|
|
|
The White Sox are moving starter to a bullpen role to begin the 2024 season, general manager announced to reporters on Thursday ( via Sox Machines James Fegan). Thatll further shake up a rotation that suddenly projects to look quite different following last nights trade sending to San Diego. Kopech was once a highly-touted prospect but has struggled to establish himself as a viable big league starter and is now on the cusp of his 28th birthday. Selected by the Red Sox with the 33rd overall pick in 2014, he was a top 100 prospect as he worked his way up the minor league ladder and was a key piece of the that sent to Boston. The White Sox were surely hoping that Kopech would be a building block of their future rotation and promoted Kopech in August of 2018, but he required Tommy John surgery just about a month later. He mi sed all of the 2019 season and then sat out the 2020 pandemic season as well. After mi sing two full years of his development, he pitched primarily in relief in 2021 to build up his workload. He to sed 69 1/3 innings over 44 appearances that year with a solid 3.50 earned run average. In 2022, he was finally able to secure a rotation gig at the big league level and the results were mixed. On the surface, his Johnathan Motley Jersey 3.54 ERA over 25 starts looked nice, but the numbers under the hood were le s encouraging. His 21.3% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk rate were both a bit worse than league average. He seemed to have had some luck keeping runs off the board thanks to a .223 batting average on balls in play and 74.2% strand rate. His 4.50 FIP and 4.73 SIERA suggested that he may not have been as effective as his ERA implied. Last year, his luck turned for the worse, as he finished the season with a 5.43 ERA. His control took a concerning blow, as he gave out walks to 15.4% of opponents. He was bumped to the bullpen late in the year but seemed like he had a path to continue starting in 2024. The Sox traded and at the deadline last year and then saw hit free agency coming into this winter. Rumors swirled around all winter until he was to the Padres yesterday. Despite all of those holes in the rotation, it seems the Sox dont have much faith in Kopech as a starter at the moment and hell wind up in the bullpen. For what its worth, hes allowed six earned run in seven innings this spring, giving out six walks in the proce s while also hitting two batters. Hes now just two years away from becoming a free agent so perhaps the Sox will give rotation opportunities to younger guys during their current teardown, while perhaps Kopech can turn himself into a trade chip if he can serve as an effective reliever. Kopech doesnt seem thrilled with his new a signment. Its not my first choice where I want to be, he said to reporters, including . I like starting, but Ive had succe s in that role. And ultimately we are looking at whats best for the team this year. If I can help us win games in the back of the game, Im excited to do that. The Sox have brought in various fresh arms to the system this year, having signed and while also trading for , , and . They got from the Marlins in last years trade. seems poised to move in the opposite direction to Kopech, jumping from a relief role into the rotation. For now, the rotation projects to include Fedde, Flexen, Crochet and Soroka in four spots. The club was to free agent and Clevinger as well, so a late signing could fill out the rotation. As the season rolls along, some guys will get hurt or may end up as trade targets at the deadline. Soroka and Flexen are impending free agents while Fedde is on a two-year deal. If Lorenzen or Clevinger sign, they would presumably be for one- or two-year deals. As rotation spots open, perhaps Kopech could retake one, but the group of Shuster, Thorpe, Iriarte, Eder and others will be jockeying for auditions. With the club clearly focused on the future, they may be more inclined to give opportunities to those young and controllable guys as opposed to a 28-year-old whose club control is running out. Montrezl Harrell Jersey |
|
发表于 2025-11-16 09:38:02