White Sox Claim Graham Pauley

The White Sox announced that they have claimed infielder Graham Pauley off waivers from the Marlins. The Sox also outrighted left-hander Ky Bush and outfielder Junior Pérez to Triple-A Charlotte.

It’s a busy time of year for transactions, particularly those involving fringe players. The injured list goes away at 4 pm Central time today, meaning several players will be retaking roster spots. November 17 is the deadline for clubs to give roster spots to players who would otherwise be eligible for the Rule 5 draft. The roster squeeze will push many players to the waiver wire.

Pauley, now 26, was originally drafted by the Padres. He was sent to the Marlins in the 2024 deadline trade which sent Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing to San Diego. Pauley has received some big league chances with both the Padres and Marlins but hasn’t yet done much to prove himself. He exhausted his final option season in 2026 and is now slated to be out of options going forward. That will make it harder for him to hold a roster spot.

The Marlins have nudged him off but the White Sox have grabbed him, at least for now. It’s possible he will end up back on the waiver wire later in the offseason. As mention, Pauley hasn’t done much to establish himself at the big league level. That’s particularly true offensively. In 370 plate appearances, he has a .209/.272/.364 batting line.

There’s more reason for optimism with his defense. He has logged almost 800 innings at third base with positive grades from Defensive Runs Saved, Outs Above Average and Fielding Run Value. He has also had brief stints at first base, second base and in center field.

With the defense and the versatility, there’s a path to being a major league player, especially if he can provide a bit more offense. He has a .248/.336/.470 slash and 114 wRC+ at the Triple-A level over the past two years, so perhaps he can find a way to bring some of that up to the big leagues going forward.

The Sox have an excellent third baseman in Miguel Vargas, though he’s a bat-first player. He clubbed 33 homers in 2026 but all the defensive metrics ranked him as subpar with the glove. Ideally, he would move across the diamond to first base but the Sox have Munetaka Murakami over there. It’s possible that the 2027 club uses Pauley over Vargas for better glovework at the hot corner. That might just be a bench role for Pauley, though if he earns regular playing time, perhaps Vargas and Murakami could share the designated hitter spot. But as mentioned, it’s also possible the Sox try to pass Pauley through waivers later in the offseason to keep him as non-roster depth.

Bush, 27 this month, was once a prospect of note. The Angels took him in the second round of the 2021 draft and later sent him to Chicago in the 2023 deadline deal which sent Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to Anaheim. He appeared in four games for the Sox in 2024 but then Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2025 and 2026 seasons. He was attempting to work his way back during the 2026 campaign but was shut down in September due to a lat strain.

His stock is understandably down after two lost seasons and 29 clubs passed on the chance to grab him off waivers, even though he has options remaining. He will be focused on getting healthy and back on track in 2027.

Pérez, 25, was just acquired from the Athletics in a DFA trade in May. The A’s gave him a roster spot after an encouraging 2025 season. His strikeout rate in the minors had often been in the 30-40% range but he got it down to 28.1% while hitting 26 home runs and stealing 27 bases. Unfortunately, the strikeout woes returned in 2026. He had a 35.4% strikeout rate in the minors and a 38.9% clip in his brief major league debut. He’ll have to get the punchouts under control to get a roster spot again in the future.