White Sox Move On From Promising Pitcher Sooner Than Expected
The White Sox found success through the Rule-5 draft last season, as Shane Smith was their lone all-star representative and now will be their Opening Day starter. On top of that, they acquired Mike Vasil from the Tampa Bay Rays, who was the 14th overall pick in the Rule-5 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. This was an exceptional Rule-5 haul.
The White Sox looked to replicate that success this year, as they made two selections in the Rule-5 draft, Jedixson Paez and Alexander Alberto. With their first pick they selected Jedixson Paez, a starting pitcher from the Boston Red Sox organization. Paez now ranks 15th on the White Sox top-30 prospect list, according to MLB Pipeline. With their second pick, they selected pitcher Alexander Alberto from the Tampa Bay Rays organization.
Unfortunately at this point, the White Sox have not been able to recreate their success from last year, as according to Scott Merkin, they have already returned Alberto back to the Tampa Bay Rays.
The White Sox have returned RHP Alexander Alberto to Tampa Bay. The Sox 40-man roster decreases to 39, per White Sox
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) March 19, 2026
This is unfortunate, as Alberto has some significant upside. However, with the Rule-5 draft rules, he needed to remain on the White Sox active roster the entire season, or be subject to waivers and be returned to his original club. The White Sox must have felt that he wasn’t quite ready to pitch in the majors at this point and Tampa Bay elected to take him back. I’m sure the White Sox would have loved to keep him in their organization, but clearly Tampa Bay wanted to as well.
Last season Alberto spent most of his time with the High-A affiliate of the Rays last season, throwing 35 innings of 2.83 ERA baseball. He struck out 45 batters, walked 17, and held batters to a .224 average. These are solid stats, as he had a very good season.
However, Alberto got off to a rough start in Spring Training. In 6.2 innings, he gave up 12 hits and eight earned runs, while walking four. This was good for a 10.80 ERA. On the plus side, he did strike out seven batters, which showcased his swing and miss stuff. For what turned out to be a more competitive bullpen than many expected, that wasn’t going to cut it.
But, this move was a bit surprising, especially with the amount of time left in Spring Training. You would think that since Alberto must make the team or be returned to the Rays would give him a little bit more leeway, but that wasn’t the case.
Alberto could be a very good major leaguer at some point, but as of right now the White Sox did not feel he was ready. I would imagine in the next few years he will make a contribution in the majors and the White Sox could find another way to acquire him.
Jedixson Paez remains on the roster and it looks like he will make the team, especially with the Mike Vasil injury news. However, those will be some big shoes to fill, but Paez will look to recreate the White Sox success with Rule-5 players.