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White Sox Activate Michael Kopech; Aaron Bummer, Evan Marshall Placed On 10-Day IL

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The White Sox have reinstated right-hander Michael Kopech from the 10-day injured list, and also called up left-hander Jace Fry from Triple-A Charlotte.  The moves come in response to a pair of bullpen injuries, as both southpaw Aaron Bummer (right hamstring strain) and righty Evan Marshall (strained right flexor pronator) are headed to the 10-day IL.

Due to a Tommy John surgery and then a COVID opt-out, Kopech’s 31 1/3 innings this season marked his first big league action since his debut campaign of 14 1/3 frames in 2018.  One of the game’s more highly-touted pitching prospects, Kopech has displayed that potential with a 1.72 ERA and a 36% strikeout rate this season before a strained left hamstring sent him to the IL on a retroactive May 28th placement.

The White Sox planned to keep Kopech in a hybrid swingman role a way of managing his innings, and it’s possible he could get more looks out of the pen in the near future considering the absences of Bummer and Marshall.  Chicago manager Tony La Russa told reporters (including James Fegan of The Athletic) that the club is hopeful Bummer is able to return after a minimal stint on the IL, though Marshall will be out of action for a to-be-determined longer period of time.

Bummer has a 3.26 ERA over 30 1/3 innings, with his typically large ground ball rate (a career-best 74%) as well as a 32.1% strikeout rate that would be a career high by a large margin over a full season.  Bummer has been an effective weapon out of Chicago’s bullpen for five years now, with the exception of an injury-shortened 2020 campaign.

Marshall pitched well last season to help account for Bummer’s absence, but 2021 has been a much tougher ride for the right-hander.  Marshall has a 5.60 ERA over 27 1/3 innings, due to the combination of a larger-than-usual homer rate, a below-average strikeout rate, and a 40.8% grounder rate that is well south of his 52.6% career average.

White Sox Reinstate Jace Fry, Outright Alex McRae

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The White Sox have reinstated Jace Fry from the 60-day injured list and optioned the left-hander to Triple-A Charlotte.  To create room on the 40-man roster, righty Alex McRae was outrighted to Triple-A.

Fry underwent back surgery (a microdiscectomy, specifically) during the offseason and has spent the entire season on the 60-day IL while recovering and getting ramped up to pitch.  The early returns have looked good, as Fry has a 2.08 ERA over 13 Triple-A innings thus far, albeit with eight walks in those 13 frames.

Control has been an issue over Fry’s 132 2/3 career MLB innings, as he has a 13.7% walk rate over four seasons with the White Sox.  Fry has a 4.75 ERA but a respectable 4.05 SIERA, as his 50.5% grounder rate and 28.3% strikeout rate have helped to somewhat limit the damage from his free passes.  Fry has been very effective against left-handed batters, who are hitting just .184/.302/.257 in 243 plate appearances against the 27-year-old Oregon State product.

McRae has appeared in each of the last four Major League seasons, with the last two in the White Sox organization.  He has amassed only five total innings in a Chicago uniform, and since he has been outrighted three times in his career, he has the option of electing free agency rather than accepting his latest outright assignment.  McRae has a 7.34 ERA over 38 career innings with the White Sox and Pirates.

White Sox Finalize Season-Opening Roster

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The White Sox finalized their season-opening roster Thursday, announcing they have selected the contracts of outfielder Billy Hamilton and outfielder/first baseman/designated hitter Andrew Vaughn (previously reported). They also placed outfielder Eloy Jimenez on the 60-day injured list as he recovers from a torn left pectoral tendon, while Adam Engel (strained right hamstring) and left-handed reliever Jace Fry (microdisectomy) went to the 10-day IL. Additionally, the White Sox outrighted lefty Nik Turley. Because Turley has been outrighted in the past, he’ll have the right to elect free agency.

The most experienced player in this group is Hamilton, whom the White Sox signed to a minor league contract two weeks ago. Hamilton’s chances of making the roster increased significantly when they lost both Jimenez and Engel to injuries. The former Red, Royal, Brave, Met and Cub will open the season on Chicago’s fifth outfielder behind Luis Robert, Vaughn, Adam Eaton and Leury Garcia.

