The White Sox have designated right-hander Emilio Vargas for assignment, James Fegan of The Athletic tweets. His 40-man roster spot will go to lefty Carlos Rodon, who has officially re-signed.
It wasn’t a long stay on Chicago’s 40-man for Vargas, whom the White Sox claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks in the second half of November. Vargas joined the White Sox as someone without any major league experience or a high-end prospect pedigree. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote before 2020 that “Vargas is a Triple-A depth arm with a 40 fastball based on velo and a 45 fastball based on how it plays at the top of the zone.”
Vargas, who turned 24 in August, has so far topped out at Double-A ball in the minors. He has done a decent job keeping runs off the board there with 121 1/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball and 100 strikeouts against 31 walks.
Emilio Vargas is a prime candidate for the Cubs. A number 3 or 4 starter at minimum.
You do see those are AA stats, right?
Desperation is a stinky cologne.
There’s just no way he’s a 3 or a 4 at the majors right now
He’d be lucky to post a 5 ERA in the majors in 2021
Dude. He’s trolling the Cubs.
Well, the Cubs appear to be turning themselves into a AA team.
Already was. Cubs AA. That’s being generous. They suck!
I’m on it!
Back to the drawing board.
Vargas is definitely Orioles material. With probably the lowest money assigned to a team this year definitely would be a nice pickup.
Many White Sox fans wanted a better option than Carlos Rodon to compete for a spot in their 2021 starting rotation or as another power lefty in the bullpen but none should argue that their 40-man roster isn’t stronger with him on it rather than Emilio Vargas.
@Aaron Sapoznik
Well said.
I’m looking forward to see what he can do now that he’s finally healthy, whether as the 5th starter or reliever. Well, I hope he’s healthy by now.
Whether it’s Kopech, Rodon, even Lopez (quiet, people, it actually is possible for him to vastly improve as a starter, as impossible as it may seem now), or someone else not currently on the roster–the ones who aren’t the regular 5th starter by August/Sept could help make a strong bullpen even stronger.
Hendriks, Bummer, Heuer, Foster, Marshall, Crochet, Fry, and 2 or 3 of the above listed as the possible 5th starter, maybe even Lambert, Tyler Johnson, and Burdi–some combination of 8 of those pitchers should make a nice bullpen.
Vargas!
And I was like, Emiliooooo!
Why are Sox fans so worried about a 5th starter in the pitching rotation. No team I can think of spends money on a 5th starter. We have more pitching depth than most teams right now. If the Sox spend more money anywhere, it should be at RF—it’s the only “weakness” on the roster, relatively speaking. I wouldn’t call starting Eloy at LF a weakness necessarily, but he is a liability due to his susceptibility to injury. He’s probably the best hitter on the team, do DH is the best fit.
This is a comment I made earlier today in The Athletic in response to James Fegan’s article regarding the White Sox re-signing of FA Carlos Rodon:
Pitching depth is always key for any team with championship ambitions. The White Sox had it back in 2005 and needed to draw from it throughout the season, both in their rotation and especially the bullpen. The Dodgers are an even better example with all the pitching injuries they have incurred.
The 2021 season could prove even more taxing on the heels of an abbreviated 60-game ‘pandemic’ schedule, one in which there was also no minor league season. Starting pitchers weren’t stretched out last year and will now have to adjust back to a full season, be it a normal 162-game slate or a condensed 154-game delayed schedule. MLB ready prospects lost a year of minor league seasoning and the fortunate ones couldn’t make up the workload during two months at an alternate site.
It’s not out of the question that teams may elect to use some combination of a 5 and 6-man rotation in 2021, especially with pitching staffs limited to 13 pitchers among their 26-man active rosters. It might not behoove teams to burn up their bullpens so quickly and so often with starters struggling to go 5 or 6 innings through the coarse of a longer season.
With this in mind, it’s conceivable that both Carlos Rodon and Reynaldo Lopez could see ample work as starters in 2021 even in the unlikely event that the White Sox don’t suffer any injuries to the other four. Even if the team begins with a 5-man rotation it behooves them to have one of Rodon or Lopez as its bullpen longman, likely the latter with less injury concerns along with the former being a southpaw who would add greater balance to a staff that only has Dallas Keuchel throwing from the left side. Additional depth should kick in once Michael Kopech builds up his innings and shakes off the rust at AAA Charlotte after not having pitched in an official game since September 5th of 2018 due to his TJ surgery and 2020 opt-out.
I don’t trust Kopech to behave as an adult and control his narcissistic emotions for an entire season.
Go away, Vulgar!
Baseless comment.
@ ChiSox_Fanny
Baseless THIS! Kopech has a history of doing alarmingly stupid things: A 50 game minor league suspension for flunking a drug test. Also, broke his pitching hand fighting with his roommate while with the Red Sox.
