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White Sox Select Dominic Fletcher

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The White Sox have selected the contract of outfielder Dominic Fletcher from Triple-A Charlotte and reinstated righty Dan Altavilla from the 15-day injured list, per a club announcement. Right-hander Jonathan Cannon and first baseman Tim Elko were optioned to Charlotte in a pair of corresponding transactions.

Fletcher, 28, was acquired from the D-backs in the 2023-24 offseason trade that sent pitching prospect Cristian Mena to Arizona. It hasn’t worked out particularly well for either team. Fletcher hit only .206/.252/.256 in 241 plate appearances with Chicago last year — a far cry from his strong .301/.350/.441 showing in 102 plate appearances during the 2023 season. The Sox designated him for assignment in spring training and passed him through waivers.

Fletcher has spent the entire 2025 season thus far in Triple-A, where he’s batted .260/.317/.453 with 17 home runs, 19 doubles, four triples and seven steals (in 11 attempts). He’s walked at just a 6.5% clip but also has a lower-than-average 19.5% strikeout rate.

Altavilla missed more than a month due to a lat strain but will return for the final few weeks of the season. He signed a big league deal with the ChiSox midseason after briefly opting out of a minor league deal with the club. In 26 2/3 innings, the 32-year-old righty (33 on Sunday) has posted a tidy 2.36 earned run average but with far less encouraging rate stats. He’s fanned only 15.5% of his opponents against a bloated 12.7% walk rate (leading to a 5.84 FIP and 5.08 SIERA).

White Sox Designate Bryse Wilson For Assignment

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The White Sox announced that right-hander Jonathan Cannon and left-hander Tyler Gilbert have been recalled from Triple-A Charlotte. Left-hander Bryan Hudson has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a lower back strain and righty Bryse Wilson has been designated for assignment as the corresponding moves.

Wilson, 27, signed with the Sox this winter. He was outrighted by the Brewers and elected free agency, which led to a one-year deal with the Sox worth $1.05MM. He worked in a swing role for the first few months of the season but didn’t have great results, so he was passed through waivers in June. Since he has less than five years of service time, he would have had to forfeit his remaining salary commitments in electing free agency again, so he accepted the assignment.

The Sox recently added him back to the roster to replace Aaron Civale, who was lost off waivers to the Cubs. Wilson made one more appearance for the Sox in recent days but is now bumped off the roster yet again.

On the whole, Wilson has a 6.65 earned run average in the majors this year. His 12.5% strikeout rate is well below league average and his own previous rate from earlier in his career. His minor league work has been decent. He has thrown 39 2/3 innings for the Knights with a 3.86 ERA, 22.2% strikeout rate, 4.9% walk rate and 56.1% ground ball rate.

He has come somewhat close to that level of performance in the majors before. From 2022 to 2024, he logged 297 innings in the big leagues with a 4.24 ERA, 17.5% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 40% ground ball rate.

Though his minor league numbers have been decent this year, he is out of options, which could make it hard for clubs to claim him. If he goes unclaimed on waivers again, he will likely accept a second time, in order to continue collecting what remains of this year’s salary. He would be eligible to elect free agency at season’s end if he’s not on the 40-man.

Photo courtesy of Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images

White Sox Notes: Cannon, Alexander, Perez, Robert

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The White Sox optioned starter Jonathan Cannon to Triple-A Charlotte this afternoon. They recalled Wikelman González and will work with a nine-man bullpen for the time being.

Aside from a three-week injured list stint in June, Cannon has held a spot in Chicago’s rotation all season. The former third-round pick has struggled to a 5.34 ERA with below-average peripherals in 19 appearances. Cannon’s 17.7% strikeout rate and 1.69 home runs per nine innings are both concerning. He has hit a particularly rough stretch of late, giving up 18 earned runs on six longballs over his past three starts.

Cannon, a second-year player, entered the season as one of the more experienced pitchers in a very young rotation. He made 23 appearances as a rookie. Cannon turned in a 4.49 ERA with a 17.4% strikeout rate during his debut campaign. If he spends at least 20 days in the minors, this will be his second of three option years.

Scott Merkin of MLB.com writes that Tyler Alexander will take the bulk work when Cannon’s turn through the rotation comes up next week against the Tigers. Alexander has worked in multi-inning relief since signing with Chicago in early June. He has turned in a 2.89 ERA across 37 1/3 innings. Alexander has gotten up to 3-4 innings out of the bullpen. He’ll slot behind Shane Smith, Aaron Civale, Sean Burke and Davis Martin in Will Venable’s rotation.

