The White Sox Just Gave Jonathan Cannon A Harsh Reality Check

With just more than a week to go until Opening Day, White Sox manager Will Venable recently announced the team’s starting rotation to begin the season. Shane Smith will get the ball in the opener, followed by Sean Burke, Anthony Kay, Davis Martin, and Erick Fedde in that order. The finalized rotation doesn’t feature any real surprises, but there is a notable omission in Jonathan Cannon.

Not only did Cannon fail to earn a rotation spot, but he didn’t make the team at all. The team optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte earlier this week as part of a series of roster cuts. The move represents a significant fall from grace for a player who was a mainstay in the team’s starting rotation for much of the past two years.

Lost 2025 Season

Following an encouraging 2024 rookie campaign where he showed flashes of being a quality MLB pitcher, Cannon looked to build on that success heading into 2025. After all, he had a secure rotation spot to open the season thanks to the White Sox being deep in a rebuild. That opportunity also gave him a clear path to becoming a mainstay on the pitching staff. What looked like a potential breakout season quickly turned into a lost year.

His numbers went backwards nearly across the board. The quality of his sinker declined significantly from his rookie year and lefties torched him to the tune of .295/.367/.533 in 238 plate appearances. He was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on two occasions late in the season but didn’t perform much better in seven starts with the Knights. Back issues could explain his struggles, but the numbers weren’t pretty regardless. With the White Sox taking another step forward in the rebuild, he needed an extraordinary spring training to earn back a rotation spot. That didn’t happen.

White Sox Improved Pitching Depth

Cannon will presumably begin 2026 in the Knights’ starting rotation in Triple-A, but unlike the past couple of years, the White Sox starting pitcher depth is quite strong. Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith, and Tanner McDougal, the organization’s top three pitching prospects, will also be in Triple-A and are knocking at the door of the big leagues. Drew Thorpe, David Sandlin, Mason Adams, Shane Murphy, and Ky Bush are other options who could potentially be called up to Chicago at some point this season. There are a bunch of pitchers vying for only a few spots, and Cannon got squeezed out in a sense. He no longer has the luxury of having a long runway at the MLB level to show what he can do.

Uphill Battle

At just 25 years old, Jonathan Cannon’s story is far from over. He will get another opportunity to prove himself at Triple-A and put his name back into the conversation again. Depending on injuries, he could get another chance with the big league club sooner than you think. Still, his future outlook with the team is much more cloudy than it was at this time last year. His situation goes to show that baseball is a business at the end of the day and that you must perform to keep your spot. It will be an uphill battle for him to become a consistent fixture in the White Sox starting rotation again.