The girlfriend before his wife is on record stating that he wanted to take a year apart from each other so he could have fun, but she should wait for him.
When the girlfriend declined his narcissistic offer, he married a different girl who he claimed was “the one” and that they would be together forever because she completed him. Five months later he filed for divorce.
The White Sox were concerned about him when he opted out last year because he’s a depressive with anxiety issues and gets angry often.
Try reading more than just the Comments section of an article. You’ll be amazed at what you can learn.
@Prunella Vulgaris
Unfortunately, Kopech’s head may be what leads to his undoing more than anything physical. It’s safe to say he needs professional help of some magnitude. Whether or not he resists getting help, well…
All you can hope for is he was able to clear his head a bit during his sabbatical (unpaid, of course). That’s an awful lot to hope for.
But if he can still put up good production for the Sox without doing something extremely stupid in the process, I guess that’s a better way of saying that’s all you can hope for. Sounds similar to another former employee of Reinsdorf (different sport): Dennis Rodman. Hopefully he won’t become that much of a headcase.
Aaron… no offense pal, but your entire post is chalk. Most any engaged fan agrees with what you said;common knowledge.
You still don’t really address my point though. Why spend more money on a 5tg starting pitching at this point?
Giolito, Keuchel, Lynn, Cease, Crochet, and Steiver are quality starters. Kopech SHOULD be ready at some point this year, too. That’s potentially SEVEN starters.
Throw in long relievers like Lopez and Rodon for a spot start or two, and there’s your depth. No club should ever waste money signing a FA 5th starter unless you are STACKED everywhere else. Why? 5th starters are of no use during the playoffs. If you’re using your 5th starter during a playoff game, it’s usually a bad sign. Really bad.
Obviously, the Sox are a few injuries away (Eaton, Eloy) from a depleted OF. That’s where money should be spent the next few years. I think every Sox fan agrees that a solid hitting RF and one more quality reliever should be the priority moving forward.
Actually, this just occurred to me. Getting rid of Jimmy Cordero would be an immediate upgrade (addition by subtraction). There’d be no need for an extra bullpen arm, just get him out of Chicago.
I agree there’s no point in breaking the bank on a back end guy who might not be better than them, but it’s too early to call Stiever or Crochet quality SP’s, and Cease to this point has been pretty bad.
@ChiSoxCity
The age old adage in baseball is you can never have enough pitching. This will be especially so in 2021 as argued in my comment.
I don’t disagree that the White Sox can use a boost elsewhere on their roster. I’d like to see one more bat added that can rake versus right-handed pitching, preferably a corner outfielder who can push Eloy Jimenez into more of a DH role. They can also use a little more depth at catcher heading into camp with only 4 on their roster. They may not sign one to an MLB contract but I’d expect an NRI candidate or two in the coming weeks who have some defensive acumen.
I’m not on board with your last sentence that “every Sox fan agrees that a solid hitting RF and one more quality reliever should be the priority moving forward.” I believe the White Sox have ample quality and depth in their bullpen as presently constructed including some strong young power arms who will serve as solid insurance policies at AAA Charlotte. A corner OF or even two could be a priority in the coming years depending on the role the organization sees with Eloy going forward. The Sox should be fine in 2021 with the two Adam’s (Eaton and Engel) sharing RF although I would still like to see one more bat added to the outfield mix for the corners and perhaps DH as previously stated. I believe Yasiel Puig would be a great get on a cheap make-good one year contract with his moderate reverse splits that have shown he hits RHP very well and is still better versus LHP than Eaton.
Stiever has two starts above A ball and Crochet wasn’t even a full-time starter in college. No idea how you reach the conclusion the are quality starters.
The Sox have passed on signing Puig at least two times, so I think that ship has sailed.
Relief pitchers are volatile (wildly inconsistent from one year to the next). Young power arms even more so, for various reasons (injury, control issues, etc.). So, the more proven arms in your pen (Colome, Hand, Yates, etc.) the better.
Say what you want about Cease. The fact is, young starters need innings to develop. Adding free agent backend starters when you’re loaded with young starters is just a waste of resources.
Lastly, Eaton is not a reliable everyday player at this point. Plus his bat is anemic, hence the one year contract. RF is too important a position to waste on platooning (mediocre) players. Replacing Eloy in LF is a plus-plus move with virtually anyone on the roster, because it keeps your best hitter healthy (more plate appearances). That’s really all the Sox need to do until the offseason.
The White Sox front office has long been connected to Yasiel Puig going back to his early days as a Dodger. The same was true regarding his OF teammate Joc Pederson. The Dodgers wouldn’t move either until Puig was dealt to the Reds prior to his 2019 walk season. They held on to Pederson through their championship run last year and then he hit free agency.
