White Sox Rumors

White Sox, Travis Ishikawa Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | February 9, 2016 at 4:22pm CDT

4:22pm: SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Ishikawa’s deal comes with a $900K base salary in the Majors — the same figure he’d received on the Mariners deal that ultimately fell apart.

3:54pm: The White Sox and first baseman Travis Ishikawa have agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin tweets. Ishikawa had previously agreed to a minor league deal with the Mariners earlier this offseason, but that deal fell through last month. This will mark Ishikawa’s second stint with the Sox, as he signed there in July 2013 and finished out that season with Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte.

The 32-year-old Ishikawa, a Jim McDowell client, split the 2015 campaign between the Pirates and Giants, batting a combined .206/.306/.302 in 72 Major League plate appearances and a combined .267/.337/.420 in the minors with the two organizations. Though he hasn’t occupied a semi-regular role since his 2009 season with the Giants, Ishikawa has averaged 112 big league plate appearances per year across the past six seasons, and he’s a career .255/.321/.391 hitter in the Majors.

The White Sox don’t appear, on the surface, to have much in the way of at-bats for another first baseman, though Ishikawa does have a bit of corner outfield experience. He’ll serve as a depth option for the Sox, who have Jose Abreu and Adam LaRoche penciled in as their primary first base and DH options, with right-handed sluggers Mike Olt and Jerry Sands serving as potential corner/DH alternatives on the 40-man roster.

White Sox Sign Mat Latos

By Jeff Todd | February 9, 2016 at 3:04pm CDT

The White Sox have officially added free agent righty Mat Latos on a one-year, $3MM pact. It’s a straight guaranteed deal with no incentives or options.

Latos has long appeared to be one of the better bounceback options on this year’s market, as he’s only just turned 28 and has established a rather lofty ceiling in the majors. The Bledsoe Agency client does come with some health concerns after dealing with elbow issues and tallying just 218 2/3 innings over the past two seasons, but he was largely healthy after an early DL stint in 2015.

Clubs are often willing to give more significant guarantees to such players — Justin Masterson, for instance, got $9.5MM from the Red Sox and Doug Fister just secured $7MM from the Astros. Low-base, high-incentive deals are another popular option; to take but one recent example, Bronson Arroyo received $6MM worth of upside in his deal with the Nationals (if he cracks the major league roster).

In the case of Latos, though, it seems there may have been some hesitation about adding a player who has developed a questionable reputation in prior clubhouses. It doesn’t help that he scuffled badly down the stretch with both the Dodgers and Angels, of course, but it remains notable that Latos fell so far shy of expectations — $12MM on a one-year deal, in the estimation of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes — in a market that paid out so much for pitching. It was just last winter that the Marlins gave up a solid young pitching prospect for the rights to employ Latos at what turned out to be a $9.4MM salary.

By taking on some risk, but making only a limited commitment, the White Sox seem to have made a worthy gamble to bolster their rotation. The staff’s top three looks quite strong, but as August Fagerstrom of Fangraphs notes, John Danks and Erik Johnson are an underwhelming duo behind that group and there isn’t much depth to speak of. Fagerstrom was explaining why a move for Yovani Gallardo might make sense, but that would seem rather unlikely after today’s move.

Of course, the addition of Latos represents quite a different proposition than that of a player such as Gallardo, whose main claim to free agent earnings comes from durability and solid innings. But gambling on the still-youthful righty is arguably a better allocation of resources for a club that’s already committed to exceed its 2015 Opening Day payroll and still has other areas to improve.

Latos has every incentive to get himself back on track, and the upside is significant. Other than his struggles as a rookie and his troubles last year, the big righty has been a major contributor. In over 900 innings between 2010 and 2014, he logged a 3.27 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.

Looking more closely at his efforts last year, it’s easy to see cause to look past an unsightly 4.95 ERA. All major ERA estimators valued him as a sub-4.00 pitcher, and he not only recovered velocity from 2014, but improved over his early-season results as the year wore on. Latos posed a swinging strike rate (9.9%) that lines up with his earlier years’ work. Of course, the finish left much to be desired, but on the whole there’s plenty to roll the dice on.

ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick first reported the signing on Twitter. Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago had the value via Twitter. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo noted (on Twitter) that no incentives or options were included.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Notes: Rays, Desmond, Marlins, Lincecum, Gallardo, Gurriel Bros.

By Jeff Todd | February 9, 2016 at 12:05pm CDT

The Rays are a “long shot” to land Ian Desmond, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter, with the required draft pick compensation (from the qualifying offer he declined) posing a significant barrier. Tampa Bay is in “bargain shopping” mode, he adds. We’ve seen previous suggestions that Desmond could line up with the Rays, though he doesn’t make for the most obvious roster match and it’s always seemed that he’d need to take a deal far below pre-winter expectations for that to occur.

Here are some more rumblings from the open market:

There are plenty of other teams hunting for value at this stage of the market, of course, with the Marlins eyeing pitching, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). We’ve heard that before, of course, and the club seems to be a prime destination for players seeking opportunity as the market settles.
One possibility that has often been tied to Miami is righty Tim Lincecum, who is preparing for a showcase some time this month. Sherman tweets that his agent, Rick Thurman, will check in on the veteran’s progress tomorrow as his camp decides upon a date to call in the scouts.
Yovani Gallardo remains the best available free agent arm, and Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets that he’s still drawing interest from the Orioles and two other teams. Cotillo had suggested (via Twitter) that the bidding would come down to the O’s, Astros, and Rockies, but Houston is out of the hunt after signing Doug Fister and he now says that Colorado appears to be on the sidelines.
August Fagerstrom of Fangraphs argues that the White Sox may be the better fit for Gallardo, given their lack of quality and depth at the back of the rotation. It helps, of course, that the team’s first overall selection is protected. It’s worth noting that Chicago also makes a good deal of sense for the other remaining qualified free agents — Desmond and Dexter Fowler — and could in theory lower the average draft pick compensation cost by signing more than one such player. On the other hand, Chicago’s current spending commitments are already right at last year’s Opening Day mark once you account for league-minimum salaries to round out the roster. Things look slightly better in 2017, though, with John Danks and Adam LaRoche coming off of the books, so creative contract structuring could create some daylight.
Two new names to watch in the coming months are prominent Cuban brothers Yulieski Gurriel and Lourdes Gurriel, both of whom reportedly left the national team in the Dominican Republic with intentions of heading towards major league free agency. But it might be unrealistic to expect to see either appear in the 2016 campaign, Ben Badler of Baseball America explains. His colleague, John Manuel, breaks down both players, noting that the elder Yulieski is a better player than Hector Olivera and could “set off a significant bidding war.” And for more reading on the interesting pair, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explains their unique place in Cuban baseball.

Quick Hits: Harris, Seratelli, Fowler

By charliewilmoth | February 7, 2016 at 10:40pm CDT

To celebrate the end of the Super Bowl and the unofficial beginning of the baseball season, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi lists ten key story lines from the upcoming MLB season. At the top is whether the Cubs can ride a 97-win 2015 campaign and a string of high-profile free agent signings (Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, John Lackey) to their first World Series win since 1908. Elsewhere, Morosi quickly reviews the offseasons of the Dodgers, Red Sox, Yankees, Nationals, Royals and Diamondbacks, assessing their chances of winning in 2016. Here’s more from around the game.

