White Sox DFA Former Top 100 Prospect And Call Up Old Division Rival

The White Sox announced a series of roster moves before Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. With a sweep in front of the home fans at Guaranteed Rate Field on the line, the White Sox recalled right-hander Prelander Berroa from Triple-A Charlotte, selected the contract of right-hander Brad Keller, optioned right-hander Jonathan Cannon to Charlotte and designated right-hander Deivi Garcia for assignment.

The moves come after Pedro Grifol told reporters on Saturday that the bullpen had been heavily taxed early in the season. The White Sox acquired Berroa and outfielder Zach DeLoach in a trade with the Mariners this offseason that sent Gregory Santos to Seattle. Berrora owns an 8.74 ERA in 11 appearances with the Charlotte Knights this season. 

Last season the 23-year-old right-hander limited opponents to a .189 batting average in 43 appearances in Double-A Arkansas. Berrora went 5-1, posting a 2.89 ERA with 101 strikeouts during that stretch. He made his MLB debut with the Mariners in July, tossing 0.2 scoreless innings despite walking three batters, before being optioned back to the minors the next day. He got one more chance in the big leagues in October and threw a perfect 1-2-3 inning in the Mariners regular-season finale against the Rangers. Now Berrora will finally have a chance to stick on a big league roster for an extended period. 

Keller Gets Fresh Start With White Sox

Brad Keller will also get his first opportunity in a White Sox uniform. Keller was public enemy number one in 2019 after intentionally hitting Tim Anderson with a pitch that caused a benches-clearing incident. His six seasons in the MLB have all come with the Kansas City Royals. Keller owns a career 4.27 ERA in 679 innings of work. 

The White Sox are looking for Keller to be an innings hitter. He has shown the ability to keep the ball on the ground which will come in handy in a lively park like Guaranteed Rate Field. Last season he posted a 57.6% ground ball rate, which placed him in the MLB’s top five percentile, according to Baseball Savant. 

Keeping it in the strike zone is one of Keller’s biggest concerns. Last season he produced a whopping 21.3% walk rate. For his career, his walk rate is just over 10 percent. This can be trouble for a guy who struggles to generate swings and misses, like Keller. However, the walk rate was a bit deceiving considering Keller was dealing with a nagging shoulder injury that required surgery as well as a thoracic outlet syndrome diagnosis, which also required surgery in October. 

White Sox Option Cannon to Triple-A

Cannon was sent to Triple-A Charlotte to make room on the 26-man roster for Berroa. The move makes makes sense. After throwing five innings on Saturday Cannon would have been unable to help the team eat innings for another five days. The 23-year-old still has options remaining and will likely be back in the big leagues later this year. In his first 13.2 innings with the White Sox Cannon posted a 7.24 ERA with 13 strikeouts in three starts.

While the numbers don’t jump off the page, Cannon showed that his stuff can play in the big leagues. All of his pitches feature pretty good movement. His biggest issue was locating them at times. Cannon struggled to put hitters away and often left pitches hanging over the plate. A few more starts in the minor leagues to iron some things out may be good for him before he gets called back up. 

Garcia's Struggles Continue

To make room on the 40-man roster for Keller the White Sox DFA’d Deivi Garcia. Garcia earned the win on Saturday night after pitching in the 10th inning. He allowed one unearned run, on one hit and two walks, but struck out two to help limit the damage. The game marked Garcia’s 14th appearance of the season. In 14 innings the right-hander owns a 7.07 ERA and 1.93 WHIP. The former top 100 prospect will turn 25 next month. The White Sox took a flier on him last season after the Yankees placed him on waivers. 

Despite once being considered one of the Yankee's top pitching prospects, Garcia has struggled to find his footing in the majors. He posted a 4.98 ERA in six starts in the Bronx in 2020 and then went 0-2 with a 6.48 ERA over two brief stints with the Yankees in 2021. During the 2022 season, he limited right-handed hitters to a .197 average in the minor leagues but still finished the year with an ERA north of 6.00 (6.89). 

The White Sox added a handful of former top-100 arms last season hoping to catch lighting in a bottle. It didn’t pan out for Garcia, who walked more batters than he struck out with the White Sox in 2023. The 2024 campaign has not faired much better for him. Garcia has allowed 16 runs in 14 innings and walked 16.2% of opponents. They now have a week to trade Garcia or pass him through waivers.