Trade deadline season officially opened Sunday night when word broke that the White Sox were sending right-hander Felix Doroteo to Pittsburgh for veteran righty Jose Urquidy. It's not a blockbuster, but it's the first domino, and both insiders and Pittsburgh's own front office moved fast once the DFA clock started ticking.
Mark Feinsand was first to confirm the deal was in motion, crediting Robert Murray's initial report.
The White Sox are acquiring RHP Jose Urquidy from the Pirates, per source. @ByRobertMurray was on it.
The trade landed on wire services within minutes, with multiple national reporters chasing it down independently. That kind of instant confirmation from separate sources is usually a sign a deal is basically done, not speculative.
Jon Heyman echoed the same report almost simultaneously, another signal the deal was locked.
Jose Urquidy is being acquired by White Sox @ByRobertMurray on it
Urquidy is 31 and once looked like a rock-solid mid-rotation piece, posting a career 4.07 ERA across parts of 6 seasons that started in Houston, where he was part of the Astros' 2019-23 run and made a name for himself in October ball. But his last few years have been rough: a second Tommy John surgery in 2024 wrecked his availability, and after bouncing to Detroit and then Pittsburgh, he cratered to an 8.53 ERA in 6 appearances before the Pirates cut him loose on Friday. This is about as pure a reclamation project as it gets.
Feinsand also confirmed the return heading to Pittsburgh, right-hander Felix Doroteo.
RHP Felix Doroteo goes to the Pirates for Urquidy, per source.
Doroteo is a 21-year-old who's spent the whole season in the Arizona Complex League with a 4.50 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 18 innings, so this is squarely a depth-for-depth swap between two clubs that aren't buying anytime soon. For Pittsburgh, it's a low-cost dice roll on a teenager with a live arm. For Chicago, it's a shot at squeezing something usable out of Urquidy before the actual deadline hits August 3.
Don't expect this one to move the standings needle, but it's worth watching purely as a signal. The White Sox front office is clearly willing to churn the roster ahead of the deadline, and moves like this tend to be the appetizer before bigger names start flying around the league in the coming days.