The White Sox announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Declan Cronin. They have plenty of open roster spots after dealing Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to the Angels, Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly to the Dodgers and Kendall Graveman to the Astros.
Cronin, 25, was a 36th-round selection of the White Sox in 2019. He’s been climbing through their system since then, working exclusively as a reliever except for a one-inning stint as an opener. He got some brief professional experience in 2019 but the minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020.
Since then, he’s gone from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A, generally posting low strikeout totals but getting heaps of ground balls. He’s tossed 143 innings since the start of 2021 with a 4.09 ERA. His 18.6% strikeout rate is a few ticks below typical major league averages, while his 9.9% walk rate is slightly on the high side. However, he’s posted a ground ball rate of 53.7% or higher at every stop of the minor league ladder. The major league average is 42.5% this year.
Cronin will now get a chance to try to get major league hitters out. The Sox are busily trading from their major league roster and should use the final few weeks of the season to get a look at various younger players. Jeff Passan of ESPN relayed an amusing story today about Cronin having a chess match interrupted by the news of his call-up.
Shout out Declan’s and White Sox Dave
heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend……..Cronin has made the big time!
Vince Coleman from what I’ve heard, is on the phone with Rick Hahn as we speak.
I wonder if pharmeo has seen anyone new, around 35th and Shields.
Who heard it from another he won’t be messing around
Awesome story
Holy Cross Batman it’s a Crusader
If anything, some of these dudes they’ve just acquired can be used as trade chips for an aging overpriced veteran this off season.
Trayce Thompson is already here!
Nah they made bro end his chess game
Maybe they should let teams “rent” space on their 40 Man roster to other teams. Only kidding…
Good southside irish type name…..
Just need to unload Anderson, Moncada (doubtful) Grandall (doubtful)
At this point maybe just hang on to them and see if they can finish a little better then hopefully increase the chance for a better return in the off season.
Grandal will be FA at end of year, so if they want any return from him, he needs to be moved now. Moncada has very little value due to his back issues (if he gets healthy, he should bounce back next year), so he is going nowhere.
Anderson is intriguing option to move. Sox do hold a $14M option for next year with $1M buyout. I think Sox will hold him in hopes of big year in 2024, but with his injury issues and general bad defense, $14M seems quite hefty gamble. For the right offer, I would send him packing now. However, I expect him to still be starting SS in 2024, given management is insisting on retool rather than rebuild. Next few days will tell a lot more on thoughts of Hahn and co.
Oh, they’re gonna send TA packing. Those cheapskates don’t want to pay anyone over $3m.
TA maybe, Moncada no, Grandal YES!!!
Trade them all! Don’t stop now. Trade anyone you can get anything for. Then, hire a real GM and start over completely.
A 36th round draft pick? Perfect! What’s a good ground ball % gonna do with the defense he’s got behind him?
They SHOULD use this tike to see young guys. Then they add Bryan Shaw…
And burn options on them? Nah. They should be using the big league roster to mine for flippable players. Rule 5 guys, dfas, waiver claims – if they can find a couple that tear it up unexpectedly that they can dump for more prospects in the offseason or next year’s deadline, then thats more to the good.
Options on what, exactly? This is one of the worst farm systems in the majors. Consistently. It took a massive fire sale to even move this team into the top 10, and since that time they haven’t done anything to replenish it.
The guys you bring up are the Declan Cronins of the world, guys who stagnate at the minor league level, but have shown the ability to not get completely shelled in AAA or AA. You aren’t flipping Brian Shaw for anything, especially at this point in the season. You aren’t burning options with guys like this either. Maybe you find something usable in the pen for next year. Concerning yourself with burning rookie status on contracts for some relief pitchers that are gonna be rule 5’d next season doesn’t make any sense, especially on a team as bereft of pitching as this one.