After a pair of trades on Thursday, the White Sox have added another arm.
The team has reportedly signed right-handed reliever Kyle Crick to a minor league contract. The move isn’t splashy, but rather your classic low-risk, high reward scenario.
Crick, 28, had a 1-1 record with a 4.44 ERA, 1.356 WHIP, and a 1.11 K/W ratio in 24.1 innings for Pittsburgh this season. He was recently placed on release waivers by the Pirates on July 24th after clearing DFA waivers prior. Ever since his strong 2018 campaign, injury and a lack of consistent control has been a major issue. Dating back to 2019, the reliever owns a very rough 16% walk rate.
At the time of Crick’s release last week, Pirates GM Ben Cherington had this to say on struggling pitcher:
“I think we just got to the point where we weren’t seeing enough consistency. … I think some of those leverage opportunities have started to go to other guys. Once he’s out of that role, he’s not a length or multi-inning guy.”
via Jake Crouse/MLB.com
The Sox will look to solve Crick’s command issues, and maybe hope a little change of scenery works in their favor. If they add him to the 40-man roster, they will also be able to control him beyond this season as an arbitration eligible player.
Fans shouldn’t be a shocked to see the Sox look to add another well-established reliever before today’s deadline, as this move doesn’t solve any sort of immediate need. One more arm to go along with Ryan Tepera, Michael Kopech, and Liam Hendriks would go a long ways for the bullpen.
Be sure to follow us on social media @SoxOn35th for more updates!
Featured Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates/Twitter
