Our house lost power on Thursday afternoon and didn't get it back until Saturday night, so as much as I would love to delve into Andrew Vaughn's first game in left field, I didn't really have the capacity to watch video, much less carve it up.
Instead, we'll be delving into the less data-intensive posts on my to-do list before Opening Day, starting with a survey of where members of last year's White Sox are going to give it a go this season.
Steve Cishek: Free agent. He signed a split contract with the Astros that would've paid him $2.25 million if he made the roster, but he did not make said roster, and the Astros granted his request for a release. It wasn't for performance reasons, as his spring numbers were more than fine (12 strikeouts, two walks over 7⅔ innings).
PERTINENT: Steve Cishek never resembled Steve Cishek with the White Sox
Alex Colomé: Twins. After giving the White Sox desired results over his two years in Chicago, the Twins picked him up for the relatively paltry commitment of one year and $6.25 million. He'll make $5 million in 2021, with a $5.5 million team option for 2022, or a $1.25 million buyout. The White Sox replaced Colomé with Liam Hendriks signed for more than double the 2021 salary and five times the total commitment, so we could be having quite the debate about resource allocation once the standings take shape.
Cheslor Cuthbert and Nicky Delmonico: Reds. Both are with Cincinnati on minor-league contracts, and getting reps at first base. Delmonico's had the better spring by far.
Ross Detwiler: Marlins. DFA'd by the White Sox in September, Detwiler rebounded by signing a major league contract for $850,000, with another $100,000 in possible incentives. He'll be pitching out of Miami's bullpen.
Dane Dunning: Rangers. Traded to Texas in the Lance Lynn deal, Dunning will open the season in the Rangers' anonymous starting rotation.
The Texas Rangers' rotation is like a Billy Eichner skit
— Nick Pollack (@PitcherList) March 23, 2021
"NAME A RANGERS PITCHER!"
"I..um...uhhhh"
"NAME A RANGERS PITCHER!!!!!"
Jarrod Dyson: Royals. After not being able to contribute much to the White Sox in 2020, he could be back to tormenting them as a member of the Royals. Kansas City signed him to a one-year, $1.5 million deal earlier this month.
Edwin Encarnación: Free agent. It seems like his representation has been trying to get people to talk about him ...
Hard to believe Edwin Encarnacion has no job. Second most homers the last decade. pic.twitter.com/vmvaor6ASv
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 9, 2021
Free agent Edwin Encarnación, 38, has continued working out every day in hopes of signing with an @MLB team, his agent, Paul Kinzer, told me tonight. Encarnación has hit 324 home runs over the past 10 seasons, second most in the Majors over that span. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) March 23, 2021
... but it hasn't materialized in a deal.
Ryan Goins: Braves. He signed a minor league deal with Atlanta, which reassigned him to its minor-league camp a couple days ago.
Gio González: Retired. Having finally pitched for the White Sox after being drafted by them and traded from them twice, Gio wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer.
Ian Hamilton: Twins. White Sox Frank Grimes had a Grimeyesque journey through MLB's waiver wire. The Mariners claimed him after the White Sox DFA'd him, only to designated Hamilton in December, after which the Phillies picked him up. When the Phillies ran out of room and tried to sneak him through waivers, the Twins picked him up. The Twins then DFA'd him after signing Colomé, and Minnesota managed to retain him as minor-league depth.
For those who were a fan of Ethan Katz saying Carlos Rodón was "very quad-dominant," here's some more jargon from Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson in dianosing Hamilton's power loss.
“He’s got an elevated distal humerus, which means it’s up really high. We’re trying to get him down. We also think that’s going to help with where we’re trying to throw the fastball. Part of that elevated distal humerus is probably because of past history.”
Kelvin Herrera: Retired. He tried to catch on with the Cubs during the 2020 season after the White Sox cut him, but the North Siders let him go in late August.
Thank you, Baseball ✍🏼 pic.twitter.com/CS55vIQzST
— Kelvin Herrera (@KelvinHerrera40) February 26, 2021
Nomar Mazara: Tigers. Mazara's latest chance at a breakout season will come in Detroit, which signed him to a one-year, $1.75 million contract. He'll be reunited with Scott Coolbaugh, who was the White Sox's assistant hitting coach last year, and worked with Mazara coming up with Texas as well. He's hitting .192/.250/.231 over 28 plate appearances this spring, for what that's worth.
James McCann: Mets. McCann parlayed his wildly successful time with the White Sox into a four-year, $40.6 million contract with the Mets. He's off to a McCannish start, hitting .333/.368/.389 with one walk to nine strikeouts over 38 plate appearances.
PERTINENT: Deal with Mets closes James McCann's nifty little White Sox career
Yolmer Sánchez: Orioles (for now). While Sánchez has signed with another organization before, he hasn't played a game for another team besides the White Sox, as the Giants released him during the 2020 season after signing him on a minor-league contract. It looked like he had a clear path with the Orioles after signing a $1 million contract, but they just DFA'd him to make room for Adam Plutko (updated).
(Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire)
