Role
Paez had a strange 2026. The White Sox took him in the Rule 5 draft in December, he made their Opening Day roster, and he gave up 6 earned runs in three relief outings. They designated him for assignment on April 1 and sent him back. He split the summer between Portland and Worcester, and Boston added him to the 40-man roster on Sept. 1.
Outlook
At Portland he struck out 56 and walked 5 in 49 innings, though he allowed 8 homers there. He finished in Worcester with a 2.08 ERA in five starts (26 strikeouts, 3 walks). His two Boston outings went both ways: 8 runs in 3.2 innings against Seattle on Sept. 1, then 5 scoreless innings with 5 strikeouts against the Cubs on Sept. 25. His changeup got a 42.5% whiff rate per Statcast, and his fastball sat about 92.
Our take: he's 22 and he barely walks anyone. That's a starter worth keeping on the depth chart, and we think he's the first one called up when the rotation springs a leak.