The White Sox announced Tuesday that they’ve signed veteran right-handed relievers Corey Knebel and Dominic Leone to minor league contracts. Both will be in big league camp as non-roster invitees.
Knebel, a client of Excel Sports Management, didn’t pitch last season after suffering a capsule tear in his shoulder with the Phillies late in the 2022 campaign. He pitched 42 2/3 innings of 3.43 ERA ball with the Phils that season and saved a dozen games. The 32-year-old been severely limited by injuries in recent years, including Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2019 season and a lat strain that sent him to the 60-day IL and kept him to just 25 2/3 innings with the Dodgers in 2021.
Lengthy as Knebel’s injury track record is becoming, there’s little questioning his ability when healthy enough to take the mound. A 2017 All-Star who saved 39 games for the Brewers and led the NL with 76 appearances, Knebel has a career 3.26 ERA and 31.8% strikeout rate in 306 2/3 MLB frames. His 11.2% walk rate is too high, but he’s worked around that flaw with plenty of missed bats and weak contact over the years. His 3.17 SIERA and 3.44 FIP both generally align with his strong ERA, and if Knebel is back to full strength he could be a nice low-cost bullpen pickup for a rebuilding ChiSox club.
Leone, also 32, pitched for the Mets, Angels and Mariners in 2023, working to a combined 4.67 ERA with a 23% strikeout rate and 11.9% walk rate in 54 innings. It wasn’t his best work by a long shot, although Leone’s 2.33 HR/9 mark and jarring 21.2% homer-to-flyball rate both seem due for regression toward his career levels (1.06 and 11.8%, respectively).
Looking beyond the shaky bottom-line results, Leone, who’s represented by ACES, maintained his velocity (95.7 mph average fastball) and posted respective swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates of 16% and 35.3% — both excellent numbers. Prior to the ’23 campaign, he’d enjoyed a nice two-year run with the Giants, working to a 2.71 ERA in 103 frames with similar K/BB numbers and velocity. The spike in home runs last season was Leone’s primary downfall, and while a potential move to the launching pad at Guaranteed Rate Field won’t help in that regard, he’s had success in homer-friendly venues like Toronto in the past. On a no-risk minor league deal, he’s a perfectly sensible addition.
The White Sox traded righty Gregory Santos and lefty Aaron Bummer this offseason, subtracting two of the only locks for their bullpen from the roster in exchange for a plethora of younger players. They also could deploy Garrett Crochet as a starting pitcher, further thinning out the bullpen mix. Knebel and Leone will join fellow veteran Jesse Chavez as the most interesting NRIs in camp this spring. That trio will compete for roster spots in a relief corps where free-agent signees John Brebbia and Tim Hill are currently the only experienced names with any semblance of consistent MLB success.
Good. Most underrated fanbase/stadium/team/history/city in all of mlb.
Overrated*
Comiskey Field is a s—hole. They actually allowed someone to get shot. They’re not even the 5th most popular Chicago team. I’m sure a lot of people would rather and women’s football team higher than the White Sox…. sorry “soccer”
A fat person hid a gun in her rolls of fat and shot herself. Facts matter
Two people were shot. Either way it’s still not a stadium. They canceled the vanilla ice concert without telling anyone. His 15 fans were highly disappointed
Wow ” 15 fas for vanilla? T5 who have time to waste?
Comiskey Field is way better than Fenway Stadium,, Yankee Coliseum, or the Dodger Dome.
Lost all credibility in your first three words.
Never heard of any of those stadiums.
Comiskey field? You’re an idiot your opinions don’t matter
‘Comiskey Field’? Cubs fans are bad enough. ‘Casual’ Cubs fans are even worse.
I’ll say this. I didn’t expect a lot when I visited and was wary of going to the area.
I really enjoyed the game experience and the stadium food. We sat next to regulars who told us the best food items and were great.
It’s not my favorite ballpark but I’d gladly go back.
Go away Kentucky. Everything you say is the opposite of the truth. Winning a playoff series in one season during the past 50 and one World Series in the past century is not an underrated “history”.
This team is a cesspool, owned by one of the cheapest human beings alive. Hence one full season over .500 in the past 10.
Used to be. Maybe one day will be again. Right now nobody loathes this team and org more than its own fans
Already contenders to be the closer.
Love having Leone in the Big Leagues! An excellent durable swingman
Give us Cease and start your rebuild in earnest!
Twins need more hitters than pitchers.
I hope Evil Knebel makes the roster.
Yawn
Give me all the Dominics!
Hope Knebel is healthy. Leone was too homer prone last year he gave up 14 longballs.
