Drew Thorpe fires four more scoreless rehab innings for Double-A Birmingham as he eyes White Sox return

Chicago’s hope of getting another Major League-ready arm back toward the stretch has picked up momentum through another rehab milestone. Drew Thorpe, a right-handed pitcher in the White Sox organization, made another step toward a return on Thursday night, taking the ball for Double-A Birmingham and working four innings without allowing a run.

According to MLB’s team report, Thorpe’s outing was his third rehab start to date and came after he last pitched in the Majors on July 31, 2024. In his most recent outing, he faced the minimum number of batters, a detail that matters because it indicates both command and the ability to keep hitters from reaching early in counts.

Thorpe’s four-inning start at the Double-A level continued the work designed to measure readiness for a higher-leverage role. Rehab innings are often about more than results, but the baseline performance matters, especially when a pitcher is trying to prove they can reproduce their usual pace, location, and approach across multiple innings.

For the White Sox, the timing carries obvious postseason implications, even with the uncertainty that always comes with returning from injury. The club is operating within a playoff chase that, at this stage of a season, depends on whether late-summer roster flexibility can translate into bullpen innings and additional pitching depth.

Thorpe’s path also reflects the way organizations typically use Minor League rehab starts to bridge the gap between conditioning and game intensity. A successful start at Double-A can be an indicator the pitcher is handling situational hitting and can command well enough to avoid extended innings, but it does not guarantee a Major League timeline on its own.

Birmingham is one of the key stops in Chicago’s system because it provides a realistic pace of at-bats compared with lower levels. By turning over lineups for multiple innings and keeping the game scoreless over a defined stretch, Thorpe’s latest rehab turn offered another data point for the coaching staff.

The immediate next question is what happens after the current rehab progression. Teams commonly look for consistency across subsequent outings, including how the pitcher responds to increasing difficulty and whether the plan calls for another Minor League appearance or a shift to a higher tier in the organization.

For now, Thorpe’s message from the mound has been straightforward: four innings, zero runs, and no wasted baserunners. If he can keep building on that foundation, it gives the White Sox another option to evaluate as they weigh how best to reinforce their pitching mix for the final weeks of the season.