Cardinals pitcher Mitch Harris took a highly unusual path to the big leagues — he was drafted in 2008 but spent years away from the game serving in the Navy before making his minor-league debut in 2013 as a 27-year-old and quickly making his way to the Majors. One of the challenges he faced while serving was keeping up with what big-league hitters were up to, FanGraphs’ David Laurila writes. Harris says, though, that in some ways, his ignorance of his opponents could be a strength. “When I came back, I didn’t always have an idea of who I was facing,” he says. “There was no… I don’t like to use the word fear, so I guess you could say I wasn’t nervous to face anybody.” Harris had a relatively successful rookie season in 2015, posting a 3.67 ERA (albeit with 4.3 BB/9 and a modest 5.0 K/9) in his first 27 innings in the bigs.
Longtime Royals and Mets minor-league utilityman Anthony Seratelli is retiring, Laurila notes. In retirement, Seratelli plans on building his audio and video production company. The 32-year-old played at the Triple-A level in 2012-2014 and played with the Seibu Lions in Japan last season, but never reached the Majors. He exits with a .371 career minor-league OBP in parts of eight seasons.
Dexter Fowler tops the list of remaining free agents who are worth signing, ESPN’s David Schoenfield writes. Schoenfield notes that Fowler would be a good add for the White Sox, who have a need in the outfield and a protected first-round pick. Of course, White Sox GM Rick Hahn has previously expressed reluctance to part with the Sox’ next pick, at No. 28 overall, although the team recently has been connected to Fowler anyway.

Quick Hits: Bell, Linares, Puig, Jackson, Rays

By | February 6, 2016 at 10:08pm CDT

The big ticket free agents aren’t always the most important offseason additions, writes AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Using the Steamer projection system, Cassavell takes a look at the six players he thinks will most affect their respective divisions. Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and Cubs center fielder Jason Heyward are obvious picks. Surprisingly, Cassavell finds Mike Napoli to be the big name in the AL Central while Wade Miley’s move to Seattle could be sneaky important.

Here are a few more notes from around the league:

Cuban veterans Alexei Bell and Yordanis Linares will hold workouts on February 15 and 16 in Baja California, tweets Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. Bell, 32, was reported to have left Cuba on January 13 and could fit as a right fielder. Linares’ defection was reported last summer. The 26-year-old doesn’t have enough professional experience in the Serie Nacional to avoid international spending restrictions. Bell, however, can be signed by any team.
The White Sox should target Yasiel Puig, opines Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Chicago has shown curiosity about the Dodgers outfield depth and could obviously stand to improve in the outfield. Rumors have tied them to veteran lefty Andre Ethier who could provide a useful platoon bat. However, Puig represents a more definitive upgrade with a star ceiling. Unfortunately, young talent comes with a price. Merkin lists pitchers Carson Fulmer, Spencer Adams, and shortstop Tim Anderson as possible targets for the Dodgers. Trading any of that trio would be a bitter pill to swallow.
The Indians could be a fit for free agent outfielder Austin Jackson, suggest Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. Center field depth would be useful considering that Michael Brantley will start the season on the disabled list. Lonnie Chisenhall, Rajai Davis, and Abraham Almonte figure to form the Opening Day outfield, and it’s not hard to see a way to improve upon that trio. At the very least, additional depth in case of injury would be valuable.
The Rays should consider three more offseason moves, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The bullpen could use additional depth – perhaps Tyler Clippard or Tommy Hunter. Either Desmond Jennings or Brandon Guyer can be traded. The team is deepest with them on the roster, but they may be expendable. Jennings’ health may make a trade difficult. Lastly, Ian Desmond looks more and more attractive as a buy low option. The Rays have to be willing to discard their 13th overall selection in the draft if they’re to sign Desmond.