I’m a huge Sox fan, but… Right now, they are like that guy who hates his job, knows his life isn’t great, and spends his paycheck on lottery tickets. I mean, one of them could hit and he could live on Park Avenue! ;0)
It’s just too bad that hitting on one player won’t help this current White Sox team very much. They’ll need a few home runs (another recent team issue) to compete this year even in the weak AL Central.
Not to be outdone by new Asst GM Barfield (from Dbacks) suggesting trade to get Fletcher as a RF possibility, new pitching guru Bannister (from Giants) suggests Leone since his brief success was under his time in SF.
Getz at least knows what he doesn’t know in being secure enough to hire respected personnel from other organizations as a rookie GM.
We’ll see. Mena could’ve been overpay for Fletcher. Time will tell
They did that with Luis Robert Jr. and am choosing to furnish a mansion with Ikea and sidewalk furniture.
Robert was a $26M signing, so that’s a bit more expensive than the lottery tickets they’re going after now.
Gonna be a long season on the South Side. If I was a Chisox fan I would be begging them to deal Cease. His value is only gonna go down as he gets closer to free agency, and the chances of them re-signing him are close to zero.
Camikey, do you really think Cease would even consider signing again with the Chisox?
Not to even ask, if you believe Reinsdorf would offer a competitive salary bid.
I think that Cease would consider it, but they money has to be right, and as you mention, ownership isn’t likely to pony up the cash.
No deal is better than rushing to settle on a bad deal. Cease is incredibly durable, and the chances of key starters on decent teams getting hurt or FO’s realizing certain members of its rotation are unacceptably bad is basically 100%.
The guy has 2yrs of super motivation and great stuff to land a huge contract with his shark agent.
Someone will be very happy they add him.
Sure, but they almost have to deal him by this trade deadline. A team will offer WAY more in terms of prospect capital for the chance to add Cease for two playoff runs as opposed to one. In my opinion, they really have to take the best they can get for him this season, and then move onto the rebuild in earnest. Robert gives them one of the best building blocks in the game… they need to keep that dude for sure.
The first team to put a legit headliner on the table that hurts will get him. It will be in the form of a SP prospect that can pitch rather than max effort throw 100 or a well-rounded ready/near ready position player prospect (not boom or bust type). Everyone is 0-0, so no one is feeling the urge to trade yet for Cease or Marlins pitchers.
Unless the key starter who gets hurt is Cease…
Then it is. He hasn’t missed a start in his career. You don’t trade for less in that sort of fear unless the guy you have is injury prone (eg. Bieber). Fans of teams that want to add a starter like to throw it out there, but the decision makers aren’t swayed.
Wait for summer trade deadline. His bloated 2022 era due to awful defense and even worse culture is gonna go down in 24. Even though the bats will likely be lacking for this 24 squad, the defense should be unequivocally improved. So the Trade deadline very well could yield higher return. It’s always a risk though, barring injury. But his durability since his old TJ has been solid so I think it’s worth the risk.
Seems like a couple of good signings. Too bad Leone couldn’t go to the Rays. They have the history of showing guys how to better use their stuff.
Garbage signings, It’s gonna be a long fkn year on Southside. Trying to find lighting in a bottle. Bring on the 100 losses now
Well they lack pitching depth in the first place.
I am hearing that Caleb Williams is a White Sox fan. Huge if true. Absolutely Huge! Gonna have to figure out which game he is gonna throw out the first pitch at.
I’m a big Vaughn guy, but it’s time to poop or get off the pot this season. Out of excuses.
Knebel is like every other MLB player on the planet except for maybe Bellinger/Seager: great in his brief time with the Dodgers, worthless anywhere else. Surprised he didn’t go crawling back to LA like fellow trash reliever/human Joe Kelly.
That minor league Yordan Alvarez fellow also turned out pretty good that Houston got from Dodgers.
Knebel did quite well for the Brewers.
Just in.. Pedro Grifol also being replaced by the sought after Morris Buttermaker to really bring the line up together
Dont stop now boys. Sell the team or how about nashville. Bad brand of baseball your putting out there from low minors to the bigs.
ChiSox take the opener in Detroit?
How proactive are they in Detroit. Harris must be a huge Avila fan. He doesn’t have to do-nothing.
Fans will continue to pour thier hearts out in utter disappointment.
At least in Chicago, the cow will kick over a laturn now and again.
*lantern
Dmn Pokémon
Someone revive Mrs O’Learys’ cow.
Please
At least in Chicago, the cow will kick over a lantern now and again, every once in a while.
In Detroit, we just get utter disappointment.
Dominic Leone #foreverGiants also joining the Chisox
Ahh, a reminder of the ‘throw it at the wall and see what sticks’ plan in action.
I can’t get Getz drift on ” rebebuilding the Sox team. Certainly can’t seem to find some younger established but many who having been around for awhile.