The White Sox seriously considered Puig as a free agent last offseason but they passed when he was looking for a multi-year contract with a substantial AAV which no team was willing to meet as things turned out. The front office then veered to the trade market and acquired younger and cheaper Nomar Mazara instead and we all know how that worked out.
We have also learned in recent days that Pederson was offered a $10MM FA contract by the White Sox this past December but he opted to take a $7MM deal from the Cubs last week instead, reportedly because he was assured regular playing time in LF.
With only 3 weeks remaining before spring training begins, time is running out for Puig to sign while the number of options left for the White Sox to add a versatile OF bat who can RHP is also dwindling. It may still be a long shot for Puig and the White Sox to finally connect but the odds should be improving with each passing day. Of all the reported White Sox options this offseason I still believe that Puig and Red Sox LF Andrew Benintendi are among the best fits to not only improve their overall outfield defense but also to provide a potent, higher contact OBP bat to a batting order that still tends to strike out too much. Each would also offer more athleticism and speed to the their lineup than many of those other options.
The White Sox bullpen has more than enough depth unless the front office actually does pursue a trade for a bat like Benintendi. The Red Sox need starters and relievers which is why names like Reynaldo Lopez, Cody Heuer and Matt Foster have all been linked to a potential trade with Boston, not too mention an outfielder who can play CF like Adam Engel. If the White Sox deal from their bullpen surplus to shore up a potential need on their current roster like an outfield bat or a solid defensive minded backup catcher then I could see them pursing another bullpen arm in free agency. It should also be noted that only Alex Colome remains available of the FA bullpen arms you mentioned.
We’ve already discussed the need for more depth in the starting rotation this season and most of the commenters here disagree with your take.
As for Adam Eaton, you must be assuming he will be injured which is not an outrageous assumption on your part. When Eaton is healthy his bat has never been “anemic”. This includes all his time spent in Washington to say nothing of the numbers he posted with the White Sox. Check out the offensive numbers ‘Spanky’ posted in his one full season with the Nats in their championship 2019 season and tell us all they wouldn’t work for the White Sox in 2021. Eaton also played an instrumental role in the Nats postseason run when he produced his best numbers in the NLCS and the World Series. If it wasn’t for Stephen Strasburg’s outstanding pitching, Eaton might have been selected the 2019 World Series MVP. The White Sox will comfortably roll with the two Adam’s in RF this season if they don’t supplement them and Eloy Jimenez with an additional bat. If they do, I still like Puig and Benintendi as shorter term solutions until the White Sox figure out their long term corner OF configuration in 2022 or 2023. This year figures to be a crossroad season for both Puig and Benintendi wherever they play. The same could be said for all of the OF prospects on the White Sox 40-man roster, each of whom can figure into the team’s long term plans with a strong season at AAA. The organization will also get a good look at their recent international signing, top Cuban OF Yoelqui Cespedes who is 23 and will be on a fast track to his MLB debut.
Crochet has the stuff to start, but only a thinking fan would see this.
Aaron, thanks for the recap, but you’re not acknowledging the fact Puig’s been a free agent since ‘19, and they still haven’t signed him. He ain’t coming.
I know he has the stuff to start. But he’s never actually, you know, been a major league starter. You can’t say someone can do something before they actually do it. A lot of players with great stuff aren’t quality starters.
Puig was a free agent for the first time last offseason. The White Sox were seriously considering him to play RF in 2020. The front office met with Puig and his reps during the December winter meetings and were said to be impressed. Prior to their sit-down they had already vetted Puig with their top-two veteran Cubans, recently signed FA Yasmani Grandal who was a former teammate of his with the Dodgers along with Jose Abreu who had just re-signed with the White Sox.
Puig may not sign with the White Sox but it shouldn’t be for lack of playing time like Joc Pederson who was a clear platoon option when he rejected the ChiSox $10M offer in December. If Puig signed he would have a clear path to regular PA’s by starting every game in the OF, be it in LF, RF or a combination of both. Eloy Jimenez would also get everyday PA’s as the primary DH versus RHP and in LF when a southpaw started. Adam Eaton would start every game in one of the OF corners when a RHP was on the mound.
I’m not betting the house on Puig signing with the White Sox but I remain fairly confident they will add one bat with a track record of hitting RHP before opening day. They might find that bat in a trade (Andrew Benintendi?) or at minimum bring back Nomar Mazara on a cheap one year contract, similar to what they did with Carlos Rodon after non-tendering him last December.
@Aaron Sapoznik
I could handle a Puig signing (though he may be a bit rusty). He’s not in a position to command huge money, so the Sox could easily afford him.
As bad as he was in ’20, Mazara wouldn’t be a horrible move either. He will be very cheap and hungry to avenge his disaster of a season. The worst thing that could happen with this signing would be he still doesn’t have it and they cut him.