AL Central Notes: White Sox, Uribe, Urshela, Freese, Rosario

By Mark Polishuk | February 6, 2016 at 10:39am CDT

Here’s the latest from around the AL Central…

The White Sox and Cubs have both contacted the Rays about their pitching and outfield surplus, CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine reports. The Cubs’ discussions with the Rays have been well-documented this winter, though the Sox are a new entry among the many teams to touch base with the Rays about their young arms; Levine notes that at least 11 teams have asked Tampa Bay about pitchers. The White Sox have needs at both corner outfield positions and at the back end of their rotation. The all-lefty trio of Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Carlos Rodon will headline the Pale Hose rotation, while John Danks, Jacob Turner and Erik Johnson are the current competitors for the fourth and fifth starters’ jobs.
The White Sox went on a seven-game winning streak from July 23 to July 29 last season, though this hot stretch right in the leadup to the trade deadline didn’t really change the team’s plans, GM Rick Hahn tells MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. The decision to keep Jeff Samardzija at the deadline, for instance, wasn’t made because of the win streak; “nothing materialized and nothing was done in principal” in terms of a possible Samardzija trade, though the Sox were discussing him with teams. “Those [talks] don’t necessarily happen July 27, 28, 29 and 30th. Those are going on for several weeks,” Hahn said.
The Indians have offered Juan Uribe around $3MM, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports as part of his latest subscription-only column. Uribe has been linked to the Tribe and a few other teams, though salary will depend on whether or not Uribe is slated for a starting or backup role. Cleveland seems likely to use Uribe and Giovanny Urshela in a time-share at third, so Uribe wouldn’t get the lion’s share of playing time.
Speaking of Urshela, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer looks at the Indians’ incumbent at the hot corner, noting that it’s too soon to write off the 24-year-old as an all-glove, no-bat player. While Urshela’s minor league numbers aren’t impressive overall, he did post an .825 OPS over 528 PA at Double-A and Triple-A in 2014. Pluto notes that Urshela battled injuries in 2015 and was probably promoted too quickly. Urshela’s glove is so impressive that he can be a very useful everyday player if he hits even just a little, though Pluto notes that there are enough questions surrounding Urshela that the Tribe is justified in looking for an upgrade, especially in a season when team plans to contend.
The Indians are leaning more towards Uribe than David Freese to address their third base need, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes as part of a reader mailbag. Freese entered the winter as the best of a fairly thin free agent third base market but there’s been very little news about him this winter, aside from some talks with the Angels before they acquired Yunel Escobar.
Randy Rosario was something of a surprising addition to the Twins’ 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 draft, but as Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes, the Twins are impressed by the young left-hander’s promise. Rosario, 21, missed much of 2014 recovering from Tommy John surgery before returning to pitch 53 2/3 innings in A-ball last season. The Dominican Republic product signed an $85K contract with the Twins in 2010.

Dodgers Notes: Puig, Ryu, Ethier, Kendrick

By Steve Adams | February 4, 2016 at 10:17pm CDT

Andre Ethier has been the most oft-mentioned trade candidate for the Dodgers recently, in part, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link), because Los Angeles is telling teams with interest in Yasiel Puig that Puig is not available at this time. Puig isn’t without his red flags, as he’s facing potential disciplinary action in connection with domestic violence allegations, is coming off a down season and has long come with questions about his clubhouse persona. Of course, even Puig’s “down” season saw him bat a solid .255/.322/.436 with 11 homers in 311 plate appearances, and he remains just 25 years of age with a considerable track record of elite production under his belt. Puig’s contract guarantees him $19.5MM over the next three seasons, although it also allows him to opt into arbitration once he is eligible next offseason, so it’s perhaps likely that he’ll instead go that route, as his earning capacity figures to be greater going down the arbitration path.

