ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The White Sox announced that amateur scouting director Mike Shirley resigned on Saturday, and is no longer with the organization.
The team has not yet shared any further details about the nature of Shirley’s departure, nor the future of the amateur scouting department. Shirley has not yet responded to a call requesting comment.
A White Sox employee for over 25 years, Shirley was elevated to the top position in the amateur scouting department after the 2019 draft. Notable selections during his tenure running White Sox drafts include Garrett Crochet (2020), Colson Montgomery (2021), Noah Schultz (2022), Grant Taylor (2023), Hagen Smith and Caleb Bonemer (2024), and just two months prior, he was tasked with overseeing the selection of first overall pick Roch Cholowsky. Given the relative success of many players taken at the top of White Sox drafts in recent years, the news has been met with surprise across the scouting industry.
While there has been a lot of organizational turnover since Chris Getz was promoted to general manager late in the 2023 season, the leadership of the Sox amateur scouting department with Shirley and assistant amateur scouting director Garrett Guest had remained unchanged up to this point.
Richards at the ready
For 33-year-old Trevor Richards, his 68 innings with the White Sox–his sixth organization since being traded from the Blue Jays mid-2024–represent a stability his career has lacked for years.
With a 3.71 ERA, the veteran changeup artist has been a useful medium leverage reliever, but the image that might best represent his role for the 2026 club would be his teammates all high-fiving him in the dugout after Richards threw a season-high 61 pitches of mop-up work in an Aug. 24 blowout loss to the Rangers.
For Richards, and certainly in the eyes of manager Will Venable, his best availability is his availability.
“I’ve always bounced back fairly quickly, but I didn’t realize it until I was fully in the pen,” said Richards, who was a starter earlier in his career. “When you throw 100 pitches, your arms can hurt no matter what.”
But with a reliable physical routine that he’s cultivated over nine big league seasons, Richards never feels like he’s pushing himself too far. Rather, he feels he’s at a point in his career where soaking up innings can save his younger counterparts in the bullpen from workloads they’re not yet equipped to handle.
Maybe they can learn something from the gray-haired right-hander.
“Sometimes I say ‘Don’t do what I’m doing,’” Richards said with a laugh.
Pham still on the mend
Tommy Pham is eligible to return from his placement on the 10-day injured list for a left calf strain on Sunday, but will need a bit longer.
“He did some running, still feels there’s some strengthening he needs to build in the calf/Achilles area to better support him getting to full speed,” said Venable. “But he’s making a lot of progress. He’s confident and hopeful that it won’t be long.”
In the absence of a second right-handed platoon bat behind Randal Grichuk, Venable has taken to using backup catcher Edgar Quero in select matchups against left-handers, against whom he has historically thrived, but has just a .156/.242/.273 line versus southpaws this season.