While the 30-year-old Hamilton has never hit much in the majors, where he has posted a .241/.296/.325 line through 3,125 plate appearances, his speed and defense have kept him in the league. Hamilton has stolen 305 bases on 376 attempts – good for a success rate of 81-plus percent – and totaled 72 Defensive Runs Saved with a 56.2 Ultimate Zone Rating as a center fielder. That combination could make him a useful reserve for the White Sox.

White Sox Notes: Vaughn, Fry, Crochet, Kopech, Roster

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White Sox general manager Rick Hahn met with reporters yesterday as pitchers and catchers reported to camp, touching on a number of topics pertaining to a bolstered 2021 roster. Perhaps most notably, Hahn indicated that top prospect Andrew Vaughn, the No. 3 overall pick from the 2019 draft, is “very much in the mix” to make the Opening Day roster (Twitter link via Daryl Van-Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). Chicago was at times connected to potential DH candidates throughout the winter, but part of the reason the Sox opted not to bring in a dedicated DH was due to their belief that Vaughn could emerge as early as this season.

While the 22-year-old still has just 55 professional games under his belt thanks to the absence of minor league play in 2020, Vaughn fared well in that time, slashing a combined .278/.384/.449 with six homers, 17 doubles and nearly as many walks (30) as strikeouts (36). Vaughn’s numbers at Cal teetered on absurd, as he batted .374/.495/.668 with 50 long balls in 745 plate appearances. He’s universally ranked among the game’s Top 30 or so prospects, and once he makes the roster he could split time with Jose Abreu between first base and designated hitter.

More on the South Siders…

  • The White Sox will be without lefty Jace Fry for the first month of the season, Hahn also announced this week (Twitter link via James Fegan of The Athletic). The 27-year-old underwent a back operation over the offseason and isn’t expected to be an option until at least May 1. Fry has been a high-strikeout, high-walk part of the Chicago ’pen for the past few seasons, working to a combined 4.43 ERA and 3.92 SIERA with a 29.6 percent strikeout rate but a 13.7 percent walk rate. Between Aaron Bummer and 2020 first-round pick Garrett Crochet, the Sox should still have a pair of lefties to put in the bullpen.
  • Speaking of Crochet, while the organization views him as a starter in the long run, Hahn indicated that the lefty could be used in multiple roles, including a bullpen setting, for the coming season as the club monitors his workload (via MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, on Twitter). The same is true of top prospect Michael Kopech, who’ll be back in the mix for a spot on the pitching staff this spring. Kopech, also regarded as one of the game’s best pitching prospects, underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2018 season, missed all of 2019 and opted out of the 2020 campaign.
  • Though there are still more than a few unsigned players of note, Hahn suggested that the bulk of the White Sox’ offseason work is complete, Merkin tweets. While the Sox are still in touch with several free agents, Hahn said that the “expectation is that any additions would be more of the non-roster invite variety if at all.” The ChiSox added Liam Hendriks and Adam Eaton via free agency over the winter and also swapped out righty Dane Dunning for Lance Lynn in a trade with the Rangers. While they’ve been connected to other potential free agents along the way, though, it seems their roster is largely set.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 12/2/20

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With the non-tender deadline coming today at 7pm CT, expect quite a few players to agree to contracts for the 2021 season, avoiding arbitration in advance.  In many (but not all) cases, these deals — referred to as “pre-tender” deals because they fall prior to the deadline — will fall shy of expectations and projections.  Teams will sometimes present borderline non-tender candidates with a “take it or leave it” style offer which will be accepted for fear of being non-tendered and sent out into an uncertain market.  Speculatively, such deals could increase in 2020 due to the economic uncertainty sweeping through the game, although there are also widespread expectations of record non-tender numbers.

You can track all of the arbitration and non-tender activity here, and we’ll also run through today’s smaller-scale pre-tender deals in this post.  You can also check out Matt Swartz’s arbitration salary projections here.

