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MLBTR Podcast: The White Sox Fire Their Manager, Víctor Robles Extended, And The Marlins’ Front Office

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

We had some technical difficulties during this recording, so the audio is of a lower quality than usual. Apologies for that, but the source has been discovered and everything will be back to normal next week. This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Will Camilo Doval pitch again this season (or ever) for the Giants? (25:10)
  • What ever happened to Archie Bradley this season? (29:20)
  • Well, if your offense stops failing you, let the pitching failures take the spotlight! As a Braves fan, I am feeling quite trampled after all the high expectations that this season came with. Should I forget any postseason hopes? (31:00)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

White Sox Fire Pedro Grifol, Three Coaches; Grady Sizemore To Serve As Interim Manager

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11:45am: The White Sox expect to hire someone not currently in the organization as Grifol’s replacement, Getz announced to the Sox beat (X link via James Fegan of Sox Machine).

11:20am: A disastrous White Sox season reached a boiling point Thursday morning, as the team announced that manager Pedro Grifol, bench coach Charlie Montoyo, third base coach Eddie Rodriguez and assistant hitting coach Mike Tosar have all been fired. Former big league outfielder Grady Sizemore, who joined the staff this past offseason with the broad and generic title of “major league coach,” will take over as interim manager through season’s end. The White Sox said their search for a full-time managerial replacement will begin immediately, and a decision will not be made until after the season.

Minor league field coordinator Doug Sisson, who’s previously served as a first base coach with the Royals (2011-12), will serve as Sizemore’s bench coach for the remainder of the season. Justin Jirschele, who’s been managing the White Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte, will step in as third base coach. Mike Gellinger, who has been a hitting coach with the Sox’ Rookie-level affiliate in the Arizona Complex League, will be the assistant hitting coach in place of Tosar.

“As we all recognize, our team’s performance this season has been disappointing on many levels,” general manager Chris Getz said in a statement within this morning’s press release. “Despite the on-field struggles and lack of success, we appreciate the effort and professionalism Pedro and the staff brought to the ballpark every day. These two seasons have been very challenging. Unfortunately, the results were not there, and a change is necessary as we look to our future and the development of a new energy around the team.”

In his own statement, shared with Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, Grifol said: “Grateful to Jerry, Rick and Kenny for the opportunity. I have health and a loving family. I have a spiritual foundation that gives me incredible strength, peace and freedom. This won’t break me. As a matter of fact it only motivates me. The next thing I do in my life, I will do it for the love and passion I have for this game and for the sole purpose of serving others.”

Hired in the 2022-23 offseason, Grifol had a long track record as the bench coach for the division-rival Royals. He’d been a part of several managerial searches prior to landing the job in Chicago, and the expectation was that he’d bring a fresh, younger voice after the Sox’ short-lived reunion with Tony La Russa lasted less than two seasons.

Grifol indeed brought a new perspective, but it’s fair to say things didn’t work out at all as planned. After a 93-win season in 2021 and a .500 finish in 2022, the Sox entered the 2023 season hoping to compete for the AL Central title. Instead, by midseason the team’s results had been so miserable that GM Rick Hahn and executive vice president Ken Williams were both fired — the first real baseball operations turnover on Chicago’s South Side in more than two decades. Assistant GM Chris Getz was elevated to the GM’s chair and began on a teardown of a top-heavy roster full of injured and/or underperforming veterans.

The points about the GM shuffle and rebuild are worth emphasizing, because it’s only fair to point out that no manager could’ve realistically taken the product Grifol has been handed — particularly in 2024 — and turn out anything resembling a competitive team. That said, Grifol’s White Sox just endured an astonishing 21-game losing streak — tied for the second-longest in MLB history — and there’s been plenty of evidence that things weren’t running smoothly even before that almost unfathomable swoon.

Even last season, right-hander Keynan Middleton outwardly slammed the White Sox’ clubhouse culture after being traded to the Yankees, lamenting that there were “no rules” and “no consequences” despite claiming that there’d been “rookies sleeping in the bullpen during games” and other players missing team meetings and fielding drills. That doesn’t appear to be sour grapes from one player, either; veteran righty Lance Lynn was asked that same day about Middleton’s comments, and though he didn’t delve into specifics Lynn noted that he’d been with the Sox even longer and that Middleton was “not wrong” in his critiques of how things were run.

