White Sox Rumors

Dodgers Rumors: Stone, Crochet, Shortstop, Outfield

By Steve Adams | July 1, 2024 at 10:52am CDT

Several teams tried to pry right-hander Gavin Stone from the Dodgers in offseason trade talks, writes Bob Nightengale of USA Today, but Los Angeles held firm on the former top prospect and is now reaping the benefits. After yielding 31 runs in his first 31 big league innings last season, Stone has emerged as a vital member of manager Dave Roberts’ rotation.

Stone, 25, ranks second on the Dodgers with 89 innings pitched and is tied for second with 15 games started. He’s posted a terrific 2.73 earned run average through the season’s halfway point. While his 19.5% strikeout rate is below average and his .268 average on balls in play and 6.3% homer-to-flyball ratio suggest there’s likely some ERA regression in store, he has the look of a legitimate big league starter. The 2020 fifth-round pick has been a constant in the L.A. rotation while the team has navigated injuries for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler and others.

The Dodgers have a whopping six starters on the injured list, to say nothing of oft-injured arms like James Paxton and Tyler Glasnow healthy and in the rotation. Glasnow, in particular, is already 17 innings from his career-high at the MLB level (120 innings). He’s never topped 155 innings in any professional season before.

Unsurprisingly, given the wide slate of current injuries and the health histories of their current arms, the Dodgers have been exploring the market for pitching. Nightengale reported within that same column that the Dodgers have already made an offer to the White Sox for lefty Garrett Crochet, which has been rejected, and the latest report from Ken Rosenthal, Patrick Mooney and Will Sammon of The Athletic also touches on Los Angeles’ interest in Crochet.

Crochet isn’t an ideal fit for a team seeking consistent, bankable innings — as the Dodgers currently are. This year’s 101 1/3 innings is more than Crochet, a 2020 draftee, had thrown in his entire professional career combined prior to the ’24 campaign. There are questions about how the left-hander will hold up down the stretch, and The Athletic trio suggests he’s not a lock to spend the remainder of the season pitching in a regular rotation role if he is indeed moved — as the White Sox are reportedly planning on after extension talks with Crochet quickly stalled out. The Dodgers, however, view Crochet as a legitimate October weapon regardless of the role in which he’s used and could simply figure out the specifics of his usage down the line, depending on how the second half of the season plays out.

Rotation innings are just one of multiple questions the Dodgers will face over the next four-plus weeks as the deadline looms. They’re also staring down an absence of six to eight weeks for star leadoff man Mookie Betts, who in recent years has moved from right field to both middle-infield positions, playing virtually anywhere the team asks without seeing any real drop-off in his MVP-caliber offensive production. With Betts on the shelf, the Dodgers have plugged hot-hitting Miguel Rojas back into a regular role at shortstop, and the veteran’s play this season could make that a more permanent arrangement when when Betts is healthy.

“I would, I would,” manager Dave Roberts replied when asked by Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times whether he’d consider keeping Rojas his everyday shortstop when Betts returns. “I don’t think anyone can debate the level of shortstop play from Miguel Rojas. Some of it is contingent on the timeline for Mookie’s return and where Miggy is physically and how things are going. But to your question, would I consider it? Absolutely.”

Rojas, 35, is hitting .297/.344/.446 (126 wRC+) — his best career production outside of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He’s playing his customary brand of high-end defense at shortstop, drawing lavish praise from both Roberts and Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel, who calls Rojas one of the five best defensive shortstops in the sport. (Statcast lists Rojas tied for seventh among all shortstops with six Outs Above Average in just 215 innings this season; every other name among the top-8 this season has played more than 700 innings).

Keeping Rojas at shortstop and sliding Betts back over to second base in place of Gavin Lux could deepen the team’s lineup and improve the defense. The Athletic report notes that adding an everyday outfielder would allow the Dodgers to use Betts at second base and go with a platoon of Andy Pages and Jason Heyward in the outfield alongside the new acquisition and Teoscar Hernandez.

Of course, that’s just one of many viable scenarios, and it’s not framed within that report as a clear objective so much as one of various possibilities that could be explored. Alternatively, if the Dodgers were to add someone who can handle second base on a regular basis — and do so at a higher level than in-house choices like Lux, Chris Taylor and Enrique Hernandez — that could push Betts back to the outfield.

