The White Sox effectively non-tendered a couple of arbitration-eligible players a couple weeks before the deadline by outrighting Jimmy Lambert and Matt Foster on Monday.
Lambert was the easier call. He missed all of 2024 due to shoulder problems, including a shoulder surgery that officially ended his season in August. Between that and a lack of minor-league options, there was little chance of the White Sox being rewarded for taking on a projected $1.2 million salary in arbitration.
Foster was only projected to earn $900,000 next year and had an option remaining, and all things considered, he made a pretty smooth return from the Tommy John surgery he had in 2023. The White Sox offered him a contract under similar circumstances last season, but perhaps the velocity drop he suffered at the end of the season had the White Sox preferring to use his spot for somebody with a little more upside.
That's where Penn Murfee enters the conversation. The White Sox claimed him from the Astros on Monday, as they became the latest of teams to see whether they can hold onto him as he recovers from his own UCL repair.
Murfee was one of those randomly excellent relievers the Mariners became known for, a 33rd-round pick in 2018 who burst onto the scene in his age-28 season in 2022 by posting a 2.99 ERA with 76 strikeouts against 18 walks over 69⅓ innings. His attempt at an encore was interrupted by elbow problems, culminating in Tommy John surgery in July 2023. He has since bounced from the Mets to the Braves to the Astros, and now the White Sox come calling.
When Murfee's healthy, he's a righty who gets by with a high-80s fastball from a sidewinding arm slot because he can locate it at the top of the zone, and it sets up a plus sweeper. He just hasn't been healthy for a year and a half, as he threw just 19 pitches over a disastrous one-third of an inning with Houston's Low-A affiliate last August before the team shut him down with a recurrence of elbow discomfort.
He has all three options remaining and isn't yet arbitration-eligible, so when comparing him against Foster, perhaps the White Sox want fewer obligations attached to that role and roster spot. Or maybe they'll be the next team to waive him, and Murfee still has another two or three organizations to go before he next surfaces in the majors.
Either way, the White Sox 40-man roster is at 37, and there's quite a bit more room to cut before the White Sox decide which players to protect from the Rule 5 draft at the Nov. 19 deadline. There are at least two more non-tender targets on their list, assuming Nicky Lopez's price tag is too rich and the Sox aren't going to pay a combined $9 million for Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets. Last year's late-season waiver claim of Ron Marinaccio might not have staying power, the Sox have waived Sammy Peralta before, Braden Shewmake didn't play after June 1, and Oscar Colás never seemed like a part of any plans even when Dominic Fletcher and Zach DeLoach were injured and/or struggling.
