White Sox select Nick Avila in Rule 5 draft

Nobody can say the White Sox came back from San Diego empty-handed.

The Sox closed out the winter meetings by taking right-handed reliever Nick Avila from the San Francisco Giants in the Rule 5 draft. The Giants originally selected him out of California State University Long Beach in the 26th round of the 2019 draft.

Avila, 24, posted a 1.14 ERA over 55⅓ innings evenly divided between High-A Eugene and Double-A Richmond, with 58 strikeouts against 54 baserunners (40 hits, 14 walks). While he was old for the level(s), he could at least point to a new experience, because it was his first year working exclusively out of the bullpen.

He shifted to relief during in Eugene during the 2021 season after a disastrous time starting. He wore a 7.69 ERA over his first 15 games, most of which were starting or very long relief, surrendering 85 hits over 59⅔ innings (.339/.395/.550 line). After getting shelled for eight runs over two innings in his final start against Everett on July 28, he moved to the bullpen, where his outlook immediately improved:

• Through July 28: 15 G, 59.1 IP, 85 H, 55 R, 51 ER, 11 HR, 23 BB, 56 K
• After July 28: 10 G, 16.1 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 4 BB, 22 K

Avila throws a mid-90s fastball with a curveball as his second pitch, with a little bit of an unusual motion...

... but it's not the kind of unusual motion that leaves a righty susceptible to opposite-handed hitters. Lefties (.206/.264/.255) fared worse than righties (.207/.250/.359) against him, which was a massive reversal from his 2021 season (.775 OPS by RHB, .959 by LHB).

A refresher on Rule 5 rules: The White Sox paid $100,000 to the Giants for Avila, who now occupies a spot on the 40-man roster, bringing it up to 36. When the regular season starts, Avila will have to occupy a spot on the White Sox's 26-man roster. He can only be sent to the minors if he clears waivers, and if the Giants refuse to take him back for $50,000 of that $100,000 fee.

Rick Hahn cited Avila's history with Ethan Katz during their time in San Francisco's system.