This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin's White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
GLENDALE, Ariz. ¨C One year ago, Sean Burke was part of Minor League Spring Training with the White Sox, without an invite to big league camp.
And he wasn¡¯t happy.
¡°I was pissed,¡± Burke told me during a Monday morning interview at the team¡¯s Camelback Ranch facility. ¡°It¡¯s tougher too when you go from being in big league camp [in ¡®23] to not [there]. Going back to that is tougher. It just kind of helped me work harder on what I need to do and give me more motivation to get back here.¡±
¡°Here¡± is being named the White Sox Opening Day starter against the Angels on March 27 at Rate Field in a move surprising many people, including the right-hander. But don¡¯t take Burke¡¯s surprise for a lack of confidence.
Quite the opposite. He¡¯s ready for the moment, just as he was ready for his Major League debut last September after battling through an injury-plagued, injury-shortened 2023 campaign with Triple-A Charlotte and uneven results over 16 starts with the Knights in ¡¯24. His colleagues also believe.
¡°Dude, I¡¯m pumped,¡± said right-hander Davis Martin of the Burke choice. ¡°Talk about a guy who comes in and does the right things every day to be able to compete every five days. I could not be happier for Sean.¡±
"When he¡¯s on the field, he¡¯s in his own world. He¡¯s a dog on the mound,¡± said shortstop Colson Montgomery of Burke. ¡°It¡¯s just from playing multiple sports. He¡¯s a basketball player. You have to have that swagger.¡±
Montgomery and Burke have been linked since the 2021 White Sox Draft class, with Burke¡¯s third-round selection following Montgomery¡¯s first-round pick at No. 22 overall. They lived together during the offseason in Nashville, Tenn., where Montgomery now has a home, and trained together through their Bledsoe Agency.
They live together now in downtown Phoenix, along with their friend Johnny Ray, who was a 12th-round selection by the White Sox in the ¡¯21 Draft and is now part of the Angels organization. So, it only makes sense Montgomery and Ray were two of the first to know the big news when Burke received it from manager Will Venable and pitching coach Ethan Katz.
¡°He texts us and he¡¯s like, ¡®Dude, they just said I¡¯m the Opening Day starter.¡¯ We were all electric and happy for him,¡± Montgomery said. ¡°He¡¯s kind of my brother at this point. We¡¯ve been best friends for almost five years, since I was like 18 years old. So, I mean, he earned it. He deserved it. He¡¯s also been through a lot, just through shoulder issues and things like that. For him to come back and really not affect him at all and kind of keep a calm, cool mindset, I'm proud of him.¡±
There won¡¯t be a Montgomery/Burke Opening Day big league tandem, with Montgomery optioned to Charlotte one week ago. Burke said the two discussed Montgomery¡¯s temporary return to the Minors for a day or two, but nothing more with Montgomery knowing what he needs to do to reach the Majors.
¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be back here soon,¡± said Burke of Montgomery.
¡°I¡¯ve played with him a lot too,¡± Montgomery said. ¡°I like being at shortstop while he¡¯s pitching.¡±
The White Sox two through four starters should be made up of Martin, Jonathan Cannon and Mart¨ªn P¨¦rez, although neither Venable nor Katz were ready to divulge the order on Monday. All three of those veterans were in consideration for Opening Day.
Martin got the news of not being the choice before Burke was informed of becoming the team¡¯s fourth Opening Day pitcher in four years, following Garrett Crochet (2024), Dylan Cease (2023) and Lucas Giolito (2020-22). Martin was in the training room hot tub and started clapping for Burke when he saw him, quickly realizing Burke was unaware.
¡°He¡¯s like, ¡®What are you clapping about?¡¯ And I was like, ¡®Maryland, baby, they look good this year. They¡¯re in my Final Four,¡¯¡± said Martin, referring to Burke¡¯s alma mater. ¡°But we¡¯re pumped for Sean.¡±
All the starting pitchers were going to the Suns game Monday night, prior to Tuesday¡¯s off-day, and Martin told Burke they weren¡¯t bringing their wallets. Burke¡¯s friends and family have echoed the pitchers¡¯ support, as he got ¡°a million texts from people coming out¡± to Opening Day.
¡°This might be the most people I¡¯ve had for myself at a baseball game since maybe high school,¡± Burke said. ¡°It will be cool.¡±