Drew Thorpe, one of the Chicago White Sox’s key additions from the Dylan Cease trade, is in line to make his major-league debut Tuesday in Seattle.
The right-hander has been phenomenal with Double-A Birmingham, going 7-1 with a 1.35 ERA in 11 starts.
“He’s a strike-thrower, he’s a competitor, he’s got a plus-plus-plus changeup,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Sunday morning. “He knows how to pitch, he’s calm and got a really good demeanor. Looking forward to seeing him pitch at this level because he looks like a big-leaguer.”
The Sox acquired Thorpe with reliever Steven Wilson, minor-league pitcher Jairo Iriarte and minor-league outfielder Samuel Zavala from the San Diego Padres for Cease on March 13.
Iriarte has been impressive with the Barons as well, with a 3.97 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 11 outings (10 starts).
The Sox did some shuffling for the upcoming series against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Erick Fedde will start Monday as planned, followed by Thorpe on Tuesday, Jonathan Cannon on Wednesday and Garrett Crochet on Thursday.
Crochet, in his first season as a starter after three seasons as a reliever, was originally scheduled to pitch Wednesday.
“I told Crochet that we are shopping for innings, pitches, days, starts, you name it,” Grifol said. “So anything we can buy (for time off), we are buying just because we don’t have a blueprint for this. All we go on are his strength, our people, communication, what he does with his testing. Right now, he’s feeling pretty good.”
Thorpe is the No. 3 prospect in the Sox organization, according to MLB.com.
The spot in the rotation came open Sunday after the Sox optioned Nick Nastrini to Triple-A Charlotte. Nastrini is 0-5 with a 8.39 ERA in six starts during two stints with the Sox this season.
“He’s got some things he has to work on,” Grifol said. “I thought he did well competing. There’s some things we talked about (Saturday) with him that we feel are going to take his game to another level.
“He’s a big part of the future here, a huge part of the future, but there’s some things here and there we have to iron out. We talked to him about it — controlling the running game, economizing pitches — and he did great.”
Thorpe has not been officially called up. The Sox recalled left-hander Sammy Peralta from Charlotte on Sunday for immediate bullpen help.
Peralta has thrown 3 2/3 scoreless innings over three relief appearances with Charlotte since being reacquired off waivers from the Mariners on May 26. He appeared in 16 games with the Sox in 2023, going 2-0 with a 4.05 ERA.
“We’ve pitched our (bullpen) guys quite a bit,” Grifol said. “I’m happy to see Sammy here. Sammy gives us some versatility, he helps us against lefties, he gives us some length. He can pitch in a little bit of leverage.”
The Sox also designated pitcher Shane Drohan for assignment. They claimed the left-hander in the Rule 5 draft in December, and he began the season on the injured list after nerve decompression surgery on his left shoulder. Drohan has appeared in 10 rehabilitation games with the Arizona Complex League White Sox, Class A Winston-Salem and Charlotte.