Where will Taylor fit on '26 staff? Relief role likely on tap

CHICAGO – The following story about White Sox right-hander Grant Taylor has been shared previously by Mike Shirley, the organization’s director of amateur scouting. But it’s worth a repeat in lieu of recent news.

Shirley was scouting players at LSU during the fall prior to the ‘23 Draft, when he saw Taylor go against Paul Skenes, his Tigers teammate at the time. It’s of course the same Skenes who unanimously won the ‘25 National League Cy Young Award on Wednesday.

On this occasion, though, Shirley sided with Taylor’s performance.

“He was utterly dominant,” Shirley told MLB.com of Taylor during a recent interview. “I thought his performance on that day was better than Paul Skenes.

“I just think the kid has a lot of upside. He has a tremendous athletic value. The stuff is real. Where he fits in the puzzle, still to be determined. He’s one helluva player. He has great makeup.”

Discussions on Taylor’s roster puzzle fit began in 2025, when he joined the White Sox bullpen after just 46 career Minor League innings, and after being selected in the second round of the ‘23 Draft while working his way back from Tommy John surgery. Taylor picked up six saves over 36 games with a 4.91 ERA and 54 strikeouts against 15 walks over 36 2/3 innings, with no home runs allowed.

It was a move from Double-A Birmingham to big league relief discussed by White Sox director of pitching Brian Bannister at the end of last Spring Training. It was a move facilitated by the 23-year-old through his hard work and high-level stuff.

A return to the starting rotation was talked about as a possibility for Taylor at the end of the ‘25 campaign, following the White Sox blueprint successfully laid out previously for Garrett Crochet, Chris Sale and even back to Mark Buehrle. But based on general manager Chris Getz’s comments to the media, including MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian, at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas, Taylor will stay put in relief in ‘26, only in more of a multi-inning directive.

“Yeah, we’ve had those discussions and having Garrett Crochet as an example, his experience has kind of opened our minds to exploring that path with players we feel are appropriate,” Getz said at the Cosmopolitan. “Does it apply to Grant? Maybe at some point. We were just happy he was able to get on the mound.

“We got him to the big leagues, he pitched in some big moments for us and was fairly successful. There could be a time down the road we discuss transitioning [to starting], but at this point it’s, ‘How do we get the most value out of all of these arms from a health standpoint, from a production standpoint?’ It could be starters going to a bullpen role. It could be bullpen arms stretching out to a starter.”

Taylor’s promotion gave the White Sox a better chance to finish off games, as Getz pointed out in Las Vegas. His four-seam fastball averaged 98.7 mph, while he was also working in a curve, cutter and slider, finishing with nine scoreless September outings and 15 strikeouts over eight innings. Other White Sox relievers were also able to slide into different situations and balance out the bullpen.

“Obviously, crazy electric stuff,” said White Sox right-hander Jordan Leasure, who had a strong ‘25 season while working in high-leverage relief roles with Taylor. “When you play with a guy like that, it forces you to push to be better as well.

“He goes out there and does what he does and it’s like, ‘If I’m going to stick around, I have to do something like that.’ So yeah, it’s awesome having him up there.”

As a team, Getz is looking for the White Sox to take another step further in 2026 after a 19-win improvement in ‘25 from the history-making, 121-loss struggles of ‘24. That step is rooted in these young players such as Taylor and Leasure growing and developing but also includes looking outside the organization to help complement or even insulate these younger charges.

Getz mentioned starting pitching – which is a target for almost any team – corner outfield and further strengthening the bullpen as offseason enhancements. Relief will be Taylor’s focus in ‘26, but nothing is being ruled out for his future.

“Not afraid, very confident. He loves challenges,” Shirley said. “He tackled Tommy John, he tackled his rehab. He’s that kid. He’ll do the job well.”

“No matter what he does, he’s going to be really, really good. I’m excited for him. I can’t wait to watch him throw again,” Leasure said. “He’s awesome. He’s a really good dude, too.”