ATLANTA — Sean Burke started opening day for the Chicago White Sox.
Monday, the Sox optioned the right-hander to Triple-A Charlotte.
“We obviously have high expectations for Sean, and he’s got high expectations for himself,” Sox general manager Chris Getz said before Monday’s game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. “We had reached a point, and our assessment thus far is he needs to take another step.
“He’s obviously done a nice job, first year in the major leagues for a full season. We think he can be an impactful major-league starter at this level. Now, there’s going to be steps that need to be made to get there. And we were having a tough time making those strides here with the major-league club. This is not unique to other situations where we’ve taken other players and put them in different environments to focus on certain things.”
Burke is 4-10 with a 4.28 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 24 games (20 starts) this season.
“You look at some of the underlying statistics, there are some positives there without a doubt,” Getz said. “But there’s also some areas that have been masked a bit in which we know if he’s going to have long-standing success at the major-league level, he’s going to have to improve first-pitch strikes. He’s going to have to have an improved arsenal against left-handed (hitting).
“We were able to use some openers here and there to position him well and games, go deeper into games, and I think that was helpful, but we want him to be a guy that we can rely on (from) inning one to go deep into games. Get his changeup more involved to lefties, and more than anything, just to attack out of the gate.”
Getz said first-pitch strikes and two out of three strike percentage are areas for Burke to work on, as well as the arsenal.
“We believe in him,” Getz said. “He will be back. In the meantime, we want him to go down there and really dial in on these areas that we feel like are going to take him to the next level.”
Burke allowed three runs (two earned) in 3 2/3 innings during Saturday’s 6-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. It was his second consecutive outing when he didn’t get out of the fourth inning.
“I thought (the outing) was pretty bad,” Burke said after Saturday’s game. “The last two starts have been embarrassing how I’ve been throwing the ball. I’ve just got to figure it out and start piecing together some better outings again.”
Burke allowed two runs on five hits while throwing 88 pitches in 3 1/3 innings on Aug. 9 against the Cleveland Guardians at Rate Field. On Saturday, he threw 85 pitches.
“A lot of deep counts, a lot of foul balls,” Burke said. “I feel like I’m not able to kind of finish guys as quickly as I would have liked to.”
Martín Pérez of the Chicago White Sox delivers a pitch against the Detroit Tigers during the fifth inning at Rate Field on Aug. 13, 2025. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Two of the three Sox starters from that season-opening series against the Los Angeles Angels are currently with the Knights. Jonathan Cannon, who started the March 29 contest against the Angels, was optioned to Charlotte on Aug. 8. He’s made two starts since, allowing nine runs in 10 innings with Charlotte while facing Memphis twice.
“Sometimes you have to look at the surface level numbers with a grain of salt,” Getz said. “But with that being said, there are areas that need to improve. Attack plan and getting other pitches involved, and truthfully just attacking the zone and taking control of at-bats and counts. That’s what you are going to need, especially with the style of pitcher they are.
“They are not overpowering type of guys. They have to attack and keep the defense sharp and work deeper into games to allow our bullpen to stay strong and available for that game or future games.”
Manager Will Venable said when Burke is clicking, he’s aggressive in the zone with the fastball.
“He’s able to spin the ball, that never seems to be a problem,” Venable said. “Every outing, the slider, the curveball is good, good enough anyway. It’s really about fastball command.
“When he’s been good, he’s been aggressive with the fastball in the zone. Specifically to lefties. He’s able to drive that thing in there, both sides of the plate, top of the zone, down and away, whatever it might be. And for him to be at his best, that’s what he needs to get locked in.”
In Monday’s corresponding move, the Sox recalled pitcher Owen White from Charlotte. The right-hander has a 4.05 ERA in two relief appearances over three stints with the Sox this season.
Martín Pérez heads back to the rotation after making one relief outing in his return from the 60-day injured list (left elbow inflammation/left flexor strain) on Aug. 13. He allowed one run in 3 1/3 relief innings against the Detroit Tigers.
Pérez will start Wednesday’s series finale against the Braves, with Aaron Civale moving to Friday’s home game against the Minnesota Twins.
Originally Published: August 18, 2025 at 7:08 PM CDT