White Sox Add An Interesting Relief Arm

As if the White Sox roster, specifically which 13 arms will be on the roster, wasn’t ambiguous enough, Chris Getz added another arm to the mix. According to Robert Murray, the White Sox are in agreement with right handed pitcher Jake Woodford on a minor league contract, with an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Woodford, just 27 years old has played all four years of his major league career with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was non-tendered this off-season, making him eligible to sign with any team.

Woodford has had a bit of an up and down career, both starting and coming out of the bullpen. It seems that he has had most of his success coming out of the bullpen, which is great for the White Sox, as they don’t need to add another starter to the mix at this point in the offseason.

Last year Woodford was not great, likely the reason for his non-tender at the end of the season. In 47 innings, he had a 6.23 ERA in eight starts, but 15 total games. He only had 29 strikeouts in that stretch, pairing it with a 1.74 WHIP. He walked 22 batters in those innings, which is a bit high for only 47 innings and 29 strikeouts.

He did get a lot of ground balls last year, as he ranked in the 85th percentile in ground ball percentage according to Baseball Savant. This could bode well for the White Sox in 2024, as ground ball pitchers have a volatile ERA and the White Sox upgraded their infield defense significantly.

What can get the White Sox excited about Woodford was his 2022 season. In 27 games with just one start, he was significantly better. Over 48 innings, he had a 2.23 ERA and a much better 1.12 WHIP. He still did not strikeout that many batters, only 29, but he kept the walks down, only walking 11 in that time frame.

He was pretty good in 2021 as well, as he had a 3.99 ERA over 67 innings. He started eight games, but was mainly a reliever. It seems that 2023 was out of the ordinary for him, as the walks were up, leading to most of his stats being inflated.

Reports out of St. Louis have him tabbed as a much better reliever than starter, as he can be a very good reliever in just one inning stints. This is exactly what the White Sox need, as they lack experience in the bullpen. With Woodford playing four years in the major leagues, he instantly becomes one of their most tenured pitchers in the ‘pen.

He will still face competition in Spring Training, as this is only a minor league deal, but he has a good shot at making the roster. If he pitches like he did in 2021-2022, he could be a nice pickup for the Sox. This continues the trend of picking up players that struggled last year, but have been good before, in hopes they turn it around with the Sox.

Despite his low strikeout numbers, he gets a lot of ground balls, which is key in a place like Guaranteed Rate Field. Look for him to likely take one of the few bullpen spots that are up for grabs in Spring Training.