The White Sox have signed left-hander Ricardo Sánchez to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com.
Sánchez, 26 in April, has already bounced around a fair bit in his career. He started with the Angels but has since been traded to the Braves, then to the Mariners and claimed off waivers by the Cardinals.
That latter transaction came in February of 2020, which proved to be a rollercoaster of a year for Sánchez. After the opening of the season was delayed by COVID-19, Sánchez tested positive for the virus in July. He was later cleared to return to action and was recalled, making his MLB debut in August. He tossed 5 1/3 innings over three appearances with a 6.75 ERA. Unfortunately, he went to the injured list later in the season due to pain in his throwing elbow and was outrighted off the roster at season’s end.
That elbow pain led to Tommy John surgery for Sánchez in October of 2020, wiping out his entire 2021 season. He was able to return to the mound last year, pitching in Triple-A for both the Phillies and the Tigers. His return from that missed season didn’t go especially well, as he posted a 4.95 ERA in 116 1/3 innings over 26 starts. His 19.8% strikeout rate was subpar but he got grounders on roughly half the balls in play and his 7.9% walk rate was solid. It’s possible he deserved better than that ERA suggests, as his 67.8% strand rate on the year was on the unlucky side, leading to a 4.45 FIP.
Sánchez is still young and was identified as an intriguing prospect as a teenager. Baseball America considered him the #3 prospect in the Angels’ system going into 2015. Many years have passed since then but the southpaw threw 146 Double-A innings in 2019 with a 4.44 ERA and 3.40 FIP. After two mostly lost seasons, he didn’t quite match that production in 2022, but perhaps he will find better results now that he’s further removed from his lengthy absence.
For the White Sox, starting depth is a notable area of the club’s overall outlook. They should have a strong front four in Dylan Cease, Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn and Michael Kopech, but things get a little murky after that. They signed Mike Clevinger in the offseason to a one-year deal, though it’s possible he could be facing a suspension at some point since he’s under investigation for domestic violence allegations. Beyond that group, the club’s depth options on the 40-man roster include Davis Martin, Jonathan Stiever, A.J. Alexy and Jimmy Lambert. That’s a fairly inexperienced group at the MLB level, with none of them having reached 65 innings yet in their respective careers.
Sánchez will give the club a bit of starting depth without taking up a roster spot. If he’s able to earn his way back on at some point, he has less than a year of service time but he is out of options, meaning he wouldn’t be able to be sent back down to the minors without first being exposed to waivers.
I didn’t realize how mid the White Sox rotation was until just now.
This guy has been around forever
Davis Martin is solid as a 5. Also have the potential to stretch out Reyno or Jimmy Lambert.
Dumpy, why would you say Davis ‘is solid? Solid! Really? Based on what?
He had a 4.83 ERA as a rookie. That’s a guy almost every team in the league would gladly pencil in as a #5.
Really? A 4.83 ERA shouldn’t be acceptable for a major league pitcher. Pitchers in the majors should have no higher than a 3.00 ERA. Sanchez’s 4.44 is ridiculous. These high ERAs being deemed good enough for big league ball is the reason why there shouldn’t be any more expansion. There aren’t enough quality major leaguers to go around as it is.
Pitched 3 games with the Cardinals back in 2020
Living off of that reputation from ages ago. This is one area ,imo, that has not advanced as much as it should in organizational thinking.
Over 3 years, 2 prospects, one a former top 100 prospect that has never produced, one not, but produces much more. The top 100 is sometimes more regarded. Craziness. At some point, results matter.
I recall one pitcher top 100 4 times that never did anything successful
in the mlb but kept bouncing around. Can’t recall name. Was with bos and atl.
The White Sox are an organization in dire need of a complete make over in the Front Office. They are truly the definition of Insanity…doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result
Another wreck of an acquisition that is right in Reinsdorf’s wheelhouse.
Did they do this because they got a heads=up on Clevinger?
Clevanger had the heads up 9 months ago, yet the Sox just couldn’t figure that one out in time.
Oh yeah Dicko Sanchez here to eat some innings
What do you all think the over under for the White Sox is for this season?
Over 90 wins!
Opposing pitchers will soil their pants when they face the Sox lineup!
A slimmed down Eloy.
Colas is a monster!
Grandal is back!
30+ HR’s for Vaughn and Robert Jr. each!
TA#7 will bat .330
Yada!
Dream on !!!
Love the move! Once Ethan Katz gets done with him we will have a guy who can give us some innings in the dog days of summer.
Front four of the starting rotation is on par with any front four starters in baseball.
Once I thought this kid would be an amazing pitcher. He fit the profile for a prospect.
I don’t get why some people are against the move. It’s not like the Sox are penciling him into the rotation. There’s almost no risk here, so let’s see if their coaching staff can fix him. Every team makes depth signings like this and takes fliers on guys who used to be well regarded but have fallen off. It probably won’t amount to much, but for the cost, I don’t see the downside of trying.
A good pitching coach and new manager can do wonders