White Sox Place Jonathan Stiever On 60-Day IL, Claim Yoan Aybar
The White Sox have placed right-hander Jonathan Stiever on the 60-day injured list, the team announced. Chicago also claimed southpaw Yoan Aybar off waivers from the Yankees, just days after the Yankees themselves claimed Aybar off waivers from the Rockies.
Aybar’s velocity and strikeout potential got him as high as the Rockies’ Double-A affiliate last season, though he is still very much a work in progress as a pitcher, after converting to the mound from the outfield prior to the 2018 season. As a hurler, Aybar has a 5.06 ERA and a 14.62% walk rate over 131 2/3 minor league innings, with a 24.9% strikeout rate.
The White Sox don’t have much left-handed depth in their bullpen beyond Aaron Bummer and Garrett Crochet, and the team has made a point of adding several southpaws to their Spring Training camp as non-roster invitees. Aybar probably isn’t likely to be on the radar for a big league promotion, but he’ll add more depth in the minors and perhaps serve as a project.
Stiever underwent lat surgery back in August and was initially expected to be ready for Spring Training, though the 60-day IL placement gives him more time to get fully healthy. Stiever was a fifth-round pick for the White Sox in the 2018 draft, and he has already gotten a brief taste of the majors, albeit in the form of three games and 6 1/3 innings over the last two seasons. Over 247 IP in Chicago’s farm system, Stiever has a 4.26 ERA and 26.86% strikeout rate, starting all 56 of his games. Once fully recovered, Stiever projects as a depth starter or potential bullpen long man for the Sox later in the season.
Braves Discussed Craig Kimbrel Trade With White Sox
The Atlanta Braves recently discussed a Craig Kimbrel trade with the White Sox, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, before the Braves signed Kenley Jansen. That one-year, $16MM deal for Jansen is an exact match for the one-year and $16MM remaining on Kimbrel’s contract, which perhaps suggests that Atlanta’s pursuit of Kimbrel is no longer in the cards.
Even before last year’s playoffs were finished, the writing seemed to be on the wall for Kimbrel and the White Sox. Reports at that time stated that the club’s plan was to pick up Kimbrel’s $16MM option and then trade him in the winter. With Liam Hendriks already present as an elite closer, Kimbrel was seen as surplus to requirements. Prior to the lockout, the club further bolstered their bullpen with the signing of Kendall Graveman, seemingly only increasing the odds of a Kimbrel trade. During the lockout, MLBTR listed him as one of the players most likely to be dealt in the post-lockout period.
However, after ten days of post-lockout frenzy and with Opening Day just over two weeks away, Kimbrel is still on the roster. The club also added yet another hard-throwing reliever recently, signing Joe Kelly to a two-year, $17MM deal.
Although the clock is ticking, there are still reasons to think Kimbrel could eventually be moved. The White Sox are currently projected for a payroll of $194MM, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That’s miles beyond the club’s record for an Opening Day number, which was last year’s $129MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Between Hendriks, Kimbrel, Graveman and Kelly, they have over $44MM devoted to four relievers this year. While they could just roll into the season trying to have a super bullpen, it still seems more likely that they look to subtract Kimbrel’s salary from the ledger. The Blue Jays were recently reported to have checked in on Kenley Jansen. With Jansen now signed to the Braves, perhaps the Jays and any unknown Jansen suitors could now pivot to a Kimbrel deal instead.
White Sox Discussing Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas Trades With A’s
It’s been long suspected that the Athletics were going to undergo a roster teardown after the lockout. Those predictions have been coming true in recent days, as the club has already traded Chris Bassitt to the Mets and Matt Olson to the Braves. Among their most likely trade candidates, they still have third baseman Matt Chapman, along with starting pitchers Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas. When it comes to those pitchers, the White Sox are among the teams interested, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
The Pale Hose already have an excellent front three in their rotation with Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease. However, there are some question marks in the backend. For one, Dallas Keuchel had a rough season last year, throwing 162 innings with an ERA of 5.28. As for Michael Kopech, he missed most of 2018 and all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery and then opted out of the 2020 pandemic season. Last year was mostly about getting him re-acclimated to pitching and building up his arm strength. While he fared well, putting up an ERA of 3.50, he only amassed 69 1/3 innings. While he may be able to handle a starter’s workload this year, it’s certainly not a sure thing.
