Pregame notes: This Noah Schultz guy is kind of a big deal

It's a big day for the White Sox, per the guy who runs the baseball side of the White Sox.

"It's certainly a big step," said Chris Getz. "We view Noah as a frontline starter at the major league level, and we feel like the time is now. We know that it's not always a smooth transition to pitch in the big league, so we anticipate that there's going to be some challenges and some adversity along the way, and that's okay. We're here to support him."

Schultz is being given a real number (No. 22) and is being handed a real rotation slot while the White Sox are talking about this being a permanent installation, since Shane Smith's role in the rotation's early struggles is not being downplayed. Even Schultz's innings for the season don't seem that closely guarded, because while his right knee limited him to 73 innings last year, the rehab process made those tree trunks stronger than ever--or so the logic goes.

The only thing lacking clarity is how tall Schultz is, since he's listed at 6'10" but has been since last spring, team officials regularly cited him growing more during the 2025 season, and Getz suggested he's still growing at present.

"I personally have not measured him," Getz said. "I think we can all just say he's taller than everyone else."

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Everson Pereira was officially activated off the injured list as the corresponding move for the Lenyn Sosa trade, while Jonathan Cannon going on the injured list for right hip inflammation is the corresponding move for Schultz.

It's a little rich for the team with the worst offense in baseball to have traded one of their best hitters for a rookie ball flyer in outfielder Jordan Rich, but the move underscored the team's commitment to a defensively versatile roster mix and how little Sosa fit into it.

"We can all acknowledge that he can bring some offense," Getz said of Sosa. "It’s more prioritizing the style of play that we want for our major league club moving forward. When you have a [Sam] Antonacci and a [William] Bergolla, even a Tanner Murray, players that offer more defensive versatility, the baserunning, we kind of knew the time was going to come and there was a team that was in need because of injury.

We lined up and also were able to bring in a player we liked last year in the draft. It’s a player that when you look at the defensive and speed profile and what [Rich is] capable of doing offensively, it is a projection, but it’s a player that we like. So to be able to convert on that, and also knowing that other players will be joining this roster too that represent a little bit more of what we are looking for with our major league club."

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At this point, it does finally look safe to conclude that Antonacci is not getting called up for this game.

"His offensive process has always been really advanced," Getz said. "Defensively we’ve had him in left field, and he’s put in the work, which is of no surprise to us. He's made some really good plays and there have been some plays that are a little bit foreign to him. He’s getting more comfortable in the outfield. We know what he’s capable of doing on the defensive side. He’s in a very good place and continues to perform well."

In "a week or so," Antonacci should be joined by Kyle Teel when he begins a rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte. Teel was a full participant in batting practice with the team pregame, for whatever that is worth.

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Getz hadn't addressed the media since the decision to send Smith down to the minors. He struck similar notes as Will Venable about how the right-hander handled the news, and tried to make the point that Smith's work goes beyond what's seen on the mound with the Knights.

"His most recent outing in Charlotte and what he’s been working on, there’s a very specific plan both to help his delivery, get his pitch shapes back to where they have been in the past, and he had one walk in his last outing," Getz said. He did a lot of work pregame too in the bullpen. I don’t know precisely how many pitches he had thrown. It was so much about getting the proper work in for the day then the game itself. It did translate into the game and there were positive signs."

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This is a big night for Schultz, so hopefully he's leaning on the sage advice of teammates.

"Enjoy it, don’t worry too much about what you’re doing," Burke said he told Schultz. "It’s another game. He’s a super talented kid, should be good tonight."

First pitch: White Sox vs. Rays

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