Beginning at the turn of the month, as 24 new White Sox (20 draft picks and four UDFAs) assumed their places in the White Sox organization, there was the usual downside of players cut to make room. Not coincidentally, there were 24 cuts made to affiliate rosters:
Triple-A Charlotte Knights cuts 2B Darren Baker Most notable for being Dusty Baker’s son and the baby batboy who almost got run over on the field, at age 27 Baker is near the end of his professional time, which means his MLB .500 career average
(7-for-14) will be something he can carry with him forever. He was signed to the White Sox organization before the 2026 season and sat out all but 13 games of it with injuries.
RHRP Chase Plymell
The No. 69 preseason South Side Sox prospect, Plymell was a 2021 UDFA success, working his way all the way up to Triple-A and having particularly promising stretches at Double-A and Charlotte in 2023-24. Fell off badly with the Knights this season (6.55 ERA in 33 relief innings).
RHRP Lucas Sims
After signing, releasing and re-signing Sims earlier this year, the White Sox are letting him go, again. The 10-year veteran saw nine nondescript games (4.50 ERA) with the big club this season but was godawful in Charlotte.
RHRP Javy Guerra
The five-year veteran signed on with the White Sox in June after being cut by Atlanta, and pitched well for the Knights over 10 games (3.09 ERA, five finishes, two saves). This would seem a move borne of a contract wrinkle or make-good to Guerra, giving him a shot to catch on for the stretch run with someone else.
Double-A Birmingham Barons cuts
1B/3B Brenden Dixon
Signed before the 2026 season out of the Pittsburgh org, Dixon just doesn’t have enough thump to justify his corner infield spots, and the White Sox have enough organizational players of their own who fit that “eh, just keep him around” status.
LF Adam Fogel
This was a pretty quick decision, as the left fielder was signed as a UDFA before the 2026 and had only 23 games to prove himself. Basically thrown right into Double-A ball, Fogel mashed, with five homers in just 91 plate appearances and a .513 slugging percentage. But the White Sox just had an outfielder-heavy draft, and Fogel has little to no pedigree.
OF Eddie Park
Not a shocker release, but a bit of a shock Park was still around; the 2023 eighth-rounder out of Stanford hit the ground running with his pro debut after the draft, but dropped off badly in 2024 and missed all of 2025 after knee surgery right before the season. Made it as high as N0. 48 (2024) in our Top 100.
RHRP Jared Kelley
Now this one was surprising, as the 2020 second-rounder who the White Sox coaxed away from a University of Texas commitment with an over-slot bonus was considered a plum in the system, still. He fell off very badly at Birmingham in 2026 (12.06 ERA) but pitched very well in three games at Charlotte. He’s still just 24, and though slipping down the ranks still held as the No. 55 SSS prospect before the season (he sat as high as No. 5 overall, in 2021).
RHRP Mark McLaughlin
A seventh round pick in 2022, McLaughlin found his professional ceiling to be Double-A Birmingham, where he struggled a bit in 2025 and really bottomed out this summer, to a 9.14 ERA and 2.215 WHIP. He was, at 25, still promising enough to earn the No. 67 SSS Top 100 spot before the season.
LHRP Jacob Heatherly
Heatherly sat out the entire 2025 season (or was injured), but signed on with the White Sox out of the Cincinnati system for 2026. He slid right back into Double-A ball, where he left off with the Reds, but found no traction.
LF Drake Logan
Always a long shot, this 19th-rounder from 2022 got as far along in the White Sox system as Charlotte (two stints, beginning with an impressive 11 games at the end of 2025). The No. 79 preseason SSS prospect learned that there’s just not a huge demand for LFs with middling power, but as in the case of teammate Fogel, the White Sox only have so many spots in their system.
OF TJ McCants
A 16th round pick in 2024, McCants was a solid if not underwhelming performer over two-plus years in the White Sox system. He was the No. 58 SSS prospect before the season.
High-A Winston-Salem Dash cuts
RHRP Jake Bockenstedt
An undrafted free agent in 2023, Bockenstedt was advanced through the White Sox system, as high as Double-A, more due to age than merit. He was demoted back to the Dash in 2026 after putting up a 9.58 ERA with the Barons.
RHRP Madison Jeffrey
Drafted in the 15th round by the Dodgers in 2021, Jeffrey was released out of their system early in 2024, and the White Sox snagged him out of indy ball. He was better with the Dash (4.34 ERA) in 2026 than 2025, but not better enough.
RHRP Jake Peppers
Peppers was an unorthodox project from the start, a tweener of a pitcher taken in the ninth round in 2023. He simply never gained traction with the White Sox, never making it out of A-ball. He was the No. 98 SSS prospect before this season.
INF Arxy Hernández
Speaking of “just keep him around” guys in the White Sox system, Arxy is the poster boy. From the beginning of his career, in the Dominican Summer League in 2021, Hernández did not distinguish himself. The 2026 season was by most measures his best, but he’s still positionless in A-ball, with a .681 OPS.
OF Alex Ungar
The White Sox took a UDFA shot at this outfielder out of the State University of New York at Albany before the 2026 season, and despite a somewhat aggressive assignment right to High-A, handled it pretty well (seven homers, .687 OPS, 12-of-14 steals).
Low-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers cuts
LF Nathan Archer
This 2024 14th-rounder packed a lot of swing-and-miss into a hitting profile with no power. He’s already caught on in indy ball, inking with the Lake Erie Crushers.
C/1B Adrian Gil
Exhibit A in how DSL stats can deceive, as Gil completely crushed the league as a 17-year-old in 2023 but struggled Stateside after that. Actually, his ACL seaosn in 2024 was just fine, but beginning in 2025 the White Sox made the odd decision to have this player — signed as (and still listed in his release as!) a second baseman but playing only 18 professional games there and relegated to 1B duty after that — transition to catcher. Needless to say, it did not work. Based on the promise of the DSL and the off-chance he could make it work as a backstop, Gil was our No. 87 preseason prospect.
INF Jurdrick Profar
Younger brother of the currently drug-suspended Padre Jurickson Profar, Jurdrick pretty much always had his family name as his top “skill.” But after the debacle of Fernando Tatís Jr., the White Sox were not going to prematurely bail on a Profar (see: Enoy Jiménez, et. al). SSS is guilty of this as well, tabbing him preseason as our No. 100 prospect.
Rookie League ACL White Sox cuts
RHRP Cesar Familia
Not good in the DSL in 2025. Not good in the ACL in 2026.
RHP Jommy Hernandez
Decent in the DSL in 2024. Not good in the ACL in 2025. Had yet to pitch in 2026.
INF D’Angelo Tejada
This international free agent in 2023 never really did much at any level, but advanced as high as Kannapolis this season. He was the No. 93 SSS prospect before the season.
OF Leandro Alsinois
One of the coolest names in the White Sox system, Alsinois could not translate excellent seasons in the DSL in 2022 and 2023 into sustained success Stateside. Over two runs in A-ball in 2025-26, Alsinois slashed just .143/.192/.184.
And if all this release news isn’t sad enough, on July 31 the White Sox officially ended William Bergolla Jr.’s season with placement on the 60-day IL, as his shin contusion in Triple-A transitioned into a bone fracture during rehab play in the ACL. Our SSS No. 11 prospect had such an impressive Spring Training and start at Charlotte, he seemed destined for a 2026 call-up to Chicago.
