White Sox bet on a reclamation project off the scrap heap

It's not the kind of deal that makes anyone update their World Series odds, but it's the first real deadline-adjacent move for a White Sox team that's still trying to figure out what it wants to be. Chicago is adding starting pitching depth by picking up Jose Urquidy, a guy who's been in the league for 7 seasons and has bounced from Houston to Detroit to Pittsburgh without ever fully sticking anywhere. The news broke fast Sunday night once the beat writers got a whiff of it.

Mark Feinsand

@Feinsand

The White Sox are acquiring RHP Jose Urquidy from the Pirates, per source. @ByRobertMurray was on it.

Jon Heyman confirmed the same report within minutes, crediting the same source chain — the kind of near-simultaneous drop that tells you this one was buttoned up and ready to leak the second both sides signed off.

Jon Heyman

@JonHeyman

Jose Urquidy is being acquired by White Sox @ByRobertMurray on it

The return going back to Pittsburgh is 21-year-old right-hander Felix Doroteo, a minor leaguer the White Sox signed in January 2025 who spent this year working in the Arizona Complex League, going 3-2 with a 4.50 ERA and 24 strikeouts across 16 outings. It's about as low-stakes a prospect swap as you'll see, which tracks — this is less a blockbuster and more two rebuilding clubs doing a bit of roster housekeeping.

Mark Feinsand

@Feinsand

RHP Felix Doroteo goes to the Pirates for Urquidy, per source.

Here's the part that makes this trade a little funnier than a standard depth pickup: the Pirates had just designated Urquidy for assignment on Friday. Two days later, he's got a new address. His 2026 season with Pittsburgh had been a mess in relief — 0-1 with an 8.53 ERA and just one save across 6 appearances — but he was quietly effective stretched back out as a starter at Triple-A Indianapolis, going 5-4 with a 3.66 ERA over 17 starts. That's presumably the version the White Sox are betting on getting back.

For his career, Urquidy sits at 27-17 with a 4.07 ERA and 335 strikeouts in 413.2 innings, a résumé that includes a solid run as a mid-rotation starter in Houston before injuries and inconsistency pushed him around the league. None of it screams difference-maker, but for a White Sox rotation that's been picking up bodies wherever it can find them, a healthy, stretched-out arm with big-league track record is worth the flyer — especially at the cost of a complex-league arm who's still years away from relevance.

MLB Trade Rumors

@mlbtraderumors

The #WhiteSox and #Pirates swing a trade, as Chicago adds some starting pitching depth: t.co/cOGQnIxQvD

Neither of these teams is buying at the deadline, so don't read too much into it beyond exactly what it is: the White Sox stockpiling arms for the back half of a lost season, and the Pirates clearing a DFA'd veteran off the 40-man for a lottery ticket. The real question now is whether Urquidy slots into the rotation right away or gets stashed in the bullpen while Chicago figures out its innings math down the stretch.