Braves acquire Duncan Davitt from White Sox

It was well-documented that Chicago was searching for some catching help and they managed to pry Bart away from Atlanta in exchange for a pitching prospect in Davitt who has made a pair of relief appearances in the big leagues this season. It’s not a massive deal, but one that should help the White Sox avoid disaster at catcher while Kyle Teel (ankle) is on the injured list.

Davitt was just recalled for Sunday’s game, and he gave up a run on two hits in his inning of work; although he did pick up his first MLB strikeout in the process. He could be back before the end of 2026, but it’s far from a guarantee.

The White Sox had a spot open on their active roster after Saturday’s trade with the Mariners, so Davitt gets another chance to show what he can do at the big league level. The 26-year-old righty has pitched just once with the big league club this season, allowing a work in a scoreless inning of work.

Davitt gets the boot with the White Sox set to recall Jonathan Cannon to work behind opener Grant Taylor on Sunday. Davitt will likely be an up-and-down arm throughout 2026.

It’s the first trip to the big leagues for the 26-year-old hurler. Davitt was originally an 18th round selection by the Rays from the 2022 draft class and joined the White Sox in last season’s deadline deal that sent Adrian Houser to the Rays. Davitt holds a miserable 7.88 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and an 11/5 K/BB ratio over eight innings in two starts at Triple-A Charlotte this season. It’s unclear if he’ll take Shane Smith’s spot in the rotation on Sunday or if he’ll function as a long man out of the bullpen. Either way, he can be ignored for fantasy purposes.

McDougal, one of the team’s top pitching prospects, had a 3.26 ERA and a 136/49 K/BB in 113 1/3 innings between high-A and Double-A last season. He’ll head back to Double-A to begin 2026. Davitt was one of the three prospects the White Sox got from the Rays in the Adrian Houser deal. He had a 5.03 ERA in nine starts in Triple-A after being acquired, but the White Sox still didn’t want to risk another team grabbing him in the Rule 5 draft.

Davitt is a 25-year-old starter at Triple-A, who posted a 4.08 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 105/21 K/BB ratio in 103 2/3 innings for Tampa Bay. The numbers aren’t bad, but he was not inside Tampa Bay’s top 30 prospects and relies on deception from his fastball/slider combination to get outs. There’s a chance he makes his MLB debut at some point this summer.