As is frequently the case with the Dodgers, their blend of versatile defenders and a hefty lead in the division combine to create various trade avenues to explore while also reducing urgency to complete a deal. Los Angeles holds a 7.5-game lead over second-place San Diego in the NL West. They’ll surely upgrade in multiple areas between now and July 30, but the size of their lead likely reduces pressure on president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, GM Brandon Gomes and their staff to complete something in the short-term and gives them the luxury of taking a fluid approach to augmenting an already first-place roster.

Report: White Sox Explored Extension With Garrett Crochet, Aiming For Deadline Trade

By Mark Polishuk | June 30, 2024 at 10:58pm CDT

As the White Sox look to sell at the trade deadline, the team is reportedly open to discussing pretty much everyone on the roster, ranging from short-term veterans to more controllable players like Garrett Crochet. However, the Sox also recently had some talks with Crochet and his reps at CAA Sports about a contract extension, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. These negotiations were “brief” and the team has “no optimism towards reaching an agreement,” and thus Nightengale writes that the White Sox are now indeed planning to move Crochet at the deadline, even though he is still under arbitration control through the 2026 season.

Crochet is on the hill against the Rockies today for the 18th start of a breakout campaign. The southpaw has a 3.05 ERA over 94 1/3 innings, with a league-best 130 strikeouts and 12.4 K/9, plus a 34.9% strikeout rate that ranks in the 98th percentile of all pitchers. This ability to miss bats has been paired with limited free passes, as Crochet’s 5.4% walk rate is a key stat given how he had dealt with some control issues in his young career. Crochet’s cutter and his 96.9mph fastball are both among the deadliest pitches in the league, leaving batters fooled unless they can capitalize on his below-average slider.

This kind of production isn’t exactly a surprise, given that Crochet was the 11th overall pick of the 2020 draft and was seen as an advanced enough prospect that he made his debut that very season, tossing six innings over five appearances. Chicago further eased him into the majors in 2021 by using him as a reliever, and Crochet delivered a 2.82 ERA over 54 1/3 innings out of the Sox bullpen. However, the injury concerns that long surrounded Crochet struck in 2022, as a Tommy John surgery cost him the entirety of that season and limited him to 12 2/3 frames in 2023.

Though it is quite rare to see midseason extensions actually finalized, it is common practice for clubs to at least broach the idea of a longer-term deal with potential trade candidates. After all, if a player has enough value to draw trade attention from multiple rival teams, that same player can provide value to his own team, so there’s no harm in a club seeing if any common ground could be found on a multi-year contract.

This logic even extends to a team like the White Sox, who are a lot closer to a full-on fire sale than they are to contending in the near future. Crochet only just turned 25 this month, and has been so impressive in his first season as a starting pitcher that he looks like he could be a front-of-the-rotation staple. Even if the Sox might internally acknowledge that it’ll take a few years to fully right the ship, Crochet is still young enough that it is possible to see him as the ace of the next contending White Sox club….as long as he isn’t traded, of course.

Interestingly, Nightengale floats the idea that a long-term contract might also factor into Crochet’s trade situation, as Crochet and his representations might quickly seek out an extension with a new team. Since Crochet has already thrown more innings (94 1/3) in 2024 than in the rest of his pro career combined (85 1/3 innings in the majors and minors from 2020-23), Nightengale suggested that Crochet might seek out some extra financial security to mitigate the extra risk if a new team asks him to put a lot more innings on his arm over the course of the regular season and potentially into October.

In terms of how the White Sox themselves intend to manage Crochet, Nightengale writes that the club “and Crochet already have a firm plan in place to greatly limit his workload.” This description runs somewhat counter to the looser arrangement Sox manager Pedro Grifol described to The Associated Press and other reporters earlier this week. Grifol didn’t describe the situation as an actual innings limit, citing a hypothetical scenario where Crochet might sail through several innings in a start on a low pitch count.

“It’s not something we’re going to put out and say, ’Here’s what we’re doing,’ because nothing in this game is black and white…He’s slowly detraining through the course of the year so he can finish the season,” Grifol said. “We’re not going to detrain him and build him back to the capacity where he was at the start of the season. This is going downhill now. We have to really monitor his workload.”

