- Former White Sox outfielder Nicky Delmonico returned to the organization as a minor league hitting coach earlier this week. He told reporters that he hopes this will be just the first step in a lengthy career on the other side of the game (link via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). Delmonico, 29, said he would “love to manage” one day and has long felt that would be his calling in his post-playing days. Delmonico might’ve continued his playing career were it not for some recent injury troubles, but he revealed in that media session that he’d have required shoulder surgery and a lengthy rehab process to continue on the field (Twitter link via James Fegan of The Athletic). Fegan notes that Delmonico spent the 2021 instructional league with the White Sox’ club there, learning under the organization’s hitting coordinator, Andy Barkett.
White Sox Rumors
Read The Transcript Of Our Chat With Former MLB Reliever Will Ohman
If you regularly watched National League baseball from 2006-08, there’s a good chance you saw Will Ohman pitch. The lefty reliever ranked 10th in the NL in ’06 by appearing in 78 games for the Cubs, and then second in the league with 83 appearances for the Braves in ’08.
Born in Frankfurt, Germany on a U.S. Army base, Ohman was drafted in the eighth round by the Cubs in 1998 out of Pepperdine. He kicked off his big league career in 2000 by inducing Marquis Grissom to ground out as part of a scoreless inning. Ohman underwent Tommy John surgery in 2002, but fully recovered and in total appeared in 483 games for the Cubs, Braves, Dodgers, Orioles, Marlins, and White Sox in his ten-year career.
Ohman put together a sub-4.00 ERA in three different seasons, including a 2.91 mark in ’05. Among lefty relievers who tossed at least 100 innings from 2005-06, Ohman ranked sixth with a 25.2 K%. The list of Ohman strikeout victims includes Ken Griffey Jr., Todd Helton, Joe Mauer, Jim Thome, Bobby Abreu, David Ortiz, Barry Bonds, David Wright, Adrian Beltre, and Derek Jeter. In his career, Ohman held lefties to a .206 batting average.
Ohman’s website notes that he also “represented Germany in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier Tournaments in both 2012 and 2016.” He later served as the pitching coach of the Palm Beach Cardinals. Will now runs Ace Baseball, and he’s on Twitter @TheWillOhman.
Will told me he’s followed MLBTR since his playing days. We were thrilled to host him for a live chat today; you can click here to read the transcript.
Also, if you’re a current or former MLB player reading this, come do a chat with us! It’s fun and easy and only requires an hour of your time, and you choose which questions you publish and answer. Click here to contact us.
White Sox Hire Nicky Delmonico As Minor League Hitting Coach
Former White Sox outfielder/designated hitter Nicky Delmonico has rejoined the organization — but not as a player. The ChiSox announced this morning that the 29-year-old Delmonico will be the new hitting coach for their Class-A Advanced affiliate. Delmonico hadn’t made a formal announcement of his retirement, but it seems as though at least for now, he’s moving to another phase of the game.
A sixth-round pick by the Orioles back in 2011, Delmonico was traded to the Brewers in a 2013 swap that sent Francisco Rodriguez to Baltimore. After that K-Rod trade, Delmonico spent a couple seasons in the Brewers organization but never advanced beyond Class-A Advanced before being cut loose. He latched on as a minor league free agent with the White Sox the following offseason and righted the ship with solid showings at Double-A and Triple-A in 2015-16.
By 2017, Delmonico had been called up for his big league debut, turning some heads with a .262/.373/.482 showing through 166 plate appearances as a 25-year-old rookie. He’d spend parts of the next three seasons with the South Siders but was never able to recapture that rookie form. On the whole, Delmonico logged 574 plate appearances in the Majors and batted .224/.312/.384 with 18 home runs, 17 doubles and five triples. Delmonico was a better hitter in the upper minors, slashing .274/.342/.487 in parts of three Double-A seasons and .259/.342/.421 in parts of five Triple-A seasons.
