White Sox Demote Shane Smith Two Weeks After Opening Day, Call Up No. 23 Prospect

The Chicago White Sox have seen enough.

Despite some slight improvement from Shane Smith in his third start of the season, the red flags continued to wave. The team has now decided to demote the 2025 All-Star to Triple-A Charlotte. The decision comes less than two weeks after Smith made his first-ever Opening Day start.

It's hard to imagine there is much precedence for an Opening Day starter moving back to the minors this quickly. But there is, unfortunately, no question that the Sox are justified in their decision. Smith came out on March 26 and looked completely lost against the Milwaukee Brewers. He lasted 1.2 innings after giving up a quick three runs and two walks.

Then, facing a young Miami Marlins lineup, Smith somehow looked even worse. While manager Will Venable let him go 3.0 innings, Smith gave up 7 earned runs and another pair of walks with only a single strikeout. His command remained a major concern, making his third start hold a lot more weight than it should.

Once again, Smith took a small step in the right direction against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday afternoon. He handed his bullpen a clean scoreboard and tied a career-high with eight strikeouts and even recorded 17 swinging strikes. Nevertheless, the final line was still one of the strangest you will see from any pitcher this season. Smith threw a staggering 99 pitches in 3.2 innings of work. Only 57 of those were strikes, as he walked five more batters.

The performance means that Smith holds a 10.80 ERA through three starts – a far cry from his 3.81 ERA during his rookie campaign. His walk rate to begin 2026 sits in the league's 12th percentile. To say he has been erratic on the mound would be an understatement, and a Sox team looking to take the next competitive step couldn't afford to let Smith figure things out on the fly.

Of course, there is undoubtedly some concern about what a demotion this early on could do for Smith's confidence level. A trip to Charlotte only a handful of days after starting Opening Day is a tough pill to swallow. At the same time, this could also be the perfect lower-stakes environment to get Smith back on track. It's clear something is off for the righty, and the Triple-A coaching staff can spend even more time trying to figure that out.

With that said, this sluggish start doesn't come out of nowhere. Smith looked equally as shaky during his spring training play. While you can never put too much stock into training camp play, perhaps the signs of serious command issues were there, and the team chose to ignore them.

Who Will Replace Shane Smith for Now?

Mar 19, 2026; Peoria, Arizona, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Tyler Schweitzer against the San Diego Padres during a spring training game at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The White Sox have selected the contract of Tyler Schweitzer to replace Shane Smith on the depth chart. Whether or not that means he will join the rotation, however, remains to be seen. The team also has veterans Sean Newcomb and Jordan Hicks in the bullpen, who have each gathered starting experience in recent years.

The other option for Will Venable could be to look at Grant Taylor. The flamethrowing arm has already served as the opener in three games this year. Taylor has come out of all three starts with a clean slate, giving the staff reason to believe he could be due for a longer leash.

As for Schweitzer, he is a southpaw who has only appeared in two games at the Triple-A level thus far. During those 5.0 innings, he has allowed only one earned run and has limited himself to 51 innings pitched with zero walks. The 25-year-old is currently the No. 23 prospect in the White Sox system, per MLB Pipeline, and he offers a four-pitch arsenal. Schweitzer's best stuff is a slider and a change-up.