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White Sox To Promote Carson Fulmer

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The White Sox are promoting right-hander Carson Fulmer to the Majors today to work out of their bullpen, according to Dave Williams of Barstool Sports (links to Twitter). MLBPipeline.com’s Jesse Burkhart first tweeted that Fulmer was likely heading to the Majors. Fulmer will inherit the 40-man roster spot that was vacated by yesterday’s outright of right-hander Scott Carroll.

The Sox selected Fulmer, 22, out of Vanderbilt with the eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft. He dominated in 23 innings between Chicago’s Rookie League affiliate and Class-A Advanced affiliate in 2015 following the draft, but the 2016 season hasn’t gone quite as smoothly. Fulmer currently has a 4.76 ERA with 90 strikeouts against 51 walks in 87 innings for Chicago’s Double-A affiliate, though he’s pitched considerably better as of late. Over his past seven starts, Fulmer has a 3.51 ERA with a 54-to-17 K/BB ratio in 41 innings, and he’s yielded just two runs in his past 19 innings.

Fulmer entered the season as a consensus Top 100 prospect, and he’s currently 33rd on MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects list and 73rd on Baseball America’s midseason update of its Top 100 prospects. Some pundits at the time of the draft wrote that Fulmer projected as a future reliever, and that’s still a consideration for a number of scouts, though the Sox will presumably give Fulmer a chance to stick in the rotation down the road. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reference Fulmer’s 93-97 mph fastball in their scouting report (which could play up in a short-relief role) and call his curveball a plus offering as well while noting that his changeup gives him potential for a third plus pitch. Fulmer, however, is slight in frame, as he’s listed at 6’0″ and 195 pounds. ESPN’s Keith Law has written on a number of occasions that Fulmer profiles best at the back of a bullpen due to that lack of size, a high-effort delivery and a lack of command.

Via Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune, manager Robin Ventura suggested the possibility of utilizing Fulmer in a relief role last week. “You’re trying to see if a kid can do it, and we did it with Carlos (Rodon) a little bit and Chris (Sale) has done it,” Ventura told the Tribune. “You bring ’em up here and you bring ’em through out of the bullpen and see if you can lighten their load a little bit and then see how they handle it.”

Fulmer’s long-term role with the Sox remains undetermined, but if he’s in the Majors to stay he’ll fall well shy of Super Two status, as the most service time he could accrue in 2016 would be 79 days. He’ll be arbitration eligible following the 2019 season and controllable through the 2022 season if he does not return to the minor leagues from this point forth, though obviously a demotion could further delay his path to arbitration and free agency.

White Sox Outright Scott Carroll

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Right-hander Scott Carroll has been outrighted off the White Sox’ 40-man  roster, according to Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). The Sox have since announced the outright, but an accompanying move has not been announced or reported.

Carroll, 31, has appeared in three games for the White Sox this season and a total of 47 contests for the South Siders over the past three seasons. Since making his big league debut in 2014 at the age of 29, Carroll has pitched to a 4.60 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 168 1/3 innings. He’s made 19 starts in that time, though none since 2014, and has been pitching for the Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte since mid-May. Carroll’s career work at the Triple-A level is, somewhat stunningly, a near-mirror image of his big league production. He’s totaled 395 innings at the top minor league level and posted a 4.60 ERA that is identical to his Major League mark while averaging 5.3 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9.

It’s not clear how the Sox will utilize the empty 40-man spot for now. The club doesn’t need a 40-man roster spot to activate Justin Morneau from the minors, as he signed a Major League deal and is already on the 40-man roster. The Sox could use the spot to select someone from their minor league ranks that isn’t currently on the 40-man or could be keeping it open as they explore the trade market for center fielders, as they were reported to be doing earlier this afternoon.

White Sox Scanning Market For Center Fielders

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The White Sox are scanning the market for center field help, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). It seems that the organization isn’t sure how Austin Jackson is progressing after undergoing knee surgery a month ago.

We’ve heard mostly about the possibility of Chicago adding a slugging corner outfielder to date, but a slow return from Jackson would certainly increase the need for an up-the-middle option. Even if he is able to return in relatively short order, it would be nice to have a player capable of manning center given Jackson’s less-than-exciting performance to date.

