White Sox trade 2023 first-round pick to acquire $20 million bonus pool for 2026 draft
Chicago traded Jacob Gonzalez for the 34th overall pick, giving the club a $20 million bonus pool for the 2026 draft and positioning it to sign top prospect Roch Cholowsky.
Chicago traded its 2023 first-round selection, shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, to acquire the 34th overall pick in the 2026 draft, creating a bonus pool of more than $20 million, the largest in MLB history.
General manager Chris Getz said the move was intended to “insert more talent in the draft” and to maximize the organization’s future flexibility. He added that the club wanted to “be creative and add picks and value and pool money to the draft.”
Scouting director Mike Shirley and Getz said the expanded pool will allow the White Sox to sign UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with a contract expected to set a new draft-bonus record, as well as two college hitters, Landon Thome and Cole Prosek, who required sizable bonuses to forgo college commitments.
"He’s open-minded and excited to dive in on his offensive game. We felt like if we unlock that, we’ve got an even better player than where he currently is," Getz said of Cholowsky.
"The visit he had here was pretty substantial in meeting with hitting director Ryan Fuller, understanding the comprehension of how much he understands his swing, the plan we think we can go with was pretty special," Shirley said.
Cholowsky, who hit .329/.448/.624 with 52 home runs in 178 games at UCLA, expressed confidence in Chicago’s hitting development approach, noting the staff’s focus on individual swing mechanics rather than a one-size-fits-all model.
The White Sox also selected right-handed pitchers Joey Volchko (third round) and Eric Segura (fourth round), describing Volchko as a “monster” with high-velocity potential and Segura as a “seam-effects” pitcher. Shirley indicated the club will apply its existing pitching development methods to help the newcomers refine their repertoires.
The organization’s shift from a historically pitcher-centric strategy to a greater emphasis on offense reflects both a scarcity of hitting prospects in recent trades and a belief that a deeper farm system will support future roster moves.