In terms of depth, the club has Jonathan Stiever and Jimmy Lambert on the 40-man. Both are optionable and likely to be in Triple-A until an injury creates a need for their services. Vince Velasquez was also just signed to bolster the depth, perhaps serving as a long man out of the bullpen to start the year.
Adding Manaea or Montas to this group and bumping everyone down a peg would surely bolster the staff as a whole. Manaea pitched 179 1/3 innings last year with a 3.91 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate and 5.4% walk rate. He’s scheduled to hit free agency at the end of the season and is projected to earn a salary of $10.2MM, per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. Montas, meanwhile, tossed 187 frames with a 3.37 ERA, 26.6% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. He’s projected for a $5.2MM salary and comes with an extra year of control.
One obstacle the White Sox might face is their farm system, or lack thereof. On Baseball America’s most recent Organization Talent Rankings, the club’s system came dead last. In order to pull off a major trade, they would have to further deplete what it already arguably the weakest system in the league.
However, the club will surely want to take advantage of what is a very strong MLB team that just made the postseason in back-t0-back seasons for the first time in their 120-year history. With the Twins and Guardians still aiming to compete and the Tigers making strong moves to emerge from a rebuild, the South Siders may be willing to take that hit to strike while their competitive window is wide open.
White Sox Sign Nick Ciuffo To Minor League Deal
The White Sox announced this afternoon they’ve signed catcher Nick Ciuffo to a minor league contract and invited him to big league Spring Training. The 27-year-old elected minor league free agency after being outrighted off the Orioles’ roster at the start of the offseason.
Ciuffo’s a former first-round draftee of the Rays (21st overall in 2013) who was regarded as one of the more promising prospects in a deep Tampa Bay farm system for a while. He’s struggled offensively throughout his career, however, and his prospect pedigree diminished as he moved towards the upper levels. He did make it to the big leagues in 2018 and he’s seen some major league time in three of the past four seasons.
The lefty-hitting backstop has tallied 56 MLB plate appearances, including six over two games with Baltimore last season. He’s a .240/.291/.370 hitter in 453 trips to the plate at the minors’ top level. The White Sox have Zack Collins and Seby Zavala as backup options behind Yasmani Grandal on the 40-man roster.
White Sox Sign Vince Velasquez
TODAY, 11:17am: The White Sox announced the Velasquez signing, a one-year, $3MM deal.
YESTERDAY, 1:00pm: The White Sox are signing right-hander Vince Velasquez, pending a physical, per Robert Murray of FanSided. The terms of the deal are not known at this time.
Velasquez, 30 in June, had an up-and-down tenure during his time in Philadelphia. Acquired as part of the Ken Giles trade in 2015, he had a promising debut in 2016, throwing 131 innings over 24 starts with an ERA of 4.12. Unfortunately, his ERA has never been as low since, as its been 4.85 or higher in each subsequent season.
He’s often been undone by walks and home runs, as his career walk rate of 9.5% is above league average. It’s also gotten worse in subsequent seasons, with a mark of 11% in 2020 and 11.8% in 2021. As for the home runs, the league average for HR/FB is usually around 10%, but Velasquez has a career mark of 15.1%. In 2021, he was released by the Phillies and latched on with the Padres towards the end of the season, finishing the campaign with an ERA of 6.30 over 94 1/3 innings.
Despite all of that, he has still tantalized with an ability to generate strikeouts, as his rate has been above 24% in each of his seasons except for 2017. He’s also still relatively young, making it possible that he could right the ship and deliver on some of the promise he’s shown.
The market for starting pitching has been the wildest this offseason, both before the lockout and after. It could perhaps be a side effect of the lockout leading to a condensed Spring Training and a regular season that will feature extra doubleheaders to make up for the delayed start of the schedule. Teams may be anticipating extra injuries throughout the year. Furthermore, now that players can’t be optioned to the minors more than five times per season, there will be less opportunities for roster churn. The White Sox already have five capable starters in Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, Dallas Keuchel and Michael Kopech. However, Velasquez has served in a swing capacity before and could perhaps do so again for the Sox, making multi-inning appearances out of the bullpen and perhaps stepping into the rotation should a need arise.
