More arm trouble for Sox — Thorpe will have season-ending surgery
Bad luck typically comes in threes. But this is the White Sox, so why stop there?
The team announced Saturday pitcher Drew Thorpe would undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and miss the 2025 season. Thorpe is the fourth young Sox pitcher to be diagnosed this spring with an elbow injury that requires a repair to the ulnar collateral ligament, joining Ky Bush, Prelander Berroa and Juan Carela.
Thorpe and Bush both made their major-league debuts last year after being acquired in trades. Thorpe was a key piece to the Dylan Cease deal, while the Sox got Bush from the Angels for Lucas Giolito during the '23 season.
Thorpe was expected to be one of the leaders of the rotation after producing some good, albeit inconsistent, results in nine starts last season. His initial big league campaign ended early when he had surgery in September to shave down bone spurs in his right elbow.
Thorpe, 24, left the mound Thursday after feeling pain during second-inning warm-up pitchers in a Triple-A game in Arizona.
“Obviously it's super-frustrating,” Thorpe told reporters in Glendale, Ariz. “It stinks. I worked my butt off to get back, so it's a gut punch a little bit. Now it's just another bump in the road. I know where my head's at with everything and we'll be able to get through it and get on to next year.”
Bush would have been a contender to make the Sox starting rotation. Berroa appeared in 17 games out of the bullpen last season, while Carela had good result in Double-A. The Sox are hoping right-hander Mason Adams, currently out with elbow soreness, can avoid surgery.
When the White Sox open the season Thursday against the Angels at Guaranteed Rate Field, the starting rotation figures to include Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon, veteran Martin Perez, Davis Martin and Shane Smith. If anyone else is needed beyond that, it's anyone's guess. The Sox don't plan to rush top left-handed prospects Noah Schultz or Hagen Smith to the majors.
There's more bad injury news. Utility player Brandon Drury, the hitting star of Sox spring training, suffered a left thumb fracture and will likely be out a while. Josh Rojas, a potential starting shortstop, has a hairline fracture in his right big toe and it's unclear if he'll be ready for Opening Day.
The good news? Well, Andrew Benintendi is back from a broken hand and got a hit Friday against the Reds.
Hoerner returns to Cubs:
Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner made his spring debut on Friday, going 0-for-3 at the plate. Recovering from surgery on his right forearm last fall, Hoerner did not make the trip to Japan But the Cubs have said they're optimistic he'll be ready for the domestic opener Thursday in Arizona.
“He’s passed all the tests so far,” manager Craig Counsell told reporters in Arizona. “The seven or eight days that we were gone were good for him to just be consistent with his work and do a little more each day, and now we’re ready to go.”