The White Sox announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contracts of outfielder Joshua Palacios and catcher Omar Narvaez. (The likelihood of the Narvaez move was first reported last night.) They’ve also placed catcher Korey Lee and outfielder Mike Tauchman on the 10-day injured list due to a sprained left ankle and a strained right hamstring, respectively.
The Sox only had one open 40-man roster spot, so they’ve released right-hander Juan Carela to accommodate the addition of Palacios and Narvaez. Carela was acquired from the Yankees in the 2023 trade that sent Keynan Middleton to New York, and the Sox selected him to the 40-man roster just this past November to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. However, Carela suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in spring training and required Tommy John surgery.
Since injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers, the Sox will instead release Carela. It’s relatively common for teams and players in this exact situation to quickly strike up a new minor league contract, but the right-hander will technically have the option to talk to 29 other clubs, assuming he clears release waivers. The 23-year-old right-hander has yet to make his MLB debut, but the Sox added him to the 40-man roster on the heels of a 2024 season in which he logged 106 2/3 innings of 3.71 ERA ball with a 25.2% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate between High-A and Double-A.
Palacios, 29, has played in parts of four big league seasons between the Blue Jays, Nationals and Pirates. He saw semi-regular work in Pittsburgh during the 2023 season and showed a bit of pop but struggled to get on base. He entered spring training out of minor league options and didn’t make the cut on a Pirates club that had several outfield options ahead of him on the depth chart. The Pirates designated Palacios for assignment and outrighted him to Triple-A, but he rejected the assignment in favor of free agency, which was his right as a player who’d been outrighted once previously in his career.
Over the past two seasons in Pittsburgh, Palacios slashed .236/.291/.398 with a dozen homers in 342 plate appearances. His 19.9% strikeout rate is a few ticks below the league-average mark, and he was plagued by a .264 average on balls in play despite frequent hard contact, which could create some optimism for better performance. However, Palacios is also an extreme ground-ball hitter (51% as a Pirate) with good-not-great speed and a pull-heavy approach — all of which leaves him a bit susceptible to a lower BABIP.
Still, with both Tauchman and Andrew Benintendi on the injured list — Benintendi suffered an adductor strain earlier this week — Palacios ought to get a chance for significant playing time. If he can make the most of it, he can be controlled for four years beyond the current season. He’s a career .302/.389/.482 hitter in 720 Triple-A plate appearances, so there’s certainly a track record of performance in the upper minors upon which the White Sox can dream.
At this point, it’s not yet clear how long Lee or Tauchman will be sidelined. Lee suffered the injury while hurrying back to first base yesterday when Guardians catcher Austin Hedges threw behind him in a pickoff attempt (video link). Lee’s left ankle contorted significantly, and he was tagged out when he crumbled off the bag. He was in obvious pain as White Sox trainers helped him off the field. He’d gotten out to a fast start, going 5-for-15 with a pair of doubles and a pair of walks in 17 plate appearances (.333/.412/.467).
As for the veteran Tauchman, he missed the first week-plus of the season with a strain in that same right hamstring and only made his 2025 debut on April 6. The 34-year-old signed a one-year, $1.95MM deal in free agency and has appeared in only three games thus far, going 4-for-10 (all singles) with a pair of walks in a dozen trips to the plate (.400/.500/.400). Given that he’s now dealing with back-to-back strains in the same muscle, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Sox took a more cautious approach to his absence this time around. Timetables for both Lee and Tauchman will presumably become clearer after manager Will Venable meets with the media prior to today’s series finale in Cleveland.
Deck chairs on the titanic
I’m sorry last night when Tauchman collapsed before getting to home plate was terrible and shows why he is a poor journeyman. You can’t bust your but 10 more feet to touch home cmon. That proved why he is in the position he is. A winner does what he has to. It ended the game. It was despicable.
And this shows why you are a poor contributor to the string. He is obviously hurt.
I blame the manager for not using a pitch runner for him. He just came off the Dl list and the game is on the line.
