The White Sox have claimed righty Maikel Cleto off of waivers from the Royals, the team announced via Twitter. In a corresponding move, Chicago has designated infielder Jake Elmore for assignment.
Cleto, 24, was exposed to waivers by the Royals, who had picked him up from the Cardinals back in June. The hard-throwing youngster has spent most of his time in the minors, but has thrown 15 2/3 MLB innings over the last three years, posting an ugly 10.34 ERA in that limited action. Over 91 1/3 inings of work at the Triple-A level last year, including ten starts, Cleto registered a 5.52 ERA with 8.8 K/9 an 7.3 BB/9 (the latter being by far the worst mark of his career).
The 26-year-old Elmore got 136 plate appearances with the Astros last year, putting up a .242/.313/.325 line. Interestingly, though he had done a lot of damage on the basepaths in the minors, Elmore was a disappointing 1-for-7 in steal attempts in 2013. Elmore's recent minor-league numbers — .344/.442/.465 (2012) and .299/.382/.433 (2013) — show that he has some pop that has not yet emerged at the MLB level.
This guy has heat but no control. Going to be a lot of base on balls when he is pitching!!!
I wonder if the the Astros will claim Jake and bring him back. They need some more infield depth, especially someone with potential for a replacement level bat that can play anywhere.
Elmore played every single position last year, including a perfect inning pitched and several DH appearances.
I was going to say “Not catcher,” but he did play four innings behind the plate. Wow.
He actually pitched and caught in the same game. I think he’s one of just a few to have done that in MLB.
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