White Sox Shuffle Bullpen Ahead of Twins Series, Option Cannon for Fresh Arm
In this story:
The Chicago White Sox made an off-day roster move.
Ahead of their pivotal series against the Minnesota Twins, the organization optioned Jonathan Cannon back to the Charlotte Knights. They also moved Rikku Nishida back to Triple-A after he was briefly added to the roster in place of Andrew Benintendi, who was placed on the bereavement list earlier this week.
To be clear, the White Sox have not yet announced whether Benintendi will return to the team for the series opener on Friday. However, the decision to already move Nishida back to Charlotte suggests this will be the case. A player must spend at least three days on the bereavement list, which means he can't be officially activated until Friday.
As for Cannon, he was a relatively surprising call-up. The former starter had been struggling in Triple-A with an ERA over 5.00. However, the White Sox were likely valuing his major league experience during a big series with the Texas Rangers.
Will Venable didn't hesitate to turn to Cannon on Wednesday with the lead. After Sean Burke and Sean Newcomb combined for 6.0 innings of work, Cannon was put on the mound with a 10-2 advantage in the top of the seventh. He would end up closing out the game, giving up 2 earned runs on four hits and as many strikeouts.
All things considered, it was a solid showing for Cannon, but he was also handed an enormous lead. The fact that he also couldn't get through the action cleanly likely didn't help convince the White Sox that he should hang around.
So, who will the White Sox turn to next?
Tyle Davis Returns to White Sox Before Twins Series
The White Sox have added Tyler Davis back to the bullpen.
The 27-year-old righty has pitched in 24 games this season, recording 26.1 innings of action. He was last optioned to Triple-A on July 13 after throwing 2.0 innings against the Athletics and allowing one hit and a walk. So far this season, he has a 4.10 ERA
Davis leans heavily on a combination of a mid-90s four-seamer and a slider. He's done a pretty good job of keeping opponents from finding the sweet spot, though Davis is still prone to allowing some hard contact. Command has also been an issue at the major league level this season, as he has 15 walks to his 22 strikeouts.
The time in Charlotte also hasn't been too kind to Davis. His ERA has ballooned to 6.65 over 22 games, though it's worth noting that he has four scoreless outings in his last five games. Davis has also been considerably better at limiting his trips to first base during this stretch.
The White Sox are obviously hoping that's the version of Davis that shows up if needed against the Twins. Having said that, it's unclear if Davis will stick around long-term. Chris Murphy is currently on his rehab assignment, for what it's worth. The White Sox have also shown that they aren't afraid to keep shuffling the deck. Now is the time to test out different arms ahead of a potential postseason run.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Elias Schuster is a sports journalist and content creator from the northern suburbs of Chicago. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has covered the Bulls since 2019-20 and previously served as the editor of BN Bulls at Bleacher Nation. He has been the Publisher for Bulls On SI since December of the 2025-26 season. When he isn't obsessing over hoops, Elias spends his time obsessing over practically every other sport – much to his wife's dismay. He also loves strolling the streets of Chicago for the best cozy bar or restaurant to set up shop and write his next article.
Follow Schuster_Elias