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White Sox Notes: Jay, Castillo, Zavala, Banuelos

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White Sox outfielder Jon Jay is finally showing some signs of progress in his effort to return from a groin strain. As Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets, GM Rick Hahn says that Jay may not be far from a rehab stint. He’s expanding his workload at extended spring training at the moment. When Jay inked a one-year, $4MM deal the idea was that he’d help solidify the overall outfield unit, and perhaps also help woo Manny Machado to the South Side. Neither concept has paid off to this point, though there’s still time for Jay to be a 2019 contributor and perhaps even turn into a trade chip.

  • Welington Castillo, meanwhile, is headed to the injured list, per Van Schouwen (Twitter link). It’s been a rough start to the season for Castillo, whose -0.2 fWAR can  largely be attributed to his .176/.286/.318 slash line. Defensively, Castillo’s strength is in deterring the run game. Framing metrics have looked less kindly upon Castillo’s work behind the dish. The 32-year-old veteran returned to Chicago last season after spending the early portion of his career with the Cubs. In his first season on the South Side, Castillo hit .259/.304/.406 across 49 games in 2018, though the bulk of playing time went to the since-traded Omar Narvaez. This season it’s been the James McCann show with starts split almost down the middle, despite McCann’s blistering start to the season. Officially, Castillo was placed on the 7-day concussion list, per The Athletic’s James Fegan (via Twitter).
  • Taking over Castillo’s spot on the roster – and making his major league debut – will be Texas native Seby Zavala. Over parts of this season and last, the 25-year-old Zavala slashed .234/.261/.405 for Triple-A Charlotte. He posted much better offensive numbers in lower levels, particularly in regards to his approach and contact skills. Despite his current 36.3% strikeout rate and 4.4% walk rate, Zavala prepares to make his debut at the game’s highest level as soon as this afternoon.
  • Lefty Manny Banuelos is also being reinstated from the injured list, tweets Fegan. Banuelos has been out of action with a shoulder strain since May 15. Banuelos, 28, has appeared in 9 games this season, starting 5, going 2-3 with a 7.26 ERA. Ten home runs in 31 innings played no small part in the high ERA, but Banuelos struggled with his command as well with 5.5 BB/9.

White Sox Option Nick Delmonico

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The White Sox have optioned outfielder Nicky Delmonico to Triple-A Charlotte, tweets James Fegan of The Athletic. While a corresponding move will be made official tomorrow, it’s expected that rookie outfielder Eloy Jimenez will be activated ahead of the series opener versus Houston.

Delmonico has scuffled out of the gates this season, posting a disappointing .586 OPS in 20 games for the White Sox. Following a promising rookie season in which a 13.9% walk rate carried him to a .373 OBP, Delmonico’s plate disciplined has trended steadily downward, culminating in a 6.3% walk rate that has fueled a .281 OBP in 2019. What’s worse, the 26-year-old’s strikeouts have moved in the opposite direction, with 35.9% of Delmonico’s 2019 plate appearances ending in strikeouts, compared to just 18.7% in 2017. Of course, the hope is that a stint in the minor leagues will allow the young outfielder ample opportunity to reverse these troubling developments and make the necessary adjustments to return to the big league club.

Assuming that Jimenez takes Delmonico’s place on the active roster, it will mark his first appearance since April 26, when he suffered a high ankle sprain. The highly-touted rookie has thus far experienced a mixed bag of results in the Majors, with a .674 OPS and 25 strikeouts in 85 plate appearances.

White Sox Sign Odrisamer Despaigne

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The White Sox have signed right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne to a minor league contract, per an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. Francys Romero of Las Mayores was first to report the news.

Prior to Sunday, Despaigne had spent the entire season with the Reds’ Triple-A team in Louisville, where he logged a 3.92 ERA/4.60 FIP with 8.7 K/9, 3.48 BB/9 and a 53.4 percent groundball rate in 41 1/3 innings. Despaigne’s brief Reds tenure concluded Thursday when he opted out of the minor league deal he signed over the winter.

Considering the struggles of Chicago’s pitching staff, Despaigne could make it back to the bigs this year if he shows well with Charlotte. The 32-year-old is an experienced major leaguer who has piled up a combined 349 2/3 innings, 106 appearances and 47 starts of 4.94 ERA/4.35 FIP ball in stints with the Padres, Orioles, Marlins and Angels. Despaigne struggled at the major league level in Miami and Anaheim in 2018, though, thus relegating him to the minors this season.

