Former Guardians pitching prospect lands with familiar American League Central foe

Last April, Doug Nikhazy stepped onto the mound at Progressive Field for a start against the Boston Red Sox. 

At the time, it seemed it was going to be the first start of many in Nikhazy’s Guardians career. 

Now it looks like it’s going to be his one and only. On Monday the Guardians announced that Nikhazy had been claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox, who immediately sent him to Triple-A. 

The Guardians had designated Nikhazy for assignment last week to make room for Kolby Allard on the 40-man roster. 

Former Guardian Doug Nikhazy gets new lease on life with White Sox 

While Nikhazy was ranked in the MLB Pipeline’s list of the top 30 prospects in the Guardians’ system three separate times (2023, 2024 and 2025), his lone MLB action came last season in the form of two appearances. 

He allowed six earned runs in three innings in that aforementioned debut against the Red Sox (which came after he was called up as the team’s 27th man) before tossing a scoreless inning of relief against the Tigers on July 4. 

Although he has a strong makeup, he’s a bit of a tweener when it comes to his role. After opening his career as a full-time starter, he’s made at least one relief appearance in each of the past three seasons, along with making his appearance out of the Guardians’ bullpen against the Tigers. 

The Guardians initially added him to their 40-man roster after the 2024 season, and elected to keep him on it this offseason through their roster shuffling. 

His best season came in 2024 when he had a 2.98 ERA in 123 2/3 innings across stints with Double-A and Triple-A. 

His numbers took a big step back last season, as he had a 5.02 ERA with an 11.1% walk rate and 22.5% strikeout rate. 

There never seemed to be enough room for him in the Guardians’ rotation thanks to the ascendance of guys like Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee, while Allard stood in his way as the longman in the bullpen. 

But now he’ll get a chance to make an impression with a White Sox team that’s on a (slight) rise.

While Chicago’s still destined for another season that should finish in the AL Central basement, they finally have a clear identity and a roster filled with intriguing players instead of veterans holding onto their last big league opportunity. 

Although Nikhazy’s time with the club will start in Triple-A Charlotte, it may not be long until we see him in the bigs. It just remains to be seen if that will happen in the starting rotation or bullpen.