So much for wisdom of the crowds.
The Sox Machine Offseason Plan Project is up to 67 entrants, and not a single one mentioned Graham Pauley, the infielder the White Sox claimed off waivers from the Miami Marlins today.
This is the first real transaction of the White Sox's offseason, because while the Sox had to reinstate six players from the 60-day injured list, they merely took the spots of the six players electing free agency, so no players were added to or removed from the organization.
Pauley breaks the seal. The 26-year-old logged 137 games of big-league experience over the last three seasons, the last two of which had several identical counting stats, although the rate stats went in the wrong direction.
| Year | G | 2B | 3B | HR | BA/OBP/SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 62 | 9 | 1 | 4 | .224/.311/.366 |
| 2026 | 62 | 9 | 1 | 4 | .211/.257/.373 |
He came to the Marlins from San Diego as part of a four-player package for Tanner Scott at the 2024 deadline. The Padres had drafted him out of Duke in the 12th round, where he generated some helium with his A-ball performances and a lefty swing well regarded for its handsomeness, but ran into problems accessing his power at Double-A. He's run manageable strikeout rates the entire time, and he's shored up his defense at the infield corners with a little bit of time in the outfield as well, so there is a utility profile if he figures out how to generate more damage on pitches in the zone.
He's also out of options, so he more seems like the kind of player who might be claimed by four teams over the course of the offseason, with the White Sox being first in line. Perhaps the more significant part of the White Sox's press release is the part where they opened up two roster spots. They started where we figured they'd start, outrighting Ky Bush and Junior Pérez. Bush hasn't thrown a professional pitch in two years after losing all of 2025 to Tommy John surgery, and whatever he could've had of 2026 to a strained lat, while Pérez had been made redundant by the Brenton Doyle trade.
These moves are part of a greater reshuffling in anticipation of free agency opening at 5 p.m. CT. The pool of free agents now includes 21 more names after options were declined, including old friends Luis Robert Jr. and Lucas Giolito.
