The Chicago White Sox have added right-hander Alec Marsh on a minor league contract that includes an invitation to major league spring training.
The deal, first reported by Scott Merkin of MLB.com, represents a low-risk attempt to recapture value from a pitcher whose career trajectory has been sharply altered by injury.
Marsh, who turns 29 in May, was once viewed as a promising piece of the Kansas City Royals’ future. Selected with the 70th overall pick in the 2019 draft, he steadily rose through the organization’s prospect rankings.
Baseball America listed him as high as the Royals’ No. 10–15 prospect between 2021 and 2023 after initially ranking him 23rd in 2020.
He reached the majors and logged substantial innings for Kansas City across the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Over 203⅓ innings, Marsh made 33 starts and 10 relief appearances, posting a 4.96 ERA.
His strikeout rate of 23.4 percent and walk rate of 8.8 percent sat near league averages, yet he was undermined by a pronounced home-run problem.
He surrendered 35 long balls during that span, equating to a 14.6 percent home-run-per-fly-ball rate—well above the typical 11–12 percent league average, even accounting for the pitcher-friendly dimensions of Kauffman Stadium.
Marsh has not thrown a major league pitch since the end of the 2024 campaign. Shoulder soreness surfaced before the 2025 season, and he opened the year on the injured list with an impingement.
Subsequent setbacks ultimately led to labrum surgery in November 2025. He spent the entirety of both the 2025 and 2026 seasons on the injured list.
While sidelined, Marsh continued to accrue service time. Combined with his earlier major league work, he crossed the three-year threshold and became arbitration-eligible.
The Royals, unwilling to tender him a contract after two lost seasons, outrighted him off the 40-man roster last month, sending him to free agency.
What Chicago can reasonably expect from Marsh remains uncertain. The White Sox enter the offseason with needs in both the rotation and the bullpen and are expected to pursue additional pitching.
After two full seasons away from competition, Marsh may struggle to handle a starter’s workload. Should he regain health and earn a roster spot, he still has one minor league option remaining, which could allow the club to shuttle him between levels as depth.
If he remains on the active roster at the conclusion of the 2027 season, the White Sox would retain the ability to keep him through arbitration until he reaches six years of service time.
For now, the signing simply gives the organization an opportunity to evaluate whether the former prospect can still contribute at the major league level.