Matt Spiegel and Shane Riordan of 670 The Score in Chicago reported around the time of the trade deadline that the White Sox had a “fractured” clubhouse (video link). Spiegel indicated that an attempt from Grifol to motivate the players by emphasizing that they’d be remembered as being responsible for producing the worst team in MLB history was not well-received, with a few veterans talking to Grifol and raising issue with his messaging. Riordan heard similar stories and added that someone in the clubhouse told him: “It’s been really tough in there. Pedro is a really good guy, just not the man for the job.”

In his two seasons with the White Sox, Grifol has an 89-190 record. As Jon Greenberg of The Athletic observed prior to the trade deadline, Grifol was on pace to finish the season with the third-worst winning percentage in history among managers who’ve led at least 315 games (which Baseball-Reference deems a “qualified” manager to sit in the all-time record books). He’ll fall shy of that 315-game minimum, but Grifol’s .319 winning percentage would indeed sit as the third-lowest mark for any qualified skipper. The Sox have seen a losing streak hit 14 games on a two occasions this season, and their current 28-89 record has them on pace to break the 1962 Mets’ modern record of 120 losses in a single season.

ESPN’s Jesse Rogers first reported that Montoyo had been fired. Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times first reported that Rodriguez was being let go and that Sizemore was the interim manager.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

White Sox Promote Ky Bush For MLB Debut

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August 5: The White Sox made it official today, selected Bush’s contract. They also reinstated right-hander Dominic Leone from the 60-day injured list. Right-hander Prelander Berroa and left-hander Sammy Peralta were optioned in corresponding moves. The 40-man roster is now full.

August 4: The White Sox will select the contract of left-hander Ky Bush prior to their next game on Tuesday, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Daryl Van Schouwen reports (via X).  Bush will get the start against the A’s in his Major League debut.  No 40-man roster move is required, as the Sox have space available after all their moves at the trade deadline.

A second-round pick in the 2021 draft, Bush was part of a unique Angels draft class that saw the team use all 20 of its selections on pitchers.  He pitched at the Double-A level in 2022-23 and at the start of the 2024 season, with both a lat strain and a trade to Chicago interrupting his progress last season.  Bush and Edgar Quero were the prospects sent from the Angels to the White Sox in the July 2023 deal that brought Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez to Los Angeles.

Bush settled in with his new organization this season, delivering a 2.12 ERA over 80 2/3 Double-A innings.  This earned him his first taste of Triple-A action, though he has a 6.16 ERA in 19 innings and four appearances in Charlotte.  For the season as a whole, Bush’s ERA is 2.89 over 99 2/3 frames, with a 10.45% walk rate, and 23.4% strikeout rate.

Baseball America ranked Bush sixth on its midseason ranking of the White Sox prospect pool, noting that the 24-year-old has “”No. 4 starter potential” and an arsenal of “solid pure stuff.”  To that latter point, BA’s scouting reports puts a 50 grade on all four of Bush’s pitches, though his slider is considered his best offering.

It isn’t the standout resume that would immediately land a pitcher a ticket to the big leagues, but the 24-year-old Bush will get a chance to show what he can do against MLB competition.  The rebuilding White Sox will be giving plenty of playing time to young players down the stretch, so a good showing could certainly earn Bush more looks in the rotation.  If the pressure of making his debut in the Show wasn’t enough, Bush will also be trying to help the White Sox end a 20-game losing streak that is nearing record levels.

White Sox Release Corey Knebel

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The White Sox released right-hander Corey Knebel earlier this week, as reported by Sox Machine’s James Fegan (X link) and other members of the team’s beat.  MLB.com’s profile page for Knebel lists the transaction as an “elected free agency,” which implies that Knebel exercised an opt-out clause in the minor league contract he signed last winter.

Knebel suffered a capsule tear in his right shoulder almost two years ago, and after missing the 2023 season entirely, he returned to action in June as part of a rehab assignment with Chicago’s rookie league affiliate.  Moving up the ranks to high-A and then to Triple-A once he was officially activated from the IL in July, Knebel ha a 5.91 ERA over 10 2/3 total innings this season, though five of his seven earned runs were surrendered in one rough outing at high-A ball.

At Triple-A, Knebel had a perfect 0.00 ERA across 5 1/3 innings, with a 44.4% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate.  Despite that impressive work in the small sample size, it doesn’t seem as though the White Sox intended to bring Knebel up to the majors.  While it certainly be argued that the 27-85 White Sox (losers of 18 straight games) need all the help they can get, it would appear that the team is prioritizing innings for younger pitchers the rest of the way, and thus Knebel likely chose to go elsewhere.

