In a quiet trade on November 1, the White Sox added a baseball player named Manny to the roster. Although, he wasn’t the Manny that many were hoping he would be.
This new White Sox player – Manny Banuelos – was added to the 40-man roster, which sits at 35 men.
Ironically, Banuelos comes to Chicago from the Los Angeles Dodgers – just like the other Manny. Although unlike Manny Machado, the Manny that Chicago acquired is a left-handed pitcher.
Banuelos’s had several stops along the way to Chicago. In 2008, when he was all of 17 years old, he was signed in the Amateur Draft by the Yankees. But, after seven seasons in the Yankees minor leagues, they traded him away to Braves. He didn’t last long in that organization and only saw a few outings in Atlanta. He was given his free agency in November 2016 and was signed a few days later by the Los Angeles Angels. They gave him free agency a year later, then the Dodgers signed him.
In the trade, the Dodgers took Justin Yurchak from the White Sox. Yurchak was a corner infielder who also served as a designated hitter. He played in the rookie league and in Single-A ball.
Banuelos’s pitched in seven games with the Braves in 2015. The lefty recorded an ERA of 5.13 and a WHIP of 1.595. He had three starts that went five innings, one that went four, and two that went into the second inning. He faced 121 batters, gave up four home runs, walked 12, and struck out 19.
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According to Fangraphs, in 2015 when he pitched for the Braves, Banuelos has a fastball that averages in the high 80s. His change up averages 80.2 MPH. He also had a slider and a cutter. He used his fastball and change up the most frequently.
In his final season with the Dodgers, he pitched for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers in the Pacific Coast League. He pitched as a starter and out of the bullpen. In this mixed bag of experience, he ended the season with an ERA of 3.73 and a WHIP of 1.390.
At this point, Banuelos is on the 40-man roster, but it is doubtful he will be on the 25-man roster. At age 27, he has spent 10 years in the minor leagues. If he was worthy of being on an MLB roster on a daily basis, he would be on one. If he makes it onto the 25-man roster, it will most likely be as a bullpen pitcher, as the White Sox are rumored to be after someone with more MLB experience to roundout the starting rotation.
About the rotation, Rick Hahn said in an article by Vinnie Dubar with NBC Sports:
"“If we see long-term pieces that make sense, in addition to augmenting the pitching or filling certain needs for 2019, I think we have the flexibility to pursue them and we are going to be opportunistic and respond to the market accordingly.”"
Could the other Manny from the Dodgers be Hahn’s sights? Or maybe one of the outstanding starting pitchers like Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel, or Nathan Eovaldi? Only time will tell.