White Sox: Yency Almonte is ‘player to be named later’
Sep 20, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of practice baseballs before the game between the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
In August, the Chicago White Sox traded second baseman Gordon Beckham to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for a player to be named later … Yency Almonte is officially that player.
Yency Almonte (MiLB.com)
Almonte is a right-handed pitcher, who at 20 years old comes from the Angels after posting a 2-6 overall record in ’14. The RHP had an ERA of 5.91 and 37 strikeouts in 11 starts while pitching in the Arizona Rookie League and in Single-A with the Burlington Bees.
The newest pitcher in the White Sox organization tweeted about the trade:
Time to keep working and grinding. The only difference is the uniform #WhiteSox
— Yency Almonte (@showtimealmonte) February 4, 2015
He also thanked the Angels:
I want to say thank you to the entire staff of the LA Angels for everything. I appreciate everything they done with me on and off the field.
— Yency Almonte (@showtimealmonte) February 4, 2015
The unique aspect about this deal is the White Sox have since re-signed Beckham as a utility player with a one-year contract this offseason, leaving the White Sox with two players and the Angels with none in this trade.
Almonte was drafted in the 17th round by the Angels in ’12 out of high school in Miami, Fla.
The White Sox stated in a press release:
"“The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Almonte has gone 5-9 with a 6.44 ERA (73 ER/102.0 IP) and 72 strikeouts in 27 career appearances (22 starts) over three seasons in the Los Angeles organization (2012-14).”"
Former teammates of Almonte tweeted about him headed to the White Sox organization:
Congrats to @showtimealmonte headin to the white sox do work man
— Tyler Watson (@TyWatson_35) February 4, 2015
Best of luck to my brother @showtimealmonte with the Chicago White Sox organization! Spring Training just ain't gonna be the same. #Familia
— Michael Hermosillo (@mhermosillo10) February 4, 2015
As for Almonte, he had a WHIP of 1.286, and his BB/9 was 3.0 with an K/9 of 6.9 last season in nine starts (42.0 IP) in Single-A. He also had a K/BB of 2.29 in that span of games. Almonte also had a 4.91 ERA vs. left-handed batters and a 4.95 ERA vs. right-handed batters.
This is an interesting pickup for the White Sox, because it was a low-risk trade to begin with, so if they are able to strike gold with him and gain a productive pitcher, that would be icing on the cake.
This season, when looking at what is happening in the minors, Almonte will be a player to keep tabs on to see what occurs from this trade.