White Sox hoping starter Jonathan Cannon can turn page from brutal second half

NEW YORK — If there was any bright spot from the White Sox’ disastrous 2024 season, it was Jonathan Cannon’s emergence as a potentially viable big-league starter.

But his late-season struggles have proven to be one of the most concerning developments in a 2025 season generating optimism elsewhere on the diamond.

“It’s been a frustrating second half for me,” Cannon said after surrendering five runs over 4⅓ innings Wednesday against the Yankees.

Cannon served up a three-run bomb to Aaron Judge in the pitcher’s second comeback outing since the Sox have sent him down to Triple-A Charlotte twice in the last two months to work on his form.

Cannon has gone 1-3 with a 10.17 ERA for the Sox since the All-Star break, ballooning the 4.44 mark he’d posted before that to land at 5.87 on the season.

It’s a step back from the 4.49 ERA Cannon notched in his rookie year, when he pitched about 22 more innings than the 102⅔ he’s completed this season, often throwing in bulk behind an opener.

Manager Will Venable and general manager Chris Getz have insisted they still view the 25-year-old Cannon as a starter long-term. He’ll have as much leash as any other arm in spring training, with Sean Burke’s late-season rough patch raising rotation questions, too.

The characteristically upbeat Cannon felt good about the progress made in what was likely his final appearance of the season.

“I’ve made some big strides forward with the stuff and have a lot of positives to take away,” he said.”It’s huge, especially with the Triple-A season coming to an end and not being sure if I was going to get a chance to come back up. Just be able to come up and prove to myself that I could still get outs at this level — it was definitely a confidence boost.”

Quick turnaround

It’s been a hectic couple of days for newcomer Derek Hill, whom the Sox claimed off waivers from the Marlins.

“Twenty-four hours ago I was sitting on my couch with my bags packed, just watching a little ‘Mindhunter’ [on Netflix],” the veteran outfielder recalled before starting in center field Thursday against the Yankees. “It’s a pretty cool turnaround.”

Hill, who has played for six teams over the last four seasons, went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and a nice diving catch in his Sox debut, a 5-3 defeat to the Yankees that marked loss No. 101 on the season.

Michael A. Taylor swatted a two-run homer off ex-Sox star Carlos Rodon, but Sox starter Davis Martin (three earned runs in 4⅓ innings) and the visiting bullpen couldn’t stave off a sweep at Yankee Stadium.

Double-A champs

Don’t say the Sox aren’t running a championship-caliber organization.

The Double-A Birmingham Barons won their second consecutive Southern League title Thursday by knocking off the Montgomery Biscuits in a decisive Game 3, with contributions from prized prospects including pitcher Hagen Smith and infielder Sam Antonacci.

“Part of building a winning culture is winning and to have young guys who are learning how to do it and then going out and doing the things they need to do to accomplish what they’ve accomplished is great,” Venable said. “These guys are going to be the wave of kids that come up and help us.”