May 20: The team has now formally announced both moves. Keller’s weeklong DFA window will begin today.
May 19: The White Sox are designating right-hander Brad Keller for assignment, James Fegan of Sox Machine reports (links to X). Dominic Leone is being activated from the 15-day injured list to take Keller’s spot on the active roster.
After three increasingly rough seasons with the Royals, Keller caught on with Chicago on a minor league deal over the offseason and that contract was selected to the big league roster at the end of April. Keller’s five games in a Sox uniform have consisted of two starts and three relief appearances, and his most recent outing saw him allow five earned runs to the Yankees over four innings of work in yesterday’s 6-1 Chicago loss.
That boosted Keller’s ERA to 4.86 over 16 2/3 total frames, with an underwhelming 17.7% strikeout rate and an okay 7.9% walk rate. Keller’s 56.1% grounder rate is impressive but he has also benefited from a .231 BABIP and been hit hard when he hasn’t been able to keep the ball on the ground. Over his small sample size of work, Keller has allowed five home runs, including four from the Yankees yesterday.
To be fair, Keller had a 2.84 ERA in his 12 2/3 innings before facing New York, and he is hardly the first pitcher to have problems with the dangerous Yankees lineup. While this move might seem like something of a quick trigger from the White Sox, it could be that the team is looking to open a rotation spot for Jared Shuster, who has looked very sharp in multi-inning relief outings this season. Since the Sox are obviously looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, they could simply see more value in letting Shuster pitch more meaningful innings now, and parting ways with a veteran like Keller who isn’t in their long-term plans.
It should be noted that Keller’s 2023 season was cut short by thoracic outlet syndrome, and he underwent TOS surgery last October. While the procedure has led to diminished results for many pitchers in their returns to the mound, Keller’s work to date has been somewhat promising, and his numbers could improve once he gets more fully comfortable in the aftermath of such a notable surgery.
This means that Keller could certainly draw some attention on the waiver wire from any team looking for a quick influx of innings in the rotation or the bullpen. The White Sox could work out a trade or might let Keller go on waivers entirely without any return. If he clears waivers, Keller has enough MLB service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.
Leone will return after just the minimum 15 days after dealing with some back tightness. The veteran right-hander has struggled to a 6.75 ERA in 14 2/3 innings out of Chicago’s bullpen this season, and has already allowed 11 walks and four home runs.
Hey Sox, any interest in a lightly used Taijuan Walker to eat innings for you?
I would love it if the Phillies trade walker he is the weakest link and doesn’t fit in Philly and I want to see turnbull turn more heads
Plus, Turnbull seems to have a mental block about relieving. He has been inconsistent at best working out of the bullpen.
Friedman is up next.
Oh please be signing Amir Garrett to pair with Tommy Pham.
No big loss
Weird after they just announced they were putting him in the rotation.
Well that deescalated quickly
Giving Keller a bit of a bum’s rush, no? It wasn’t like it was the 2024 White Sox who took him back of the woodshed. Flexen posted a similar fate the next day. Let’s face it, Getz & Co. are completely unprepared for a 162 game season where winning is an afterthought. Keller could just as well play the role of Chicago’s Mike Maroth, because when you’re at the barrel’s bottom any scrub will do. You don’t want to have to turn to raw prospects and expose them to this mess.
I’m sure they’re hoping he slips through waivers and takes the AAA gig until an injury or trade opens up a rotation spot in Chicago again. And honestly he might as well since it’s likely that 2-4 weeks of decent performance in the minors will get him another look if big club stays on its current track. There’s no guarantee that he’ll get as good a shot at starting anywhere else.
A different team might give him a real shot. What they’re saying is that he was perfectly fine before having a bad outing against the Yankees yeasterday. If the White Sox won’t give the benefit of the doubt for one bad day, when they aren’t playing for this year, why should he want to resign with them? Its not like Leone is an improvement.
The real problem is the Chairman had forty years to find a smart baseball person from a winning organization to run the White Sox the right way and he picked the intern down the hall.
Probably his son’s wife’s little brother or something. Why hire competence when you can just keep it in the family.
Good riddance to the Douchey guy
I am sensing a distinct feeling you were not too fond of the kid.
Yah, not so much. Bit young to be a redass starting fights with the other team over a lack of respect
Cardinals, pick him up.
Send Liberator back down.
Hard to believe this guy was an opening day starter at one point during his career
And now strictly bullpen material.
… at best.
Replacing Keller with Leone doesn’t make sense.
Word on the street in Bridgeport Chicago is that the Sox are about to sign Trever Bauer. I believe this is probably true as I saw a truck unloading Whitesox jersey’s with Bauer on the back. Interesting that he chose to use the # 1 on the back of his jersey. You heard it here first baseball fans. By the way I ran into Ron Kittle who was at the grandstand yesterday. He mentioned that Steve Carlton is making a comeback and the Sox might be a candidate where he lands
Angels give him a call u might get lucky
with how the early pillar returns have been, why not?
75-135 is unbelievably terrible!!!!!!!!!!
Twins need SP depth lol…