It might not be long before Martín Pérez rejoins the group. The veteran southpaw tossed four innings and 58 pitches in a rehab start with Double-A Birmingham this evening. That was his second rehab start as he works back from elbow inflammation that sidelined him in April. Pérez had made four starts before the injury, posting a 3.15 ERA while striking out 22% of batters faced. A return in the next couple weeks would allow him to make five or six more appearances before he heads back to free agency.

Meanwhile, GM Chris Getz spoke with reporters on Friday about the team’s decision not to trade Luis Robert Jr. (link via Vinnie Duber of The Chicago Sun-Times). The general manager talked about a desire to build around up-the-middle talent, also highlighting catchers Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel and a potential middle infield pairing of Colson Montgomery and Chase Meidroth.

Getz included Robert in that group. “We are excited about having Luis Robert in the White Sox organization. … When he’s playing well, the team is seemingly playing well and we are getting wins,” he said. “He’s a guy we like having in this organization, and we are planning on having him as part of the future.” None of that comes as a surprise after they elected to hold him beyond the deadline. Robert had started the season terribly, at least against right-handed pitching, but has mashed at a .365/.435/.554 clip since the beginning of July.

While that wasn’t enough to convince other teams that he’d found his star form, it has seemingly pushed the Sox into planning to exercise their $20MM club option. That could change if Robert slumps in the final six weeks, but not trading him wouldn’t make sense if the Sox don’t think there’s a good chance he’ll play well enough to be worth the option price. They could shop him again in the offseason or carry him into next season with the continued hope that he’ll play well enough to rebuild his trade value. His contract contains an additional $20MM team option for 2027.

AL Central Notes: Arias, Carpenter, Cannon

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Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias had to be carted off the field with a left ankle sprain during today’s 7-0 loss to the Cardinals.  In the third inning, Arias jammed his left foot while sliding to try and gather a Masyn Winn grounder that went for a single, and Arias needed immediate treatment from the club’s training staff in the aftermath.  Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt told MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins and other reporters that Arias will undergo an MRI tomorrow, though the good news is that initial x-rays were negative.

More will be known about Arias’ status tomorrow, but it seems like a placement on the 10-day injured list is inevitable prior to the Guardians’ next game on Tuesday.  Now in his fourth MLB season, Arias began 2025 in a second base timeshare with Daniel Schneemann, and then assumed starting shortstop duties in mid-May.  Arias has +3 Outs Above Average and +3 Defensive Runs Saved over 424 1/3 innings at short this year, helping the Guards with his glove even if he is hitting only .231/.293/.369 over 281 plate appearances.  As Stebbins notes, former starting shortstop Brayan Rocchio will probably be called up from Triple-A to handle shortstop in Arias’ absence.

Here’s some more from around the AL Central…

  • Speaking of MRIs, Kerry Carpenter will also receive a scan tomorrow after he had to make an early exit from the Tigers’ 3-0 win over the Twins tonight.  Carpenter was removed from the game with right hamstring discomfort after hitting a triple in the fifth inning, though he told reporters (including MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery) that his hamstring started to act up earlier in the game when he was playing right field.  Detroit doesn’t play Monday so Carpenter will have a built-in day off to heal up, though a trip to the injured list might be a wise idea since Carpenter has been dealing with hamstring soreness for much of the season.  Carpenter has a 116 wRC+ and 16 home runs over 280 PA, but his .257/.285/.494 slash line reveals a severe dropoff in his on-base numbers, as Carpenter’s 2.5% walk rate is among the lowest in baseball.
  • The White Sox activated Jonathan Cannon from the 15-day injured list today, and the right-hander allowed a run on three hits and three walks (with four strikeouts) over three innings of a start in Chicago’s 5-2 over the Giants today.  Cannon missed just short of four weeks dealing with a lower back strain, and he now has a 4.59 ERA over 13 appearances (11 starts) and 66 2/3 innings this season.  A third-round pick for the Sox in the 2022 draft, Cannon made his Major League in 2024 and figures to be part of Chicago’s rotation for the rest of the season as the rebuilding White Sox figure out their future rotation.  Right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move for Cannon’s activation.

White Sox Notes: Cannon, Teel, Quero

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The White Sox announced Tuesday that righty Jonathan Cannon has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a lower back strain. Right-hander Caleb Freeman is up from Triple-A Charlotte to take Cannon’s spot on the active roster.

