White Sox Sign Pitcher Ryan Borucki
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The White Sox have agreed to terms on a minor league contract with left-handed pitcher Ryan Borucki, the team announced Sunday.
Borucki is not on the 40-man roster, but he'll get a chance to make the team with an invitation to spring training.
Ryan Borucki's background
Borucki, 31, is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound left-handed pitcher. Out of Mundelein High School in Illinois, he was picked in the 15th round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays and made his big-leauge debut in 2018.
An eight-year MLB veteran, one of Borucki's best seasons came as a rookie, when he made 17 starts in 2018 and posted a 3.87 ERA across 97.2 innings. A left elbow injury kept Borucki out for most of the 2019 season, and since then he's mostly served as a relief pitcher.
He excelled in that role in 2023, recording a 2.45 ERA and a 0.74 WHIP across 40.1 innings with 33 strikeouts and just four walks. That came out to 1.4 wins above replacement, the second-most in his career behind his rookie season, according to Baseball Reference.
Much of Borucki's career has been affected by injuries. A left elbow injury limited him to just 6.2 innings in 2019, and he spent time on the 60-day injured list in 2021 with a left forearm flexor strain. A left flexor strain also cut short his 2022 season with Seattle, and he pitched 11 innings in 2024 due to left triceps inflammation. Just last season, he missed over a month with low back inflammation before being designated for assignment and later released by the Pirates.
Despite the injuries, Borucki earned a spot on Toronto's American League Wild Card roster in 2025, and pitched 0.2 innings with a strikeout during a Game 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Based on his 2025 season, Borucki's pitch mix includes an 84.6 mph slider thrown 56.4% of the time, along with a sinker (93.9 mph, 26.3%) and a splitter (83.8 mph, 17.3%).
How Borucki fits on the White Sox
The White Sox added three new left-handed pitchers to the 40-man roster, including Anthony Kay, Sean Newcomb and Chris Murphy. Kay will certainly be part of the starting rotation, while Newcomb will compete with several others for a spot in the rotation but also has bullpen experience.
That leaves Murphy, Bryan Hudson, Tyler Gilbert, Brandon Eisert and Ky Bush as left-handers on the 40-man roster. While that gives the White Sox plenty of depth, there's some uncertainty with each lefty, especially as a high-leverage reliever.
A move would have to be made to put Borucki on the 40-man roster, but he should get a chance to earn his way onto the team in spring training.
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Jack Ankony is the beat writer for “Chicago White Sox on SI.” He has been with the Sports Illustrated network since 2022. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism in 2022. Follow Jack on Twitter @ankony_jack
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