did not pitch in another game until August 13. Even then, Pérez finished the season with 10 starts for the White Sox, tossing 56 innings with a 3.54 ERA.
He was productive when he was available, and he absolutely provided the veteran presence the White Sox were looking for.
At one point in the second half, it even seemed possible that Pérez could return for the 2026 season. He spoke highly of his teammates in the clubhouse and the overall atmosphere the White Sox were building. He also predicted the White Sox would be a contender in 2026.
“I say to all my teammates from different teams when they ask me ‘How’s the team?,’ I say ‘It’s awesome,’” Pérez told Chuck Garfien in podcast interview from 2025. “I know we’re not winning many games, but our clubhouse is nice. I want to be here every day. It’s not good when you’re at home and you don’t want to come to the field because you don’t feel good. I don’t feel that way and I know my teammates feel the same.”
"I think the experience is going to get this team to another level. If we continue doing what we've been doing, we're going to see a contending team next year," Pérez told Garfien.
But it’s very possible those were just words, because when it came time to exercise his mutual option and potentially return to the White Sox in 2026, Pérez declined his end and opted for free agency.
He ultimately settled for a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves. While he did not initially make the Opening Day roster, Pérez had his contract selected by Atlanta on March 30.
He has since made three starts for Atlanta, including a strong outing against the Cleveland Guardians in which he threw five innings and allowed just two hits and one run on April 11, exactly one week after his 35th birthday.
Now, Pérez is seeing the downside of signing with a contending team that has significant starting pitching depth waiting to return from injury. Despite posting a 3.14 ERA in 14.1 innings, Pérez was designated for assignment by the Braves on Sunday.
And of course, I immediately wonder if the White Sox would consider scooping Pérez off waivers.
The White Sox are desperate for innings right now. They’ve already been playing musical chairs, moving pitchers up and down between Triple-A and the big leagues. Tyler Schweitzer was brought up for his MLB debut and immediately sent back down. Duncan Davitt was brought up for his debut and immediately sent back down. Jonathan Cannon was brought up to be a bulk reliever to replace Shane Smith’s spot in the starting rotation and didn’t record an out before being removed with an injury.
Now it’s top pitching prospect Noah Schultz who gets the call.
Perhaps the White Sox are confident Schultz will stick in Chicago and believe more help is on the way with other pitching prospects like Hagen Smith and Tanner McDougal. But given how desperate this team has been for innings—and considering it’s still only mid-April—a veteran like Pérez, who can take the ball every fifth day and provide relatively reliable production, is absolutely an asset the White Sox could use.
And with Pérez being DFA’d, all it would take is a waiver claim and the veteran minimum salary. That’s a steep discount from the price of Pérez’s mutual option or the contract demands he likely made over the winter.
A reunion is something to keep an eye on here.