A team that acquired Crochet would surely have these same innings-management concerns in mind, which adds another wrinkle to his trade market. Could a team with some rotation depth problems but with a fairly stable top two or three pitchers use Crochet as a starter to ensure they reach the playoffs, and then use Crochet as an (overqualified) relief weapon in the postseason? Could a team multiple decent starters but not a clear-cut ace perhaps insert Crochet as part of a six-man rotation, in order to try and keep him fresh for the playoffs? Or, could a team that is only a borderline contender this season acquire Crochet and stick to Chicago’s plan, perhaps more with an eye towards a full-fledged run at contention in 2025?

There is no shortage of interest in Crochet, as Nightengale reports that 15 teams have checked in with the White Sox front office about the left-hander’s services. The Sox have already turned down one offer from the Dodgers, who stand out as a logical suitor for several reasons — their win-now mentality, their rotation needs amidst several injuries to starters, and a deep farm system that would theoretically meet Chicago’s sky-high asking price.

In terms of other White Sox trade chips, Luis Robert Jr. continues to generate interest, but Nightengale feels the Sox might not have as much motivation to move the outfielder by the deadline. Robert missed close to two months of the season with a hip flexor strain and has only a .206/.280/.486 slash line over his first 118 plate appearances, albeit with eight home runs. With this latest injury and Robert’s modest production in mind, the White Sox wouldn’t exactly be selling high if they dealt Robert by July 30, so the team could wait until the offseason to more fully gauge offers (after Robert has presumably finished off the 2024 season in healthy and productive fashion). Robert’s contract comes with a pair of club options that control his services through 2027, so the White Sox have some flexibility in waiting to see if an acceptable trade offer emerges.

The Sox are also “openly shopping” Andrew Benintendi, Nightengale writes, which comes as zero surprise. If Crochet and Robert are Chicago’s top trade chips, Benintendi represents the other end of the spectrum, as a pricey veteran who is struggling through his second consecutive rough seasons. Since Benintendi is owed $47.5MM over the 2025-27 seasons, the White Sox would either have to eat all or virtually all of that remaining salary to facilitate a trade, or swap Benintendi for another unfavorable contract. Neither scenario would provide much benefit to the Sox, so Benintendi could remain one for the more immovable players in the sport.

Mets Claim Duke Ellis From White Sox

By Darragh McDonald | June 21, 2024 at 1:10pm CDT

The Mets have claimed outfielder Duke Ellis off waivers from the White Sox and optioned him to Double-A Binghamton, with Tim Healey of Newsday among those to relay the news on X. The Sox designated him for assignment earlier this week. The Mets have had a 40-man vacancy since catcher Tomás Nido was designated for assignment last week and won’t need to make a corresponding move.

Ellis, 26, was just selected to the White Sox roster earlier this month, largely on account of his speed. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2020, he has stolen 117 bases in the minor leagues while getting caught just 16 times. While with the big league club, the Sox put him into eight games but mostly as a pinch runner as he only stepped to the plate four times, though he stole four bags in four tries.

His work at the plate has been less impressive, as he’s hit .241/.328/.333 throughout his minor league career for a wRC+ of 88. His 10% walk rate is solid but he has also been punched out at a 25.7% rate. He has just 13 home runs in 961 plate appearances.

For the Mets, it’s an understandable claim. They had an open roster spot to use and Ellis clearly has game-changing baserunning abilities. Since he has a full slate of options, they can give him regular plate appearances in the minors but could perhaps consider bringing him up at some point as a pinch running specialist. Rosters expand in September and clubs often use the extra space for a player like this to improve the chances of scoring in a tight game, particularly in this age with the free runner in extra innings.

Royals Among Teams With Interest In Tommy Pham

By Anthony Franco | June 20, 2024 at 9:52pm CDT

There may be no player who is more likely to be traded over the next month than Tommy Pham, who is hitting well as an affordable rental on the worst team in the league. It’d be very surprising if the White Sox didn’t move him before the July 30 deadline.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Royals are one of the teams that have shown interest. There’s nothing to suggest the Royals are the favorite or that any Pham trade is imminent. Heyman writes that multiple clubs are unsurprisingly looking at the veteran outfielder.

