The White Sox made an unusual roster move Wednesday afternoon, designating Luis Patiño for assignment to add Josimar Cousin to the 40-man roster.
The first part isn't odd, considering Patiño's former top prospect status appears to be wholly in the past. He walked 12 guys over 17⅔ innings, which was a continuation from his 2022 form, and he'll be out of options next season, so his time in the organization was likely limited even without a full 40-man. (If Ted put out a Sporcle pressing White Sox fans to name the entire 40-man roster right now, I'd guess the results would be ugly on the pitching side.)
Adding Cousin at this time -- past the Rule 5 protection deadline, well before spring training, when such roster machinations aren't typically necessary -- is the strange part. Unlike Patiño, Cousin can throw strikes, but they tend to get hit. He gave up 62 hits on top of 15 walks and three hit batters over 55 innings, the majority of which were concentrated in Winston-Salem, and then got batted around the desert with 25 hits (and six homers) over 15⅔ innings in the Arizona Fall League.
But because Cousin was 25 when he signed with the White Sox in May, his contract and bonus weren't subject to the international bonus pool rules, and Francys Romero reported some unusual terms when he relayed the bonus.
Cuban RHP Josimar Cousin (25) officially signs with the Chicago White Sox. Bonus deal: $ 100,000.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) May 5, 2023
Cousin will also receive 2 million in deferred money: 1.2 M if he reaches MLB between 2023-2025, 625 K if he stays in the Minors. pic.twitter.com/DRtYAYFLkX
So because there some MLB-like compensation on a minor-league deal, perhaps there was some language in the contract that put a 40-man deadline in place after Cousin finished the partial first season.
Cousin will turn 26 as players are reporting to spring training. He competes well enough, the slider has some promise, and there's a chance that he could make one of those reliever leaps after a normal offseason with stateside training, but based on his body of work, this appears to be more of a mandated action than anything of consequence. I'd consider it part of the White Sox's international strategy that hit a dead end, but even with the deferred money, Cousin's payments don't come anywhere close to the bonuses signed by Norge Vera, Yoelqui Céspedes or Oscar Colás.
