director of the Rangers' farm system, Marty Scott, referred to Eyre as "one of the top left-handers in the organization". Despite a midseason slump, Eyre finished the season with an 11–7 record, a 3.45 ERA, and 154 strikeouts in innings. The Rangers, still concerned about his slender frame, devised an exercise regimen for Eyre to build muscle mass and upper body strength during the offseason. On March 29, 1994, the Rangers traded Eyre to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for shortstop Esteban Beltre. His season with the Class A South Bend Silver Hawks came to a premature end that August after suffering a torn ligament in his arm during a game. Before the injury, Eyre had pitched in 19 games and innings for South Bend, posting an 8–4 record, 3.47 ERA, and 111 strikeouts in the process. During the offseason, Eyre underwent a type of Tommy John surgery in which a different ligament from his right calf was surgically grafted into his arm, limiting mobility in both limbs., He spent most of the following year rehabilitating from the torn ligament, with a handful of appearances in the Gulf Coast League (GCL). In nine GCL games, Eyre went 0–2 with a 2.30 ERA and struck out 40 batters in innings. In 1996, Eyre joined the Double-A Birmingham Barons, with whom he went 12–7 with a 4.38 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 27 games and innings. Chicago White Sox (1997–2000) Eyre started the 1997 season in Birmingham once again, going 13–5 before receiving his first major league call-up on August 1 as a replacement for Wilson Alvarez, who had been traded to the San Francisco Giants. He faced Nelson Cruz of the Anaheim Angels, who was also making his MLB debut that night. Eyre, who needed directions from a local cameraman to find the White Sox clubhouse before the game, allowed six runs and six hits in the first innings of a 9–1 loss to the Angels. Eyre picked up his first major league win two weeks later, with six hits and two runs in five innings of a 5–2 victory against the Angels on August 14. Unlike fellow call-up Carlos Castillo, who spent the remainder of the season in the Chicago bullpen, Eyre remained part of an unusually young starting rotation for the White Sox through the end of the year. At 25 years old, he was only one year