GLENDALE, Ariz. — Pitcher Ryan Borucki grew up rooting for the Chicago White Sox.
Scott Podsednik and Mark Buehrle were among the Mundelein native’s favorite players. He even wore No. 56 with the Toronto Blue Jays in honor of Buehrle.
“I actually played with Edwin Jackson when I was in Toronto and I told him I had his jersey when I was like 9, and he was like, ‘Don’t tell me that,’” Borucki joked last week at Camelback Ranch.
Borucki is in Sox camp this spring as a nonroster invitee.
“Definitely a dream come true to be able to put this uniform on,” he said. “As a kid, I used to always put it on, acting like I was on the White Sox in my backyard. I’m very excited about the opportunity.”
Photos: An inside look at Chicago White Sox spring training
The 31-year-old left-hander is 15-12 with a 4.28 ERA in 187 career outings (21 starts) over eight big-league seasons with the Blue Jays (2018-2022, 2025), Seattle Mariners (2022) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2023-25). He has 214 strikeouts and 97 walks in 256 1/3 innings.
“Every spring training when I come in as an NRI, it’s control the controllables,” Borucki said. “Just pitch my game. Show what I can do and the rest is up to them. I’ve just got to try to make the decision as hard as possible for them.”
Manager Will Venable said Borucki is “firmly in the mix” as an option for the opening roster.
“We brought him in here to give him every chance to make this team,” Venable said last week. “We know he’s an experienced guy who has done it for a long time.
“He is a guy who helps us as far as his performance on the field. He’s also somebody who has been around a long time and can help these young guys develop their routines and their attack plans, especially for a left-handed pitcher. Definitely excited to have him here.”
Borucki went a combined 1-3 with a 4.63 ERA in 39 relief appearances in 2025 for the Pirates and Blue Jays.
“It was a decent year,” he said. “I had a little bit of a back injury that kind of stopped a little bit of momentum. Just getting back to who I was as a pitcher.
“What I do really well is get lefties out. I’ve done it my whole career. This spring I’m really working on righty attacks because I’m so good against lefties, I see a lot of pinch hitters.”
He’s sharpening his splitter to be an equalizer against right-handed hitters.
“I know my game,” he said. “I’ve played long enough to know who I am. Not going to try to do too much and wherever the chips fall, they fall.”
White Sox pitcher Ryan Borucki, a nonroster invitee, runs a drill during spring training at Camelback Ranch on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Borucki said he had plenty of options in the offseason, but the Sox were at the top of the list from the start because his parents still live in Mundelein.
“Home for me and just being around family,” he said, “and especially for me — I have a daughter now, I live in Florida — so we don’t get to see my family very often. So if I’m able to be with the White Sox and being around family is all you can really ask for.”
Borucki is thrilled to carry on his Chicago-area connections.
“We’re Chicago everything,” he said. “When I got drafted, my love for the White Sox kind of deterred a little bit because I was with the Jays and then it’s a job to you, you know what I mean? But we are an all-Bears family, White Sox, Bulls, everything Chicago. I don’t steer away from Chicago. I love this city. It means so much to me, and, like, I’ll just watch Bears highlights of this past season. I still get chills.
“I’m very proud of where I come from. I am very proud of being from Mundelein and just being able to represent, being a Chicago guy, the best way I can.”
Munetaka Murakami’s Cactus League debut set
Infielder Munetaka Murakami is in line to make his Cactus League debut Friday in the Sox opener against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park in Mesa.
While Venable said the coaches “are still working on some stuff” for Friday’s lineup, he said the four Sox position players participating in the World Baseball Classic — Murakami (Japan), infielders Sam Antonacci (Italy) and Curtis Mead (Australia) and catcher Kyle Teel (Italy) — will play. Reliever Seranthony Domínguez (Dominican Republic) also is taking part in the WBC.
The Sox also announced Jonathan Cannon as Friday’s starting pitcher.
“I kind of knew I was going to start one of the first couple of games,” Cannon said Wednesday. “Me and (pitching coach Zach) Bove were in contact this offseason. That went into my preparation a little bit. I knew I probably was going to get just one live (batting practice before the start of games). I threw a live before I came out to make sure I was prepared and ready to go.
“At the end of the day, spring training is about getting ready for the season, going out there and proving yourself. You are going to get opportunities and just taking advantage of that. So whenever those opportunities come, just doing the best I can.”