The Chicago White Sox designated right-hander José Urquidy for assignment on Tuesday, clearing a roster spot as they recalled left-hander Noah Schultz from Triple-A Charlotte, via the MLB transaction log.
The move came hours before Chicago opened a series in Cleveland, with the White Sox sitting first in the American League Central at 77-73.
Urquidy, 31, was not a surprise casualty. Chicago used him as a swingman after acquiring him from the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 26 for minor-league right-hander Félix Doroteo.
In six appearances — five in relief and one start — he went 2-1 with a 4.37 ERA, 15 strikeouts and five walks over 22 2/3 innings. His last outing was Sept. 8 at Rate Field, when he allowed two runs on five hits in four innings of a 9-3 loss to Pittsburgh. That was serviceable work, not playoff-roster work.
The Sox needed the 26-man spot for Schultz and, separately, 40-man room as they prepare to reinstate Drew Thorpe from the 60-day injured list.
The path that brought Urquidy to the South Side was already a winding one. Pittsburgh signed him to a one-year, $1.5 million deal in February, then designated him for assignment in late July after a 8.53 ERA in a brief big-league stint and a stronger 3.66 ERA over 17 starts at Triple-A Indianapolis.
Chicago took the flyer because it needed innings and because Urquidy still carried a pedigree that few midseason waiver claims can match.
That pedigree was built in Houston. Urquidy spent 2019 through 2023 with the Astros and was part of the club that won the 2022 World Series.
In that Octobe,r he pitched three scoreless innings of relief in Game 3 against the Philadelphia Phillies, becoming the first Mexican-born player to appear in three World Series.
He had already made history in 2019 and 2021, including multiple World Series wins and a Game 2 start in 2021 in which he threw five innings of one-run ball.
His best regular season came in 2022, when he went 13-8 with a 3.94 ERA in 29 games. Tommy John surgery in 2024 and a long rehab through 2025 with Detroit interrupted that run. His career line now sits at 29-18 with a 4.08 ERA in 92 games.
Schultz, the 2022 first-round pick, returns with mixed results: a 6.06 ERA in 15 big-league games this year, but a 1.66 ERA over his last five Triple-A outings.
Manager Will Venable has said for weeks that the left-hander would have a role down the stretch. Whether that is a start, a bulk relief outing or a short look remains to be defined.
Urquidy now has seven days to be claimed, traded or released. If another club claims him, he would be ineligible for that team’s postseason roster.
For Chicago, the calculation was simple: a veteran who had already been DFA’d once this season versus a homegrown arm they still believe can help a club trying to hold a division lead. For Urquidy, it is another reminder that a World Series ring does not freeze a roster spot in September.