White Sox To Sign Joe Kelly
7:57pm: Kelly’s deal also contains a club option for 2024, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. The total value of the deal is $17MM in guaranteed money.
6:19pm: The White Sox have signed right-hander Joe Kelly to a two-year deal, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter link). The signing will become official when Kelly passes a physical. Kelly is represented by the ACES agency.
The White Sox are a somewhat surprising suitor for Kelly, having inked Kendall Graveman to a three-year, $24MM deal prior to the lockout. They’re also on the hook for a combined $29MM in 2022 for Liam Hendriks and Craig Kimbrel. Aaron Bummer is under contract as well, and Garrett Crochet may also work out of the bullpen. MLB.com’s Scott Merkin notes that the Kelly signing “could indicate a Kimbrel trade on the horizon, but White Sox are not just giving away Kimbrel.”
Kelly, 33, typically rates as one of the game’s hardest-throwing relievers, though every year more relievers are able to average 98 miles per hour as he does. In his three years with the Dodgers, Kelly boosted his strikeout rate, hitting 27.5% in 44 innings in 2021. In recent years, his control has generally fallen into the acceptable range of issuing free passes to 8% of batters. Kelly also posted a healthy 58.9% groundball rate last year, helping him allow only three home runs on the season.
Kelly played a key role for the Red Sox in the 2018 postseason, allowing one earned run in 11 1/3 frames. Kelly switched sides after helping the Red Sox beat the Dodgers in the World Series, as Los Angeles signed him to a three-year, $25MM deal with a club option for 2022.
Kelly put up an unspectacular 2019 season for the Dodgers. He memorably earned a five-game suspension in the shortened 2020 season, also spending time on the shelf with shoulder inflammation before again helping his club win the World Series, though with not the same impact as he had for Boston. Kelly quietly underwent shoulder surgery that offseason, leading to a May 7 season debut in ’21. Kelly went on the COVID-IL in August of ’21, and later saw his season come to a close as he exited Game 5 of the NLCS with biceps tightness.
Faced with a $12MM club option or a $4MM buyout, the Dodgers chose the buyout. Though Kelly suggested mutual interest in a Dodgers reunion last month, he’ll instead join the White Sox bullpen. Kelly ranked seventh in the Dodgers’ bullpen in leverage index in 2021. Among those ranked ahead of him (used in more crucial situations), Kenley Jansen remains a free agent and Corey Knebel has signed with the Phillies. Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia, and Brusdar Graterol are holdovers, with Daniel Hudson joining as a free agent prior to the lockout. Tommy Kahnle is expected to pay some dividends after signing a two-year deal in December 2020 less than five months after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Kelly told 570 LA Sports at that time that he would “definitely be ready for the start of the season” after his NLCS biceps injury. The White Sox, widely expected to trade Kimbrel, have thus far only added a pair of right-handed relievers to their bullpen. Right around the same time tonight, the White Sox also bolstered their infield with the signing of Josh Harrison.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
White Sox To Sign Josh Harrison
The White Sox have agreed to a deal with utilityman Josh Harrison, his representatives at MSM Sports Management announced. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links) that it’s a one-year, $5.5MM guarantee. He’ll make $4MM in 2022 and the deal also contains a 2023 club option with a $1.5MM buyout.
An 11-year MLB veteran, Harrison has remained a productive player into his mid-30s. He’s never been an elite offensive player, aside from a .315/.347/.490 showing with the 2014 Pirates that earned him some down-ballot MVP support. Yet he’s typically been a solid hitter throughout his MLB run, including over the past couple seasons. Harrison rebounded from a down two-year stretch between 2018-19 to post decent numbers since the start of the 2020 campaign.
Over the past two seasons, Harrison owns a .279/.343/.402 line across 649 plate appearances. That’s four percentage points better than league average, by measure of wRC+. Harrison doesn’t have huge power — he’s hit 11 home runs with a .123 ISO (slugging minus batting average) — but he brings excellent bat-to-ball skills to the table. He’s only punched out in 13.4% of his plate appearances over the past couple seasons, and he made contact on 82.7% of his swings last year. That’s more than six points higher than the league mark, a continuation of career-long success putting the bat on the ball.
