Which Starting Pitcher Should The White Sox Acquire To Pair With Luis Castillo?

The White Sox are going to be aggressive this trade deadline and a starter does make sense. The acquisition for Luis Castillo proves that and pairing him up with another arm could be all the team needs in this playoff push. A previous article talks about how the best addition could happen from within the farm system, but acquiring a solid to ace like starting pitching would be tremendous. Now whether going for a rental or controllable pitcher is a big factor in this and it changes the trade scenarios. That being said, let's take a look at some candidates the Sox could acquire.

Reid Detmers

Detmers almost feels like the perfect fit for this club. He's a left handed starter that has been fantastic this year, but in the past, he was actually demoted to the minors as recent as 2025. However, there is a lot of interest in Detmers. That being said, he has dealt with a lot of unluckiness and that could be an underlying factor as that could actually bolster Detmers' stock. The Los Angeles Angels are going to very likely ask for a top prospect and that could deter the Sox with parting with that type of farm hand. Detmers is controllable as he doesn't become a free agent until 2029, however, he is also arbitration eligible. So, it could mean that in order to avoid arbitration, both sides are likely to try to work out an extension. However, while recency bias helps Detmers' case, he could also regress and that should give pause.

Clay Holmes

Holmes is a strong likelihood to be dealt for by the Pale Hose as they were at his most recent rehab start scouting him. Yes, he is on the injured list, but that doesn't necessarily mean squat. Holmes has excellent numbers, but he is also 33 years old. There would only be one more year of control on the contract, so is it worth mortgaging the farm system for him? Especially at his age? The Sox should be careful here. That being said, Holmes is an excellent arm who could actually fit in well with that same previous article's point.

Robbie Ray

Ray actually might make the most sense here as for a rental, he would boost so much to the Pale Hose pitching staff. The Sox are willing to take on some money as their payroll is very low, but it also helps taking on a contract for a player who commands a lot and not be in a bad financial pickle. If the Pale Hose are willing to acquire him, the return should not be substantial enough to risk the development of the young players on the team and farm system. That being said, he could also be a mentor to the young pitchers on the Sox which would help them come 2027.

Jose Soriano

Soriano started off well to start this season, but he has struggled considerably lately. That being said, the Sox pitching coaches have done a marvelous job with the development of some of the young pitchers or have tapped into the potential of veterans whom have great stuff. Soriano probably fits into the situation of finding a way to tap into his potential as he does have an electric arm. What helps though is Soriano comes at the cheap with a contract of $2.9 million and also up for arbitration multiple times, plus he becomes a free agent in 2029, so that means Soriano is controllable and that could be something that intrigues the Pale Hose a lot.

Brady Singer

Singer has been just okay this season with the Cincinnati Reds with a 5-10 record and 4.35 ERA, but a change of scenery might help. If this was a rental trade, it would fit perfectly as a trade for Singer wouldn't likely cost much prospect capital. Especially with those numbers, it might be a bit of a red flag.

Michael King

King might be one of the most fun pitchers in the league as his numbers look outstanding. He's actually been an outstanding pitcher this year and his statistics look good now, but San Diego might look into trading away some of their assets in order to retool. King is similar to Ray as the Sox are willing to take on more payroll. King is also controllable as he won't be a free agent until 2029, but there are opt-outs. So that's another risk.

*Contract details come from Sportrac