White Sox acquire righty Gregory Santos from Giants

The White Sox made a minor trade Thursday, acquiring right-handed reliever Gregory Santos from the Giants for minor-league right-hander Kade McClure.

Once considered a top prospect, Santos, 23, was designated for assignment Tuesday to clear space on the Giants’ 40-man roster for Sean Manaea, who signed with them last week as a free agent.

Santos went 1-2 with a 4.63 ERA and 37 strikeouts over 35 appearances and 35 innings with one save between Triple-A Sacramento and the Arizona Complex League Giants Black last season. He made two relief appearances with the big-league Giants, allowing two runs over 3 ‰ innings.

At 6-2 and 190 pounds, Santos brings

98-99 mph velocity and a hard slider but has struggled to show consistent command, with 112 walks over 254 professional innings in six seasons. Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz’s familiarity with Santos from his time in the Giants organization was a factor in the Sox’ interest.

Santos has a 3.56 ERA with 190 strikeouts over 97 appearances and 225 innings in six minor-league seasons in the Giants and Red Sox organizations. He has pitched in five major-league games with the Giants since 2021, allowing seven earned runs in 5 ‰ innings.

In June 2021, he received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance in violation of baseball’s joint drug prevention and treatment program.

The Sox drafted McClure, 28, in the sixth round in 2017. He has a 4.03 ERA in five minor-league seasons and posted a 4.97 ERA at Triple-A Charlotte in 2022.

The Sox’ 40-man roster increases to 38 players.