White Sox Interested In Retaining James McCann

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It isn’t any secret that the White Sox are eager to keep Jose Abreu in the fold, though another veteran may also be a candidate for a longer-term stint with the club.  While expressing to the Athletic’s James Fegan (subscription link) about how much the Sox would like to continue their relationship with Abreu, GM Rick Hahn also praised James McCann’s work at catcher.  “He’s been everything we had hoped for in terms of in the clubhouse and from a defensive standpoint and quite frankly more than we had even hoped for offensively,” Hahn said.  “He made an adjustment with his stance in the offseason….That’s really clicked for him. He’s been a great acquisition for us. We have control of him through arbitration next year and certainly look forward to having him around for a while.”

GM Rick Hahn On Jose Abreu’s Future With White Sox

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Jose Abreu is in his final season of club control, but the White Sox apparently aren’t envisioning a future without him. Asked by MLB Network’s Matt Vasgersian about Abreu’s future (video link), Hahn wasn’t subtle about his desire for Abreu to be a part of the team beyond the 2019 season.

“He’s been here throughout the early stages of this rebuild, and it’s certainly very likely that he’ll be here for the more enjoyable stages that lie ahead of us,” said Hahn of his first baseman after discussing Abreu’s importance not only on the playing field but in the clubhouse.

The debate over whether the Sox should trade Abreu has gone on for years, but despite past interest from multiple clubs and a large-scale teardown of the rest of the roster, Abreu has remained a constant in the lineup and in the locker room. Hahn specifically pointed out that Abreu was not moved as a part of an aggressive rebuild that shipped out Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Adam Eaton, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Todd Frazier and others as the Sox sought to restock their farm system. While it’s technically possible that the Sox could trade Abreu and then re-sign him as a free agent this winter, Hahn’s implication seemed to be that the organization hopes to retain Abreu moving forward.

There will surely be interest in Abreu once again this summer, as the slugger is off to a .268/.328/.518 start to the season. Through 180 plate appearances, Abreu has connected on 10 home runs and 11 doubles. He’s a career .293/.352/.516 hitter with 156 long balls since his rookie campaign back in 2014 That type of production would fit into the heart of any order, but Hahn stressed that Abreu’s off-field characteristics make him more valuable to the White Sox than to any of MLB’s other 29 clubs.

It’s not a foregone conclusion that the two sides will continue their relationship beyond the 2019 season, but Abreu has spoken openly in the past about his desire to remain with the White Sox, and Hahn’s latest comments make it apparent that the mutual interest on the team side of the equation has not changed. Barring an extension before season’s end, Abreu will be a candidate to receive a qualifying offer from the White Sox. He’s earning $16MM this season, so a qualifying offer — likely a bit more than $18MM this offseason — wouldn’t represent a substantial raise. Issuing a qualifying offer would not prevent the two sides from working out a longer-term arrangement covering the 2020 season and beyond.

White Sox Announce Season-Ending Surgeries For Rodon, Jones, Adolfo

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The White Sox have announced a brutal trio of injury updates this afternoon, as James Fegan of The Athletic was among those to cover (links to Twitter). Lefty Carlos Rodon, righty Nate Jones, and propect Micker Adolfo are all slated for season-ending surgeries.

Rodon is headed in for Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. That outcome had been expected after the procedure was recommended recently. If all goes well, the 26-year-old could return at some point during the 2020 season.

The White Sox are paying Rodon $4.2MM this year, his second of four seasons of arbitration eligibility. With seven starts under his belt in 2019, Rodon has likely done enough to nudge that rate forward at least a bit, but won’t be due a significant raise. The former first-rounder has had some worrying health problems in recent years, but this will represent the most significant disruption to his career.

As for Jones, it’s another disappointing turn for a reliever whose career has been sidetracked by a never-ending barrage of injuries, including a prior TJ procedure (among others). The 33-year-old underwent surgery yesterday to address a flexor mass injury in his right forearm. He has averaged less than 25 innings annually since the start of the 2014 season.

