White Sox Minor Keys: July 30, 2026

NASHVILLE -- Jose Urquidy came to the White Sox organization on a roll, and the change in uniforms didn't disturb it.

By throwing five scoreless innings in his Charlotte debut against the Nashville Sounds on Tuesday, Urquidy lowered his ERA to 2.17 over his last 11 starts. By allowing just two hits and a walk, opponents have hit just .175/.232/.270 over this stretch that now covers two full months.

He works 91-92 mph with his fastballs and only struck out one hitter, so it's not immediately apparently how he does it. To hear Urquidy tell it, being less detectable is part of the plan.

"I've got five pitches right now, I'm trying to throw them from the same spot," Urquidy told Sox Machine at First Horizon Park on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old native of Mazatlan, Mexico, whom the White Sox acquired from Pittsburgh for 18-year-old rookie-ball righty Felix Doroteo on Sunday, used a narrower arsenal during his heyday as a mid-rotation starter with the Astros. From 2021 through 2022, he went 21-11 with a 3.81 ERA over 48 regular-season starts, and made seven more postseason appearances, including three World Series games. He got a lot of mileage out of high-carry fastballs from a high arm slot, which he paired with an effective changeup and some sort of breaking ball -- sweepers to righties, curveballs to lefties -- that made hitters have to think about spin once in a while.

But a shoulder issue hampered him for most of 2023, then a spring forearm strain culminated in a second Tommy John surgery in June of 2024. He spent 2025 rehabbing with the Tigers, but was only able to make a couple of September appearances before returning to free agency. He signed a $1.5 million deal with the Pirates right before spring training, but while he opened the season in the major league bullpen, relieving didn't take. Accepting an assignment to Triple-A Indianapolis and returning to starting gave him the time and space to make necessary adjustments.

"I was trying to figure out my body, how to [get] my body in the best shape to compete from the pen, and I was struggling." Urquidy said. "They sent me back to start games in Triple-A, and yeah, I made a lot of adjustments there. I got my routine back as a normal starting pitcher. I got like 15, 17 outings from there, and I was trying to compete, trying to win at-bats, throwing strikes, throwing quality games, figuring out my changeup and my sweeper, like in the past."

Without the ability to rely on sheer four-seam carry against all hitters, the rest of his arsenal has required greater attention to detail. He said he's focused on not getting under his sweepers, and maintaining a higher arm slot on that pitch pairs well with a sinker that he dabbled with in 2023, but now has taken a leading role against righties.

It remains to be seen whether this kitchen-sink version of Urquidy is viable against major league hitters, but he's put himself in position for an audition. Now that he's out from under a deep Pittsburgh rotation and with a White Sox organization that has struggled to amass sixth-starter candidates, he has a better shot of finding one.

Charlotte 6, Nashville 4

• Rikuu Nishida went 2-for-5 with a strikeout.
• Austin Hays remains on schedule, playing all nine innings in right field and finishing 2-for-4.
• Ryan Galanie was 0-for-2 with a walk.
• Eric Haase drove in five of the six runs by going 2-for-4 with a homer and a double.
• Shane Smith: 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 HBP, 1 WP, 50 of 82 pitches for strikes.
• Jairo Iriarte: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 18 of 33 pitches for strikes.
• Tanner McDougal: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 1 WP, 18 of 33 pitches for strikes.
• Jaden Woods: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 11 of 15 pitches for strikes.

Birmingham 7, Chattanooga 1

• Boston Smith went 3-for-5 with a double.
• Caleb Bonemer hit his ninth Double-A homer, finishing 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
• Anthony DePino doubled, walked and struck out twice.
• Colby Shelton went 1-for-3 with a homer, walk and strikeout.
• Ryan Burrowes, 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.
• Samuel Zavala was 1-for-3 with a walk.
• Drew Thorpe: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 31 of 43 pitches for strikes.
• Pierce George: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 17 of 21 pitches for strikes.

Highlights:

*Bonemer lifted 92 mph up and in.

Brooklyn 8, Winston-Salem 1

• Javier Mogollón walked twice and struck out thrice.
• Jeral Perez was 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
• George Wolkow went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
• Kyle Lodise walked twice and struck out twice.

Salem 6, Kannapolis 2

• Billy Carlson went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.
• Matthew Boughton was 0-for-2 with a walk, HBP and a strikeout.
• Nick McLain, 1-for-2 with a walk and a sac fly.
• Alexander Albertus went 1-for-4 with a K.
• Christian Gonzalez, 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

DSL Mariners 5, DSL White Sox 0 (7 innings)

• Carlos Vielma was 0-for-2 with a walk and two strikeouts.
• Fernando Graterol struck out all three trips.
• Sebastian Romero singled, walked and struck out.
• Ronald Cardozo was 0-for-2 with a K.
• Felix Lebron went 2-for-3.
• Samuel Luis, 1-for-3.
• Roderic Ramirez: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR