White Sox Add Al Alburquerque, Chris Volstad to Pitching Staff
By Matt Manetti
The White Sox added two veteran pitchers from Triple-A Charlotte. Al Alburquerque and Chris Volstad will join the pitching staff for the remainder of 2017.
The Chicago White Sox selected the contracts of Al Alburquerque and Chris Volstad from Triple-A Charlotte. This will give the team two more arms to add to a thin pitching staff. Jake Petricka and Carlos Rodon are both on the disabled list. And Rick Renteria had to go to catcher Rob Brantly to pitch an inning on Thursday against the Cleveland Indians.
The White Sox just need some arms. So these by no means are flashy moves. Their pitching staff became increasingly thin as the season went on. Most of the ones who started the season were traded. Now they just need guys so they have enough to make it the rest of 2017.
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The team is familiar with Alburquerque from his time with the Tigers. He also started this season with the Royals. He has a career 3.23 ERA, which isn’t bad. However, he only made two appearances in the big leagues last season. He did fair well in the minors this season. So it may be something he can build off of. If he pitches well, he could even find himself with a spot in the bullpen for 2018.
Volstad hasn’t had the easiest go of things in the majors. He was once a top prospect but he last pitched in the majors in 2015 with the Pirates. Prior to that, he hadn’t pitched since 2013. He did spend a year in the Korea Baseball Organization.
Next: Carlos Rodon Out for Remainder of Season
He owns a career 4.92 ERA, not great but he’s only logged 705.2 innings over his seven-year career. Again, this gives Renteria another veteran option to go to. It’s not much but at least he has another pitcher. Now he shouldn’t have to rely on Brantly to pitch in an emergency.