{"id":4476,"date":"2026-04-08T23:24:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T23:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=4476"},"modified":"2026-04-08T23:24:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T23:24:51","slug":"white-sox-option-opening-day-starter-shane-smith-to-triple-a-charlotte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=4476","title":{"rendered":"White Sox option Opening Day starter Shane Smith to Triple-A Charlotte"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Thirteen days after beginning his second season in the big leagues as the Opening Day starter for the White Sox,<\/a> right-hander Shane Smith was demoted to Triple-A Charlotte.<\/p>\n

It took only three starts for the Sox to determine that Smith, whose rise from Rule 5 add-on to American League All-Star was last season\u2019s best feel-good story on the South Side, might profit from a change of scenery. According to manager Will Venable, it definitely was in the best interest of the Sox bullpen, which has borne the brunt of Smith\u2019s inability to pitch at least four innings in any of his 2026 outings.<\/p>\n

\u201cShane, clearly he is in a spot where he needs to get to the best version of himself,\u2019\u2019 Venable said. \u201cAnd he\u2019s not quite there right now. And as you know, he continues to work through the things that he needs to do to get there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just can\u2019t have that happen here, you know, where it comes at the cost of wins, at the cost of our bullpen. He understands that, and he was accountable to that.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Maybe this Opening Day start thing isn\u2019t quite the honor it\u2019s cranked up to be. Wednesday\u2019s starter, Sean Burke, was Opening Day starter last season and he was shipped to Charlotte in August.<\/p>\n

The objective in Charlotte is clear: The Sox want Smith to regain mastery of his four-seam fastball, which was his money pitch last season<\/p>\n

\u201cJust give him the chance to go down to Charlotte with a very clear, structured plan and really get him back to dominating with the four-seam fastball, which is what we\u2019ve seen from him, and is part of, you know, his superpower, what makes him great,\u2019\u2019 said Venable, whose use of the word \u201csuperpower\u201d might be a tad generous.<\/p>\n

Smith generated 17 swings and misses Tuesday, but his curveball was far and away his best pitch. Half of his pitches the first time through the order were fastballs, but he threw the four-seamer just 28% of the time the the second time through. Overall, he threw 62 off-speed pitches, including 41 curveballs, to just 37 fastballs. And by the time he was dismissed with two outs in the fourth, his velocity on the four-seamer had dropped more than three miles an hour, from 95.8 mph in the first to 92.4 in the fourth, per Statcast.<\/p>\n

Venable said he talked with Smith. (GM Chris Getz was on a scouting trip Wednesday, according to a club official.)<\/p>\n

\u201cHe completely understood, he\u2019s a total pro,\u2019\u2019 Venable said. \u201cHe took accountability, he understands the spot that he\u2019s putting the team in, and really, it\u2019s about getting him to be the best version of himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy is a very good pitcher who is a very important part of this organization and important part of our success, so he understands that and wants to be right, and the best version of himself.<\/p>\n

Venable did not put a number on how many starts he expects Smith to make in Charlotte.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a very clear idea of what we need to do,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cWe just weren\u2019t able to get those results to stick here. So he\u2019s going to continue to make his adjustments. He can go out there, give us a couple starts, whatever it might be, but as soon as he\u2019s ready, I think we\u2019ll all see it and know it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knows it\u2019ll a short term thing, and get him right back to doing what we expect him to do in the big leagues.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

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Austin Hays, who pulled up lame Monday in a vain attempt to run down a fly ball that dropped in for a run-scoring hit, was put on the 10-day injured list with a strained right hamstring.<\/p>\n

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