Latest Agreements

Earlier Agreements

  • Twins righty Jose Berrios will earn $6.1MM with a $500K signing bonus in 2021, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports. Catcher Mitch Garver will rake in $1.875MM, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Center fielder Byron Buxton ($5.125MM) and reliever Taylor Rogers (terms not released) also agreed to deals, according to Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.
  • The Phillies have deals with starter Zach Eflin ($4.45MM) and relievers Hector Neris ($5MM), David Hale ($850K) and Seranthony Dominguez ($727,500), Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Heyman and Todd Zolecki of MLB.com relay.
  • The Marlins and first baseman Garrett Cooper have a $1.8MM agreement that could max out at $2.05MM with performance bonuses, Craig Mish of Sportsgrid tweets.
  • The Brewers are keeping catcher Manny Pina in the fold for $1.65MM, according to Heyman. They’re also retaining first baseman Daniel Vogelbach for $1.4MM, Nightengale reports.
  • The Giants and outfielder Austin Slater have a one-year, $1.15MM deal, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.The club also reached a $925K agreement with lefty Wandy Peralta and a $700K pact with righty Trevor Gott, Heyman tweets.
  • The Cubs are bringing back hurlers Dan Winkler ($900K), Colin Rea ($702,500) and Kyle Ryan ($800K), Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Ryan’s agreement is a split contract that features a $250K minor league salary.
  • The Mets are retaining lefty Steven Matz for $5.2MM, Nightengale tweets. Matz had a brutal campaign in 2020 with a 9.68 ERA/7.76 FIP over 30 2/3 innings in 2020, but the Mets will give him a chance to rebound.
  • The Padres and lefty Matt Strahm have a one-year, $2MM deal, Nightengale reports. Strahm gave the Padres a 2.61 ERA/4.93 FIP in 20 2/3 innings in 2020.
  • Outfielder Guillermo Heredia, whom the Mets claimed from Pittsburgh in August, will earn $1MM in 2021, according to Nightengale.
  • The Astros and reliever Austin Pruitt have settled for $617, 500, per Heyman. The right-hander missed the season with elbow issues.
  • The Royals and outfielder Jorge Soler have agreed to a one-year, $8.05MM deal with $250K in incentives, Nightengale reports. Soler was a 48-home run hitter in 2019, but his production went backward this past season, in which he slashed .228/.326/.443 with eight HRs in 174 trips to the plate.
  • The Red Sox have kept relievers Matt Barnes ($4.4MM) and Ryan Brasier ($1.25MM) and catcher Kevin Plawecki ($1.6MM), per tweets from Nightengale, Robert Murray of FanSided and Heyman. Barnes has been a solid reliever as a member of the Red Sox, though he yielded more than five walks per nine and upward of four runs per nine in 2020. Brasier was more successful this past season, as he tossed 25 frames of 3.96 ERA/3.15 FIP ball and averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine. Plawecki had a nice year as the backup to Christian Vazquez, as he batted .341/.393/.463 in 89 PA.
  • The Giants and southpaw Jarlin Garcia have settled for $950K, according to Heyman. Garcia is coming off an 18 1/3-inning effort in which he posted a near-perfect 0.49 (with an impressive 3.14 FIP) and 6.87 K/9 against 3.44 BB/9.
  • The Marlins have agreed to a one-year, $4.3MM deal with first baseman Jesus Aguilar, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. The 30-year-old slugger put up strong numbers in his first year with the Fish, slashing .277/.352/.457 with eight long balls in 216 plate appearances.
  • The Giants and outfielder Alex Dickerson settled at a year and $2MM, tweets Nightengale. The 30-year-old slugger has a lengthy injury history but has been excellent in limited work with the Giants, including a .298/.371/.576 slash in 170 plate appearances this past season.
  • Luis Cessa will be back with the Yankees on a one-year deal, tweets Nightengale. He’ll earn $1.05MM. The righty notched a 3.32 ERA and 3.79 FIP with a 17-to-7 K/BB ratio in 21 2/3 innings this past season. Fellow righty Ben Heller will also return, the team announced, though it didn’t disclose financial details.
  • First baseman Matt Olson and the Athletics settled on a one-year deal worth $5MM, tweets Nightengale. The 26-year-old Olson’s .198/.310/.424 slash was an obvious step back from his 2019 campaign, but he’s still viewed as a vital part of the club’s future moving forward.
  • The Braves and righty Luke Jackson agreed to a one-year deal, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The 29-year-old was rocked for a 6.84 ERA in this year’s shortened slate of games but posted a 3.84 ERA and 3.24 FIP with better than 13 K/9 as one of the team’s steadiest relievers in 2019. The contract is valued at $1.9MM, per a team announcement.