Delmonico is the latest recent big leaguer to join the ChiSox’ minor league coaching ranks. The Sox hired Danny Farquhar as their Class-A Advanced pitching coach for the 2021 season and named former big league corner infielder Chris Johnson their Triple-A hitting coach in Dec. 2020. Former ChiSox infielder Chris Getz, meanwhile, heads up the team’s player development department and was elevated to assistant GM a year ago.
Oscar Colas Done Pitching, Will Focus On Outfield Work With White Sox
The White Sox’ long-awaited deal with Cuban slugger Oscar Colas became official earlier this month, when he agreed to a $2.7MM signing bonus as international free agency opened. Notably, while there’d been some talk of the 23-year-old Colas working as a two-way player, he’s made clear since his signing that he’ll be working as strictly an outfielder with the White Sox (link via Vinnie Duber of NBC Sports Chicago).
“Pitching is in the past for me,” Colas told reporters through the team’s interpreter. Colas adds that it was an “easy decision” and that the White Sox were far more interested in his potential as an outfielder than on the mound. Indeed, ChiSox special assistant Marco Paddy tells Duber and others that Colas is “not really a pitcher” and that his development on the mound would have taken considerably longer.
While it’d have been a fun story to see a highly touted young talent like Colas strive to become a two-way player, the “Cuban Ohtani” moniker that was placed upon him always seemed rather misguided and, frankly, unfair to Colas himself due to the expectations associated with the nickname. As we noted at the time Colas was declared a free agent by MLB, to liken a player with all of 3 1/3 professional innings pitched (during the 2018-19 Cuban National Series) to Ohtani never made much sense, catchy and marketable as the narrative might’ve been. Colas is reportedly able to reach 95 mph with his fastball, and perhaps there’s some raw pitching talent that could have been refined. However, by the time Ohtani was this age, he’d amassed 543 innings of 2.52 ERA ball in Nippon Professional Baseball and was on the cusp of jumping directly to the Majors.
None of that is to downplay Colas’ potential for big league success with the bat. By all accounts, the 6’1″, 220-pound slugger has huge raw power from the left side of the dish and could eventually settle in as a productive big league hitter. Baseball America’s Ben Badler noted recently that even though he’s improved his conditioning since leaving his native Cuba, Colas is likely to settle in as a left fielder or first baseman due in part to questions about his outfield range.
Given his age and prior professional experience in Cuba and in Japan, Colas is more advanced than your typical amateur who’d sign during the international period in MLB. That said, he also hasn’t played a game in the CNS or in NPB since 2019, so there’s surely some rust to shake off as he reacclimates.
It’s possible he’ll be a quick mover, although the White Sox already have a fairly crowded collection of players in the mix in the outfield corners, at first base and at designated hitter. Jose Abreu is locked in at first base, leaving the outfield corners and DH work to fall to Eloy Jimenez, Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets. Chicago also has fleet-footed Adam Engel as an option at all three outfield positions, and corner outfield prospect Micker Adolfo is out of minor league options, meaning he cannot be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers. It’s not an immediate issue anyway, as Colas will need some time in the upper minors before he’s an option in the big leagues, but some eventual turnover among that group of corner bats/DH options is inevitable.
Gordon Beckham Announces Retirement
Former big league second baseman Gordon Beckham announced his retirement this evening (via Twitter). “Since my good friend Buster Posey decided to retire this year, I am officially announcing I will be retiring as well. I want to make sure we get into the Hall of Fame the same year. Start the countdown!!,” Beckham wrote in a tongue-in-cheek statement.
Selected by the White Sox with the eighth overall pick in 2008 coming out of the University of Georgia, Beckham entered pro ball as a very highly-touted prospect. Baseball America ranked him the game’s #20 overall farmhand entering the 2009 campaign, with that offseason counting as his only one with prospect eligibility. That’s because the righty-hitting infielder spent barely any time in the minor leagues, reaching the big leagues after just 59 games on the farm.
Beckham, now 35, debuted in June 2009 and was essentially pencilled into the White Sox’s everyday lineup from that point forward. He hit .270/.347/.460 with 14 home runs across 430 plate appearances in his age-22 campaign, finishing fifth in that season’s AL Rookie of the Year balloting. Beckham would spend the next few seasons manning the keystone in the South Side of Chicago, but he never recaptured the above-average offensive form he’d shown during his debut season.