Cannon, 24, was sharp through his first nine trips to the hill this season (3.60 ERA, 18 K%, 7.8 BB% in 50 innings) but has run into a rough patch of late. Over his past trips to the mound, he’s been roughed up for 13 runs on 17 hits and four walks in 13 2/3 innings. Yesterday’s outing against the Tigers was particularly shaky; Cannon surrendered five runs — on the strength of three homers — and walked three batters in just three innings. A recent velocity drop could underscore the fact that he’s been pitching at less than 100 percent; Cannon averaged 93.5 mph on his four-seamer and 93 mph on his sinker through May 18 but has averaged just 91.8 mph and 92 mph, respectively, since.

The South Siders haven’t yet said how long Cannon will be out. Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reports that the Sox have already had imaging performed but have not yet publicly disclosed the results. It’s also not clear who’ll replace Cannon in the rotation. The Sox are currently going with Shane Smith, Davis Martin, Sean Burke and Adrian Houser in an all-righty rotation. Swingman Bryse Wilson is stretched out enough that he tossed five innings yesterday in relief of Cannon, but he’s sitting on a 6.80 ERA this year — including 17 earned runs in his past 14 2/3 innings.

Chicago’s depth chart has thinned out in recent months. Prospects Ky Bush and Drew Thorpe are out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery this spring. Other once-well-regarded prospects like Jairo Iriarte, Nick Nastrini, Owen White and Wikelman González have all struggled in the upper minors. Veteran southpaw Martín Pérez is out until at least September and could miss the rest of the year due to a flexor strain.

Lefties Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith are two of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, but neither has even reached Triple-A yet; Smith only has 25 Double-A frames under his belt. The Sox probably want both to get more development time in before bringing them to the majors — particularly since neither needs to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason in order to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft.

The South Siders do have a top prospect who’s making a compelling case for a call to the majors sooner than later, but it’s not one of their coveted young arms. Catcher Kyle Teel, the headline prospect in the trade sending Garrett Crochet to Boston, is hitting .289/.394/.491 in Triple-A (131 wRC+). Teel has walked in a massive 14.8% of his plate appearances, fanned at a 26.6% clip that the Sox would surely like to bring down, clubbed eight homers and even swiped seven bags in eight attempts.

A consensus top-50 prospect in the sport, Teel got out to a slow start this season but has only been held hitless four times in 34 games dating back to an April 12 doubleheader where he went 0-for-3 in both halves of that twin bill. In 134 plate appearances since that time, the 2023 first-rounder (No. 14 overall) is batting .331/.428/.532. Strikeouts remain an issue, and Teel’s .378 average on balls in play isn’t sustainable, but it’s hard for him to do much more to clamor for a call to the majors.

The Sox, it seems, are taking notice. Teel tells Scott Merkin of MLB.com that the organization has begun to have him work out at first base. Teel hasn’t played there in a game yet but has been taking grounders at first base the past few days and working with the staff in Charlotte to acclimate himself to a new position.

Chicago recently optioned longtime first baseman Andrew Vaughn to Charlotte. The former No. 3 pick has been a constant in their lineup for four-plus seasons but has never lived up to expectations when he was one of the top prospects in his draft class. Vaughn has been a roughly average offensive performer with poor glovework and baserunning. The Sox are surely hoping he can get on track in Triple-A and salvage some value later this summer, but sending him down and getting Teel some looks at first base signal a clear shift in the team’s plans.

Teel probably isn’t an option to be the Sox’ everyday first baseman moving forward. He’s regarded as a viable defensive catcher who blocks balls in the dirt and throws well. He’s nabbed 33% of would-be base thieves this season. Baseball Prospectus also gives him solid framing marks behind the dish in the minors.

That said, the Sox entered 2025 with two of baseball’s top catching prospects: Teel and former minor league teammate Edgar Quero. It was Quero who received the first call to the majors, and he’s held his own, hitting .248/.336/.301. That’s about 13% worse than league-average overall, per wRC+, but not far off the average line posted by catchers in 2025. Quero has walked in 10.2% of his plate appearances against a 16.4% strikeout rate that’s about six percentage points better than average. He’s also making plenty of hard contact, but too much of it is resulting in grounders rather than line-drives or fly-balls. For a player whose sprint speed ranks in just the seventh percentile of MLB hitters, per Statcast, that’s not a good batted-ball trait.

