The White Sox announced that they have claimed infielder/outfielder Vinny Capra off waivers from the Brewers. He had been designated for assignment by Milwaukee last week. The Sox opened a 40-man spot recently by designating Gage Workman for assignment, so no corresponding move will be necessary there. Capra is out of options, so the Sox will need to open active roster space once he reports to the club.
Capra, 28, has been a good minor league performer in his career but hasn’t really had a chance to carve out a major league career. He has appeared in each of the four most recent major league seasons but has only been sent up to the plate 96 times over those campaigns. He has produced a dismal .105/.170/.163 line in those.
But on the farm, he received 1,287 plate appearances from 2021 to 2024. He drew walks in 11.4% of those while limiting strikeouts to an 18.6% clip. He had a combined .287/.376/.431 line and 118 wRC+ over those seasons. He also stole 25 bases while bouncing around the diamond. He has played every position except first base, though that includes just one inning as a catcher and just a third of an inning on the mound.
The Brewers apparently thought there was a chance of Capra being a useful big league player. They claimed him off waivers from the Pirates in 2023. Coming into 2025, he had exhausted his option years but earned an Opening Day roster spot by hitting .292/.358/.729 in spring training. However, he didn’t carry it over into the regular season, which nudged him off the roster and onto the waiver wire.
The Chicago roster is a bit of a motley crew right now. After losing 121 games last year, they are giving playing time to guys like Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Vaughn, with the club hoping those guys can build trade value in the coming months. Meanwhile, guys like Miguel Vargas and Chase Meidroth are attempting to establish themselves as bonafide major leaguers and form part of the next core. Capra will jump in there and can bounce around to multiple spots. If he can get some plate appearances and produce some offense like he has in the minors, he’ll be a nice pickup for the Sox.
Photo courtesy of Benny Sieu, Imagn Images
Should have kept Workman
Agree. At least Workman has some power potential. But Capra is just exactly what the Sox don’t need—another failed, out-of-options middle infielder who can’t hit. Versatility is overrated when you can’t hit no matter where you play in the field. Let’s count them: Vargas, Meidroth, Amaya, Sosa, Baldwin, Rojas—that’s six on the 26-man roster. Now add Capra and that makes 7, and that doesn’t even count Vaughn and Elko as first basemen.
They didn’t choose Capra over Workman. Capra can be kept as a depth piece in Charlotte while Workman couldn’t be, he had to be on the 26 because he’s a Rule 5.
Capra, as the article states, is out of options, which is why Milwaukee waived him instead of sending him down. Amazing that 17 ABs made Workman unplayable, but 196 makes Capra a work in progress.
Capra can play outfield, Workman can’t. The White Sox outfield situation is an absolute mess right now.
But Vargas, Meidroth and Baldwin are showing they can hit
Condolences
We’ll see if he blends in.
this dude is pure garbage
Wouldn’t it be great if Vinny’s middle name is Bob …..
And if he lives in Reno ….
He would be Vinny Bob in Reno …..
:O)
When reached for comment, Vinny said, “Up your nose with a rubber hose!”
Vaughn has 2400 PA and a career BWAR of roughly zero. How does he build trade value–especially since he’s being paid almost $6M. I get he was a real prospect, but given very regular playing time… Robert is on his second consecutive bad year, and makes $15M, the $20M team options for 26 and 27 aren’t that enticing. It’s a standoff–the White Sox want to maximize return, but the potential acquirers, especially teams in the CBT penalty range, maybe end up paying a lot in dollars Is Vaughn a non-tender candidate if he continues to play at this level?
If someone is willing to pick up the prorated Vaughn salary at deadline, he’s gone other than a token long shot minor leaguer for sake of appearance. Robert they just have to hope has a warm weather hot streak in these next 2 months.
Vinny, the Sox will give you three games to prove that you don’t suck before moving on to the next out of options bust, so make them count.
To bad you didn’t have to pass a intelligence test to post on trade rumors.
“Too bad” and “an intelligence” are the grammatical errors in your post, Jack.
Claiming Capra and saying they are looking to build around Vargas is all you need to say about the next 5-8 year for the Sox
Dumpster dive
Good minor league performer? Are you kidding me? Look at the dudes minor league stats. He’s literally only had one year where he had a positive WAR. That was in 2022. Rookie league and single A. Otherwise the dude has been hideous in the minors. Career.260 hitter in MINORS. Absolutely no power.
I’m getting really tired of these no bat signings that Getz is obsessed with.
…and the Getz transactional hokey-pokey continues…