Over the next four-plus years, Beckham tallied 2467 plate appearances and hit .240/.299/.359. In August 2014, the White Sox traded him to the Angels. He slashed an impressive .268/.328/.429 in 26 games while playing a utility role down the stretch for the playoff-bound Halos. Despite that solid finish, Los Angeles non-tendered Beckham after the season. He returned to the White Sox as a free agent but struggled to a .209/.275/.332 mark in 237 trips to the plate.
From that point forward, Beckham bounced between a few teams as a veteran journeyman type. He split the 2016 campaign between the Braves and Giants, then appeared with the Mariners in the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Beckham played for the Tigers in 2019, suiting up in a bit more than half of the team’s games. That proved to be his final MLB action, as subsequent minor league deals with the Padres and Mets didn’t result in big league opportunities.
Beckham didn’t become the All-Star caliber player the White Sox and their fans might’ve envisioned after his first couple years in pro ball. Yet he appeared in 11 consecutive MLB seasons between 2009-19, spending more than half that time as a regular. The Atlanta native hit .237/.300/.367 across 3782 plate appearances. He hit 80 home runs, drove in 351 runs and scored 420 times. Beckham earned a bit more than $12MM in career earnings, per Baseball Reference. MLBTR congratulates him on his career and wishes him the best in retirement.
Francisco Liriano Announces Retirement
Left-handed pitcher Francisco Liriano has announced his retirement, agent Mike Maulini tells Robert Murray of FanSided. Liriano debuted in 2005 with the Twins as a 21-year-old, and he last toed the rubber with the Pirates in 2019. All in all, Liriano appeared in 14 big-league seasons with the Twins, Blue Jays, White Sox, Tigers, Astros, and Pirates. MLBTR sends our sincere congratulations to Liriano on a long and successful career.
Liriano originally signed with the Giants as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic on September 9, 2000. He would spend his first three professional seasons in San Francisco’s minor league system, reaching High-A in 2003 before being traded to the Twins in November. The deal would prove a good one for Minnesota, who received Liriano with Boof Bonser and Joe Nathan in exchange for catcher A.J. Pierzynski and cash. The deal marked the first of four times that Liriano would be traded throughout his professional career.
With the Twins, Liriano became a star. He burst onto the scene for a 96-win club in 2006, immediately crowned as the perfect sidekick/successor for ace Johan Santana. The 22-year-old threw 121 innings with a 2.16 ERA/2.55 FIP. Liriano was so impressive that he made the All-Star team, his only such appearance. Just as Liriano tantalized Minnesota’s fanbase with his electric arsenal, disaster ended the dream before it really even began: Liriano underwent Tommy John surgery in early November, knocking him out of the entirety of 2007.
He returned in 2008 to make 14 starts, posting a 3.91 ERA/3.87 FIP over 76 innings. Unfortunately, the electricity was gone from his game as his 30.4 percent strikeout rate from 2006 fell to 20.4 percent in his return season. Though some thump may have been gone from Liriano’s game, he proved to be an extremely resourceful and resilient professional, twice winning the Comeback Player of the Year award.
The first time came in 2010 when he rebounded from a difficult 2009 seasons to start 31 games and toss 191 2/3 innings with a 3.62 ERA/2.66 FIP, striking out more than 200 batters for the first time in his career. Liriano helped the Twins to 94 wins and a division title. He made just one postseason start as the Twins were bounced from the playoffs in a three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees. That club was the third division winner of the past five years, but all three were swept out of the playoffs, and they tumbled to fifth place in 2011.
They stayed there in 2012, which helped lay the groundwork for the second trade of Liriano’s career. The Twins traded Liriano to the White Sox on August 1, 2012 for Eduardo Escobar and Pedro Hernandez.
Liriano signed a somewhat surprising deal with the Pirates that offseason that turned out to be a prescient move for the Buccos. Liriano made 26 starts in his first season with the Pirates, tossing 161 innings with a 3.02 ERA/2.93 FIP, a remarkable effort that won Liriano his second Comeback Player of the Year award. Liriano proved the perfect avatar for the Pirates’ own turnaround, who won 94 games and ended a 20-season playoff drought.
Not only did Liriano help get the Pirates to the postseason, he was the winning pitcher of a one-game playoff against the Reds, tossing seven innings of one-run baseball en route to a 6-2 win. That win might be the single greatest moment in the last 30 years of Pirates baseball. Remarkably, that team boasted a rotation that included a young(er) Charlie Morton and Gerrit Cole, but Liriano was the ace of that staff, and he pitched like it in the postseason.
The Pirates would go up 2-1 in the NLDS before ultimately falling in a five-game loss to the Cardinals. Liriano started a game three win as well, pitching six solid innings and giving up just three hits and two runs. Liriano even walked and drove in a run with a sacrifice in that game.
Liriano and the Pirates would return to the playoffs a wild card team in each of the next two seasons, running into a pair of buzzsaws in Madison Bumgarner and Jake Arrieta, both of whom threw complete game shutouts in their respective wild card contests. Liriano’s run in Pittsburgh was no less remarkable, however, as he posted a 3.65 ERA over 693 2/3 innings in parts of five seasons with the Pirates.
The 2016 season would mark the end of the second phase of Liriano’s career and begin the third. After a subpar start to the season for both player and team, Liriano was traded for the third time in his career. This time saw him shipped to the Blue Jays along with Reese McGuire and Harold Ramirez in exchange for Drew Hutchison.
He was traded for the last time at the deadline the next season. The Astros acquired Liriano for Nori Aoki and Teoscar Hernandez. He shifted to the bullpen, becoming a lefty specialist and winning a World Series with the 2017 Astros. He recorded a valuable out in each of game six and game seven, retiring Cody Bellinger on both occasions.
Because of the speed at which Liriano burst onto the scene, he probably ended up being slightly underrated throughout his career, one marked by reinvention. No matter the trial, Liriano pushed through it, making 300 career starts and appearing in 419 career games, tossing 1,813 2/3 innings and finishing with a 4.15 career ERA and 3.88 career FIP. He was an All-Star, a World Series winner, and he even tossed a no-hitter while a member of the Twins back in 2011. Congratulations to Liriano on a truly remarkable career.
Can The White Sox Make The Most Of Andrew Vaughn?
The White Sox have one of the best closers of his generation burning a hole in their pocket. Craig Kimbrel’s trade availability is no secret, so much so that speculation has reached the what-happens-if-they-don’t-trade-him part of the trade rumors life cycle, as explored yesterday by MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk. That said, when GM Rick Hahn picks up the phone to talk shop with one of the other 29 general managers, Kimbrel’s not likely the sole topic of conversation.
After all, determining value for a player like Kimbrel can often be accomplished by touching on a number of evaluative points, i.e. players, before circling back to the original focus. And of course, sometimes those conversation never return to the original player of focus at all. Vinnie Duber of NBC Sports speculates on who some of those other players are that the White Sox might bandy about in trade talks. This practice mostly amounts to a listing of the White Sox prospects and young players who haven’t yet established themselves in full-time roles, and sure enough, for Chicago’s Southsiders, they are the type of win-now club that must consider moving prospects.
The top player on Duber’s list (after Kimbrel), is Andrew Vaughn, the third overall pick of the 2019 draft. After an explosive season with the California Golden Bears, Vaughn was seen as a potential fast-riser, but it was still surprising to see the White Sox take a first baseman third overall, behind only superstars-in-waiting Adley Rutschman and Bobby Witt Jr. Impressive though his bat was, first baseman simply don’t usually go that high in the draft.
What’s more, the White Sox already had a first baseman in Jose Abreu. Abreu hadn’t yet put up his 2020 MVP season, but internally, the organization has always held him in high regard. Drafting for positional need isn’t exactly the rule of thumb for the MLB draft, of course. Regardless, at the time, Abreu was a potential free agent at the end of the year. So Vaughn, besides being a high-end college bat, benefited the White Sox as an insurance policy and negotiating tactic even before he donned a uniform.
