Spots in the White Sox starting rotation and bullpen are up for grabs, and a few recent roster moves inform part of the organization’s plan heading into the 2026 season.
The White Sox added right-handed pitchers Tanner McDougal and Duncan Davitt to the 40-man roster on Tuesday, protecting them from being poached from opposing teams in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. McDougal is ranked No. 7 among White Sox prospects by MLB.com, and Davitt was acquired in July as part of the Adrian Houser trade.
Both pitchers, according to White Sox general manager Chris Getz, garnered interest in trade and roster discussions around the league prior to last week’s deadline to set 40-man rosters ahead of the Rule 5 Draft. And regarding Davitt, Getz sees a pitcher capable of helping the White Sox in a variety of ways.
“[Davitt] is someone that we feel like is versatile, can give us starter innings,” Getz said Wednesday. “Can pitch in the bullpen if need be, both in a multi inning role, but also at a higher leverage knowing that his stuff is there, he has weapons for both sides. Knowing even on shorter stints his stuff will play up even further.”
Davitt’s background
Davitt, 26, is a 6-foot-3, 235-pound right-handed pitcher who is not ranked among the White Sox top 30 prospects by MLB.com. He was an 18th round pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2022 MLB Draft out of the University of Iowa, where he had a 3.38 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 40 innings as a senior.
Iowa pitcher Duncan Davitt (44) against Northwestern at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City, Iowa. | Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via Imagn Content Services, LLC
After beginning the year in Double-A, Davitt earned his first promotion to Triple-A during the 2025 season. Prior to being traded, he gave up 14 earned runs in 20 innings with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A Durham Bulls.
Upon joining the White Sox, he was assigned to Triple-A Charlotte, where he made nine starts in the second half of the season. He finished with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP with 45 strikeouts and 24 walks in 48.1 innings. Davitt held opponents to two runs or fewer in five of his nine starts with Charlotte.
Davitt worked only as a starting pitcher in 2025, totaling 152 innings and 10 quality starts in 28 outings. But Getz appears open to using him in just about any role in 2026, as Davitt has previous experience as a reliever in the minors and college.
Davitt deploys a five-pitch mix, with the greatest usage being a fastball with an average velocity of 91 mph that was thrown 36.5% of the time in 2025 with Charlotte. He also has a slider (82 mph, 20.4%), curveball (81.3%, 18.3%), cutter (86.4 mph, 14.3%) and changeup (85.5 mph, 10.1%).
With some uncertainty around the White Sox pitching staff as a whole, opportunity should be there for Davitt to earn a role on the big-league roster.
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