General manager Chris Getz described Tuesday as a “big day for the White Sox.”
All eyes were on 2022 first-round draft pick Noah Schultz, who was making his major-league debut as the starting pitcher in the series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rate Field.
“Noah Schultz obviously is a big part of our future,” Getz said before the game. “He’s been throwing really well (for Triple-A) Charlotte. Last year he had a knee issue that clearly was affecting him based on his command and just the quality of stuff, and it’s very clear that that is behind him based on what we’ve seen so far and also in spring training.
“The stuff is up. The command is there, multiple pitches to be able to navigate lineups, both sided hitters. And we’re proud of him and excited to watch his debut.”
The 6-foot-10 Schultz joined the Sox after going 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA, 19 strikeouts and two walks in 14 innings over three games (two starts) for Charlotte this season. MLB.com ranks the Oswego East graduate as the No. 2 prospect in the Sox organization (behind outfielder Braden Montgomery) and the No. 45 prospect in baseball.
“Quite honestly, we just felt like he was in such a good place developmentally,” Getz said. “He had pitched at Triple A last year, and with many of these arms or players, if we feel like they’re ready to compete and help us win ballgames up here, we’re going to try to find spots for them to come up here.
“And we felt like it lined up pretty well with having an opening in the rotation with Shane (Smith) going down (to Triple A) and Noah throwing really well. And just wanted to capture his productive start, and hopefully he can carry that over to the major-league level.”
The Sox selected Schultz’s contract from Charlotte on Tuesday. They also reinstated outfielder Everson Pereira (left ankle sprain) from the 10-day injured list and placed pitcher Jonathan Cannon (right hip inflammation) on the 15-day IL.
Schultz’s arrival is the latest change to the rotation. Smith, the opening-day starter, was optioned to Charlotte last week.
“He definitely made progress in the most recent outing up here at the major-league level, but we know that he can be so much better and he acknowledges that as well,” Getz said of Smith. “He was running away from using his four-seam fastball. Just the overall quality of that pitch, along with his curveball, just wasn’t up to his standard.
“And we felt like it was best to kind of slow down his world a little bit, get him in an environment that is not so focused on getting so deep into games or even win the ballgame.”
Getz said the Sox want to get Smith’s arsenal back in the right place.
“Mechanically, he was a little bit off,” Getz said. “He showed glimpses of the 2025 version in his last (big-league) outing, but it was inconsistent still. It was almost every other hitter.
“There’s always a cascade effect when you have starters not going deep into games. It starts affecting bullpens. You overextend the bullpen. It’s not as productive. You start to have to turn the roster. But independent of that, we just know there’s a better version there.”
Schultz fills the spot on the 40-man roster that opened Monday when the Sox traded infielder Lenyn Sosa to the Toronto Blue Jays for minor-league outfielder Jordan Rich and a player to be named or cash considerations.
“Lenyn did good things in a White Sox uniform,” Getz said. “We can all acknowledge that he can bring some offense. It’s more prioritizing the style of play that we want for our major-league club moving forward. When you have (minor-leaguers Sam) Antonacci and (William) Bergolla (Jr.), even (recently promoted) Tanner Murray, players that offer more defensive versatility, the baserunning.
“We kind of knew the time was going to come, and there was a team that was in need because of injury. We lined up and also were able to bring in a player (Rich) we liked last year in the draft. It’s a player that, when you look at the defensive and speed profile and what he’s capable of doing offensively, it is a projection but it’s a player that we like.”
The Sox liked what they saw in a number of areas from Schultz, leading to the promotion.
“You look at the quality of the pitches — is the stuff good enough to get major-league hitters out?” Getz said. “And then not just left-handed hitters, does he have weapons to get righties out as well? You look at how well he’s getting ahead of hitters, staying ahead and putting guys away in kill counts, and he showed the capability of doing that. So there was enough there for us to be comfortable.
“Obviously you take feedback from the Triple-A staff, player development, our pitching group, our major-league staff based on getting to know him through spring training in the last couple of seasons. So it was unanimous that this was the time to bring him up, and needless to say we’re excited to have him here.”
