Sound the horn! The crown jewel of the White Sox system is playing the occasional game in the Dominican Winter League. Eloy has played in seven games and had 27 at-bats for Gigantes del Cibao. He’s destroying the rest of the league to the tune of .407/.467/.630.
He has seven strikeouts to three walks. As for extra base hits, he has three doubles and a home run. It won’t be long until we see him Chicago, and every single person who reads this should be there when he makes his debut. The biggest piece of the future is ready, and it’s a delight to see. Plus, the slugger-in-waiting plated a run against national treasure Bartolo Colon.
Enjoy the offseason and the upcoming holidays, everyone. With that, here’s what you need to know this week.
Arizona Fall League
Our own James Fox recapped the 2018 Arizona Fall League and how the White Sox representatives fared in it. Here are his insights. We’ve also got a player guest post coming from the prospect showcase, later this off-season.
Player recaps:
Hitters
- OF Luis Robert was impressive in 74 AB, hitting .324/.367/.432. He struck out 13 times and walked five.
- OF Luis Alexander Basabe finished the season with 50 AB. He struggled statistically, hitting .180/.333/.180. He did walk 12 times, but recorded 16 strikeouts.
- 2B Laz Rivera had 65 AFL at bats. He hit .215/.271/.246. He struck out 14 times and walked three times.
Pitchers
- RHP Zack Burdi appeared in only 4.2 innings and was shut down before the season closed. He gave up two hits and three runs (all unearned), walked one and struck out five. Local reports on his stuff were mixed, with some hand-wringing around lower velocities while others said he looked like his old self.
- LHP Tanner Banks started five games and appeared in six. He threw 22.1 innings to the tune of a 4.43 ERA. Banks struck out 10, walked five and gave up three home runs. He was the third best starting pitcher on Glendale’s staff.
- RHP Zach Thompson appeared in 11 games. He posted an impressive 2.70 ERA, struck out 15 and walked six.
- RHP Danny Dopico had an erratic AFL experience. He finished the season with a 6.57 ERA, walking 12 and striking out 15.
Transactions
Elected Free Agency
- Charlotte’s RHP Brandon Brennan, 2B Bryant Flete, RHP Gregory Infante, 3B Patrick Leonard, RHP Ricardo Pinto, 1B Matt Skole, 2B Jake Elmore, C Dustin Garneau, OF Ryan LaMarre, OF Trayce Thompson, RHP Tyler Watson and RHP Asher Wojciechowski all became free agents.
- Birmingham’s OF Tito Polo, 1B Keon Barnum, LHP Matt Tomshaw and 3B Gerson Montilla became free agents.
- Winston-Salem RHP Yelmison Peralta became a free agent.
- Great Falls’ OF Zach Kapstein became a free agent.
Traded
- The White Sox traded Kannapolis 3B Justin Yurchak to the Dodgers for LHP Manny Banuelos, Nov. 1.
- The White Sox traded C Omar Narvaez to the Mariners for RHP Alex Colome, Nov. 30. In case you needed a reminder of how unusual Narvaez’ career has been, here is an anthology of sorts.
Claimed
- The Los Angeles Angels claimed C Kevan Smith off waivers
- The Cubs claimed LHP Ian Clarkin off waivers November 20th, only for the White Sox to claim him back on the 26th.
Selected
- The White Sox added RHP Dylan Cease, RHP Jordan Stephens, LHP Kodi Medeiros and C Seby Zavala to the 40-man roster Nov. 20. You can read about these choices, and who wasn’t selected, right here.
Signed
- The White Sox signed RHP Evan Marshall, RHP Chandler Ferguson, C Matthew Mercedes, LHP Ronaldo Guzman and RHP Homer Cruz to minor league contracts. Marshall was assigned to Charlotte, while the other three are rookie-level signees.
- 1B Matt Skole (with Knights in 2018) and 3B Gerson Montilla (mostly on DL in 2018) were re-signed as well.
- LHP Alex Katz, who was drafted by the Sox and traded away in exchange for international bonus space, has returned to the system on a minor league deal.
Outrighted
- The White Sox outrighted RHPs Danny Farquhar and Rob Scahill to Charlotte.
Released
- RHP’s Ruddy Rodriguez, Fernando Caro, Pablo Yanes
- 1B Robert Barreras
- OF Omar Martinez
- C Ulises Martinez
News and Links
- Ken Sawilchik exquisitely profiled 2018 fourth round draft pick Lency Delgado, who White Sox Director of Player Development said has, “a lot of things to dream on.”
- Editor-in-Chief Matt Cassidy wrote about the eight White Sox (and one coach) who are spending their off-seasons playing in the winter leagues.
- The 10th episode of the FutureSox podcast dropped with guests Dylan Cease and Gavin Sheets. Give it a listen and subscribe.
- The White Sox made the aforementioned 40-man roster deadline moves and Matt wrote about what they could all mean.
- The White Sox traded FutureSox favorite 1B/3B Justin Yurchak to the Dodgers for LHP Manny Banuelos. James Fox broke it down.
- NBC LA’s Michael Duarte said the Dodgers are exploring the possibility of trading for Jose Abreu, and it was seperately reported yesterday that the Astros have also checked in. I can’t help but wonder what sort of return he could get in a depressed market for first basemen with his skill set. I think the team needs to let him continue in his mentor role, until someone emerges as a viable replacement.
- Baseball America recognized the Dash as the top Class A organization in minor league baseball!
- The White Sox’s long term head athletic trainer Herm Schneider transitioned into an Emeritus-role. It’s a real loss for an organization that has had such consistency in the spot for so long. Schneider was the longest-tenured athletic trainer in the MLB.
- NBC Sports Chicago’s Chuck Garfien spoke to GM Rick Hahn after the Narvaez move, who said catchers Seby Zavala and Zack Collins would not be promoted to the majors until the team “deemed them ready.” He added the Sox could potentially explore adding another catcher before the season.
- The Athletic’s James Fegan decided to drop a Top-96 ranking of the White Sox’ farm, just in case you needed some light reading.
- Jon Heyman reported that Frank Menechino, previously with the Marlins organization, will be the Charlotte Knights’ Hitting Coach in 2019.
- Worth noting: It is December 10th, and the White Sox PDC’s with both Kannapolis and Great Falls are set to expire at the end of the year. Still no official word on renewal (or other). Would be a shock of Kannapolis was not extended, given the new ballpark coming.
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Fine recap of the offseason for the entire White Sox system from rookie ball to MLB. There should be plenty more news in the coming weeks and months leading up to spring training.