Kansas City has the worst outfield among playoff contenders. Royal outfielders have been the least productive offensive group in the majors. They entered today’s game with a cumulative .209/.268/.343 batting line. They’re 28th in batting average and slugging and dead last in on-base percentage. Six of the seven players who have logged meaningful outfield reps for K.C. have been well below-average hitters. The lone exception, utility player Garrett Hampson, has league average numbers propped up by a .418 batting average on balls in play.

The Royals have used Hunter Renfroe, Kyle Isbel and MJ Melendez as their primary outfield. Melendez is hitting .180/.246/.364 over 224 plate appearances. Isbel’s .225/.270/.348 line isn’t much better. Renfroe had a terrible first two months after signing a two-year free agent deal. He’d started to heat up in June before suffering a left foot injury that shelved him last week. Since Renfroe went down, the Royals have rotated Adam Frazier, Dairon Blanco and primary designated hitter Nelson Velázquez through right field. None of that trio has provided much offensively this year.

Pham is probably a better hitter than anyone in the Kansas City outfield. The 36-year-old ran a .256/.328/.446 line with 16 home runs across 481 plate appearances between the Mets and Diamondbacks last season. That didn’t translate into the kind of free agent interest that his camp was anticipating. Pham remained unsigned into the middle of April. He eventually inked a minor league contract with Chicago, though that came with an understanding that he’d be called up by the end of the month after getting some tune-up work in Triple-A.

The deal comes with a $3MM base salary and includes a $500K assignment bonus in the event of a trade. Pham and the Sox front office were likely both hoping for such an outcome. A trade would allow the Sox to recoup a mid-level prospect while giving the outfielder an opportunity to play for a contender.

Pham has held his up his end of the bargain, turning in solid numbers over 39 games. He’s hitting .276/.349/.388 over 169 plate appearances. His power is down — he has only three homers — but he’s drawing walks at a solid 9.5% clip against a 20.1% strikeout rate. Pham had a minimal injured list stint earlier this month because of a mild left ankle sprain.

Chicago gave Pham 26 starts in center field while Luis Robert Jr. was on the shelf. That’s his first fairly regular work there since 2018. A contender wouldn’t view him as more than an emergency option in center, but he’s a roughly average defender in left field.

That has been Melendez’s purview in Kansas City. He’s a former top prospect who hasn’t made enough contact to tap into his power upside. Melendez has punched out in 26.5% of his career plate appearances and owns a .217/.302/.388 line over parts of three seasons. He’s a left-handed hitter who hasn’t found consistent success against pitchers of either handedness.

The Royals presumably still have hope for Melendez, who is in his age-25 season. K.C. general manager J.J. Picollo said he anticipates improvements from the in-house outfielders while acknowledging the team could look outside the organization if they don’t start getting more production.

Earlier this week, Picollo told Jayson Stark and Doug Glanville on The Windup podcast that the team would like to add a player with the versatility to move between the infield and outfield. That’s not Pham, who has played all 7000+ innings of his MLB career on the grass. Picollo’s comments certainly don’t rule out acquiring a traditional outfielder, though. The GM expressed a broad desire to deepen the batting order and suggested he’d be aggressive in supporting the organization’s best chance at a playoff berth since their 2015 World Series.

The White Sox won’t have any qualms about trading Pham within the division. Conversely, the return would be modest enough that Kansas City shouldn’t be concerned about surrendering the kind of prospect capital necessary to a division rival. Beyond the desire for offensive help, Picollo has spoken on a couple occasions about their desire to add power arms to the bullpen. White Sox closer Michael Kopech fits the bill and has reportedly drawn some attention from K.C., among others. There’s no indication the teams have actively explored any kind of package deal, but it’s easy enough to see the potential appeal of that kind of arrangement.

White Sox Release Tim Hill

By Darragh McDonald | June 19, 2024 at 1:30pm CDT

The White Sox have released left-hander Tim Hill, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. They will remain on the hook for what’s left of his $1.8MM salary. Any other club could now sign him and would only have to pay the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Sox pay.