The Sox do still have Adam Eaton on hand. He’s plenty youthful and athletic and manned the position last year, after all. But defensive metrics have viewed him as a sub-par performer up the middle while grading him as an outstanding defender in right, and that surely weighs into the calculus.

A glance at the most recent MLBTR top trade candidate list shows that the top trade options trend toward the corners. Charlie Blackmon is probably the premium center fielder who might be had, with a reborn Melvin Upton also rating as a candidate. Other possibilities include Peter Bourjos, who’d provide a nice glove, though it’s fair to wonder whether the South Siders would be better served with a more significant addition. A player such as Blackmon could push Jackson into a corner outfield platoon when he returns and provide some thump for the lineup.

Outfield Rumors: Beltran, White Sox, Eloy, Reddick

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Here’s the latest on two veteran outfielders who have been prominently mentioned in trade rumors and one young outfield prospect who (to date) isn’t yet a trade chip…

  • Even if the Yankees did decide to shop Carlos Beltran, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that the relatively deep outfield trade market could result in Beltran staying in the Bronx.  NL teams may pass on Beltran due to his defensive shortcomings and the fact that he couldn’t be used as a DH in the senior circuit.  Failing to find a deal for Beltran wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for the Yankees, as they could still issue a qualifying offer to Beltran this winter and get draft compensation back if he left in free agency.
  • One team that could be a fit for Beltran is the White Sox, as George A. King III of the New York Post notes how little production Chicago has received from its DH spot this season.  The Sox recently signed Justin Morneau and the former AL MVP could make his season debut as soon as Friday, though Morneau is also coming off elbow surgery and hasn’t shown much at the plate in Triple-A rehab games (albeit in a very small sample size).  In my opinion, the White Sox could make a move for the Yankees slugger even if Morneau does produce, as Beltran would provide a significant right field upgrade over Avisail Garcia’s sub-replacement level numbers.
  • Cubs outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez is getting trade attention but the Cubs aren’t eager to part with the talented 19-year-old, CSN Chicago’s David Kaplan tweets.  Jimenez signed with the Cubs during their spending spree in the 2013-14 international signing market, inking a deal with a hefty $2.8MM bonus that reflected his status as the most well-regarded prospect of that 2013-14 class.  Jimenez is enjoying a breakout year at A-level ball, hitting .332/.372/.527 with 10 homers over 336 plate appearances.  He also was one of the stars of today’s MLB Futures Game, going 2-for-3 with a homer and a spectacular catch in the outfield.  Despite Jimenez’s promise, the Cubs’ minor league depth meant that he ranked only ninth (Baseball America) and 10th (MLB.com) in preseason rankings of the top 10 prospects in Chicago’s system.  The Cubs have such depth that they could explore moving Jimenez or other top prospects in midseason trades and still have one of the game’s best farm systems.
  • If Josh Reddick was indeed willing to accept a four-year extension in the $50-$52MM range from the A’s, Nico of the Athletics Nation blog feels the club should absolutely make that deal.  Though there are some questions about Reddick’s long-term viability, the length and relative inexpensiveness of that proposed contract (not to mention Reddick’s role as a leader in the Oakland clubhouse) should ensure that Reddick still has value even if his skills do slightly diminish.

White Sox Place Carlos Rodon On DL With Sprained Wrist

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The White Sox have announced that they’ve placed lefty starter Carlos Rodon on the 15-day DL. Via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter), the move is retroactive to July 6 and is due to a sprained left wrist. They’ve promoted righty Tommy Kahnle to take his place on the active roster.

The White Sox had already elected to skip Rodon’s last start due to neck and arm discomfort, although it appears his current situation is unrelated — via the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc (on Twitter), Rodon injured his wrist Friday after he slipped on the dugout steps. There is no indication yet of the seriousness of his current injury, but with the All-Star break coming up, it would appear to at least be possible that his stay on the DL could result in him missing little time.