The 32-year-old Knebel last pitched in the majors in 2022, when he had a 3.43 ERA in 44 2/3 innings out of the Phillies’ bullpen.  The shoulder capsule tear is the latest in a series of long-term injuries — he missed all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery, and a lat strains limited him to 25 2/3 innings as a member of the Dodgers in 2021.

Over 306 2/3 innings over parts of eight seasons in the bigs, Knebel has a 3.26 ERA, highlighted by his 2017 All-Star season as the Brewers’ closer.  This track record means that he’ll very likely catch on with another team on a minor league deal, and more good numbers in the minors will give him a shot of getting back to the big leagues before the 2024 season is out.

White Sox Place Drew Thorpe On IL With Flexor Strain

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The White Sox announced they’ve placed rookie starter Drew Thorpe on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to August 1, with a flexor strain. Chicago recalled Prelander Berroa to take his spot on the MLB roster before tonight’s game against the Twins.

Thorpe told reporters this evening that imaging didn’t reveal anything serious (X link via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). He expressed hope he could be back on an MLB mound within a few weeks. The 23-year-old is nine starts into his MLB career. His first crack at major league hitters hasn’t gone well, as he’s allowing 5.48 earned runs per nine over 44 1/3 innings. Thorpe’s 13.2% strikeout rate is well below average and his 11.1% walk rate is a few points higher than the league mark. It’s a rough start, but the former second-round pick was a top prospect coming into the year.

The 6’4″ Thorpe was at the center of two of last winter’s biggest trades. He went from the Yankees to the Padres as one of the key pieces in the Juan Soto blockbuster at the Winter Meetings. San Diego flipped him to the Sox as the headliner of the Dylan Cease return halfway through Spring Training. Thorpe started his Sox tenure in Double-A and dominated to the tune of a 1.35 ERA in 11 starts before being promoted directly to the big leagues.

Chicago is 27-84. They’ve lost 17 in a row and have three wins since the end of June. They’re likely to end up with one of the worst records in league history, with the only question for this season being whether they’ll avoid joining the 1962 Mets as the only team since 1900 to lose 120 games. Beyond that, the next couple months are solely about keeping everyone healthy and evaluating players whom the Sox hope to be long-term pieces.

Thorpe certainly qualifies given his prospect pedigree. The Sox figure to be exceedingly careful with a forearm injury for an important young arm in a lost season. Thorpe has logged 104 1/3 frames between Double-A and the majors this year after throwing 139 1/3 innings in his first professional season. He might have stayed in the rotation for the rest of the season if not for the injury since he wasn’t coming up on any kind of innings limit.

White Sox Claim Gus Varland From Dodgers

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The White Sox announced that they have claimed right-hander Gus Varland off waivers from the Dodgers and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte. The righty was recently designated for assignment in the wake of the Dodgers making multiple deals ahead of the trade deadline. The Sox had three open roster spots from their own trades and their 40-man roster count now jumps to 38.

Varland, now 27, was able to make his major league debut with the Brewers last year after that club took him from the Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft. But he allowed 11 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings and was sent back to the Dodgers in late May.

The Dodgers selected him to their 40-man roster in August of last year but he has mostly been on optional assignment since then. He made eight major league appearances for the Dodgers last year and seven more this year. Between those and his time with the Brewers, he has a 5.81 earned run average in 26 1/3 innings with a 17.3% strikeout rate, 15% walk rate and 46.5% ground ball rate.

The Sox are surely more interested in his Triple-A output. Last year, he logged 33 1/3 innings for Triple Oklahoma City with a 2.16 ERA while striking out 29.3% of opponents and giving out walks just 6% of the time. This year, the results haven’t been as nice, but with a lot of bad luck. In 32 2/3 innings at Triple-A in 2024, he has a .372 batting average on balls in play and 18.5% home run per flyball rate, which undoubtedly helped produce his 53.1% strand rate. The 7.99 ERA isn’t pretty but his 23.8% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 44.3% ground ball rate are all decent metrics.

