The White Sox have claimed right-hander Owen White off waivers from the Yankees, in keeping with bulletins from each golf equipment. The latter membership had designated him for project final week. The Sox moved left-hander Ky Bush to the 60-day injured checklist because the corresponding transfer. It was reported final week that Bush would require Tommy John surgical procedure, so he’ll spend all the 2025 season on the IL.
White, 25, is a logical pickup for the White Sox. He has had tough outcomes for the previous two years however was a high 100 prospect earlier than that. The Sox aren’t anticipating to be good anytime quickly, with their 2024 season being traditionally dangerous. Of the 30 golf equipment within the league, they’re the one finest positioned to take a flier and hope for a bounceback. White additionally has one possibility yr remaining, so he may be saved in Triple-A all through 2025 because the membership will get a close-up have a look at him.
Drafted by the Rangers with the fifty fifth general choose in 2018, White’s debut was delayed for some time. Tommy John surgical procedure prevented him from pitching in 2019 after which the minor leagues had been worn out by the pandemic in 2020. However regardless of that prolonged layoff, he went on to place up some eye-popping numbers as soon as on the hill. Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he logged 115 2/3 innings on the farm with a 3.42 earned run common. He had a powerful 7.5% stroll fee and an enormous 34.1% strikeout fee.
Going into 2023, he was a consensus high 100 prospect, with Baseball America giving him the #59 spot. The Rangers added him to their 40-man roster to maintain him out of the Rule 5 draft. However as alluded to earlier, his outcomes have tapered off considerably since then.
He has made his main league debut, which certainly wasn’t what he dreamed of. In seven massive league frames thus far, he has allowed 13 earned runs, giving him an unpleasant 16.71 ERA in the intervening time. His minor league numbers haven’t been nice both. He threw 151 1/3 innings for Triple-A Spherical Rock over 2023 and 2024 with a 5.41 ERA. The Categorical play within the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League however he additionally didn’t impress along with his 17.4% strikeout fee nor his 11.7% stroll fee.
The Rangers did get experimental with White halfway via 2024, giving him a shot at a aid position. In his last 13 Triple-A appearances on the yr, he logged 18 frames from the bullpen. His 5.50 ERA nonetheless wasn’t spectacular however he did strike out 25.6% of batters confronted in that point.
That wasn’t sufficient for him to hold onto his roster spot. He was designated for project in December and traded to the Reds for money. He was designated for project once more in late January and placed on waivers, with the Sox passing at the moment. Given their report final yr, they’ve high waiver precedence, however he was claimed by the Yankees. However since then, the 60-day IL has opened up, which gave Chicago a bit extra flexibility to make an addition equivalent to this.
The Sox can deliver White into camp and see how issues go. Maybe he can get again on monitor as a starter or discover new life with a transfer to a aid position. As talked about, they don’t want to provide him a spot on the lively roster this yr. He nonetheless has lower than a yr of service time, so they might cheaply management him for years to come back if issues click on whereas he’s on the roster.