Jones remains controllable under the extension he signed in late 2015, which includes successive club options that include a $1.25MM buyout. The 2020 option was to be valued at either $3.75MM or $5.15MM, depending upon whether Jones had certain elbow procedures prior to 2018. He did not have another Tommy John surgery but did undergo a nerve repositioning procedure; whether the clause was triggered depends upon the precise language of the contract, which does not appear to have been reported.

Though he’s an outfielder rather than a pitcher, Adolfo has seen his own burgeoning career thwarted to this point by elbow troubles (among other injuries). He underwent TJS last year and worked back to health in time to take 95 plate appearances this season at Double-A (functioning only as a DH). His latest elbow work will require a four-to-six month break from baseball activities. GM Rick Hahn added that Adolfo will receive a fourth option year due to the health woes, which will make it easier for the club to hang onto him while he works back to health yet again.

White Sox Acquire Paulo Orlando

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The White Sox announced today that they have acquired outfielder Paulo Orlando from the Dodgers. He has been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte.

The return isn’t know, but it’s likely a deal for cash considerations. Orlando had been serving as depth in the Los Angeles organization after signing a minors deal over the winter.

Orlando, 33, appeared in each of the past four seasons with the Royals but failed to reach 100 plate appearances in 2017 and 2018. He’s a .263/.289/.384 hitter over 918 plate appearances at the game’s highest level.

Preston Tucker, KBO’s Kia Tigers Agree To Deal

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Outfielder Preston Tucker is set to sign with the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization, per an announcement from the Tigers (link via Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency). He’ll take a physical for them on Monday. Tucker had been with the White Sox’ Triple-A affiliate to begin the 2019 season but will seemingly be granted his release. With the Tigers, he’ll take the spot of another former MLB outfielder, Jeremy Hazelbaker, who is being released.

Tucker, 28, had two separate stints with the Braves in 2018 as well as one with the Reds, hitting a combined .229/.299/.404 with six homers and 11 doubles in 184 plate appearances. He was one of several unexpected contributors who helped to carry the Braves early in the season before the debut of Ronald Acuna last season, raking at a .288/.333/.538 clip through his first 18 games (and, like Hazelbaker with the ’16 Cardinals, serving as a reminder that April stats can be quite misleading). He posted just a .626 OPS from that point through season’s end, however.

Tucker has seen 651 plate appearances at the MLB level and has a rather meek .222/.281/.403 slash to show for his efforts, though he sports a much heftier .273/.341/.467 line in 1411 PAs across parts of six Triple-A seasons.

As for the 31-year-old Hazelbaker, he signed a one-year deal with the Tigers in the offseason but will see his stint there end after just 11 games and a .146/.239/.341 batting line through 46 plate appearances. Hazelbaker had a down year in a 2018 season he split between the Triple-A affiliates for the Twins and the Rays, but he’s a lifetime .259/.327/.436 hitter in parts of seven Triple-A campaigns.

White Sox Sign Ross Detwiler

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The White Sox have added veteran lefty Ross Detwiler on a minor-league arrangement. The transaction was announced by the indy ball York Revolution, the club that Detwiler opened the season with.

Detwiler, 33, had turned in three solid starts in Atlantic League action to earn his way back into the affiliated ranks. The former sixth overall draft pick has thrown in parts of ten MLB campaigns.

If he’s to make it back to the bigs, Detwiler will need to earn his way onto the Chicago roster with a good showing at Triple-A. He hasn’t spent substantial time in the majors since 2016, with only one start logged since that time.

Over 584 career innings, Detwiler owns a 4.36 ERA with 5.5 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9. Though he never reached the ceiling suggested by his draft position, he had his moments with the Nats. From 2011-13, Detwiler threw 301 2/3 innings of 3.46 ERA ball while working mostly as a starter.

White Sox Sign Ivan De Jesus To Minors Deal

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  • The White Sox have added infielder Ivan De Jesus Jr. on a minor-league deal, per an announcement from the Long Island Ducks. De Jesus had opened the season with the indy ball outfit but will now slide back to the affiliated ranks. The 32-year-old is a .242/.303/.327 hitter in 545 plate appearances over parts of four seasons. He’s mostly a middle infielder by trade but has seen action in the corner infield and outfield as well over the years. De Jesus will report to the Sox’ top affiliate.
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