The Sox already had one of the weaker pitching staffs in the league and just subtracted from it by trading away Erick Fedde, Michael Kopech and Tanner Banks prior to the deadline. By claiming Varland, they can fill in some of the lost depth with potential benefits down the line. Varland still has a full slate of options and less than a year of service time, making him a potential long-term play if things break right for him.

MLBTR Podcast: Trade Deadline Recap

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • Were the prospect prices high in this year’s trades? Is this a new normal due to the expanded playoffs creating a seller’s market? (2:15)
  • The three-team trade involving the Dodgers, White Sox, Cardinals, Erick Fedde, Miguel Vargas and others (15:40)
  • The Rays and Cubs, the buy-sell tightrope and the trade involving Isaac Paredes and Christopher Morel (29:30)
  • The Astros acquire Yusei Kikuchi from the Blue Jays for a three-player package and the connection to the the Dodgers acquiring Jack Flaherty from the Tigers but the Yankees reportedly being scared off by his medicals (48:00)
  • The Guardians acquire Alex Cobb from the Giants and acquire Lane Thomas from the Nationals (58:35)
  • The Orioles acquire Trevor Rogers from the Marlins and acquire Zach Eflin from the Rays (1:09:10)
  • Will teams have to be more aggressive in the offseason going forward if the expanded playoffs will make less good players available at the deadline? (1:20:35)
  • The Rockies and Angels held onto a lot of trade candidates (1:23:35)
  • The Marlins leaned in hard to seller status (1:31:40)
  • The Padres built a super bullpen (1:44:50)
  • The Braves acquire Jorge Soler from the Giants (1:47:40)
  • The Royals acquire Lucas Erceg from the Athletics (1:54:40)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Trade Deadline Preview – listen here
  • Top Trade Candidates, Hunter Harvey To KC And The Current State Of The Rays And Mets – listen here
  • Brewers’ Pitching Needs, Marlins Rumors And The Nats Prepare To Sell – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Minor 40-Man Moves: Twins, A’s, Blue Jays, Red Sox, White Sox

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With the trade deadline behind us, here’s a look at a handful of smaller 40-man transactions from throughout the day that weren’t previously covered:

  • The Twins selected the contract of right-hander Randy Dobnak and designated Josh Staumont for assignment. Dobnak, 29, signed a five-year extension with Minnesota prior to the 2021 season following a strong start to his career where he posted a 3.12 ERA (142 ERA+) with a 3.56 FIP in 75 innings of work across 19 appearances (15 starts). Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well since he inked that deal as he struggled to a 7.64 ERA in 14 appearances in 2021 and hasn’t appeared in the majors since. He was outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster in September of 2022 but has put up a decent 3.61 ERA in 99 2/3 innings of work at Triple-A this year. Staumont, meanwhile, signed a big league deal with the club over the winter and has posted decent numbers with a 3.70 ERA and 3.53 FIP this year but has struggled badly in recent weeks with 11 runs (10 earned) surrendered in his last 5 1/3 innings of work.
  • The Athletics selected the contract of right-hander Gerardo Reyes. The 31-year-old made his big league debut with the Padres back in 2019 but struggled to a 7.62 ERA in 26 innings of work. More recently, he’s pitched for the Angels in each of the past two seasons with a 6.94 ERA in ten appearances. Despite those lackluster numbers, he’s struck out a solid 27% of batters faced during his big league career and has a solid 3.82 ERA in 33 innings of work at the Triple-A level this year. He’ll step into the Oakland bullpen after the club dealt Lucas Erceg to Kansas City earlier today.
  • The Blue Jays selected the contract of infielder Luis De Los Santos today in order to replace Isiah Kiner-Falefa on the active roster following his trade to Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old initially signed with the club out of the Dominican Republic back in 2015. He’s bounced between the Double- and Triple-A levels in recent years with a career .217/.342/.375 slash line at the highest level of the minors, although this year he’s managed to flash a bit more offense with a solid .243/.393/.400 line and 16.7% walk rate in 28 games. The youngster has experience at all four infield spots and figures to step into the club’s bench mix.
  • The Red Sox designated right-hander Trey Wingenter for assignment today. Wingenter was acquired by Boston earlier this month in a trade with the Tigers after he triggered an assignment clause in his contract, prompting the club to add him to their 40-man roster. Wingenter made just two appearances for the Red Sox and struggled badly in each of them, allowing a combined seven runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three in 2 1/3 innings of work. Prior to that rough tenure in Boston, Wingenter had a career 5.28 ERA and 3.82 FIP in 90 games with the Padres and Tigers. His career 31.9% strikeout rate stands out from his otherwise lackluster results and could garner him some interest from bullpen-needy clubs on the waiver wire.
  • The White Sox selected the contract of left-hander Fraser Ellard today. Ellard, 26, was an 8th-round pick by the club back in 2021 and climbed the minor league ladder to reach the Triple-A level this year. In 40 2/3 innings of work this season, Ellard owns a 3.76 ERA with an eye-popping 33.5% strikeout rate against an elevated 11.6% walk rate. That big-time strikeout stuff should get Ellard plenty of opportunities in a Chicago bullpen that has been brutally bad this year with a collective 4.79 ERA, including a league-worst 6.22 ERA in the month of July. He’ll step into the lefty spot in the bullpen vacated by Tanner Banks earlier today, joining fellow southpaws Jared Shuster and Sammy Peralta.