A few more Dodgers-related notes…

Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi was a guest on High Heat with Chris Russo on the MLB Network today (video link) and discussed a number of topics regarding the upcoming season. In regard to left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu, who underwent shoulder surgery and missed all of the 2015 season, Zaidi stopped short of declaring that he’d be ready for Opening Day but did say the Korean southpaw’s recovery is progressing as expected. Zaidi sounded hopeful that Ryu would indeed be available, but as the GM noted, it’s impossible to project a player’s return from that type of procedure before seeing him pitch in a game setting.
Zaidi deflected the notion that the team is looking to move Andre Ethier, stating that, “Right now, he’s a really important part of our team,” mentioning Ethier’s quite-productive numbers from the 2015 season (albeit in a platoon capacity). Zaidi acknowledged that the Dodgers have quite a bit of outfield depth and stressed that earlier in the offseason, the team was open to various scenarios involving a number of their players. “But right now, we have nothing going on,” Zaidi continued. “…We expect [Ethier] to be here in 2016.”
Howie Kendrick, whose two-year, $20MM contract with the Dodgers became official today, will see time not only at second base but also at third base in 2016, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters, including Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, on today’s conference call. “He expressed a willingness to play different spots,” said Friedman of Kendrick. “That’s when things kind of accelerated.” Friedman said there could be as many as 1400 at-bats to go around between Kendrick, Chase Utley and Enrique Hernandez, with each expected to play multiple positions. As Shaikin notes, Kendrick’s willingness to play third base is of particular importance given Justin Turner’s offseason knee surgery and the fact that Turner has never played more than 126 games in a season before.
Interestingly, Shaikin adds his own bit about the recent trade talks between the Dodgers and White Sox, reporting that the Sox actually approached the Dodgers about Puig, but the Dodgers instead tried to sell the Sox on trades involving Ethier and Carl Crawford. At this point, there’s very little traction between the two sides, a source tells Shaikin.
Kendrick and his agent, Larry Reynolds, were among those that spoke to Nightengale for a full column on the problems caused by the current qualifying offer system. Reynolds, an agent for 32 years, told Nightengale that Kendrick’s free agency was the most difficult of any throughout his career representing players. Kendrick himself expressed surprise at the lack of interest in him: “Nobody wanted to give up that draft pick. It was a shocker.”

White Sox Seek Lefty Outfield Bat, Inquired On Andre Ethier

By Steve Adams | February 4, 2016 at 8:58am CDT

FEB. 4: The Dodgers would like to move Ethier, and the Sox do indeed want an upgrade in the outfield, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today, but there’s no sign of a match between the two sides at this time, he hears.

FEB. 3: Chicago has a “strong preference” to add a lefty bat, Rogers tweets. That’s one issue that the team has with a possible signing of Fowler, he notes, since the switch-hitting veteran is better from the right side.

FEB. 2: The White Sox have explored the possibility of a trade for Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier, according to a pair of reports from MLB.com’s Phil Rogers (Twitter link) and Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago/670thescore.com.

The Sox are known to be open to outfield help, having been connected to each of Yoenis Cespedes, Dexter Fowler and Alex Gordon, to varying degrees, over the past five to six weeks. Chicago currently projects to have an outfield of Melky Cabrera, Adam Eaton and Avisail Garcia, but the latter of that trio has yet to produce much at the Major League level. Eaton, of course, is one of the team’s best players and coming off a strong overall season, and while Cabrera stumbled out of the blocks in the first season of a three-year, $42MM contract, he rebounded to bat .288/.330/.449 with 11 home runs in the season’s final four months (109 games, 468 plate appearances).

Ethier could serve as a platoon partner for the right-handed-hitting Garcia, who has a career .284/.341/.424 batting line against left-handed pitching. He could also, as Levine notes, share some time between right field and DH in the event that Garcia and/or LaRoche enjoy a better season with the bat in 2016 than the duo did in 2015. Notably, the White Sox lack a bat that could step in and take reasonably contribute at designated hitter in place of LaRoche, should his problems persist. Mike Olt has huge power but is a career .168 hitter with a 37 percent strikeout rate, and the right-handed hitting Jerry Sands would be in strict need of a platoon partner. (That could be LaRoche himself, although the veteran struggled quite a bit even against right-handed pitching last year.)

From the Dodgers’ perspective, they can not only afford to part with Ethier but would in many ways be thinning out a currently crowded outfield mix. Los Angeles has Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford, Scott Van Slyke, Trayce Thompson and Enrique Hernandez all serving as outfield alternatives on the 40-man roster (though Hernandez, of course, is more of an infielder).

Ethier has long been viewed as an albatross contract, and while the remaining two years and $38MM on his deal are a roadblock in any potential trade talks, there’s no doubt that he did restore some of his value last year when he followed up a .253/.325/.385 performance vs. righties in 2014 with an outstanding .306/.383/.517 line in 2015. Ethier is still in clear need of a platoon partner wherever he goes — he’s received just 99 plate appearances versus lefties over the past two seasons combined — but that type of production is impressive, especially considering his pitcher-friendly home park.

