Infielder Gage Workman has cleared waivers, and the White Sox have returned him to the Tigers, as reflected by his transaction log on MLB.com. He will report to Triple-A Toledo.
This hardly comes as a surprise after the White Sox designated Workman for assignment earlier this week. The Cubs initially selected Workman from the Tigers in the Rule 5 draft this past December. He made the Opening Day roster for the North Siders and suited up for the club in nine games over the first few weeks of the season. However, the Cubs no longer had a role for him after signing the much more experienced utility infielder Nicky Lopez to a big league deal in mid-April. Per the Rule 5 regulations, the Cubs could not simply option Workman to the minors, so they DFA’d him and traded him to the White Sox for cash considerations not long after.
Workman played just three games for the White Sox before landing on the IL with a right hip flexor strain. Upon reinstating him, the South Siders chose not to add him back to their active roster and DFA’d him instead. This time, evidently, no other teams were interested in giving him (and his .485 OPS through 17 PA) a spot on their active roster, so passed through waivers unclaimed. The White Sox then had to offer him back to the Tigers. As his original team, Detroit is not obligated to add him to its 26 or 40-man roster. He will return to the Tigers’ minor league system, where he thrived last year, hitting .280 with a 142 wRC+ in 126 games at Double-A.
Weird season for him.
LOL @ those who were decrying the Tigers’ loss of this 4A’er.
lol at you for not understanding how baseball works. lol lol lol. Clown.
He could still be a decent MLB player. He just needs more time in AAA, actually, any time there, he’s never played there.
Just isn’t currently worth a 40 man spot. I agree some people just didn’t get how baseball works on and especially, off the field.
As they still do not have a permanent solution for the position, happy to have him back.
Happy to have him back. IDK how good he’ll end up being but have liked watching him in the minors so hopefully he’ll eventually make a serviceable MLB player.
Hope he had a good vacation in Chicago. Maybe he will figure some things out in AAA and end up replacing Ivanez or McKinistry one day.
This guy could still end up being a pretty solid utility player eventually, if he can work on his strikeout rate.
I knew he would be back. Well, I said 70% chance he would be back. When the Cubs racked up the wins and put themselves clearly in contention, I figured it was just a matter of time. The trade to the south side surprised me tho.
He obviously wasn’t ready. Not sure if he has a certain future with the Tigers, but I’m glad he’s back.
So are there any Rule 5 picks left? Seems like a rough year for them.
Even after returning Workman, the White Sox are still holding on to two Rule 5 players, Shane Smith and Mike Vasil.
Smith and Vasil have been major contributors to the White Sox. Smith looks to be a potential core SP while Vasil figures to get a shot as their future closer.
Not really hard to be a major contributor to the White Sox at this point, but Smith has looked good and there is plenty of space on the roster for Vasil given how inept the bull pen is.
Mike just got his 1st career save tonight in Cincinnati.
@nrd: I’m a Cubs fan, so this isn’t boosterism: Don’t underestimate the much-improved White Sox. I have been watching them, and they are far from being the team they were last season. Not just the pitchers you mentioned, but some other pitchers too, and young players like Meidroth and Quero and Vasquez have transformed them. Robert Jr. is hitting again and leads the league in stolen bases. The Cubs have been scuffling anyway, and I am scared to death of the Cubs-Sox series this weekend. I think a Sox sweep will be the lead baseball story nationally Monday morning.
Super stoked!! Welcome back Gage!
Busy day for the Mud Hens as first Jung gets sent back down and Workman is return to the Tigers and assigned there. Good luck to both of them and hopefully they can figure it out to get back to the Majors soon