Truman Pauley Joins White Sox As Part Of Luis Robert Jr. Trade

Luisangel Acuña, a former top-100 prospect, headlined the return as the White Sox traded Luis Robert Jr. to the New York Mets last week. But not to be forgotten is right-handed pitcher Truman Pauley, also sent to Chicago in the deal.

Pauley, 22, is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound right-handed pitcher who the Mets selected in the 12th round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of Harvard University. Mets general manager David Stearns must have seen value in Pauley, who signed for $400,000 –– third-highest among 12th round picks by a wide margin.

Pauley pitched two seasons at Harvard, where he recorded a 4.61 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP across 70.1 innings and 14 appearances and 12 starts during the 2025 season. There's intrigue around Pauley's pitch mix, which produced 91 strikeouts for the Crimson last season alone. But it must be refined, as he also walked 89 batters in 114.1 innings across two seasons.

Pauley led the Ivy League in strikeouts and opponents' batting average last year, and ranked third nationally with 5.37 hits allowed per nine innings. He also carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning against Princeton, and struck out an Ivy League Tournament-record 13 batters against Columbia. He earned an All-Ivy League honorable mention and a spot on the Ivy-League All-Tournament team while studying mechanical engineering.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz on Wednesday shared this thoughts on acquiring Pauley in the Luis Robert Jr. trade.

"Any opportunity to bring in a Harvard kid adds some intellectual firepower to an organization," Getz said. "You look at the stuff. The ability to spin the baseball just allows us to really hone in on his development and his arsenal to tap into some real upside. It’s still a work in progress. They paid him a fair amount of money with the round he was taken in."

"He’s a guy we are familiar with. Certainly have been tracking him for a while. Our [research and development staff members] were really high on him and the scouts were there to support it as well. We felt as if it was a nice addition. There were a pool of players we were discussing. We decided to go with him."

Looking ahead, there's still a lot to learn about Pauley. Ivy League baseball is not among the most competitive conferences, and he pitched just 4.1 innings for the Single-A St. Lucie Mets during his first professional season.

Pauley has been assigned to the Single-A Kannapolis Cannon Baller's, according to his MLB.com player page. He's not ranked among the White Sox top-30 prospects and didn't have that distinction with the Mets, either. But as part of a notable trade, and with some upside, he's a player to keep an eye on this minor league season.

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