The Dodgers could either offer to eat some of the remaining money on Ethier’s deal — Levine estimates that absorbing half of the sum would get the two teams on the same page — or take on a bad contract from the Sox in exchange. LaRoche, for instance, is owed $13MM this season, so his inclusion in a trade would effectively reduce the White Sox’ financial commitment to a more palatable $25MM over two seasons. Left-hander John Danks is owed $14.25MM and would make sense to some extent in this capacity, though his ability to eat innings as the Sox’ fifth starter carries some value, and the team lacks a clear alternative in the rotation, at least early in the year. Even setting the money aside for a moment, the Sox and Dodgers would also have to agree to additional compensation, as L.A. probably doesn’t view Ethier as a pure salary dump (especially not if they’re offering financial relief in some regard). While Ethier might not command one of the Sox’ top-tier prospects, some form of young talent would have to head back in the direction of the Dodgers for the two teams to line up on a trade.

There’s incentive for the two sides to get something done prior to the season, though, because as Levine notes, Ethier will gain 10-and-5 rights in mid-April, thus giving him the power to veto any potential trade that’s put on the table. The Sox, of course, still have alternative options in the form of other trade possibilities or free agents such as Fowler and Austin Jackson.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/3/16

By Jeff Todd | February 3, 2016 at 8:53am CDT

Here are the latest minor moves of note:

The White Sox have re-signed righty Maikel Cleto and added outfielder Vinny Rottino, according to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Cleto, 26, has been hit around in his limited MLB experience but has shown the ability to miss bats. He spent last year at Triple-A, working to a 3.00 ERA in 51 frames with 10.8 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9. The 35-year-old Rottino has not seen the majors since 2012. He slashed .266/.346/.390 over 514 plate appearances at Triple-A in 2015.
The Marlins have added first baseman Zach Lutz, per Eddy. Lutz saw only minimal time in the Mets system last year, but did briefly reach the majors with New York in the 2012-13 seasons.
Lefty Edgar Ibarra has joined the Phillies on a minors pact, Eddy adds. The 26-year-old cracked the bigs for the first time last year, but only made two appearances. At Triple-A, he worked o a 5.43 ERA over 66 1/3 innings with 9.1 /9 vs. 4.7 BB/9.
Fellow southpaw Chris Dwyer is going to the Orioles on his own new deal, according to the BA report. He had spent his entire career in the Royals organization, briefly making it up to the show in 2013. Dwyer was a fourth-round pick out of Clemson back in 2009.
The Braves reached agreement with Blake Lalli, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter), and expect to utilize him as one of the team’s catchers at Triple-A. The 32-year-old has served in just that role with the Diamondbacks over the last two seasons.

AL Central Notes: Twins, Davis, Fowler, Sox, Moustakas

By Steve Adams | February 1, 2016 at 12:01pm CDT

Twins manager Paul Molitor sat down with Darren Wolfson of KSTP and 1500 ESPN over the weekend for a 12-minute interview (video link) and discussed a number of topics, including the decision to play Miguel Sano in right field over left field, the possibility of Byron Buxton making the Opening Day roster and the team’s expected rotation. Molitor says it’s very likely that Ervin Santana, Kyle Gibson and Phil Hughes will be in the Opening Day rotation (assuming good health for each), and Tyler Duffey “has a really good chance” on the heels of a strong rookie showing, though Duffey’s inclusion is not considered a sure thing. Tommy Milone, Ricky Nolasco and Trevor May are all candidates for the fifth spot, though Molitor hinted by suggesting that May will “get a look, at least early in camp, to see how it goes, to see if that’s a better fit for him than in the bullpen,” that May’s chances might be a bit lesser. May opened last season as a starter and pitched reasonably well before turning in a very strong 2.87 ERA with 10.6 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 31 1/3 reliever.

Headlines

White Sox Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect