Reaper or Keeper

April 29, 2019

I have to give credit to the White Sox when they do something good and the other day, they did. They DFA’d Ervin Santana. They took a shot on him to see if he could be the pitcher he once was, it didn’t work, and they cut bait to give more innings to Manny Banuelos. This is the kind of thing I like to see from a rebuilding team. So I asked myself, who else should go? So let’s decide who needs to be whacked out and who needs to be kept in a game we’ll call Reaper or Keeper. Today’s contestants: Jon Jay, Yonder Alonso, Ivan Nova, Carson Fulmer, and Kelvin Herrera.

Jon Jay

This one is kind of obvious since the Sox have 47 outfielders, Jay was signed as a part of the courting of Manny Machado, and he hasn’t been seen or heard from in over a month. I understand they would just be throwing $4 million in the trash, but let’s see some of these young outfielders so we can determine who is part of the future.

Yonder Alonso

While we’re talking about Manny’s buddies, Yonder is next on the list. Yonder’s trade value is pretty weak at this point. The fact that when there was a major injury for the A’s at 1B, they went out and got Kendrys Morales instead of Yonder. Beyond that, he’s hitting under .200 and taking DH plate appearances away from a number of players. The only thing continuing to give Yonder PAs will do is vest his option and cost the Sox a bunch next year.

Ivan Nova

When the Sox made this deal, I wasn’t particularly excited about it. Guys of Nova’s talent level are typically available on the free agent market for less than he makes. So instead of picking up a FA, the Sox traded for Nova, giving up a player and paying him above market. All that said, we need someone to eat some innings. While it’s not great, I don’t really think we want Dylan Covey soaking up those innings. Even if Dylan Cease makes it to the bigs this year, you still probably want Nova around to give you some innings.

Carson Fulmer

For some reason, the Sox keep trotting out Fulmer expecting something different to happen. Maybe some day, somewhere he’ll be a viable bullpen option. But it’s pretty obvious that won’t be here. It’s time to start looking at some of the other young arms we have in the system. Yeah, I know we can hide him at AAA, but as Death famously said “sooner or later you dance with Reaper.”