  • The Brewers are bringing back catcher Omar Narvaez for one year and $2.5MM, Heyman tweets. Narvaez was a very good offensive catcher from 2o16-19 with the White Sox and Mariners, but he struggled last season after the M’s traded him to the Brewers. Thanks in part to a career-worst 31 percent strikeout rate, Narvaez could only muster a .176/.294/.269 line and a paltry two HRs in 126 plate appearances. Nevertheless, he’s in line to return to the Brewers for a second season.
  • The Brewers have agreed to a one-year, $2MM contract with shortstop Orlando Arcia, Nightengale relays. Arcia endured serious struggles on offense in prior years, but the 26-year-old managed a respectable .260/.317/.416 line with five home runs over 189 plate appearances this past season.
  • The Phillies and catcher Andrew Knapp have reached a one-year, $1.1MM agreement, per Nightengale. Typically a light-hitting backstop, Knapp batted a career-best .278/.404/.444 in 89 plate appearances in 2020. He’s currently the No. 1 catcher on a Phillies team that could lose J.T. Realmuto in free agency.
  • Pirates infielder Erik Gonzalez agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.225MM, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. It was the second year of arb eligibility for Gonzalez, whose glovework will earn him a contract despite a brutal .227/.255/.359 batting line in 193 plate appearances in 2020.
  • The Royals and Hunter Dozier agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.72MM in entirely guaranteed money, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports.  More is available to Dozier via contract incentives.  Dozier hit .228/.344/.392 over 186 PA after missing over the first two weeks of the season recovering from a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
  • The Red Sox agreed to an $870K deal with right-hander Austin Brice for the 2021 season, as per Nightengale.  Brice posted a 5.95 ERA, 11.4 K/9, and 5.9 BB/9 over 19 2/3 innings in his first season in Boston, and was considered a potential non-tender candidate.
  • The Twins and righty Tyler Duffey agreed to a one-year, $2.2MM pact, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reports.  According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, Duffey’s deal is fully guaranteed.
  • The Braves agreed to a one-year, $900K deal with southpaw Grant Dayton, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.  Dayton had a 2.30 ERA over 27 1/3 innings in 2020.
  • The Braves announced an agreement with utilityman Johan Camargo on a one-year, $1.36MM deal.  Camargo was thought to be a non-tender candidate after struggling to a .222/.267/.378 slash line in 375 plate appearances over the last two seasons, but he will return for a fifth year in Atlanta.
  • The White Sox and left-hander Jace Fry agreed to a one-year deal worth $862.5K, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  Fry posted a 3.66 ERA, 2.00 K/BB rate, and 11.0 K/9 over 19 2/3 innings in 2020, and he has strong overall career numbers against left-handed batters.
  • The Orioles agreed with second baseman Yolmer Sanchez on a one-year deal worth $1MM, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).  Baltimore claimed Sanchez off waivers from the White Sox at the end of October.  A Gold Glove winner in 2019, Sanchez was non-tendered by Chicago prior to last year’s deadline, though after signing a minors deal with the Giants, he returned to the White Sox on another minors deal and appeared in 11 games on the South Side.
  • The Twins agreed to a one-year deal worth roughly $700K with left-hander Caleb Thielbar, The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman reports (via Twitter).  2020 marked Thielbar’s first taste of MLB action since 2015, as the southpaw worked his way back from independent ball to post a 2.25 ERA, 2.44 K/BB rate, and 9.9 K/9 over 20 innings for Minnesota.
  • The Dodgers and left-hander Scott Alexander have agreed to a one-year, $1MM deal, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  Alexander posted a 2.92 ERA over 12 1/3 innings out of the Los Angeles bullpen this season, recording an equal number of walks and strikeouts (nine).  The southpaw was thought to be a potential non-tender candidate given his relative lack of usage and his non-inclusion on the Dodgers’ playoff roster, but the team will retain Alexander for his second arb-eligible year.  ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter) adds the noteworthy detail that Alexander’s $1MM salary is fully guaranteed, as opposed to the usual contracts for arbitration-eligible players that allow their teams to release them prior to Opening Day and only pay a fraction of the agreed-upon salary.