Vaughn being blocked at first by Abreu was an easy can to kick down the road for Chicago’s draft team, but the hypothetical quandary actualized in 2021 as Vaughn approached big-league readiness. Though 2019 was his only season of minor league experience because of the pandemic, the White Sox nevertheless deemed Vaughn ready for the show in 2021, and they didn’t let the fact that there wasn’t an avenue to regular playing time stop them from placing Vaughn on the opening day roster. Of course, injuries cleared a path: all Vaughn had to do was learn a new position on the fly at the highest level of the sport.
All things considered, Vaughn held his own rather well in his rookie season, slashing .235/.309/.396 across 469 plate appearances while spending time at first base, left field, right field, second base, and third base. His performance at the plate was a touch disappointing as he finished six percent worse than average with a 94 wRC+, but if anyone deserves a little grace, it’s Vaughn.
Again, let’s consider the circumstances. Vaughn played his age-23 season not having played organized baseball in more than a year, never having appeared above High-A while adjusting to life as a part-time player and learning not one, but four new positions. He did so for a team with postseason expectations that absolutely did not have time to wait for Vaughn to “grow up.” He did so while taking the place of not one, but two injured outfielders in Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert who had quickly become the faces of the rising power in Armour Square. Even to be roughly the value of a replacement player under those circumstances (0.2 rWAR, 0.3 fWAR) has to be counted as a win for the ChiSox. The future is bright for Vaughn, with Steamer projecting Vaughn to become a 114 wRC+ hitter by next season.
For a high draft pick debuting for a championship contender, Vaughn’s national spotlight was surprisingly dim. His low profile can be partially attributed to the other stars on the team that pull attention their way, it could be partially attributed to the fact that the White Sox ran away with the division, but most of all, it’s probably attributable to the fact that part-time players rarely take center stage. And as Gavin Sheets, another rookie bat, crushed righty after righty, Vaughn was more-and-more relegated to the short-side platoon duties for which he was probably best suited.
Vaughn’s platoon splits are hard to ignore. The young slugger mauled southpaws to the tune of a 156 wRC+ with a .269/.383/.555 line. Against right-handers, Vaughn shrunk to a .221/.277/.332 triple slash, a mere 68 wRC+. Based on that production, Vaughn is already an elite short-side platoon bat. The question is whether he can grow to be more than that if he’s not getting those at-bats against same-handed hurlers. The White Sox will be heavy favorites in the AL Central, but the Royals and Tigers are rising, and the Twins and Guardians were formidable foes not long ago. It’s fair to question whether they can give him that time and space to develop.
We have to ask the question: should the White Sox trade Vaughn? For as much as Chicago will be favorited, they have holes to fill at second base, right field, and potentially in the rotation. It would hurt to move Vaughn, but to Duber’s point, we need only return to the Kimbrel trade to see Hahn’s willingness to shuffle pieces around to meet positional need – even when that means sacrificing young players. Last year’s trade of Nick Madrigal was a particular circumstance, of course, where Madrigal’s injury rendered him a zero in 2021. Hahn saw the potential to turn Madrigal’s zero into positive points on the ledger as they made a bid to be World Series contenders.
Of course, given how that turned out for Chicago, Hahn might think twice about making a similar move. That said, moving Vaughn would be a similar move if Vaughn is going to continue as a part-time player. Turning part-time production into full-time production would be a similar capitalization of resources, but that assumes that Chicago won’t find a way to get Vaughn into the lineup on a regular basis. Besides, his long-term potential coupled with his elite production against lefties might be enough for Hahn to tighten his grip on Vaughn, regardless of what kind of player he could get in return.
There’s also the matter of Vaughn’s “versatility,” which Chicago certainly utilized in 2021. Vaughn didn’t embarrass himself defensively at any position, but he also wasn’t a positive in any spot. Sure, they can continue to move him around the diamond as needs arise, but that might not be the best way to maximize Vaughn as a resource.