Quero started quite strong and had a league-average batting line as deep into the season as May 25, so it’s not as if he’s been a lost cause at the plate. He’s in the midst of a dreadful 6-for-38 stretch, but he’d hit well prior to this slump. A cold streak spanning all of two to three weeks isn’t going to change the organization’s long-term view of Quero. The Sox are still hopeful that Quero and Teel can be their catching tandem for the next several years, and Teel getting some reps at first base only makes it easier for the Sox to get both into the lineup — assuming Teel handles the drills at first base reasonably well.

Sean Burke To Open Season In White Sox’s Rotation

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White Sox manager Will Venable informed the beat this afternoon that rookie righty Sean Burke will be in the season-opening rotation (relayed by Scott Merkin of MLB.com). The former third-round pick joins Martín Pérez, Davis Martin and Jonathan Cannon as locks for the Opening Day starting staff.

Chicago optioned lefty Jared Shuster, who had entered camp as a candidate for a rotation spot. The former first-round pick worked mostly in long relief last season but was building back up as a starter this spring. Venable suggested Shuster may move back to the bullpen in Triple-A (link via Daryl Van Schouwen of The Chicago Sun-Times). The Wake Forest product allowed nine runs in seven innings.

Pérez, who signed a $5MM free agent deal, has by far the most experience of anyone in Chicago’s rotation. Cannon, who worked to a 4.49 ERA over 124 1/3 frames, is the only returning pitcher who reached even 75 MLB innings last season. Martin returned from Tommy John surgery in the second half. He allowed 4.32 earned runs per nine over 50 innings down the stretch.

That trio entered camp with rotation spots solidified. It was more in question whether Burke would break camp. The Sox called him up midway through September. He impressed over four appearances, working to a 1.42 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 19 innings. The Maryland product has tossed five innings of three-run ball with three strikeouts and walks apiece this spring. Burke fanned 31% of batters faced over 16 Triple-A starts last season. He also walked 13% of opponents, raising questions about whether he’ll have the necessary command to stick as a starter, but the Sox will see how his stuff plays against MLB hitters.

Venable hasn’t committed to a fifth starter. With Shuster out of consideration, that job will probably fall to one of Bryse Wilson or Shane Smith. Wilson is out of options and has plenty of experience working in long relief. He turned in a 4.04 ERA over 103 2/3 frames for Milwaukee last season; Chicago signed him to a $1.05MM deal after the Brewers non-tendered him. Smith is a Rule 5 pick out of the Milwaukee system. The 6’4″ righty started 16 of 27 Double-A appearances. He allowed 3.08 earned runs per nine with a near-30% strikeout rate over 87 2/3 innings.

Smith has had a decent start to camp. He has fanned nine hitters over 6 2/3 frames, allowing four runs. Chicago shouldn’t have an issue keeping him on the MLB roster to gain his long-term contractual rights. Most Rule 5 pitchers work in low-leverage relief, at least to begin the season. An Opening Day rotation assignment would be rare, but that’s a reflection of the Sox’s lack of starting pitching depth. Non-roster invitee Justin Dunn could also be an option. He has managed eight innings of one-run ball this spring, but he only has two strikeouts against four walks.

Jake Woodford Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: The White Sox announced that Woodford cleared waivers and chose to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.

JUNE 7: The White Sox have designated right-hander Jake Woodford for assignment, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. He’ll be replaced on the roster by righty Jonathan Cannon, who’s being recalled from Triple-A Charlotte.

Drafted by St. Louis with the No. 39 overall pick in 2015, Woodford spent his entire career prior to the 2024 season in the Cardinals organization. He signed a minor league contract in Chicago over the winter. The 6’4″ righty has started two games for the South Siders but been tagged for 10 runs on 15 hits and five walks with seven strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings. He had a rough go in Charlotte as well, pitching 49 2/3 innings of 5.26 ERA ball across 10 starts.

Woodford did notch a 3.26 ERA in a swingman role with the Cardinals from 2021-22, although a paltry 15.4% strikeout rate and some very good fortune in terms of homer-to-flyball rate prompted fielding-independent metrics to take that number with a grain of salt. Woodford 3.93 FIP and 4.65 SIERA were both far more bearish.

In parts of six Triple-A seasons, Woodford has pitched to a 4.19 ERA with a 19.5% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate and above-average ground-ball tendencies. He’s out of minor league options, so any team that acquires him in a small trade or claims him on waivers will need to add him directly to the MLB roster. If he clears waivers, he’d have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. The Sox will either trade him or put him on waivers within the next five days, with waivers themselves representing a 48-hour process. Within a week’s time, Woodford will know the result of his DFA.

