Prior to tonight's game vs. San Francisco, the Chicago White Sox purchased the contracts of right-handed pitchers Al Alburquerque and Chris Volstad from Class AAA Charlotte.
Alburquerque, 31, combined to go 2-1 with a 2.87 ERA (12 ER/37.2 IP), 43 strikeouts and five saves over 32 relief appearances between Class AAA Omaha in the Kansas City organization and Class AAA Charlotte this season. He opened the 2017 season with Omaha and joined the Royals bullpen in May, going 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA (4 ER/10.0 IP) and nine strikeouts in 11 outings before being released on July 29. The 6-foot, 195-pound Alburquerque went 0-0 with a 4.63 ERA (6 ER/11.2 IP), 15 strikeouts, two saves and a .233 opponents average (10-43) in 10 relief appearances with Charlotte after signing with Chicago as a minor-league free agent on August 5.
Alburquerque owns a career 17-7 record with a 3.23 ERA (85 ER/237.0 IP), 286 strikeouts, one save, 42 holds and a .212 opponents average in 254 relief appearances over seven major-league seasons with Detroit (2011-15), the Angels (2016) and the Royals (2017). He has struck out 10.86 batters per 9.0 IP lifetime, allowed 28.2 percent (48-170) of inherited runners to score and appeared in 14 postseason games with the Tigers from 2011-13. Alburquerque originally was signed by the Chicago Cubs as an international free agent on July 4, 2003.
Volstad, 30, was 3-10 with a 5.57 ERA (73 ER/118.0 IP) and one save in 27 appearances (18 starts) with Charlotte this season, his second in the White Sox system. The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. native was signed by the Sox as a minor-league free agent on March 17, 2016 and returned to the organization on December 16, 2016.
The 6-foot-8, 235-pound Volstad has appeared in 131 career games (123 starts) over parts of seven major-league seasons with Florida (2008-11), the Cubs (2012), Colorado (2013) and Pittsburgh (2015), going 35-51 with a 4.92 ERA (386 ER/705.2 IP), one hold, 442 strikeouts and a .283 opponents average (777-2,747). He last pitched in the majors in 2015, making one appearance with Pittsburgh on June 24, 2015 vs. Cincinnati (2.0 scoreless IP in relief). Volstad originally was selected by the Marlins in the first round (16th overall) of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft.
Alburquerque will wear uniform No. 58 and Volstad will wear No. 66.
Following the moves, the White Sox active roster increases to 30 and the 40-man roster increases to 40.