White Sox Rumors: Colome, Abreu, Bummer, Fry, Leury

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At 45-52 and 10 games back of a wild-card spot, the White Sox are buried in the American Leagugue playoff race. Despite that, the team isn’t going into the July 31 trade deadline as a motivated seller, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score explains.

Thirty-somethings Alex Colome and Jose Abreu would represent a pair of plausible trade chips if the White Sox were to aggressively ship out veterans. Either player could still move by the 31st, but considering Colome’s under control through 2020, the White Sox could opt to retain him, Levine observes. Abreu’s an impending free agent, though the franchise icon and the club have time and again expressed a desire to stay together beyond this season. The White Sox still aren’t ruling out dealing the first baseman, per Levine, but he adds they’d need to “love” an offer for Abreu if they’re going to part with him.

Meanwhile, two of Colome’s fellow relievers – Aaron Bummer and Jace Fry – as well as utilityman Leury Garcia have also garnered interest, Levine reports. Bummer has generated the most inquiries, but the White Sox are inclined to keep him and Fry.

Just 25 and not even eligible for arbitration until after next season, the left-handed Bummer has pitched to an exceptional 1.73 ERA (3.17 FIP) in 36 1/3 innings. An eye-popping 68.5 percent groundball rate and 8.67 K/9 against 2.72 BB/9 have driven Bummer’s success, as has a rise in velocity. Bummer has seen his average fastball velo rise from 93 mph between 2017-18 to 95-plus this season.

Fry, 26, is another lefty-throwing grounder machine, having forced them at a 57.8 percent clip in 2019. He’s striking out an excellent 11.5 per nine to boot, but a sky-high walk rate (6.68 BB/9) has undermined Fry’s work, evidenced by a 4.28 ERA/4.23 FIP over 33 2/3 innings. He, like Bummer, won’t reach arbitration until after 2020.

Garcia’s already in the arb process – he’s in his second-last year before free agency – but his $1.55MM salary, season-plus of control and defensive flexibility make him appealing to the White Sox and other clubs. While the 28-year-old is typically a center fielder, he has played upward of 40 games at both corner outfield spots and both middle infield positions since debuting in 2013. Garcia’s also a switch-hitter who has complemented his versatility in the field with useful offense in recent years. After managing terrible numbers with the bat from 2013-16, Garcia has been closer to a league-average hitter over the past two-plus seasons. Despite a lack of power, Garcia has posted a 92 wRC+ (.278/.316/.396) dating back to 2017.

Garcia’s improvement at the dish may help lead to his exit from Chicago in the next several days. However, the White Sox – who’d surely like to move past their rebuild and into contention soon – don’t seem dead set on trading Garcia or anyone else.

White Sox Place Welington Castillo On Injured List

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The White Sox have placed catcher Welington Castillo on the 10-day injured list, per a club announcement. He’s said to be dealing with a strained left oblique.

This move will create active roster space for the previously reported arrival of Zack Collins, who’ll receive his first taste of the majors. The South Siders also reinstated lefty Jace Fry from the injured list. He’ll take the place of the previously optioned Thyago Vieira.

Castillo, 32, has long been a solid offensive performer. But he’s slashing a meager .196/.289/.364 over 121 plate appearances this year. Unsurprisingly, he has ceded more and more time to James McCann, who has continued his scorching start at the plate.

It’ll be interesting to see how this backstop situation plays out over the course of the season. In addition to the introduction of Collins, there are some reasons to expect both veterans to move back towards their career norms. Castillo has only a .232 batting average on balls in play, while Statcast credits him with a .340 xwOBA that dwarfs his actual .290 wOBA. It’s just the opposite for McCann, who has enjoyed a .400 BABIP and .378 wOBA but carries a xwOBA just scarcely north of Castillo’s at .348.

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