CHICAGO – Tanner McDougal was back at his Charlotte home after Friday’s contest for the White Sox Triple-A affiliate when the right-hander received a phone call to return to Truist Field.
“I had my dinner. I sat down. I was getting ready to call my parents, and then Carson [Wooten], the trainer in Charlotte, texted me and was just like, ‘Hey, can you come back to the field?’” McDougal said. “‘Sure, whatever.’ Walked back.
“He texted me on the way there. He was like, ‘Hey, they messed up your drug test.’ We had a drug test last night. So I'm like, ‘What could they have messed up?’ I'm walking through. I'm trying to find him. I can't find him. I was talking to the clubbies. I'm like, ‘Where's Carson?’ And then I see Hagen [Smith] come around the corner. I'm like, ‘Okay, it's just a little funny. Like, this is odd that we're both here at the same time.’”
There was no drug test issue and there was no coincidence. Once McDougal arrived in the office of manager Chad Pinder, he received the same news given to Hagen Smith. They were both joining the White Sox on Saturday.
Smith, the White Sox first-round Draft pick out of Arkansas in 2024, is the team’s No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 51 overall prospect. McDougal ranks as Chicago’s No. 4 prospect. Both began the season as starters and will return to the rotation plans after the 2026 season, but they are being used in relief currently to help the White Sox reach the postseason.
“Luckily, I got to throw a little bit out of the bullpen in college,” Smith said. “Kind of had a little bit, just the familiarity with it. It’s been really good so far. It’s awesome. I’ve been working for it. Obviously, coming up here to compete and try to stay.”
“It's one of the cooler ways to be told you're going to the big leagues, especially when you know it's with somebody that you've been day in and day out with the whole year,” McDougal said. “It can be daunting. It can be nerve-wracking. But it's a little easier when you’ve got somebody by your side.”
McDougal, the team’s fifth-round Draft pick in 2021, had a 2.86 ERA in 15 games (six starts) for the Knights with 40 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings. Smith had a 4.32 ERA in 20 games (14 starts) for Charlotte this season, striking out 87 in 58 1/3 innings but issuing 40 walks.
“They are pitching well out of the bullpen,” White Sox general manager Chris Getz said prior to an 8-2 loss to the Guardians on Friday, the team’s fourth straight setback. “It’s power stuff on both sides. I know Hagen’s case, throwing his cutter is going to be really important for him against right-handed hitters. He’s starting to utilize that in his favor. At this point, we feel very comfortable they are in a position that can help us.”
“Really excited about Hagen and Tanner coming,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Obviously they're working out of the ‘pen. Trying to find spots for them as far as good timing, making sure they're in a good spot, and they are.”
Right-hander David Sandlin and left-hander Noah Schultz were optioned to Charlotte to make room for McDougal and Smith, with right-hander Wikelman González designated for assignment to make room for Smith on the 40-man roster. Sandlin, who was recalled from Charlotte on Friday, threw 96 pitches in the loss.
Schultz faced just five hitters, with four reaching base, before he had to leave when Venable made the mistake of visiting the mound shortly after pitching coach Zach Bove had gone out for a first mound visit. Over his last 10 starts (11 appearances), Schultz is 1-8 with a 7.77 ERA. This comes on the heels of a 2.53 ERA in his first four MLB starts.
Per Venable, Schultz will continue to work as a starter for the Knights, as the White Sox try to get the rookie right to help down the stretch.
"We've got to get him into a better spot. We've got to work on the stuff,” Venable said. “There's some mechanical stuff, some things that we just have to do to get him at his best.
“Yesterday, obviously, was a terrible day for him and how that all unfolded. We had a conversation about that. Obviously he's not happy, but he's such a good kid. It makes you feel even worse about it because he is such a good kid, and handled it so professionally. You couldn't ask for anything more from that. But obviously he's disappointed."