Chicago White Sox Place Shane Smith on Injured List Following All-Star Break

The Chicago White Sox have placed right-handed pitcher Shane Smith on the 15-day injured list with a left ankle sprain, retroactive to July 16, the club announced Saturday afternoon.

Smith was the White Sox's lone representative at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday. He hit Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez with a pitch to open his outing in Atlanta, then forced Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood to ground out before he got the hook.

There was no immediate sign of injury during Smith's exhibition outing, although he was only given 10 pitches that night. He will be eligible to return on July 31.

The 25-year-old rookie made his MLB debut on April 1 and has remained a valuable member of the rotation ever since. In a team-leading 18 starts this season, Smith is 3-7 with a 4.26 ERA, 1.304 WHIP, 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.7 WAR.

After starting the year with a 2.37 ERA and 1.171 WHIP through 13 starts, however, Smith owns an 11.29 ERA and 1.800 WHIP across his last five appearances.

The White Sox acquired Smith this past winter, poaching him from the Milwaukee Brewers with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 Rule 5 Draft. He went 13-7 with a 2.69 ERA, 1.051 WHIP and 11.6 strikeouts during his time in Milwaukee's farm system, but acted as a reliever in 54 of his 73 career outings to that point.

To fill out their pitching staff in Smith's absence, the White Sox recalled rookie right-handed pitcher Wikelman González from Triple-A Charlotte. Utility man Brooks Baldwin was also activated from his rehab assignment, while outfielder Will Robertson was sent back down to the minors.