There are basically two avenues that the White Sox will want to consider for Vaughn as a resource. How can they maximize his value to help this team right now, and how can they best develop Vaughn as a player to reach his substantial ceiling? If they feel confident in aligning those tracks, then there’s no reason to consider moving Vaughn, not when alternatives to fill those roster holes remain. If the White Sox have doubts about their ability to multi-task Vaughn’s development, then it’s worth considering his value on the market.
Then again, what exactly would they be targeting in a deal? A regular second baseman or right fielder with similar team control and potential. Say, a Nick Madrigal type? I kid. But maybe they could pair Vaughn with Kimbrel to get a true in-their-prime superstar in return? Unfortunately, Kimbrel and Vaughn together offer the wrong blend of win-now and build-to-the-future potential for a team that might be willing to subtract a “true superstar.” Besides, there are only so many young players who have proven themselves to be Major League players that a team wants to surrender, even if they have holes to fill.
These deals happen, of course, and they’re rarely easy to spot before the trades are delivered to the league office. The Brewers and Rays excel at these types of deals, but they typically avoid any preciousness about their young players. The White Sox don’t have quite that history. Therefore, more than likely, Vaughn will continue his development as a member of the 2022 White Sox, sometimes playing right field, sometimes playing first base, always crushing lefties, and hopefully beginning to find his way to holding down an everyday spot in the lineup – and that much is true no matter what uniform he wears.
What If The White Sox Don’t Trade Craig Kimbrel?
While the White Sox exercised their $16MM club option on Craig Kimbrel back in November, Chicago GM’s Rick Hahn hinted that the veteran closer could very well be in a different uniform come Opening Day 2022. “What we have to figure out is if it makes the most sense to have Craig in a White Sox uniform going forward or is there a better use of that spot and him perhaps via trade?” Hahn told reporters, thus setting the stage for weeks of trade rumors before the lockout halted all big league trade activity. The signing of Kendall Graveman prior to the transactions freeze also seemed to indicate that Kimbrel would be moved, as the White Sox now had his replacement readied.
Kimbrel’s salary, age (he turns 34 in May), his lack of success in 2019 and 2020, and his struggles after joining the Sox at the trade deadline are all notable obstacles to any deal. The clearest avenue towards a trade might be some kind of swap of unfavorable contracts, with the White Sox moving Kimbrel for another high-salaried player that could be a fit for second base, right field, or another of Chicago’s positions of need. Or, in a longer shot, there might be a bullpen-needy team out there willing to cover most or all of Kimbrel’s contract, with this team less focused on Kimbrel’s aforementioned red flags and more on the incredible numbers he posted for the Cubs during the first four months of the 2021 campaign.
As much as Kimbrel didn’t pitch well post-trade, his early-season dominance can’t be written off. Kimbrel posted a 0.49 ERA, 46.7% strikeout rate, and a 37.2% strikeout-to-walk rate, looking all the world like he’d bounced back to his early-career star form. This performance was why the Cubs were able to command a high price for Kimbrel at the deadline, resulting in the acquisition of Nick Madrigal and Codi Heuer from their Windy City rivals.
Declining Kimbrel’s option would’ve meant the White Sox would’ve gotten nothing at all for that big trade outlay. So, as risky as it may seem, exercising Kimbrel’s option and dealing him now might allow the Sox salvage a good return (if obviously not a Madrigal/Heuer return) and get a new player who can help them take that next step forward in the postseason.
But, for all of the Kimbrel trade speculation, there has been far less buzz over the other portion of Hahn’s statement. While it can be assumed that the team’s preference is to work out a trade, what if such an acceptable deal can’t be found, and thus “it makes the most sense to have Craig in a White Sox uniform going forward“?
NBC Sports Chicago’s Vinnie Duber recently explored the challenges of a Kimbrel trade, and floated the possibility that Kimbrel might wind up returning to the White Sox bullpen. “Yes, it would seem quite strange for Hahn to take the seemingly significant step of talking about a Kimbrel trade in the open only to not make a deal,” Duber notes, and yet it isn’t exactly a worst-case scenario for the Sox to have what might be a potentially loaded bullpen.
