Chicago White Sox: Scott Carroll designated for assignment

Sep 7, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Scott Carroll (67) pitches during the third inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Since the Chicago White Sox signed Adam LaRoche to the 40-man roster, a spot had to be made available on the roster for the first baseman/designated hitter, resulting in Scott Carroll being designated for assignment this week.

A right-handed pitcher, Carroll finished his debut season in the majors, and with the White Sox, with a record of 5-10 and a 4.80 ERA in 26 games played (19 starts).

Apr 27, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Scott Carroll throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

For Carroll, he totaled 129.1 innings pitched, allowed 81 runs (69 earned) and walked 45 batters. The 30-year old MLB rookie did strike out 64 batters and held opponents to a .289 batting average.

Carroll, who hit 12 batters in 2014, also had a WHIP of 1.48 and a WAR (wins above replacement) of -0.4. His RA9 (includes all runs scored in nine innings) was 5.64 and his WAA (wins above average) was -1.6 for his rookie season.

In what will mostly be his lone season with the White Sox on the major league roster, Carroll’s finest outing was his debut at US Cellular Field.

His debut came in a start on April 27 against the Tampa Bay Rays, a game the White Sox won by a 9-2 score. In 7.1 innings, Carroll allowed just one earned run on six hits and two walks. He also collected three strikeouts against the 25 batters he faced.

Following that win, Adam Dunn even bought Carroll and his family dinner he was so impressed and pleased for Carroll.

From there, Carroll pitched a game on May 3 at Cleveland where he allowed just one earned win in six innings, but the White Sox lost 2-0.

That loss began a trend for Carroll where he lost (including the Indians game) three straight games where he allowed a total of 12 earned runs in that span. On May 19, he allowed five earned runs against the Kansas City Royals, but had a no-decision.

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His next win didn’t come until May 27 in a 2-1 White Sox win over the Indians. In that game, Carroll pitched three innings of relief, allowing five hits and no runs.

That type of trend pretty much continued all season for Carroll. In his final 10 outings for the White Sox, Carroll went 1-4 with a 5.17 ERA in 55.2 innings pitched. In those games, he allowed 32 earned runs, with 60 hits and 19 walks.

I can’t say I disliked Carroll, because he seemed to be a very good guy and appreciated being with the White Sox after years of work in the minors.

But on the other hand, it was easy to see at times why he was in the minors so long after some of his outings this past seasons. Anyway, my favorite Carroll moment was his debut with the team.

That performance was fun to watch, and it had to be gratifying for him and his family in attendance for him to get a win in his MLB debut.

Maybe Carroll will catch on with another team, or the White Sox can keep him in their minor league system, and he can work on what ailed him this past year as he went from a starter to a relief pitcher.

Either way, even though he had an ERA near 5.00 with the White Sox, I still enjoyed watching Carroll pitch this past season and get his chance to stay on the MLB roster. The overall results weren’t there, but it was nice to see he did get his opportunity to be in the majors and see if he could produce at that level on a consistent basis.

Best of luck to Carroll in his baseball future.