Sox giving former Yankee pitcher Wang a tryout

In their seemingly never-ending search for a reliable right-handed starting pitcher, the White Sox are giving Chien-Ming Wang an audition.

Signed as a free agent on Thursday, the 34-year-old Wang was assigned to Class AAA Charlotte and he'll start for the Knights Friday night.

Wang joined the New York Yankees in 2005 and rose to ace status while combining to win 38 games in ‘06-07.

Foot, shoulder and hip injuries took a toll on his promising career, and the Taiwanese pitcher has bounced between the Yankees, Nationals and Blue Jays the past few seasons.

This year, Wang was 8-5 with a 3.70 ERA in 19 starts for Class AAA Louisville in the Cincinnati Reds' system.

The Sox used right-handed starters Erik Johnson, Felipe Paulino, Andre Riezno, Hector Noesi and Scott Carroll over the first half of the season, and they've all been inconsistent.

At Charlotte, right-handers Tommy Hanson, Shawn Hill and Daniel McCutchen have all failed to perform well enough to get a call from the White Sox.

Also Thursday, Charlotte right-handed starter Dylan Axelrod was traded to the Reds' organization and another righty, Deunte Heath, was released so he can pursue a more lucrative opportunity in Japan.

Axelrod pitched in 48 games (30 starts) with the Sox from 2011-13 and was 7-13 with a 5.36 ERA.

Heath made 8 relief appearances for the White Sox in 2012-13 and had a 10.24 ERA.