With closer Liam Hendriks headlining a group of Kimbrel, Graveman, Aaron Bummer, Jose Ruiz, and (depending on how he is deployed) Garrett Crochet, there’s a lot of talent in that relief corps. This type of depth might also be a necessity given the questions in Chicago’s rotation — Carlos Rodon seems likely to sign elsewhere in free agency, Dallas Keuchel struggled in 2021, and Michael Kopech might not yet be ready to assume a full starters’ workload. If the White Sox bullpen can consistently eat three or more innings per game, however, that significantly reduces what is required of the starters, and helps keep them fresh for the playoffs.
This assumes that Kimbrel will be a solid contributor himself in 2022, rather than the homer-prone reliever who allowed five home runs and posted a 5.09 ERA over 23 innings with the ChiSox. As small as that sample size is, Kimbrel’s 36 2/3 innings with the Cubs last season isn’t much larger, so it remains to be seen exactly which Kimbrel might show up next year.
Breaking down Kimbrel’s Sox tenure, it is worth noting that a lot of his problems were contained to two brutal games — ironically, both against the Cubs. Kimbrel allowed three runs over two-thirds of an inning against the Cubs on August 6, and then three more runs against his former team in an inning of work on August 27. Subtract those two outings from the equation, and Kimbrel suddenly has a much more impressive 2.95 ERA over 21 1/3 frames with the White Sox, and only two home runs allowed.
There might also be a more basic reason why Kimbrel didn’t pitch well with the White Sox. The right-hander tossed only 36 total regular-season innings over the 2019-20 seasons, before jumping back up to 59 2/3 IP in 2021. As Jordan Lazowski of the Sox On 35th blog observed, Kimbrel’s fastball velocity declined by 1.7 mph from June to September, leading to a natural decrease in the quality of his fastball, and some mechanical issues that seemed to develop as Kimbrel tried to adjust and compensate.
In theory, if the 2021 season helped get Kimbrel’s arm re-acclimated to an increased workload, it could bode well for the righty to keep things going for all six months of the next regular season (and, the White Sox hope, into October). This is another instance where a deep Chicago bullpen can come in handy, as if Tony La Russa can pick and choose from several quality options for close late-game situations, Kimbrel’s innings can be managed to some extent.
Keeping Kimbrel’s $16MM on the books gives the White Sox less flexibility for other moves this winter, as the Pale Hose are already projected for a team-record high number of roughly $180MM in 2022. Yet, if Hahn and company can move some other money around to get that second baseman or right fielder, or if ownership green-lights more spending, a Kimbrel deal wouldn’t be so critical to Chicago’s post-lockout plans.
White Sox Re-Sign Kyle Crick, Sign Ryder Jones
The White Sox have re-signed reliever Kyle Crick and signed infielder Ryder Jones, per Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. Crick joined the White Sox Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte last July after being released by the Pirates, while Jones, whose last taste of the majors came in 2018, spent 2021 bouncing around the Diamondbacks’ system. Both signed minor league deals.
Crick, a one-time high-end prospect in the Giants’ system, tossed 24 1/3 innings of 4.44 ERA ball with the Pirates in 2021. But while his top-line numbers hovered around league average and he didn’t allow a single home run, an elevated walk rate (17.8%) and below-average strikeout rate (19.6%) suggest he may have been buoyed by a bit of luck. The righty did put forth a strong showing at Triple-A Charlotte — a 0.87 ERA with three walks and 15 Ks in 10 1/3 innings — in a small sample, but the call back to the bigs never came.
