The White Sox have added some depth to the rotation already this winter, signing lefties Anthony Kay and Sean Newcomb to respective two-year and one-year contracts ($12MM for Kay; $4.5MM for Newcomb). Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic report this morning that the South Siders are still hoping to bring in another veteran arm on a one-year deal, with Griffin Canning among the pitchers they’ve targeted.
There’s no indication that a deal is close. Canning surely isn’t Chicago’s lone target, nor are the White Sox the sole team looking at the possibility of signing him. The fit between the two parties is a fairly sensible one, however.
Canning, 30 in May, is a former second-round pick and top prospect with the Angels. He showed flashes of making good on that potential across parts of five seasons with the Halos, but injuries repeatedly set him back. The Angels eventually swapped him out for Jorge Soler in a Nov. 2024 deal with the Braves. Atlanta non-tendered him a few weeks later. Canning went on to sign a one-year deal with the Mets.
Early in the 2025 campaign, that low-cost pickup looked like a steal for the Mets. Thrust into the rotation mix after spring injuries to Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea, Canning raced out of the gates with a 2.47 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and gaudy 55.2% ground-ball rate in his first nine starts. Fielding-independent metrics like FIP (3.84) and FIP (3.92) weren’t quite as bullish as his earned run average, but Canning very much looked the part of a quality mid-rotation arm over that span of nearly two months.
The right-hander then ran into some troubles with his command, issuing 18 walks over his next 26 1/3 frames. His numbers obviously took a step back along the way, and Canning never got much of a chance to right the ship. He was through 2 2/3 spotless innings against the Braves on June 26 when he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon that ended his season. Overall, Canning closed out the year with a 3.77 ERA, 21.3% strikeout rate, 10.7% walk rate and 50.9% grounder rate.
The uptick in grounders was a new development for Canning, who’d previously carried just a 39.5% ground-ball rate in his career. The Mets scrapped his prior curveball in favor of a knuckle curve, but the more prominent factor in his newfound success in that regard were changes to his slider and changeup, which generated grounders at respective rates of 57% and 62%. Canning threw his slider at career-high levels in ’25 and used his four-seamer at a career-low mark (while also averaging 94.1 mph on the pitch — second-best in his career).
Discouraging as his finish to the season was, Canning showed enough in his 16 starts with the Mets to command a big league deal this winter. He’s a relative upside play, which makes him a good fit for a club that can promise him a rotation spot and trot him out every fifth day. The White Sox, still working through another rebuilding effort, can afford that opportunity far more easily than a clear-cut contender.
At the moment, each of Kay, Shane Smith, Sean Burke and Davis Martin appear locked into manager Will Venable’s rotation. Newcomb could compete for a starting gig this spring but spent more time in the bullpen in recent seasons. Jonathan Cannon will be in the mix but has a minor league option remaining. Top prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith could both debut in 2026, but each could probably use some more minor league time. Smith hasn’t pitched at all in Triple-A, and Schultz struggled mightily there in five starts (9.37 ERA) after a much stronger showing in Double-A. Both southpaws could stand to improve their command, in particular.
Whether it’s Canning or another veteran, there appears to be ample room for at least one more arm in the White Sox’ rotation. Kay is looking to continue his NPB breakout but has never had much big league success. Smith (a 2024 Rule 5 pick) and Burke only have one season of solid results in the majors. Martin has pitched like a fourth or fifth starter in parts of three MLB seasons. Smith, Martin and Burke all have minor league options remaining.
At the moment, RosterResource projects just an $87MM payroll for the White Sox. That’s over $100MM shy of their franchise-record mark, set back in 2022 ($193MM). The Sox carried just a $75MM payroll on Opening Day last year but were well over $100MM in both 2024 ($123MM) and in 2023 ($181MM).