I think their bench was empty at this point. He also had a similar incident earlier where he didn’t score on a double, and ended up being stranded. So he was clearly attempting to play through it. Which in hindsight he probably shouldn’t have been attempting
Maybe you shouldn’t be a fan of the game if that is your take. Tauchman is a local kid, has worked hard to make it to the level. Criticizing someone for an injury is wrong, this isn’t the NBA where Zion plays 30 games per year on a MAX. These guys love the game
Coming from a guy who likely pulls a hamstring getting off the couch to get a beer, that’s hilarious
When you feel the equivalent of someone shooting you with a 9mm you might stop too. Probably going to be out for a long time. BTW Tauchman is an above average hitter. Those are few are far between on this squad. It’s a loss not an embarrassment.
Good luck Josh! Love his enthusiastic attitude. Great in the clutch
Out of curiosity, given that the Sox are just throwing out random dudes, are they considering offering fans a chance to play a game? Make it a contest or something. I’d like to see some random Jimmy Joe fan get absolutely destroyed at the plate or lit up on the mound.
As much as you show up on Pirates threads, I’m amazed you haven’t asked the same there. Pierogi races, hot dog launches,fireworks, and playing 1st base. Sounds like something Nutting would do here. Might even get me to the ballpark, well,aside from when the Savannah Bananas come to town in August. Just want to see a more entertaining team play
Wishing them a painless recovery.
I understand it’s rare, but I’d have to imagine someone would want Carela on release waivers.
Benintendi and Lee probably aren’t hurt too bad. Sox need a back up first baseman.
The way Andrew Vaughn continues to underperform the White Sox will have a new 1B by 2026. Tim Elko is producing nicely at AAA Charlotte. 19-year old 6’7″ OF George Wolkow has plus power and might be an option in a couple of years if he can cut down on the whiffs.
Why wouldn’t they just 60 day IL Carela? I’m assuming he re-signs and it’s a moot point but would that not have been an option?
Major league pay and service time to put him on the IL and the Sox are too cheap to give him it.
@ SweetBR.. Not the case as he is in AA, and only on the 40-man. So he would not be getting MLB pay or service time.
That is not true geofft, any player on the IL gets both an MLB salary and MLB service time.
I was wondering why they didn’t 60-day DL him also (which is why I read the comments), and SweetBaby might be right, they might be too cheap. Players can only be transferred to the MLB DL from the MLB roster, so they’d also need to promote him to the MLB roster first, which means they’d need to free up a roster spot. So they either need to DFA someone or they’d need to option a guy with options, but that would mean they’d need to wait ten days to call that guy back up. So that might be the reason, especially if they don’t think another team will be willing to free up (temporarily) an active roster spot to claim him.
Correction, nocomment: What you are describing is not the case here:
Any player assigned to the MLB injured list (its not the DL anymore) gets MLB pay and service time.
But Carela was optioned down to Birmingham 16 days before being placed on the IL. So he is on that IL, and not the MLB IL.
No, geofft, that is not how MLB transactions work. You are completely correct that a player on the minor league DL does not get major league service time or salary. But if you want to remove a guy from your 40-man roster by placing him on the 60-day DL, you have to place him on the Major League DL. Placing him on the full season minor league DL does not remove him from your 40-man roster. That should be obvious, just based on what happened here — Carela was already on the minor league full season DL but he was still taking up a 40-man roster spot, which is the whole reason they had to release him.
And yes, it’s the IL now but IL looks weird as an abbreviation and everyone knows what DL means.
Now you’re completely misstating my position, and trying to change the argument into something different.
I never said that a minor league IL assignment removes him from the 40-man roster. In fact, in my response to SweetBR, I specifically stated that he is “only on the 40-man”. And in my original response to JDGoat, I specifically referred to the fact that his taking up a spot on the 40-man was probably the reason for his being released.
But that is not what we were talking about…. I said he would not be getting MLB salary and service time, and you disputed that, saying, “That is not true geofft, any player on the IL gets both an MLB salary and MLB service time.”
