The White Sox have had an active offseason, adding several pieces to the 2026 roster via free agency and trade this winter. Earlier this week, the team put what appeared to be the finishing touches on their big league roster, reuniting with RHP Erick Fedde on a one-year deal. The White Sox can now reasonably fill out a depth chart with the players on the roster, but teams are always looking for depth additions, and the Fedde signing could make a recent rumor make more sense. 

The Athletic’s Will Sammon reported recently that RHP Griffin Canning recently threw for teams in Los Angeles hoping to land a contract, and James Fox of Future Sox indicated that the White Sox were still involved on Canning after their interest was reported earlier in the offseason. 

The #WhiteSox are still involved here. https://t.co/BSMXBKYM9P

— James Fox (@JamesFox917) February 8, 2026

This information surfaced on Sunday, before the White Sox agreement with Fedde was reported, so it’s unclear if the White Sox still have interest in Canning after adding Fedde. In my opinion, the White Sox interest in Canning makes more sense, not less, with Fedde in tow.

Canning, 29, was off to the best start of his big league career in 2025, posting a 3.77 ERA in his first 16 starts before an Achilles tear derailed his season in June. An injury of that caliber typically has a 9-12 month recovery time. The lower end of that scale would put Canning back in the early months of the season, while the 12-month mark wouldn’t have him back until midseason. For a White Sox team looking for innings early in the season, the fit didn’t make a ton of sense. Canning has upside, and there’s reason to believe his 2024 success will carry over, but the White Sox hope to have young pitchers Hagen Smith, Noah Schultz, and Tanner McDougal in Chicago by the summer and will be returning several other pitchers from Tommy John later in the season. The need for innings early was more important. 

Signing Griffin Canning makes more sense for the White Sox now

With Fedde in tow, the White Sox have a low-risk starter who can eat innings until other players are ready. If the White Sox want a surefire veteran option all season, it might make sense to still add Canning with Fedde. There’s a very small chance Fedde is going to be on the roster past the trade deadline. If he returns to his 2024 form, the White Sox can find a taker for him at the trade deadline. If not, his reasonable salary would allow the team to cut ties pretty easily, and Canning could easily slot in as a replacement. 

In an ideal world, the White Sox would have a plethora of young options to take over Fedde’s role at the end of the season, but more often than not, things don’t work out that way. If you’d have asked me at the start of 2025 Spring Training about the White Sox strength, I would’ve told you the young, big-league ready starting pitching. By the time the season started six weeks later, five players had undergone Tommy John surgery and the depth was remarkably thin. Outside of openers, ten different pitchers started a game for the White Sox in 2025, so the team needs to be prepared with more options than they think they need. 

Griffin Canning, who will likely return midseason, could be the ideal candidate. Perhaps a two-year deal, which would give the White Sox the option of trading him in the off-season or keeping him for 2027, would make sense for both sides. Canning would get a chance to get healthy and re-establish his value before hitting free agency again at 31, and the White Sox would get a high-upside arm who could help them this year and next year. 

Erick Fedde could very well be the last significant acquisition of the White Sox offseason, but it could also be the explanation for a rumor that felt like it didn’t make sense all offseason. The answer should be clear soon.Â