Inspiration on display: Leasure fueled by kids' courage

CHICAGO -- Jordan Leasure's locker at Rate Field looks a little different than his White Sox teammates.

It’s not the equipment in place for the right-handed reliever that differentiates him from the rest of this crew, who dropped a 7-3 decision to the Padres Saturday night and fell to 58-97 overall.

Sitting across the top of his home away from home are 13 baseball cards, but not exactly the sort of Topps cards found in the packs purchased at a store. These are children impacted by pediatric cancer, brought to Rate Field through Cal’s Angels, for a reverse signing activity.

All of these children signed cards for the White Sox players to “build confidence and celebrate the resilience, courage and strength these young individuals display every day in their battle against cancer,” according to the White Sox release preceding the event on Aug. 11.

So, why are these cards sitting atop Leasure’s locker?

One part reminder of this special day. One part inspiration.

“I feel like it would be remiss to stack them up and put them somewhere and not even see or look at them and forget about why we did that,” Leasure told MLB.com. “I feel like it would be a cool thing too for the kids, if there’s an interview and they saw it in the background, ‘Oh, there’s my card.’”

Leasure is not only a high-character individual but has carved out a niche in the high-leverage area of the White Sox bullpen. He has a streak of 10 straight scoreless appearances covering 12 1/3 innings, striking out 13, while holding opponents to 2-for-38 at the plate and picking up three saves.

But this success didn’t come immediately or easily for Leasure. He arrived from the Dodgers with Nick Nastrini in a trade on July 28, 2023, with the closer of the future moniker attached to his name, only to post a 6.32 ERA over 33 games during the ’24 campaign.

“You have probably seen over the years it’s hard to come up here and make an impact right away. It’s a different level coming up here from the Minor Leagues, even Triple-A; it’s a big jump,” Leasure said. “For most people, it comes with time, the experience, learning and getting to play at this level for a while.

“I’m in a good spot now. Even last year, I was finding that groove. But it was a lot of ups and downs, so you have to ride them out and even if I’m still playing in 10 years, it’s going to be ups and downs and how to deal.

“There’s a lot of guys down there right now who could be a [White Sox] closer,” Leasure added. “Not really worried about that too much, even though it’s the biggest bullpen role and everyone wants to do that. But there’s a lot of different high-leverage roles you can still make a big impact.”

Rookie Grant Taylor is one of those closing options, coming through with one of his best overall innings during Friday’s victory and leaving him two saves behind Leasure for the team lead with his five.

Taylor also could be part of the ’26 White Sox rotation following his 33 appearances in ’25, which is a decision to be made at some point after next Sunday’s finale.

“Obviously, I've just seen him as a reliever, and I've certainly liked what he's contributed in the reliever role,” said White Sox manager Will Venable of Taylor. “With your best arms, you want to maximize those the best you can and want those guys to pitch the most innings, if it's right for them.

“That's part of the question and what the organization will work through. I just like him on the team, and however he pitches, I'll be happy.”

Venable also spoke of Leasure’s confidence growing with his 3.54 ERA over 64 appearances and 75 strikeouts in 61 innings. There’s more to baseball than just the on-field results, as Leasure has shown through his special locker display.

“This guy, I remember, was in full uniform, like a ballplayer and you could tell he was passionate about baseball. Hopefully, he gets a chance to keep playing in the future,” said Leasure. “Just to be able to see the smiles on their faces.

“They are going through something life-changing, and they couldn’t be happier to be there. It’s like one of those moments for us where you take a step back and what I’m doing here, playing baseball, pales in comparison to the battle they are going through every day.”