The White Sox made an intriguing move recently, as they traded Oliver Dunn to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for left handed pitcher Joe Rock.
Dunn was having a pretty good season with the Charlotte Knights, as he hit .295 with 9 home runs and 34 RBIs. The Rays were clearly impressed, as they quickly promoted him to their major league team. So far in six games, he’s hitting .125 with one RBI.
For the White Sox, Rock is a very intriguing acquisition. With the lefties outside of Sean Newcomb in the bullpen struggling, Rock could soon be getting valuable innings in Chicago.
Rock has appeared in 7.2 major league innings, posting a very solid 2.35 ERA. He struck out 11 batters and walked just two in those innings. That came over three separate appearances with the Rays last season. Outside of that, Rock has spent parts of six seasons in the minor leagues.
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Over his minor league career, he has a 4.70 ERA over 472 innings. He has struck out 495 batters and owns a 1.38 WHIP. These elevated numbers have come while Rock was a starter, but he has recently transitioned to a relief pitcher.
That change has seemed to improve Rock’s statline, as he has been very effective since joining the White Sox organization. In five innings over two appearances, Rock hasn’t given up a run and has struck out five batters. He has given up two hits and zero walks. This is a very good start to his White Sox minor league career.
The recent acquisition for Oliver Dunn, Joe Rock, made the start for the #Knights on Friday. He tosses 2 clean innings as an opener striking out 2 on 15k/23p. He does not factor in the decision. pic.twitter.com/SJAxQI1Pzs
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) May 23, 2026
Rock has the draft pedigree, as he was selected 68th overall by the Colorado Rockies in the 2021 MLB draft. Now, just 25 years old, Rock will look to break back into the major leagues with the White Sox.
This season Rock owns a very impressive 14 K/9 ratio, which is great to see from a lefty. Those are high level numbers. However, Rock has also walked 7 batters per nine innings, which isn’t very good. But, Rock hasn’t walked someone in a Charlotte Knights uniform, so perhaps he was able to make some adjustments with the White Sox staff.
Overall, this is a solid move for the White Sox, as you can always use depth at the left handed reliever spot. If Tyler Gilbert doesn’t pitch well in his most recent stint with the team, Rock could make his way up to Chicago to get a chance to show off what he can do.
Hopefully the recent switch to reliever and a fresh start can unlock something with Rock, as he has the potential to be a solid reliever in the major leagues.
