White Sox Re-Sign Ryan Burr, Caleb Frare

The White Sox have re-signed right-hander Ryan Burr and lefty Caleb Frare to minor league contracts and invited them to Major League Spring Training, tweets Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Both were non-tendered yesterday but quickly rejoined the organization on new minor league pacts that don’t require the Sox to allocate a spot on the 40-man roster.

Burr, 25, pitched 19 2/3 innings for the ChiSox in 2019 and posted a 4.58 ERA with a 20-to-8 K/BB ratio and a 47.4 percent ground-ball rate in that time. He throws fairly hard, averaging 95 mph on his heater, but he wasn’t able to generate many swinging strikes in his limited time in the big leagues (8.4 percent). The Arizona State product was a star closer in college and has a strong minor league track record (2.02 ERA, 10.8 K/9 in 173 1/3 innings), so the Sox are surely glad to get him back in the organization as a depth piece.

Frare, meanwhile, has logged 9 2/3 innings with the Sox over the past two seasons with 12 punchouts against eight walks. The 26-year-old was acquired from the Yankees prior to the 2018 deadline in a swap that sent international funds to New York, but his 2019 campaign in Triple-A was the worst of his career. Frare whiffed an impressive 34 hitters in just 22 1/3 innings, but he also issued 19 walks, hit three batters and allowed five homers en route to a 7.33 ERA. He’s dominated up through Double-A in the minors and routinely posts big strikeout totals, however, so perhaps he can eventually unlock something more at the game’s top levels.