White Sox move forward after ‘exciting’ trade deadline

BOSTON — Brenton Doyle woke up around 9 a.m. Monday morning.

“And my phone was pretty dry, not much action,” the outfielder said on Tuesday. “And then within the next hour and a half, things just escalated pretty quickly.”

Doyle was dealt to the White Sox, one of three trades the team announced on Monday. He was in Tuesday’s lineup, along with another new addition in catcher Joey Bart, as the team began a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

The busy trade deadline for the Sox started Saturday night when they acquired starter Luis Castillo from the Seattle Mariners. In addition to picking up Doyle from the Colorado Rockies and Bart from the Atlanta Braves, the Sox traded for reliever Huascar Brazobán from the New York Mets.

“Really exciting deadline,” manager Will Venable said. “First of all, just so appreciative that (general manager Chris Getz) and the front office see enough in our team to go out and get four new players that are going to help us win more games, which is awesome to see.

“And I’m certainly excited about each one of these players that we got. They’re all going to play big roles on this team and excited to get them onboarded here.”

Bart is adjusting after being traded for the second time this season. He began the year with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was dealt to the Braves in June.

“It seems, from the outside looking in, like a lot of fun, a lot of energy,” Bart said. “A team that brings a lot of energy every day and obviously is in a great position. I’m just excited to bring what I bring and keep winning.”

Venable envisions a split behind the plate for Bart and Drew Romo. Bart was quickly getting up to speed on his new pitching staff.

“That definitely takes some time, right, just to build relationships with everybody,” Bart said. “But it’s something I’ve done before, I’ve done it a couple times now. So it’s just using the resources, using everybody, talking to everybody, communicate every day, trying to figure out what makes them go.

“And the sooner we can bridge that gap, the better.”

Venable said the decision to option catcher Edgar Quero to Triple-A Charlotte wasn’t an easy one.

“He made it tougher than the last time we had to make that same decision,” Venable said. “And really, there’s two parts to the decision. One, Romo behind the plate and the kind of the X factor qualities that he brings, also the objective things defensively that he brings. We really like, we’ve really been benefiting from.

“And at the same time, Edgar did a great job. The things that we’ve asked him to do in the weight room, the training room and some of the preparation stuff. He’s really done a nice job at that, and we saw positive results from that. But we really believe strongly in Quero and think that there’s even more of a better version of him out there. And to send him back down and work on those things, I think is really important, also.”

In the outfield, Doyle will be a top option in center field against left-handed pitching.

The two-time Gold Glove Award winner has been limited to 45 games in 2026, missing some time because of a left oblique contusion.

“I went three years in a row without any IL stints, so to kind of get the injury bug out of nowhere was pretty frustrating,” Doyle said. “But I tried to make the most of it, tried to just still be the best teammate I could.

“I’m glad to be back on the field and glad to be a part of this team now.”

Castillo has six career outings (five starts) against the White Sox, including two appearances against the club this season. Now he will be pitching for the team in Thursday’s series finale.

“I’ve faced this team before, and I could see that this is a team that likes to fight, likes to compete,” Castillo said through an interpreter. “And they’re hungry, a bunch of kids that are hungry to win.”

And the additions say they share that hunger as they join a first-place team. The Sox entered Tuesday with a three-game lead in the American League Central.

“I’ve never actually really come close to being part of playoff baseball,” Doyle said. “So I’m really looking forward to the opportunity, and I’m thankful for the White Sox.”