Hill, 34, was signed in the offseason to a one-year deal. The White Sox kicked off a rebuild in 2023 and had traded away many established players, including relievers like Joe Kelly, Reynaldo López, Kendall Graveman and Keynan Middleton. When the offseason began, they continued the job by sending Aaron Bummer and Gregory Santos out of town.

The hope was that Hill could serve as a solid veteran presence in a relief corps with a lot of uncertainty and perhaps turn himself into a trade candidate prior to the deadline. Unfortunately, he allowed 5.87 earned runs per nine innings over his 27 appearances for the Sox and got designated for assignment last week. Since he has over five years of major league service time, he has the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while keeping all of his salary intact. Those circumstances made it fairly inevitable that he would find himself back in free agency.

Now that he’s on the open market and can be signed for cheap, teams may be willing to overlook his ERA and find encouraging signs in his other numbers. He has always been a ground ball guy, with a 60.5% rate in that department for his career. He has actually been even better than ever at keeping the ball on the dirt this year with a 65.6% grounder rate, well beyond the 42.6% league average for 2024. His 11% strikeout rate is incredibly low, but he only punched out 12.6% in 2022, a season in which he managed to have a 3.56 ERA with the Padres.

Hill may not be as exciting as a fire-breathing closer but he’s a solid veteran with 347 major league appearances and a 4.30 ERA in those. The results this year haven’t been great so far but he had a .436 batting average on balls in play while pitching for the club with arguably the worst defense in the majors. The Sox have a collective -20 Outs Above Average this year, slightly ahead of the Pirates and Marlins, while their -52 is easily the worst in baseball with the Rays second-last at -31. His 3.46 FIP and 3.90 SIERA paint a much more flattering picture than his ERA.

Since Hill can be signed for cheap and so many clubs around the league are battling pitching injuries, perhaps one of them will take a chance on him finding better results in a different environment.

MLBTR Podcast: José Abreu’s Release, Betts and Yamamoto Hit The IL And Even More Injuries

By Darragh McDonald | June 19, 2024 at 9:56am CDT

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

The Astros releasing José Abreu (2:25)
The Dodgers dealing with injuries to Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12:30)
The Yankees are getting Gerrit Cole back but lost Anthony Rizzo (18:25)
The Braves lose another outfielder with Michael Harris II hitting the injured list (26:55)
The sad news of Willie Mays passing came out during recording (30:10)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

Do the Giants have a chance of getting Pete Alonso? Or will the Mets make additions if they carry the power of Grimace into the deadline? (32:15)
How should the Nationals address their outfield surplus? And where did all these good pitchers come from? (42:35)
What are the chances the White Sox package Luis Robert Jr. and Garrett Crochet at the deadline? And if they trade Crochet and Erick Fedde, how will they fill the rotation after? (49:55)

Check out our past episodes!

Injured Astros, The Chances Of Bad Teams Rebounding In 2025 And More – listen here
Gambling Scandal, The State Of The Blue Jays And The Orioles’ Rotation Depth – listen here
Ángel Hernández Retires, Ronald Acuña Jr. Out For The Season And Roki Sasaki’s Potential Posting – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!

AL Central Notes: Crochet, Clevinger, Wacha, Lange

By Mark Polishuk | June 16, 2024 at 4:27pm CDT

Unsurprisingly, the White Sox have set an “exorbitant” asking price on Garrett Crochet in early trade talks, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes. As we already saw this past winter with the Dylan Cease trade negotiations and the eventual deal that sent Cease to the Padres, the Sox are naturally out for the biggest return possible when moving any of their most valuable trade chips. Crochet definitely fits that description, as he has broken out as a starting pitcher this year and is under arbitration control through the 2026 season.

Chicago isn’t likely to drop its demands much (or even at all) until closer to the deadline, and Crochet’s arbitration control also gives the Sox some extra leverage since the team doesn’t need to move the southpaw any time soon. If anything, Crochet having a full and healthy season as a starter might only increase what the White Sox might be looking for in trade talks during the offseason, when the Sox could speak to a wider array of potential suitors.

White Sox Select Chuckie Robinson

By Nick Deeds | June 16, 2024 at 2:39pm CDT

2:39pm: White Sox manager Pedro Grifol confirmed to reporters (including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin) that Robinson had the ability to opt out of his contract with the club if not added to the 40-man roster.