Cannon, 23, made his big league debut earlier this season but was hit hard in his first three MLB starts. He’s been hit hard in the minors as well, recording a 5.50 ERA in 37 2/3 frames, but the reeling White Sox will give him another look in the big leagues at a time when Garrett Crochet and Erick Fedde are their only two reliable starting pitchers. Cannon, a third-round pick in 2022, ranks among Chicago’s top pitching prospects and will likely receive ample opportunity to cement himself as a viable big league starter as the Sox navigate their latest rebuilding effort.

White Sox Making Changes In Rotation

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The 6-25 White Sox are shuffling up their rotation mix a bit. Manager Pedro Grifol told the Sox beat yesterday that right-hander Brad Keller would likely move into the rotation in the near future (X link via Scott Merkin of MLB.com), and he’s now listed as the probable starter Friday. Meanwhile, right-hander Mike Clevinger has made a pair of starts in Triple-A Charlotte since returning on a one-year deal and is likely to join the rotation next week, tweets Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Right-hander Erick Fedde has been Chicago’s only above-average starter this season. Lefty Garrett Crochet started brilliantly but has been hit hard of late, ballooning his ERA to just under 6.00. Michael Soroka, Jonathan Cannon, Chris Flexen and Nick Nastrini have all made multiple starts but all came into today with an ERA north of 6.00. Flexen allowed just two earned runs over five innings today, lowering his ERA to 4.85. The Sox have combined for a 5.52 ERA out of the rotation, ranking 29th in the big leagues — ahead of only the Rockies. White Sox starters have averaged an MLB-worst 1.61 homers per nine frames.

Keller, 28, is a longtime division foe for the Sox, having spent his entire big league career prior to this season with the Royals. From 2018-20, Keller emerged as a steadying presence for Kansas City, going from a Rule 5 long reliever to a core member of the rotation. He pitched 360 1/3 frames of 3.50 ERA ball during that stretch, but his career went the opposite direction in three subsequent seasons.

From 2021-23, Keller was tagged for a 5.14 ERA as his command took a noticeable turn for the worse. He was limited to just 45 1/3 innings in 2023, logging a 4.57 ERA but issuing an alarming 45 walks along the way. Keller’s season ended early due to thoracic outlet symptoms. He inked a minor league deal with the ChiSox during the offseason and has made one scoreless relief appearance (1 2/3 innings) in addition to three starts at the Triple-A level, where he turned in a 4.50 ERA in 16 innings and piled up grounders at a huge 62.5% clip.

Clevinger will be entering his second season with the Sox. He started 24 games for the South Siders last year and notched a 3.77 ERA with a 20% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 30.9% ground-ball rate. Despite a solid season on the mound, Clevinger lingered in free agency and ultimately settled on a one-year, $3MM deal to return to the White Sox. He signed late enough that he required the current Triple-A tune-up before joining the big league rotation.

It’s not immediately clear who’ll lose their spot. Nastrini and Cannon have both already been optioned to Triple-A. Soroka and Flexen are veteran stopgaps who are only signed for the current season. Flexen has struggled mightily in the rotation and fared better in a pair of bullpen appearances, but as mentioned, he had a nice performance in today’s series finale against the Twins. Soroka has completed five innings in just three of his seven starts. Crochet’s workload figures to be monitored after he pitched just 24 1/3 frames last year in his return from 2022 Tommy John surgery. He’s never topped 54 1/3 innings in a professional season since being selected in the first round of the 2020 draft.

White Sox Select Brad Keller, Designate Deivi Garcia For Assignment

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The White Sox announced a series of roster moves this morning, highlighted by the club selecting the contract of veteran right-hander Brad Keller. Right-hander Deivi Garcia was designated for assignment to make room for Keller on the 40-man and active rosters. Additionally, Chicago announced that right-hander Jonathan Cannon had been optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. Right-hander Prelander Berroa was recalled to take Cannon’s place on the active roster.

The news leaves Keller poised to make his White Sox debut in the coming days as he likely steps into the rotation in Cannon’s stead. The 28-year-old signed a minor league deal with Chicago in early March after lingering on the free agent market throughout the offseason following a difficult 2023 campaign. Keller was limited to just 45 1/3 innings of 4.57 ERA baseball last year due to shoulder surgery and a thoracic outlet syndrome diagnosis, which MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand noted last month necessitated its own surgery back in October.

