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Seby Zavala

White Sox Designate Micker Adolfo For Assignment, Outright Seby Zavala To Triple-A

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The White Sox made a series of procedural moves this morning in advance of tomorrow’s opener in Detroit, including designating outfielder Micker Adolfo for assignment and outrighting catcher Seby Zavala to Charlotte. The Southsiders will open the season with Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Andrew Vaughn, and the recently acquired AJ Pollock in the outfield, with Adam Engel in reserve. Reese McGuire will open the season as Yasmani Grandal’s deputy behind the plate.

The team also announced a series of other moves this morning, including placing several players on the 10-day IL: right-handers Ryan Burr, Joe Kelly, and Lance Lynn; lefty Garrett Crochet; third baseman Yoan Moncada; and DH Yermin Mercedes. Moncada, who has a grade-1 oblique strain, is expected back within a few weeks, while Crochet will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the 2022 season, but timetables have not yet been established for others. Lynn in particular was expected to play a major role in anchoring the rotation as the Sox look to repeat in the AL Central, but he’s expected to miss at least the first month and a half of the season as he recovers from knee surgery.

Adolfo, 25, was ranked as the 18th best prospect in the White Sox organization recently, with a 45 scouting grade.  It’s the eighth year BA has ranked Adolfo as a top-25 White Sox prospect; he’s been in the organization since signing for $1.6MM out of the Dominican Republic as a 16-year-old back in 2013.  He still boasts plus-plus raw power, but with a hefty strikeout rate north of 30%.  Adolfo has a plus-plus arm as well, even with Tommy John surgery part of his lengthy injury history.  Given that Adolfo is out of minor league options, a club will have to keep him in the Majors if they want to avoid exposing him to waivers again.

Zavala, apparently, passed through waivers unclaimed and has been bumped off the 40-man roster.  He caught 19% of Chicago’s innings behind the plate in 2021, but they’ve got McGuire backing up Grandal.  The Sox will have to re-add Zavala to the MLB roster should the need for him arise in the Majors again.  The 28-year-old Zavala hasn’t posted a wRC+ above 89 at any level since Double-A in 2018.  Three years ago, Baseball America described him as “a borderline average defender who blocks well but needs to do better at smothering balls in the dirt,” describing his throwing arm as “average.”

In the case of Moncada’s oblique strain, “the White Sox say the injury is much worse than they thought,” according to Alex Shapiro of NBC Sports Chicago.  It seems Moncada will be out for a few weeks rather than the expected few days, so Jake Burger snags the Opening Day start at the hot corner tomorrow at Comerica Park.

White Sox Announce 60-Man Additions

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The White Sox announced the addition of 16 players to their 60-man player pool Tuesday. They’ll all head to the team’s alternate camp site in Schaumberg, Ill. Today’s additions include (* = non-roster invitee):

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Outfielders

As Opening Day draws nearer, the White Sox will option additional players to their alternate camp site. There are currently 43 players in big league Summer Camp with the South Siders, and they’ll need to trim that number to 30 by the time the opener rolls around.

Today’s list of additions contains several notable names, including 2020 first-round pick Garrett Crochet, whom the Sox selected 13th overall out of the University of Tennessee. Farm director Chris Getz isn’t ruling out the possibility of Crochet making his MLB debut sometime this year, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score tweets.

Getz also spoke about another recent White Sox first-round pick in Zack Burdi, whom they took 26th in 2016, saying (via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times): ’We hope to build off how he finished major league camp. It’s the best we’ve seen him in a while. His last couple outings were very encouraging. It’s a special arm.”

Significant injuries have prevented the hard-throwing Burdi from realizing his potential or even reaching the bigs since the White Sox drafted him. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, barely pitched the following year as a result, and then succumbed to a ligament tear in his patella last season. Burdi’s still a well-regarded relief prospect, though, and may have a chance to factor into Chicago’s bullpen this season.

White Sox Purchase Contract Of Matt Skole

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The White Sox announced today that they have purchased the contract of corner infielder Matt Skole. He’ll be joined on the active roster by Seby Zavala, who was called up with fellow catcher Welington Castillo going on the family medical emergency leave list.

Skole, who recently celebrated his thirtieth birthday, landed with the White Sox organization last year after running out his time with the Nationals club. Though he earned a brief chance at a MLB debut, Skole spent the bulk of the season in the upper minors — just as he had dating way back to 2013 — and lost his 40-man spot late in the season.

This year, Skole has boosted his output, though part of that reflects a rising International League offensive mean. Still, his .248/.384/.497 batting line reflects some real improvement. Skole has maintained his power (21 home runs) while improving his plate-discipline to levels he hasn’t managed since his time in the low minors (17.9% walk rate vs. 25.3% strikeout rate).

A left-handed hitter, Skole will likely function mostly as a bench bat and part-time DH. He has spent plenty of time at third base over his career, but has appeared primarily at first in recent seasons. If he appears in the field, it seems likeliest to come in occasional relief of regular first bagger Jose Abreu.

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.

Players Added To The 40-Man Roster

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Tonight marks the deadline for players to be added to their respective organizations’ 40-man rosters. Over the nine hours, there’ll be a flurry of moves, ranging from minor trades (like the one the Indians and Rays made yesterday), waiver claims and players being designated for assignment or outrighted. Each will be made to clear room for players who need protection from this year’s Rule 5 Draft. As a reminder, players who signed at 18 years of age or younger and have five professional seasons are eligible, as are players who signed at 19 or older and have four professional seasons under their belts.

Here’s a rundown of players who’ve been added to their respective 40-man rosters (which will be updated throughout the day)…

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