It’s been an uneven sophomore season for the 2014 third overall pick, who’s maintained a strong 8.9 K/9 and has significantly reduced his walk rate to 3.1 BB/9 but has had serious issues with home runs, giving up 15 in 92 innings. All the home runs, plus a .349 BABIP, have led to a 4.50 ERA that rates as worse than league average. Still, Rodon has maintained his solid velocity this season (with an average fastball velocity of 93.0 MPH), and he’s been deadly against lefties (.552 OPS against), thanks to his plus slider.

White Sox To Sign Ryan Webb

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The White Sox have inked a minor league deal with reliever Ryan Webb, per Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). The veteran righty will report to Triple-A.

Webb, 30, had pitched to a 5.19 ERA over 17 1/3 innings with the Rays before being cut loose. Beneath the surface, though, he has been much the same pitcher as always — a sturdy but hardly dominant middle reliever.

Webb is still generating grounders on about half of the balls put in play against him and is near his career marks with 5.7 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9. The biggest problem thus far, it seems, has been a .417 batting average on balls put in play against him — though Webb’s career-worst hard contact rate (32.3%) suggests that may not just be a result of poor fortune.

For Chicago, the move adds depth in an area where the team has taken some hits of late. The South Siders are still running out a fairly talented overall relief unit, but have lost several useful arms already in 2016.

AL Notes: Yankees, Red Sox, Davis, Norris, Avila

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman discussed his team’s oft-debated trade deadline stance in an appearance on the podcast of ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (audio link). He said that the club is “open to everything and anything” over the month to come, noting that he’d raise any interest in the organization’s major league assets with ownership. Cashman made clear that New York isn’t going into a selling stance, but also suggested that such a time may come and has been discussed internally. “The clock is ticking,” he said, “and the more that we stay in this mode that we’re currently in, I think it’s going to force us into some tough decisions that we didn’t want to be in. There’s some time on the clock, but it’s getting late, as people would say.”

Here’s more from the American League:

  • Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says that trade chatter is picking up around the game, Scott Lauber of ESPN Boston was among those to report (Twitter links). Boston had contact with ten rival organizations just yesterday, he added. Meanwhile, the club announced that director of pitching analysis and development Brian Bannister will don a uniform to aid pitching coach Carl Willis in working with the staff. Bannister will not be in the dugout during games, but will seemingly take more of a hands-on approach in trying to solve the organization’s pitching woes.
  • It’s always concerning when a pitcher hits the DL with forearm issues, as was the case earlier today for Royals closer Wade Davis, but Kansas City doesn’t seem to be ringing any alarm bells. As Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports (links to Twitter), manager Ned Yost says that Davis’s ligament isn’t implicated. Yost added that Davis pitched through a similar problem last year, and Davis himself notes that he isn’t too concerned at this point.
  • The Tigers have placed lefty Daniel Norris on the DL with an oblique strain. That’s not great news for a team that has had some rotation questions arise, as Norris had showed some interesting results in his four big league appearances this year. He has allowed seven earned runs and 17 hits in 13 innings, but his sparkling 16:3 K/BB ratio is certainly promising.
  • White Sox backstop Alex Avila is headed to the DL after leaving tonight’s game with a hamstring strain, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago tweets. It’s too soon to know how long he’ll be out, but hamstring problems can linger. The 29-year-old has compiled a sturdy .231/.361/.347 batting line on the year while serving as part of a platoon with Dioner Navarro behind the dish. Brett Hayes could be an option behind the dish for the Sox, though he’d need to be added to the 40-man roster. The seven-year big league veteran has a .225/.354/.425 batting line through 13 games for Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate since being acquired in a minor trade earlier this summer.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/4/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves, all courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted:

