White Sox continue to stockpile their team with former Blue Jays after latest surprising trade

The Chicago White Sox have been stockpiling former Toronto Blue Jays players in 2026. It started with a couple of offseason signings and has continued into the opening month of the season.

This week, that collection of ex-Jays has continued as Chicago pulled off an unexpected trade with the Philadelphia Phillies for former Toronto reliever Trevor Richards. In exchange for Richards, the White Sox sent cash considerations the other way to the Phillies.

Trevor Richards becomes the latest former Blue Jay to join the White Sox this 2026 season

The move was a surprising one by Chicago, since Richards has had a difficult time maintaining an MLB gig during the past couple of years with only seven total major league appearances since 2025. In fact, his best performance in the majors actually came way back in 2021 when he compiled a strong 3.31 ERA, 0.80 WHIP with 37 strikeouts in 32.2 innings with the Blue Jays following the trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. Unfortunately, Richards has failed to rediscover that dominant form ever since.

Last season, the 32-year-old right-hander amassed a gaudy 7.94 ERA, 2.29 WHIP, yielding five runs on 11 hits in just 5.2 innings of work split between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals. This year, he has appeared in just two games for Philadelphia, posting a more respectable 2.08 ERA but still a worrisome 1.62 WHIP before he was dealt to the White Sox. Chicago was perhaps attracted to his strikeout ability, given that the veteran reliever had struck out 26 hitters in 14 total innings while registering a tidy 1.93 ERA playing for the Phillies minor league affiliate Lehigh Valley.

Richards now joins a long list of former Blue Jays that currently make up the 2026 White Sox squad. Through free agency this past offseason, Chicago had added veteran reliever Seranthony Domínguez and left-handed pitcher Anthony Kay. Kay will forever be remembered as being part of the return package for Marcus Stroman in Toronto’s trade with the New York Mets at the 2019 deadline. Domínguez, of course, was one of the key acquisitions made by the Blue Jays to bolster their bullpen down the stretch in 2025 in helping the team reach their first World Series in over three decades.

In addition, the White Sox acquired right-handed pitcher Jordan Hicks in a trade with the Boston Red Sox on February 1 this year. More recently, Chicago also signed outfielder Randal Grichuk after he was designated for assignment by the New York Yankees. Hicks was vital in helping Toronto reach the postseason for the third time in four years after coming over in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals at the 2023 deadline. In terms of Grichuk, the former Blue Jay managed to put together some solid seasons with Toronto in their eventual return to contention by 2020.

Overall, Chicago is hoping that some of their previous proven success with the Blue Jays can ultimately transfer over and help them this season. As for Toronto, it could make for an even greater reunion event the next time the White Sox and Blue Jays meet this season.

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