White Sox Will Not Trade Garrett Crochet At Deadline

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With seven minutes to go until the 2024 MLB trade deadline, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is reporting that White Sox ace Garrett Crochet will not be traded.

Crochet, a 25-year-old southpaw, has broke out this year with a move to the rotation.  However, his 114 1/3 innings on the season easily exceeds his prior career MLB total.  Recent reports suggested Crochet and his agent have expressed an unwillingness to pitch in October without a contract extension.  The lefty is earning only $800K this year and is under team control through 2026, but his reluctance to pitch into October and ability to do so muddied the waters for White Sox GM Chris Getz.

Interest in Crochet was significant this month, as he leads MLB starters with 4.1 fWAR even with the White Sox backing off his pitch count significantly in his last three starts.  Perhaps the White Sox will shut Crochet down prior to the end of the season, and entertain offers again in the offseason.

Phillies Acquire Tanner Banks

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The White Sox have traded left-handed reliever Tanner Banks to the Phillies. Philadelphia is sending 19-year-old infield prospect William Bergolla to Chicago in return.

Banks, 32, has been a solid middle reliever for the White Sox over the past three seasons, with a 3.89 ERA and 3.67 SIERA in 162 innings pitched. He has an unremarkable 4.13 ERA this year, but his 26.8% strikeout rate, 3.23 xERA, and 3.12 SIERA are the best marks of his career. Of further note, Banks has gone multiple innings in 16 of his 41 appearances this season. Matt Gelb of The Athletic notes he will be a multi-inning arm out of the Phillies’ bullpen and “could return to starting at some point.” The southpaw has also been a menace against same-handed opponents this season, with a 33.7% strikeout rate and a 1.90 FIP. Lefties have hit just .184 against him.

The Phillies had already made one big bullpen acquisition ahead of the deadline, trading for Angels closer Carlos Estevez over the weekend. However, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic noted on Monday that Philadelphia was still seeking bullpen help. After adding the righty Estevez, it stood to reason they would seek a southpaw, especially given José Alvarado’s recent struggles. The move to add Banks makes even more sense given the news that the Phillies have traded fellow left-handed reliever Gregory Soto to the Orioles, which broke shortly after the report that the Phillies had acquired Banks. Soto has put up solid underlying numbers throughout his season and a half with Philadelphia (3.63 SIERA), but his 4.42 ERA over 95 2/3 innings pitched is less inspiring. Evidently, the Phillies decided they saw more that they liked in Banks. Not only does he have better splits against left-handed batters this season and a proven ability to pitch multiple innings, but as a pre-arb player, he is significantly less expensive than Soto and comes with significantly more team control.

Bergolla signed with the Phillies as an international free agent in January 2022. Entering the season, he was the team’s No. 10 prospect according to Baseball America and No. 13 according to FanGraphs. Keith Law of The Athletic was not as high on the young infielder, leaving him off of his list of the top 20 prospects in the Phillies’ system. Ultimately, different evaluators disagree about Bergolla’s throwing arm, speed, and power potential, but just about everyone seems to agree that his ability to put the ball in play is his most important skill. He had a 7.5% strikeout rate at Single-A last season, and he is currently running an 11.2% strikeout rate at High-A in 2024.

Robert Murray of FanSided was the first to report that the Phillies were acquiring Banks from the White Sox. Scott Merkin of MLB.com first suggested that Bergolla could be headed back to the White Sox, and Todd Zolecki of MLB.com later confirmed the report.

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