Monday’s deadline for MLB teams to cut down their 40-man rosters to their maximum size always prompts a little bit of player movement across the league. Despite reinstating all six players off their 60-day injured list on Thursday without issue, the White Sox were not sidelined.
The team announced they’ve claimed infielder Graham Pauley off waivers from the Marlins. A former 13th-round pick of the Padres who came to Miami as part of a package for closer Tanner Scott, Pauley is a career .209/.272/.364 hitter over parts of three major-league seasons. The 26-year-old has mostly played third base with the Marlins and rated well there defensively, and his tenure overlapped with that of hitting coach Sox Derek Shomon. He offers potential depth as a multi-position reserve, but is unlikely to man an up-the-middle position.
There is room for Pauley on the White Sox 40-man roster because they cleared off two spots on Monday as well. Outfielder Junior Perez and left-hander Ky Bush were both outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte, meaning they cleared waivers and will remain in the Sox organization.
Perez, 25, hit .171/.194/.429 in 22 games with the Sox after being acquired from the A’s for minor league pitcher Jackson Nove in May. The speedy outfielder is an impressive athlete with plus raw power, and launched his first major league homer off two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal in June. But his strikeout issues relegated him to part-time player status, and the acquisition of fellow right-hander centerfielder Brenton Doyle blocked Perez’s path to further playing time in Chicago.
Back in 2024, Bush was part of a dominant Double-A rotation that looked like a glimpse of the Sox rotation’s future. The mustachioed Utah left-handed made his big league debut at the tail-end of that season (5.60 ERA, 17 ⅔ IP) but was troubled by a triceps injury and physical ailments have wiped out his last two seasons. Bush underwent Tommy John surgery in spring of 2025, and his rehab process was stalled by a triceps strain this past year.
The activity has left the Sox 40-man roster with one open spot, but that’s surely underselling the level of turnover to come over the next month.