April 27: Sims cleared waivers and declined an outright assignment to Triple-A in favor of free agency, according to a career record at MiLB.com. He can still sign with any club.
April 23: The White Sox overhauled their bullpen on Thursday, announcing the veteran righty Lucas Sims selected for assignment. The right hand Tyler Davis had his contract optioned to Triple-A Charlotte and will join the big league relief team.
Sims, who turns 32 next month, pitched 10 innings for the South Siders before this morning’s DFA. He was tagged in seven runs (five earned) on nine hits, seven walks and a hit batter. He walked 10 of 46 batters (21.7%), but his relentless command resulted in 17.4% of his opponents reaching base without even needing to put the ball in play.
The White Sox added Sims to a minor league deal over the winter. He had a good spring, pitching six shutout innings with three hits, three walks and eight strikeouts, but he didn’t make the Opening Day lineup. He started the season in Charlotte and threw a scoreless frame before being drafted to the majors when the Sox parted with the Rule 5 pick. Jedixson Paez.
A veteran of 10 major league seasons, Sims has more than six years of career experience. He was a relief middle and eventual setup arm in his prime in Cincinnati, posting a combined 3.93 ERA in 183 1/3 innings from 2019-23. Sims struck out 31.9% of opponents in that span but was more prone to free passes, issuing walks at a 12.2% clip.
Sims tallied 39 points and four saves in 2023-24, but 2025 with the Nationals saw his hot command drop to unfathomable levels. Sims walked more than 19% of his opponents (14 of 72) and struck out seven more batters before being released to Washington. This year’s command was better than that low point, but Sims walked or struck out more than 15% of the 1429 batters he faced in the majors. It is unlikely that he would end up with a central command over a sample of any note.
The White Sox will have five days to trade Sims or place him on waivers entirely. If they go the waiver route, that will be an additional 48-hour process, meaning his DFA will be resolved within one week.
As for Davis, he will be making his major league debut for the first time taking the mound. The 27-year-old was never drafted, instead signing with the Sox out of the independent Pioneer League in 2024, while playing for the Oakland Ballers. He is a Sam Houston State product who has pitched 103 innings of professional ball since signing. During that time, Davis posted a 3.41 earned run average with a 27.1% strikeout rate and a 12.4% walk rate.
Davis has some experience as a first baseman as well, having worked as a two-way player in college. However, focus on throwing only the contact ball and you’ll come up with a ChiSox four-seamer that sits at 96.4 mph in Triple-A, a splitter that averages 86.2 mph and a slider that’s about the same speed as that split.
