White Sox outfielder Zach DeLoach was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Jacob Amaya, who was claimed off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles on February 3. On Friday the team announced that DeLocah had cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte.
The White Sox acquired DeLoach last offseason in a trade with the Mariners that sent Gregory Santos to the Mariners in exchange for Prelander Berroa. DeLoach got 67 at-bats with the White Sox last season, logging 14 hits with five RBIs and a home run.
At the time of the trade, the former second-round pick out of Texas A&M was coming off a 23-home run season where he slashed .286/.387/.481 in Triple-A with 88 RBIs and 55 extra-base hits in 2023. Last season he hit a respectable .286/.375/.410 with the Charlotte Knights but showed significantly less power with just six home runs and 30 extra base hits.
DeLoach has shown solid plate discipline and a willingness to take pitches. But he drew just 48 walks last season after drawing 83 free passes in 2023. On top of being able to work counts, DeLoach can also spray the ball over the entire field.
The concern with DeLoach is his high strikeout totals. This season he owns a 26% strikeout rate and has gone down on strikes over 100 times in each of the last three seasons. Last year he struck out a whopping 107 times in Triple-A, which marked a significant improvement from the 173 he had the previous season. Scouts believe that his willingness to take borderline pitches is one factor contributing to his high strikeout numbers.
It will be interesting to see if he gets another opportunity with the big league club next season.
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