Either of these two could work for a veteran presence for those who hate the idea of having Collins and/or Mercedes as the DH until Vaughn comes up. Personally, I’m fine with Collins/Mercedes as the DH (especially since I think Vaughn will be up sooner than later), but I’m apparently in the minority here.
If you really think RF is where to spend money, work out a deal to get Heyward. Still great in the field, better hitter at this point than the guys they are going to platoon. Likely could get some of the remaining $ paid too.
We have Engel who is a better fielder and probably a better hitter for way less money. What would we need Jason Heyward for?
If the White Sox really want to invest their Manny Machado dollars into the perfect fit for their batting order, RF and the clubhouse they should call the Brewers and see if Christian Yelich would waive his no-trade clause to join a team that actually has a chance to be something special in the next 5+ years. It isn’t going to happen in Milwaukee, in large part because of the 9 yrs/$215M extension that Yelich signed last March to be a Brewer for life.
Some White Sox fans were clamouring for Rick Hahn to make a trade for Milwaukee reliever Josh Hader earlier this offseason before the team signed FA Liam Hendricks, despite his high cost in talent. Many fans kept the same notion alive when rumors surfaced that Milwaukee might also be willing to unload 26-year old SP Corbin Burnes for an equally outrageous price, even willing to part with core 2B Nick Madrigal in addition to other prospect capital. I thought both ideas were insane. However, if the White Sox are willing to break their prospect bank for one Brewer it should be Yelich. Considering what the Rockies just got for Nolan Arenado and the fact they also had to chip in $50M to St. Louis, perhaps a trade for Yelich won’t be so prohibitive after all.
The Sox don’t have the depth to trade for a Yelich type player.
Seriously? Last I checked the White Sox still have a top-10 farm system, better than the Cardinals who managed to pry Nolan Arenado away from the Rockies and the Mets who did the same with Francisco Lindor AND Carlos Carrasco from the Indians. Neither of those teams relinquished their most elite prospects either. These days it’s more about the dollars exchanging hands than actual talent with few teams willing to part with their very best prospects. Yet trades still happen, for All-Star and even generational veteran players.
@Aaron Sapoznik
Not saying it will ever happen, but Yelich would definitely check the box for the final piece. For Yelich, I would actually have Vaughn as part of that trade if that’s what it would take, as much as I am salivating over what Vaughn could do for the Sox. Like you said, it very well may not take top prospects to get a deal like this done.
Like you said, Yelich would have to waive his no-trade clause. Who knows if this is even a possibility (well, only Yelich knows).
Again, not saying it will ever happen, but I like the way you think.
They will not be too ten by the All-Star break. Madrigal and Crochey will absolutely graduate, Kopech is probable to do so, and there is an outside change even Vaughn get an early call up. Once even the first three graduate, this is a system in the 20s. Scouts and analysts have already said this.
@maximumvelocity
And that’s expected when the rest of your blue chips from a rebuild (especially a deep one) graduate. But good point.
Their best prospects once those 4 are up will probably be Kelley and Cespedes (maybe Steiver). Not bad prospects by any means, but definitely not a top 10 (or even top 20) MiLB system at that point. But with all the top prospects in Chicago at that point, not as big of a deal for the MiLB system.
My point is the asset depth of the organization is smoke and mirrors.
They aren’t going to trade any of the top four because they need them, but the depth falls off a cliff after those four, which limits what they can do in terms of
That’s what makes the relative lack of free agent signing more frustrating, because this is the best time to fill holes. They may not have the capital to make any significant trades unless they are willing to deal one of those top four, or unless other players make major strides.
So yes, the lack of depth is a big deal. They are attempting to win this year by defying the odds at some positions and leaving no room for injuries or error.
@maximumvelocity
I don’t know how many teams that could lose a star at a specific position and just plug one of their minor leaguers in there and not miss a beat. It depends on how many injuries and how severe those injuries are whether or not a team can overcome those injuries. If half your lineup and several SPs go down for significant amounts of time, I don’t know if any team can still steamroll through their opponents like nothing happened.
Absolutely the Sox could use more depth in MiLB, but you have fistfuls of stars or potential stars either up or about to graduate from MiLB. Very few MiLB systems are that loaded that you could list 9 guys (Robert, Eloy, Yoan, Madrigal, Vaughn, Giolito, Cease, Kopech, Crochet) that can easily be stars out of a rebuild. And that’s 10 guys if you count TA as part of the rebuild.
I could even throw Cespedes in there even though we have no idea how well or bad he will do. He may be horrible, but obviously there’s a reason he was ranked the #1 int’l prospect. And that’s also assuming Lopez doesn’t become a stud in relief, which could happen.
This is why it’s not that big of a deal for the lack of depth with the graduation of the top prospects later this year.
Who are you trading for Yelich? That is the issue.