  • The Diamondbacks have released righty Kyle Drabek. The former first-rounder, now 28, received a single appearance this year for Arizona. He owns a tough 6.68 ERA with 5.4 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9 in his 68 2/3 Triple-A innings thus far in 2016.
  • The Pirates have outrighted right-hander Jorge Rondon to Triple-A, per an announcement from the team’s affiliate at Indianapolis. Rondon had been designated for assignment recently. He has a 2.72 ERA over his rather extensive time at Triple-A, but has yet to show much in his brief time at the major league level.
  • Outfielder Tony Campana is headed to the White Sox on a minor league deal after being released by the Nationals, per Eddy. Campana, 30, has seen MLB time in parts of four seasons, none since 2014. He owns a meager .215/.289/.230 slash in 158 Triple-A plate appearances on the year.
  • The Padres released righty Johnny Hellweg, Eddy adds. The towering righty had an unsuccessful trial run in the majors back in 2013. He had struggled with his command and been hit quite hard this year in the minors for the Padres.
  • After being designated recently, catcher Hector Sanchez has been outrighted by the Padres. The 26-year-old will head back to Triple-A, which is where he has spent most of his time in recent years. Sanchez does have 663 major league plate appearances over the last six seasons, with a .240/.276/.348 lifetime batting line.
  • The Mariners have released Efren Navarro, a 30-year-old first baseman. Navarro was off to a .243/.316/.362 slash in his 301 plate appearances this year at Triple-A, well off of his usual productivity at the highest level of the minors.
  • The recently-designated Andrew Bellatti has been outrighted by the Rays. Despite providing 23 1/3 innings of 2.31 ERA pitching last year at the major league level, the right-hander has not cracked the majors this year and had struggled in limited action at Triple-A.
  • The Nationals have released infielder Scott Sizemore, also via Eddy. The 31-year-old was off to a rough start, hitting just .205/.353/.323 over his 243 plate appearances on the year. He hasn’t cracked the majors since 2014.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/2/16

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.

  • The White Sox have announced that they’ve acquired catcher Alfredo Gonzalez from the Astros and optioned him to Double-A Birmingham. Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the Astros will receive cash considerations in return. The Astros designated Gonzalez for assignment last week after he batted just .158/.236/.205 in 162 plate appearances at Double-A Corpus Christi. The 23-year-old posted a .409 on-base percentage in a 2015 season split between three levels, however, and has a reputation for having a good arm.
  • Righty Casey Coleman has opted out of his minor league deal with the Mariners, Tacoma Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto tweets. Coleman is in the midst of a terrific season, with a 2.08 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 39 innings of relief in the PCL. “It was just a thing where I’ve been told I have some of the best numbers in the whole league,” said Coleman, via News-Press.com’s Seth Soffian. “Seattle had a bunch of guys that were coming off injury soon and their roster was pretty full. I’ve put myself in a situation to hopefully sign somewhere else.” Coleman, who will be 29 tomorrow, has a career 5.72 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in parts of four big-league seasons with the Cubs and Royals.

AL International Signings: 7/2/16

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Here’s a roundup of key international signings from the American League not yet covered elsewhere on MLBTR.

  • The Astros have agreed to terms with Dominican shortstop Freudis Nova and Venezuelan shortstop Yorbin Ceuta, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes (Twitter links). Nova, who will receive $1.2MM, ranks eighth on MLB.com’s list of the top international prospects available this signing period. He has power potential and a good bat overall, and while he might eventually have to move to third or the outfield, he should get chances to stay at short. Ceuta ranks 11th on Baseball America’s top international prospects list, with their extensive scouting report (subscription only) noting that he could end up with good OBP figures, although he doesn’t look like a big power hitter. He could stick at shortstop or move to second base.
  • The Mariners have agreed to sign Dominican outfielder Luis Veloz to a $1.2MM deal, Sanchez tweets. Via MLB.com’s scouting report, which ranked Veloz the No. 25 prospect available this signing season, he wins praise for his arm and has good raw power, and could eventually end up a starting right fielder in the Majors. He was widely expected to sign with the Mariners.
  • The White Sox have agreed to terms with Dominican outfielder Josue Guerrero on a $1.1MM deal, via Baseball America’s international signing tracker. BA ranked Guerrero the 33rd best prospect available. He’s the nephew of Vladimir Guerrero, joining a long line of minor leaguers who are related to the former Expos and Angels star. BA’s scouting report notes that Josue has good raw power, although he might be strikeout-prone, and he’s limited defensively and might end up a left fielder.
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