Chicago White Sox place struggling starter Davis Martin on the 15-day IL with a blister on his right hand

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DETROIT — A blister affected Chicago White Sox starter Davis Martin in Thursday’s outing that ended with an ejection.

A day later, the right-hander landed on the 15-day injured list with the blister on his right middle finger.

“We decided that there’s a good chunk of skin gone, how that’s going to affect me throwing the baseball?” Martin said Friday afternoon. “A lot of questions popped up where it made sense to put me on the IL and get it taken care of.”

Martin’s IL stint was one of several moves announced by the American League Central-leading Sox ahead of a big three-game series against the second-place Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. The Sox brought up pitchers José Urquidy and Tyler Schweitzer from Triple-A Charlotte and optioned right-hander Tanner McDougal to Charlotte.

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Later Friday, the Sox claimed catcher Jake Rogers off waivers from the Boston Red Sox and designated left-hander Joe Rock for assignment.

Martin was tossed out of Thursday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning after hitting Sal Stewart with a pitch. It was the second straight pitch that was near Stewart’s head. The benches and bullpens emptied as the first baseman, who had homered in the first inning, took umbrage with the pitches.

“I know that we had some communication with the league after that, just expressing where we were at with everything that happened,” manager Will Venable said. “And really, still, you look at the play, you look at what happened and you understand the optics. The reality is he has a finger blister that just landed him on the IL, he’s getting treated for before that inning and it impacted his command and was really unfortunate.

“So hopefully the league takes all those things into consideration.”

Martin is 9-6 with a 4.32 ERA in 24 starts. He has 111 strikeouts in 125 innings. He has been struggling lately, allowing 19 runs over his last four starts. Opponents have been getting to him early during that stretch, scoring 15 of those runs in the first inning.

“I think a different change of perspective, taking a step back real quick,” Martin said. “From a physical standpoint, from a mental standpoint, all of it is going to be good. Just attacking like I would anything else. Be ready to go when my number is called again.”

McDougal was one of the four Sox pitchers to see action after Martin on Thursday. The rookie allowed one run, walked three and hit a batter in one-third of an inning during his major-league debut.

Venable said there were a number of takeaways for McDougal after his first major-league stint. He was called up Saturday.

“The No. 1 thing for him will be understanding what the emotions feel like, being able to deal with that,” Venable said. “And then really quickly got exposed for not being able to attack the zone, and I think that that will be a priority for him.”

This is Schweitzer’s fifth stint with the Sox this season. And Urquidy is getting his first look with them after being acquired on July 26 from the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor-league pitcher Félix Doroteo.

Urquidy, 31, is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in three starts with Charlotte. He has plenty of major-league experience, including time with the Tigers.

“I’m very happy for this opportunity,” Urquidy said before Friday’s game. “I feel in a good shape to compete as a starter, reliever, whatever.”

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The right-hander came into Friday 27-17 in 86 career appearances (70 starts) over seven big-league seasons with the Houston Astros (2019-23), Tigers (2025) and Pirates (2026). He has a career 4.07 ERA, two saves and 335 strikeouts in 413 2/3 innings.

“I think on every fifth day, and potentially in between, we can lean on him and look for him to cover bulk,” Venable said. “That could be at the front end of the game, that could be in the middle or the back end of the game. So a lot of versatility with him.”

Rogers, 31, is another player with Tigers ties. He has a career .199 average with 44 doubles, 47 home runs and 140 RBIs in 373 games during six major-league seasons with the Tigers (2019, ’21, ’23-26), Baltimore Orioles (2026) and Red Sox (2026).

He was designated for assignment Tuesday after going 3-for-6 with two doubles, two RBIs, two walks and four runs in three games with the Red Sox. Rogers is hitting .183 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 42 games this season between Tigers, Orioles and Red Sox.

He potentially could join the team Saturday.

“Really good defensive catcher,” Venable said. “And … to be able to add depth to our catching unit is really important for us. A guy who has had a lot of success in this league, really understands what it means to help a pitcher navigate a game, defensively really good, still productive against left-hand pitching.”

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