The White Sox have signed right-hander Cody Sedlock to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’s been assigned to the Complex League for now but will presumably move up to a higher affiliate after ramping up.
Sedlock, 29 in June, has a tiny amount of major league experience, more like a sip of coffee than a cup of coffee. He appeared in one game for the Orioles in 2022, tossing three innings. He allowed five earned runs that day while issuing one walk and striking out three opponents. After that one outing, he was outrighted off the roster and traded to the Tigers. He become a free agent at season’s end and didn’t sign anywhere for the 2023 season.
Prior to that major league debut and gap year, the righty was a notable prospect for the Orioles. Selected 27th overall in 2016, he was considered the #2 prospect in that club’s system by Baseball America in 2017. However, injuries have largely gotten in the way since then, something that Keith Law of The Athletic attributes to a heavy workload during Sedlock’s college years.
The righty tossed 101 1/3 innings for Illinois in his draft year and then another 27 frames at Low-A after being selected, but he hasn’t been able to reach 100 innings pitched in any season since then. Along the way, he had forearm and shoulder injuries and also required surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. He has a combined 4.46 earned run average in the 422 minor league innings that he’s thrown over the years, striking out 21.6% of batters while walking 10.7%.
It’s hard to know what to expect from Sedlock at this point. There will likely be some rust after sitting out all of last year but it’s also possible the rest allowed his body to recover in some way. For the Sox, there’s little harm in taking a flier on a former first-rounder to see what happens.
If Sedlock looks good after getting into game shape, he’ll give the staff some non-roster depth. The Sox have recently traded away most of the best pitchers as part of their ongoing rebuild and are likely to make make even more trades this summer since they are currently the worst team in the league at 3-15. If Sedlock gets into good form in the next few months, there could be a path for him to get back to the big leagues.
Signing the garbage nobody wants good jon Getz
That 2016 Fighting Illini team was a heck of a squad. best U of I team I have seen in my lifetime.
This post is like a full day late: fantasypros.com/mlb/news/441856/cody-sedlock-signs…
Major League Baseball is resorting to finding any available pitcher to fill the void, seemingly overlooking the fact that constant high-intensity pitching leads to health issues and shortened game appearances. This trend contrasts with the past when pitchers frequently completed full games, highlighting an evolution in player stamina and game strategies. It’s time to prioritize compensating players for consistent performance and endurance training, as sustained maximum effort is not sustainable for long-term success in any sport.
Good thing the White Sox keep picking up pitchers when they have no one that can hit the broadside of a barn… Its really sad to watch a pitcher give up 1 or 2 runs and knowing they are going to lose as their teammates are allergic to hitting.