Former prospect sues White Sox, claiming COVID-19 vaccination ended his career

A former White Sox pitching prospect is suing the team, claiming he was pushed into taking a COVID-19 vaccination in 2021 that resulted in severe allergic reactions that eventually derailed his career.

Isaiah Carranza, a 12th-round draft pick of the Sox in 2018, alleges team officials warned him he would be ‘‘blacklisted’’ if he didn’t get two doses of the vaccine, meaning they wouldn’t release him from his contract for opportunities with other clubs even though had ‘‘no prospects of moving up’’ with the Sox.

Carranza got the Pfizer vaccine and soon began suffering ‘‘extreme dizziness, nausea, near-fainting and wildly fluctuating heart rate’’ that the team chalked up to dehydration, anxiety and ‘‘rookie nerves,’’ attorneys for Carranza claimed in his federal lawsuit, which was filed in December in Chicago.

Numerous studies have shown that COVID-19 vaccinations are highly effective at preventing severe cases of the respiratory disease and that severe allergic reactions are exceedingly rare. The Illinois Department of Public Health recommends the vaccine for nearly all people 6 months or older as a means of minimizing the severity of infections.

MLB encouraged players to get vaccinated but did not mandate it when the game returned early in the pandemic.

Carranza later was diagnosed with a nervous-system disorder that his lawyers tie to the vaccine. He never advanced beyond the Sox’ High-A affiliate and hasn’t appeared in a minor-league game since 2022.

Carranza’s estimated future medical expenses are more than $557,000, his lawyers say. A Sox spokesman declined to comment on the active litigation.