Midway through last season, it seemed as if Harrison might even be playing his way into a multi-year contract. He saw regular action bouncing between second base, third base and left field with the Nationals and was hitting at a well above-average level (.294/.366/.434) in 359 plate appearances through late July. The A’s acquired him alongside Yan Gomes as part of Washington’s deadline teardown, but Harrison stumbled down the stretch. He hit just .254/.296/.341 in his two months in the Bay Area before reaching the open market.
That late-season downturn coupled with Harrison’s age (35 in July) combined to limit him to a one-year guarantee. He should have a decent path to playing time on a postseason contender with the South Siders, though. Chicago is presently slated to open the year with Leury García at second base after re-signing him to a surprising three-year deal in November. Given Harrison’s and García’s respective price points, the latter might remain the nominal “starter” at the keystone, but both players figure to bounce around the diamond.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
AL Central Notes: Twins, IKF, Tigers, Anderson, Boyd, White Sox
The Twins and Rangers combined on one of the most interesting early moves of the post-lockout period, agreeing to a trade earlier today that will see Isiah Kiner-Falefa and pitching prospect Ronny Henriquez head to Minnesota, while catcher Mitch Garver was dealt to Texas. Speaking with reporters (including MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park) about the deal, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said the Twins were first in touch about Kiner-Falefa before the lockout, and Garver wasn’t initially part of trade talks until it became that such a notable price was necessary to pry Kiner-Falefa away from the Rangers.
While the presence of Ryan Jeffers ultimately made Garver expendable, Minnesota now has a new everyday shortstop, and a player who has generally looked like one of the league’s better defensive players no matter where Texas lined him up on the diamond. Kiner-Falefa said he is happy to be getting an opportunity to start at what he considers his natural position of shortstop, and his addition means that the Twins can now keep Jorge Polanco at second base.
More from around the AL Central…
- With Eduardo Rodriguez signed as the new headliner of the Tigers rotation, the team continues to look for more veteran help to fill a fourth or fifth starter role. According to Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press, the Tigers had interest in Tyler Anderson both before and after the lockout, though they are “not aggressively pursuing Anderson” at the moment. For some familiar AL Central names, Detroit is also not making a particular push towards free agent Michael Pineda, and the Tigers weren’t looking at Carlos Rodon before Rodon signed with the Giants yesterday.
- A former Tiger is under consideration, however, as Petzold writes that the Tigers are among the multiple clubs interested in Matthew Boyd, who was non-tendered by Detroit in November. Boyd’s projected $7.3MM arbitration price tag was too expensive for the Tigers considering that the southpaw was hampered by injuries last season and underwent flexor tendon surgery in September. Boyd’s recovery will extend into the season but he is aiming to return by June 1.
- “The pitching concerns might be a little heavier on our mind than the position player side of things,” White Sox GM Rick Hahn told The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters in discussing his club’s remaining targets during the offseason. With so many available arms already flying off the board, Fegan guesses that bolstering the back end of the rotation now looks like a more immediately priority for the Sox than addressing other needs like second base or the outfield. White Sox manager Tony La Russa told Fegan and other reporters today that pitching depth will be particularly important this season given the shortened Spring Training, though La Russa said his club is still aiming for a five-man rotation rather than a six-man staff.
White Sox, Jhan Marinez Agree To Minor League Deal
The White Sox have signed reliever Jhan Mariñez to a minor league contract, according to the team’s transactions log at MLB.com. Chicago also added outfielder Cornelius Randolph on a non-roster pact.
Mariñez has 103 MLB appearances under his belt. He broke into the majors as a 21-year-old with the Marlins back in 2010, making four appearances. Regarded at the time as one of the more promising pitching prospects in the Florida farm system, he was sent to the White Sox in September 2011 as compensation for Chicago allowing manager Ozzie Guillén to be released from his contract to take the same role with the Fish. Mariñez made a pair of appearances with the Sox the following season but he was outrighted off their roster after a rough Triple-A showing in 2013.
It took a few seasons for Mariñez to make it back to the major league level, but he found a bit of success upon returning in 2016. After a few innings with the Rays, Mariñez landed in Milwaukee and tossed 58 2/3 innings of 3.22 ERA ball. He pitched to a 3.70 mark between three clubs the following season but never missed the kind of bats one would expect from a reliever with a fastball that averaged just under 96 MPH.