Surgery to correct TOS has rarely seen players return to the majors and enjoy success, with Stephen Strasburg and Chris Archer among the arms who have seen their careers impacted by the procedure in recent years. One example of a player who has returned effectively is Arizona right-hander Merrill Kelly, who stands as a prime example of the fact that not all types of TOS have the same long-term outlook. It’s not clear which type of TOS Keller went under the knife due to, though his decent 4.50 ERA in 16 innings of work at the Triple-A level across three starts this season gives reason for optimism that he could return to form as a viable back-of-the-rotation option in the majors.

Making room for Keller on the 40-man roster is Garcia, who will celebrate his 25th birthday next month. The right-hander was once a top prospect in the Yankees’ farm system and made his big league debut at just 21 years old during the shortened 2020 season, which saw him post a 4.98 ERA and 4.15 FIP across six starts in New York. Unfortunately, Garcia then struggled badly in the minor leagues over the next two seasons, with ERAs north of 6.80 in both campaigns. Garcia’s time with the Yankees came to a close in 2023, when he was designated for assignment after struggling through two relief appearances in the majors.

The White Sox took a chance on Garcia and claimed him off waivers from New York before installing him in the club’s bullpen. While he posted a strong 2.04 ERA in six appearances with the club down the stretch last year, Garcia walked more batters than he struck out and posted an ugly 6.04 FIP during that same timeframe. While Chicago retained Garcia on its roster through the offseason, the results began to match the peripherals in 2024 as the right-hander surrendered 16 runs (11 earned) in just 14 innings while walking 16.2% of batters faced.

Those major struggles were evidently enough for the White Sox to pull the plug on Garcia, who they’ll now have one week to either work out a trade for or attempt to pass through waivers. If they’re successful in the latter, they’ll have the opportunity to outright the youngster to the minor leagues where he can serve as non-roster depth going forward.

Also departing the club’s active roster is Cannon, a 23-year-old rookie who has made three starts in the majors for the White Sox so far this year. That first taste of big league action hasn’t gone particularly well for the youngster, as he’s posted a brutal 7.24 ERA in 13 2/3 innings of work despite a solid 4.04 FIP. Cannon figures to return to the Triple-A rotation and wait for his next opportunity in the majors.

In the meantime, his roster spot will go to Berroa, who figures to replace Garcia in the club’s bullpen. The 24-year-old right-hander was acquired from the Mariners in the deal that sent Gregory Santos to Seattle back in February and has just 1 2/3 big league innings under his belt to this point in his career. He’s struggled mightily to this point at the Triple-A level this season, with an 8.74 ERA across 11 appearances. Nonetheless, he’ll look to contribute to the White Sox bullpen during the middle innings alongside the likes of Jordan Leasure and Dominic Leone.

White Sox Outright Josimar Cousin

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April 20: The White Sox announced today that they’ve assigned Cousin outright to Double-A Birmingham. Cousin cannot reject the assignment as he has neither been outrighted previously in his career nor the requisite service time to do so. As such, he’ll remain with the White Sox going forward as a non-roster depth option for the club as he continues working to establish himself in stateside baseball.

April 16: The White Sox announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Jonathan Cannon, a move that was reported yesterday. In corresponding moves, they optioned left-hander Jared Shuster to Triple-A Charlotte and designated right-hander Josimar Cousin for assignment.

Cousin, now 26, is from Cuba and played six seasons in that country’s Serie Nacional de Béisbol. He appeared in 88 games in that league, 68 starts, with a 4.80 earned run average. He struck out 15% of batters faced while walking 9.3%. The Sox signed him to a minor league deal in May, per reporter Francys Romero, with a $100K bonus.

He then tossed 55 innings in the minors last year, going from the Complex League to High-A and Double-A. He had a combined 5.56 ERA in that time as well as a 19.6% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate.

The Sox added him to their 40-man roster in mid-December, though the timing was unusual as it had nothing to do with minor league free agency or the Rule 5 cutoff. Speculatively speaking, it’s possible that Cousin had some kind of opt-out in his contract or maybe an overseas opportunity that the Sox wanted to prevent him from pursuing.

Cousin was optioned to Double-A Birmingham but hasn’t pitched yet this year. According to his transactions tracker at MiLB.com, he was on the minor league injured list from April 5 to April 12. The Sox will now have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers.

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