The White Sox introduced Friday that they’ve declined their $7.5MM membership choice on catcher Max Stassi. He’ll obtain a $500K buyout and grow to be a free agent. Chicago additionally formally introduced that infielder Yoan Moncada’s $25MM membership choice was declined in favor of a $5MM buyout, as was reported yesterday. Each choices had been apparent lengthy earlier than the season ended.
Stassi, 33, by no means performed a sport for the White Sox and hasn’t appeared within the majors since 2022. He was acquired final offseason as a part of a convoluted sequence of trades made by the Braves of their pursuit of successfully buying Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners. Atlanta acquired Kelenic, Evan White and Marco Gonzales from the Mariners, then flipped White’s contract to the Angels in trade for Stassi and David Fletcher. Gonzales was traded to Pittsburgh, with the Braves footing many of the invoice. Stassi was subsequently traded to Chicago for money or a participant to be named later, with Atlanta taking over practically all of Stassi’s wage as properly.
The ChiSox hoped Stassi would come to camp and pair with free-agent pickup Martin Maldonado, however he landed on the injured checklist throughout spring coaching attributable to irritation in his hip. It was the second season by which Stassi had handled an harm in his left hip, and this time round it required season-ending surgical procedure.
Stassi final appeared in an enormous league sport in October 2022 with the Angels. He missed the entire 2023 season attributable to that hip harm and, way more importantly, to are inclined to a dire household matter. Stassi was absent from the Angels attributable to what was on the time an unknown private matter and later shared that his son, Jackson, had been born greater than three months untimely. He understandably took the whole season to be together with his spouse and son, spending the majority of the time within the NICU together with his spouse, Gaby. The couple opened up about their harrowing expertise earlier this yr in an interview with The Athletic’s Sam Blum. Fortunately, Jackson defied the percentages and was finally capable of head residence together with his household after greater than six months within the hospital.
Stassi’s story is one which places any baseball angle into correct perspective. The sport is a distant second to such a traumatizing household ordeal, however Stassi did converse optimistically to Blum about the potential of his son sometime seeing him take the sphere at an enormous league sport. He reported to spring coaching with the White Sox this previous season intent on enjoying earlier than his hip harm intervened. There’s no indication he’s planning something apart from a return to his enjoying profession, although any such alternative will seemingly come on a minor league deal.
Such a pact needs to be there for Stassi, well being allowing. He’s nonetheless simply 33 years outdated, and from 2020-21 he gave the Halos 118 video games and 424 plate appearances with a .250/.333/.452 batting line. Stassi ripped 20 homers in that point and offered standout protection behind the plate, as has lengthy been his calling card. Groups in want of a veteran backup or a depth choice to push a youthful, inexperienced backstop may give him a glance this winter.