Now 33 years old, he’s trying to make his first big league return since an eight-inning stint with the Orioles in 2018. Mariñez’s 3.56 career ERA isn’t bad, but his strikeout and walk numbers (17.1% and 10.2%, respectively) have been underwhelming. The Dominican Republic native has a 3.54 ERA in six career Triple-A seasons, where he’s punched out a more palatable 24.2% of opponents. He’s spent the past two seasons only participating in winter ball action, but he’ll now return to the affiliated ranks and try to pitch his way back onto the big league radar in his second stint with the Sox.
Randolph has never played in the majors, but he garnered some prospect attention early in his career. The Phillies selected him out of a Georgia high school with the tenth overall pick in the 2015 draft. Randolph appeared at the back half of Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects list the following winter after raking in rookie ball. Always projected to be a left fielder, he had a high offensive bar to clear though. The hope was he’d be a polished enough hitter to overcome those defensive concerns, but that didn’t play out in Philadelphia.
The lefty-hitting Randolph has always drawn a fair amount of walks, but he’s never hit more than 13 home runs in a minor league season. He’s dealt with increasing strikeout issues on his way up the ladder, including a 30.5% strikeout rate in 164 Triple-A plate appearances last year. Randolph owns a .254/.342/.377 line as a professional and hit .235/.323/.386 in his first crack at the minors’ top level. The 24-year-old elected minor league free agency at the end of last season and will try to earn a big league look in his new organization.
White Sox Agree To Minors Deals With Wes Benjamin, Patrick Kivlehan
The White Sox have agreed to minor league contracts with Wes Benjamin and Patrick Kivlehan, according to the club transactions log at MLB.com. Both players saw some big league action last season but were later outrighted off their teams’ respective rosters and qualified for minor league free agency.
Benjamin is joining his second club, having previously spent his entire career with the Rangers. A former fifth-round pick, he made it to the majors for the first time in 2020. Benjamin had an alright debut showing, pitching to a 4.84 ERA across 22 1/3 frames in a multi-inning relief role. The left-hander induced swinging strikes on a solid 12.3% of his offerings that season and showed passable control, only walking 7.1% of opponents. Benjamin served up four home runs in that time, but he looked like a potential long relief/spot starter option for Texas heading into 2021.
Things went off the rails last year, though. He was tagged for an 8.74 ERA in 22 2/3 innings. His swinging strike percentage dipped to 9.5% while his walk rate more than doubled to 15.2%. The 28-year-old struggled just as much with the Rangers’ top affiliate in Round Rock, where he posted an 8.29 ERA in 15 outings (including 10 starts). Benjamin wasn’t as homer-prone in the minors, but he mustered subpar strikeout and walk numbers and allowed a .402 batting average on balls in play.
There’s no risk for the White Sox in giving Benjamin a non-roster opportunity to rebound from his rough year. He has plenty of starting experience in the minors and has been a capable performer up through Double-A. The University of Kansas product posted a sub-4.00 ERA at each stop until Triple-A and could serve as either rotation or long relief depth with Chicago.
Kivlehan has logged some MLB action in four different seasons. The bulk of that experience came with the 2017 Reds, for whom he tallied 204 plate appearances and hit .208/.304/.399. He showed some power and walked at a solid 10.8% clip that year, but he fanned in 29.9% of his trips and otherwise has scant big league experience. Kivlehan has a cumulative 46 MLB plate appearances in three additional seasons with the Padres and D-Backs, including five games with San Diego last May.
The 32-year-old has far more experience at Triple-A, where’s generally been an effective hitter. Over parts of five seasons at the minors’ top level, Kivlehan owns a .262/.324/.485 line. He spent last season with the Friars’ top affiliate in El Paso, posting a .261/.316/.508 mark with 21 homers in 91 games (albeit in an extremely hitter-friendly environment). He’ll give the White Sox a right-handed bat with some pop to stash in the upper minors. The bulk of Kivlehan’s MLB time has come in the corner outfield, but he’s logged more than 3,000 innings at third base and nearly 2,000 frames at first base in the minors.