Now that I’ve demonstrated that he is not on the major league IL, and hence not subject to those rules, you’re walking back your comments and agreeing that he doesn’t get those, but trying to change the subject.
geofft, the point of this entire conversation was this question: why did the White Sox release Carela to remove him from the 40-man roster, rather than place him on the 60-day IL to remove him from the 40-man roster? The only 60-day IL you can place a player on to remove him from the 40-man is the Major League 60-day DL. And if you place a player on the MLB 60-day DL, he accrues MLB service time, and is paid an MLB salary. You said the opposite. I gather you think he could have been placed on the minor league DL, but he was *already* on the minor league DL, obviously — he had TJ, he’s out for a year. 40-man roster players on minor league DLs are still on the 40-man. That’s the whole reason they needed to release him to free up the spot.
So yes, they could have just kept him on the minor league IL, and paid him a minor league salary, but he would have continued to use a 40-man roster spot. And we were talking about the options the White Sox had with Carela to *free up that roster spot*.
You are misstating what I said entirely, reading into it incorrectly, and putting words in my mouth that I did not say. I specifically said that the reason they released him rather than keep him on the 60-day is so he does not take up a 40-man roster spot throughout the off season.
Anything else you “gather” or assume that I said or thought is your own perception and misinterpretation.
Reread the first three posts. JD says “why didn’t they 60-day IL him?” obviously talking about the MLB IL, because we’re talking about getting him off the 40-man. SBaby says, correctly, “then he’d get MLB pay”. You say, incorrectly, “not the case”. It is the case. Then you started talking about the minor league IL (or maybe you were talking about it all along), which is completely irrelevant to the 40-man roster decision the White Sox were making, and is not the IL anyone else was talking about. So I think you just didn’t understand the conversation right from the start.
Anyway, debating on the internet is generally a huge waste of time so I’ll wish you the best and leave this convo
Thats a good point. But keep in mind that the IL does not exist on the off season, and he’d have to take up a roster space during that time.
I’m guessing they did the more advanced roster math and projections:
he’s a double-A player who won’t be back to that level until mid-2026 or later, at which time they’d have to use his second minor league option. Perhaps they think his chances of reaching the majors before running out of options is too slim to clog up the roster space.
That said, it still seems silly to me. This is the White Sox. How many valuable players/prospects do they have that they can’t wait till November to make this decision, rather than making it now?
I hope Palacios does well. He’s a cool player and was enjoyable to watch. He has some decent underlying numbers, and I think he’d do better with some semi-regular playing time.
I like Palacios also but the White Sox are in bad shape when they are picking up players that can’t make the Pirates roster. Many of these guys end up in Asia eventually.
Imo, Palacios is a solid 4th/platoon outfield type. I’d much rather have him right now on the Pirates’ roster than Alexander Canario. He’s at least proven to be a decent part-timer when given that opportunity, unlike Canario.
I guess they figure he has more upside than Palacios but hasn’t shown much yet.
The only thing that Canario has over Palacios is power. But he runs about the same, and it’s not like Palacios showed no raw power in the Major Leagues. Nor did Palacios swing and miss nearly at the same frequency as Canario. Last year at Triple-A, Canario had a whiff rate around 37%.
What will they be doing in Asia?
Who is responsible for for todays White Sox lineup that has 6 batters hitting under .200.
Good question, Jack! Yesterday they also had six players hitting less than .190, including a shortstop hitting .091. It’s hard to fault the manager when his alternatives can’t hit any better. And for good measure, two of their hitters who were at .250 or above are now on the IL. The Sox problem boils down to this: they can’t hit.
I doubt that anyone in White Sox universe is blaming the manger for the hitting woes or w/l record this year.
I agree, it’s a bad owner and a terrible previous front office who we should blame for this situation.
Sox- Sorry,I thought that you were talking about the Pirates.
I will feel you angst when the White Sox promote someone who is new at AAA and batting .071.
Atlanta Jack
Wow, that lineup is even worse than the Pirates.