The White Sox are calling up top outfield prospect Braden Montgomery, a move reported June 9, 2026, at 11:18 a.m. ET that brings one of the key pieces from the Garrett Crochet trade to the majors. Chicago will have to clear room on both the 26-man roster and the 40-man roster to make the promotion work.
Montgomery, 33rd on Baseball America’s top-100 list, was the co-headliner of the blockbuster deal that sent Crochet to Boston and brought Kyle Teel to Chicago as the other centerpiece. He was drafted No. 12 overall out of Texas A&M by the Red Sox in 2024, and now he is the player the White Sox are ready to see against big-league pitching.
He reached this point by forcing the issue in 2026. Montgomery opened the season in Double-A, moved up to Triple-A during the year and appeared in 56 games before the call-up, taking 258 plate appearances across the two levels. In that span, he hit.314/.422/.548 with a 152 wRC+, along with 10 home runs, 13 doubles and three triples. He also stole five bases in 11 attempts, drew walks at a 15.1% clip and struck out 24.8% of the time.
The production explains why the White Sox are moving him now, even if the mechanics are not yet complete. Chicago still has to open space on both rosters, which means a corresponding move is coming before Montgomery can actually step onto a major league field. That leaves the final question hanging over a promotion that has been building for months: whose spot does he take when the paperwork is done?