12:08pm: The White Sox announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of catcher Chuckie Robinson. Outfielder Duke Ellis was designated for assignment to make room for Robinson on the 40-man roster. Robinson was optioned to Triple-A following the selection of his contract.

Robinson, 29, signed with the White Sox on a minor league deal back in December. In 41 games at the Triple-A level this year, he’s hit just .235/.288/.386 with a 24.4% strikeout rate. That relatively lackluster slash line was nonetheless enough to earn Robinson his first time on a 40-man roster since 2022, when he appeared in 25 games for the Reds and slashed just .136/.136/.271 in 60 trips to the plate for the club. With the White Sox, Robinson as a depth catcher behind the club’s current tandem of Martin Maldonado and Korey Lee, offering the club an optionable catcher they can rely on in the event of an injury. By adding Robinson to the 40-man roster, the White Sox also bypass any hypothetical opt-outs that Robinson may have available to him in his minor league deal with the club, securing his place in the organization.

Making room for Robinson on the 40-man is Ellis, who was selected onto the club’s roster earlier this month. The 26-year-old was a 26th-round pick by the Padres back in 2017 but did not sign. Ultimately, he landed with the White Sox in 2020 as an undrafted free agent and made his pro debut for the club the following year. Ellis worked his way through the club’s minor league system over the past four years but generally struggled with the bat at each level, posting an overall slash line of just .241/.328/.333 during his four seasons in the minors.

Ellis nonetheless managed to crack the majors despite that lackluster offensive performance thanks primarily to his blazing speed. The outfielder has swiped 117 bags in 133 opportunities during his time in the minors and went 34-for-36 at the minor league level on the basepaths this year. That elite baserunning carried over to his time in Chicago, where the White Sox used him primarily as a pinch runner and saw him steal four bases in four attempts during his brief time in Chicago. The White Sox will have one week to either work out a trade or attempt to pass Ellis through waivers. If he goes unclaimed, they’ll have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues. Given Ellis lackluster offensive ability, it would be easy to imagine clubs passing on the youngster. With that being said, however, it’s at least possible that his skills as a speedster could catch the eye of a team with room for a pinch runner and defensive replacement in their bench mix.

White Sox Select Chad Kuhl

By Steve Adams | June 14, 2024 at 2:57pm CDT

The White Sox announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Chad Kuhl from Triple-A Charlotte. Chicago also reinstated outfielder Tommy Pham from the injured list and optioned righty Jordan Leasure and outfielder Zach DeLoach to Charlotte in a pair of corresponding moves.

Kuhl, 31, is a veteran of seven big league seasons who joined the South Siders on a minor league deal in the offseason. He’s made 13 appearances in Charlotte, 11 of them starts, and posted a 4.34 ERA in that time. Kuhl’s 17.3% strikeout rate is considerably below-average, while his 13.6% walk rate with the Knights is substantially higher than average. He’s turned in a strong 53.5% grounder rate and done a nice job keeping the ball in the yard, averaging 0.8 homers per nine frames.

Kuhl spent the 2023 season with the Nationals organization but struggled through 16 appearances before being cut loose. He announced shortly thereafter that while he’d received contract offers to sign elsewhere, he was taking a leave from the game to support his wife, Amanda, as she battled Stage 3 breast cancer. She announced via social media in November that she’d completed her cancer treatments. The Athletic’s Stephen J. Nesbitt chronicled the couple’s journey through that harrowing ordeal this past April, revealing within that Amanda is thankfully in the “maintenance” phase of her treatment and no longer showing any sign of cancer.

Prior to Kuhl’s time with the Nats, he spent five seasons with the Pirates and a sixth with the Rockies. In all, he’s totaled 615 big league innings and pitched to a 4.98 ERA, though that number is skewed to an extent by last year’s grisly 8.45 mark while quietly dealing with that terrifying family issue away from the field. Kuhl’s best season came with the ’17 Pirates, when he started 31 games and logged a 4.35 ERA over the course of 157 1/3 innings.

The White Sox don’t have an immediate opening in the rotation, but Kuhl can provide a long relief option and perhaps step up next week if the Sox want to get their starters some extra rest. Top starter Garrett Crochet, notably, has already established a new career-high in innings pitched after shifting from a relief role to the rotation this season. For now, the Sox have Chris Flexen, Erick Fedde and top prospect Drew Thorpe lined up to make the next three starts in their road series with the Diamondbacks.

Michael Kopech Drawing Interest From Several Teams

By Steve Adams | June 14, 2024 at 10:46am CDT

The White Sox are one of the game’s few clear sellers with the trade deadline still six weeks out, and teams have been showing recent interest in closer Michael Kopech, reports Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. Among the interested clubs are the Royals, Phillies and Yankees, each of whom has sent scouts to watch the hard-throwing righty in the past few weeks. Levine adds that rival clubs believe the Sox are seeking controllable pitching in return.

Kopech, 28, is in his first season as a full-time reliever after making a combined 52 starts with the ChiSox in 2022-23. He’s taken up the role of the team’s primary closer, though given Chicago’s dismal results this season, he’s only picked up five saves on the year. Kopech’s bullpen tenure got out to a strong start, but he’s hit a rough patch of late, yielding eight earned runs over his past 6 1/3 frames. That rocky stretch has ballooned his ERA from 3.18 to 4.91.

Despite that lackluster mark, there’s plenty to like about Kopech. Once touted as one of the game’s elite pitching prospects — he and Yoan Moncada headlined the White Sox’ return for Chris Sale during their last rebuild — Kopech boasts a power arsenal that helps him miss bats in droves. He’s averaged a blazing 98.7 mph on his heater this season and punched out a gaudy 32.3% of his opponents. Kopech’s 14.1% swinging-strike rate is well north of the league average. That power arsenal, as is often the case, comes with notable command issues; Kopech has walked 13.5% of his opponents in 2024 and sports an unsightly 13.6% mark dating back to 2022.

Beyond his bat-missing ability, Kopech is both affordable and controllable. He’s earning $3MM in 2024 and would be arbitration-eligible once more this winter before reaching free agency following the 2025 season. Adding Kopech for a pair of pennant chases would give any contending club a power arm with an often triple-digit heater, bat-missing slider and a newly implemented cutter that’s been a plus pitch thus far.

With regard to the interested parties, none of the three teams listed by Levine comes as a surprise. The Royals have already been canvassing the bullpen market in early June, though their status as a division rival to the White Sox might make it tougher to complete a deal with Kansas City than with Philadelphia, New York or any of the surely yet-unnamed clubs who have interest in prying Kopech from the South Siders. That said, the Royals rank 22nd in the majors with a 4.32 ERA from their relievers. Their bullpen’s collective 93.5 mph average fastball velocity (per Statcast) is 27th in the majors, while its 17.7% strikeout rate is the worst in MLB. Kopech would add the type of power, bat-missing repertoire the Royals currently lack.

The Phillies (3.55, ninth) and Yankees (3.19, third) both rank among MLB’s ten best teams in terms of bullpen earned run average. They’ve gotten there in slightly different ways, with the Phillies focusing on strikeouts (26.5%, third in MLB) while the Yankees have a below-average 21.9% strikeout rate but also possess the third-best ground-ball rate of any team (46.8%). Both teams are among the three best in baseball at limiting home runs, with the Philly bullpen sitting at 0.68 HR/9 and the Yankees narrowly trailing at 0.74 HR/9. Both clubs are luxury-tax payors in 2024, making Kopech’s relatively modest $3MM salary all the more appealing.

It stands to reason that the Royals, Phillies and Yankees are just three of many clubs looking at Kopech as the trade deadline looms next month. Bullpen help is on every postseason hopeful’s deadline wishlist every summer, and Kopech is the type of power arm that any team would love to try to maximize. While velocity is up throughout the game, and triple-digit fastballs are no longer the rarities they once were, that doesn’t take away from Kopech’s impressive repertoire. The only pitchers in MLB (min. 10 innings) who throw harder on average are Oakland’s Mason Miller, Minnesota’s Jhoan Duran, Milwaukee’s Abner Uribe, Arizona’s Justin Martinez and St. Louis’ Ryan Helsley. Kopech’s bottom-line run prevention numbers may not stand out, but other teams surely covet the upside and feel there’s a potentially elite reliever to be unlocked with a few tweaks.

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