For his career, Crick has posted a 3.51 ERA (4.25 FIP) in 171 2/3 innings across parts of five seasons with the Giants and Pirates. After a strong debut (3.06 ERA in 32 1/3 innings) following a 2017 mid-season call-up with San Francisco, the Texan looked like a bona fide high-leverage option after heading to Pittsburgh (with Bryan Reynolds) for Andrew McCutchen ahead of the 2018 season, in which he logged a 2.39 ERA (3.14 FIP) in 60 1/3 innings across 64 appearances. Control problems began to bite in 2019, however, and elevated walk and home run rates (15.5% and 4.4%, respectively) saw his ERA balloon to 4.96 before a broken finger (sustained in a clubhouse fight with teammate Felipe Vázquez) ended his season in September. Crick did post a 1.59 ERA in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but he was limited to only 5 2/3 innings due to right shoulder problems.
Like Crick, Jones came up in the Giants system. Primarily a third baseman, he reached the bigs in 2017 but posted a meager .173/.244/.273 batting line in 164 plate appearances across 53 games. Including a further 8 trips to the plate logged in 2018, Jones’ career line stands at .185/.250/.316, a far cry from the solid .283/.347/.467 Triple-A line he’s put together in 782 plate appearances across parts of four seasons at that level. After becoming a minor league free agent following the 2019 season, the lefty-swinging Jones signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox before spending 2020 with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Constellation Energy League following the cancellation of the minor league season. He signed a minor league deal with Arizona ahead of the 2021 season and compiled a .288/.344/.500 line in 293 trips to the plate across three levels.
Of the two, Crick likely has the easier path to breaking spring training with the big club, where he’ll be given a chance to slot in at the back end of a solid White Sox bullpen. The South Siders’ starting infield is set between Jose Abreu, Leury Garcia, Tim Anderson, and Yoan Moncada, but Jones will hope to benefit from the mid-season departure of Nick Madrigal in the Craig Kimbrel deal; he’ll vie for a bench slot as a backup infielder alongside the more versatile Danny Mendick, though the White Sox are likely to bring in at least a few more bodies to compete for bench roles.
Melky Cabrera Announces Retirement
Longtime major league outfielder Melky Cabrera announced his retirement this morning (h/t to Héctor Gómez of z 101). Cabrera last appeared in the majors in 2019 but had played winter ball in each of the past two years.
The announcement officially closes the book on Cabrera’s successful big league playing career. He broke into the majors with the Yankees halfway through the 2005 season, getting to the majors a bit before his 21st birthday. The switch-hitter emerged as a regular in the Bronx the following year, playing with the Yankees through their World Series-winning 2009 campaign.
The following offseason, New York traded Cabrera to the Braves. The Dominican Republic native struggled in Atlanta and was released after one year, but he bounced back after hooking on with the Royals the following season. After a solid year in Kansas City, he was traded to the Giants before the 2012 campaign. He’d only spend one year in the Bay Area as well, but that season proved to be the most productive of Cabrera’s career. He hit .346/.390/.516 across 501 plate appearances, earning his only All-Star nod in the process.
Down the stretch, however, Cabrera was suspended after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. That ban carried over into 2013, where he landed with the Blue Jays after signing a two-year deal over the winter. Cabrera struggled in the first season of that deal but bounced back with a very productive 2014 campaign. He proved a capable, high-contact bat for a good chunk of 30s, suiting up with the White Sox, Royals (for a second time), Indians and Pirates.
Cabrera’s run of productivity came to a close in 2019. Despite hitting .280 that year, his overall offensive output was 16 percentage points below the league average (by measure of wRC+) due to a lack of power and a minuscule 4.3% walk rate. Cabrera briefly caught on with the Mets in 2020 Summer Camp but was cut loose before the start of the season.
Altogether, Cabrera had a lengthy, impressive showing in the big leagues. He appeared in fifteen consecutive MLB seasons from 2005-19, donning the uniforms of eight different clubs. Over a bit more than 7,500 plate appearances, Cabrera hit .285/.334/.417, an overall slash line a hair above average by both wRC+ and OPS+. He hit 144 home runs, 383 doubles, drove in 854 runs and stole 101 bases. FanGraphs valued his career around 16 wins above replacement, while Baseball Reference pegged him around 21 wins. Cabrera tallied a bit more than $72MM in earnings, according to B-Ref. MLBTR congratulates the 37-year-old on a very fine run and wishes him the best in retirement.
