The White Sox have been busy this past week. Along with signing Geovany Soto, they have added four pitchers to minor league contracts. Each is over 30-years old with varying levels of major league experience, and all have been extended non-roster invites to Spring Training.
Carroll returns to Chicago, where he started 19 games for the White Sox last season. He has been somewhat of a career minor leaguer, having finally made his debut in the majors at age 30. After a solid start to the year with Triple-A Charlotte, he was promoted to the big leagues.
He had 7 relief appearances to go along with his 19 starts, which led to some unspectacular results. He finished the year with a 4.80 ERA and 1.48 WHIP, with only 64 strikeouts in 129 innings. Although far from a stellar season, retaining Carroll on a minor league deal is a good move for the White Sox. He’ll have the chance to earn a job in spring training and build on his first MLB season.
The Dominican righthander has had a few cups of coffee with several major league teams over the last five years, where hes worked out of the bullpen exclusively. His low-to-mid 90’s heat and wipe out slider has produced some solid strikeout numbers over his career.
In 2013, Asencio was a lights-out reliever for Norfolk, the Triple-A affiliate of the Orioles. He had a 2.66 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 47 appearances, striking out 56 in 50 innings. He decided to spend 2014 in the Korean Baseball League, where he pitched well, striking out well above a man per inning (56 K in 46 IP).
Asencio has never been able to stick in a major league bullpen. He definitely has the stuff to pitch in the big leagues, but his control has limited him. The White Sox are definitely in need of bullpen help, after finishing 28th in bullpen ERA in 2014.
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The biggest signing for the club is definitely Jesse Crain, who spent 2011-2013 as a shutdown reliever in the White Sox bullpen. He played 7 seasons with the Twins to start his career, posting solid numbers pretty much every season. Being one of the better relievers in recent memory for the team, its not surprising that the White Sox wanted to kick the tires on Crain.
The Canadian right-hander was an All-Star in 2013, posting an 0.74 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 36 innings. He was traded to the Rays on July 29th, but hasn’t pitched in a game since. Shoulder problems prevented him from pitching for the Rays as well as the Astros, who he signed a one year deal with before the 2014 season.
Crain has been a solid reliever throughout his career, and there is no reason to believe he won’t return to pitching at a high level if he can shed his injury trouble. This is a low-risk signing that could pay off in a huge way for the White Sox.
The 32 year-old right-hander has been a minor league starter since 2001, when he was in the Indians system. He played two season with the Nationals in 2009 and 2010, recording pedestrian numbers. His biggest problem in those two years was his propensity for giving up the long ball (23 HR’s allowed in 24 starts).
He spent 2011-2013 with Triple-A affiliates of the Nationals, Marlins and Rays. He had a really solid season with Durham in 2013, going 16-4 with a 2.75 ERA. He gave up 26 home runs and had 116 strikeouts in 160 innings. Like Asencio, he spent 2014 in the Korean Baseball League. He struggled to the tune of a 4.78 ERA and 1.38 WHIP, also giving up 31 homers.
Martin probably has the least buzz out of the four to make the big league roster. If he can keep the ball in the park he can provide decent starting pitching depth, although its probably not realistic to expect him to make an impact in Chicago in 2015.