White Sox Outright Five Players to Triple-A Charlotte

Rob Brantly, C

2017 Season: 14 games, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .290

The White Sox signed Rob Brantly to a minor-league contract in June. He appeared in just 14 games for them and hit .290 while hitting two home runs and driving in five RBIs. The catcher will probably be most remembered for hitting a home run in the last game of the season against the Cleveland Indians.

The 27-year-old hasn’t really stuck in the majors. He debuted with the Reds in 2012 but prior to this season last played in the big leagues in 2015. Coincidentally that was also for the White Sox. And that was also for 14 games. Brantly is a career .230 hitter and has seven home runs and 37 RBIs for his career.

The team purchased his contract from Triple-A Charlotte when Nicky Delmonico went to the disabled list. They probably opted to bring him up because he is a left-handed hitter and they didn’t have much in the way of lefties.

Brantly has opted to become a free agent.

Brad Goldberg, RHP

2017 Season: 11 Appearances, 8.25 ERA, 12.0 IP

The White Sox called Brad Goldberg up in June then quickly sent him back down to Triple-A Charlotte. In his debut he allowed four runs on three hits in just a 1/3 of an inning on June 3. He was largely called up because of the injuries that plagued the team.

He was the team’s 10th round pick in 2013 and just made his debut this season. It wasn’t a pretty sight as over 11 appearances he posted a disappointing 8.25 ERA. It was a shame too because Goldberg was actually someone this team was high on when he was drafted. He did fair a little bit better in the minors, posting a 3.35 ERA in just over 40 innings.

Goldberg is the one player from this list who decided to stick with the team. He doesn’t have the service time the other guys do. That could be why he stuck with the team.

David Holmberg, LHP

2017 Season: 37 Appearances, 7 Starts, 2-4, 4.68 ERA, 57.2 IP

David Holmberg was called up by the White Sox in May and stuck with the team until the end of the season. The 25-year-old posted a 4.68 ERA in 37 appearances, seven of which were starts. Prior to that, he hadn’t appeared in the majors since 2015. He was a second round pick back in 2009 for the White Sox.

Holmberg faired quite well during his first two months. He primarily pitched out of the bullpen but he did make a few spot starts. For the months of May and June he had a 2.84 ERA. But the wheels fell off and he had a 7.27 ERA for the month of July. However, that only raised his ERA to 3.66. He did bounce back with another great month in August.

He only allowed one run the entire month but it was over four innings of work. September did him in and was his worse month of the season. He allowed 10 runs in seven innings of work, which is why his ERA was over 4.50.

Holmberg showed he could be an effective relief pitcher and should be able to find work elsewhere. Again, he elected free agency. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the White Sox bring him back on a minor-league deal. They need depth in their bullpen and he showed for part of the season that he could be effective. He would also be a cost-effective option for Rick Hahn.

Rymer Liriano, RF

2017 Season: 21 Games, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 4 SB, .220

It’s hard to believe that Rymer Liriano was once a top prospect in San Diego. He came to the White Sox via waivers from Milwaukee and didn’t do much to impress. In 21 games he hit just .220 with a home run and six RBIs. He did manage to swipe four bags in that frame.

Liriano made his way to the majors when Leury Garcia went down with an injury. Claiming him off waivers really doesn’t hurt the club. If anything, maybe they get lucky. After all, Liriano was once a top prospect. So maybe the White Sox staff could unlock all that potential. It didn’t pan out and now he is looking for new work as a free agent.

He spent most of the season at Triple-A Charlotte and actually didn’t have bad season. He hit .256 with 17 home runs and 52 RBIs in 116 games. He’s only 26 years old so he could be a late bloomer like Daniel Murphy. However, the White Sox are loaded in the outfield and unless he was producing at the majors, there was no reason to keep him around.

Chris Volstad, RHP

2017 Season: 6 Appearances, 1-2, 4.66 ERA

Chris Volstad was a September call up. Another guy that was once a top prospect, the White Sox selected his contract from Triple-A Charlotte simply because they needed some arms. He gave Rick Renteria a veteran arm that he could rely on. And he was able to make a couple starts down the stretch, including their final game of 2017.

He came up through the Marlins system and only had one winning season in his eight-year career. He’s one of those signings you make and figure he won’t ever pitch for your team in the majors, unless injuries mount. And the White Sox had a lot of injury issues, especially with the pitching staff.

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It’s really hard to judge how effective he was because we have a small sample size. But since 2013, he’s only appeared in 13 major-league games. White Sox fans may remember him pitching for the Cubs in 2012. And he didn’t do well at all that season. He’ll become a free agent. It’s curious the organization didn’t decide to give a younger guy a shot, instead of the veteran but perhaps no one was deemed ready for the majors.