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White Sox Sign Alcides Escobar to Minor League Deal

By Etheria Modacure

KANSAS CITY, MO - JULY 4: Alcides Escobar #2 of the Kansas City Royals celebrates with teammates after scoring on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Whit Merrifield against the Cleveland Indians in the fifth inning at Kauffman Stadium on July 4, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - JULY 4: Alcides Escobar #2 of the Kansas City Royals celebrates with teammates after scoring on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Whit Merrifield against the Cleveland Indians in the fifth inning at Kauffman Stadium on July 4, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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White Sox add more infield depth with the signing of veteran infielder that has familiarity with the American League Central division.

The White Sox added more infield depth with the signing of infielder Alcides Escobar to a minor league deal according to James Fegan of The Athletic who announced the news on Friday. According to Fegan, Escobar won’t be coming to the Sox major league camp.

Escobar spent the bulk of his career with the Kansas City Royals and should be familiar to most White Sox fans. He was cut this Spring by the Baltimore Orioles. He hit just .219 through 38 plate appearances during Spring Training with the Orioles.

The 32-year-old infielder spent eight seasons with the Royals and was an All-Star in 2015 and also won a Gold Glove Award at shortstop that year. He’s appeared in 140 or more games since 2010 and could be a valuable piece of infield depth for the Sox if needed in 2019.

Escobar isn’t an offensive threat as he owns a career .258/.293/.343 slash line over 11 major league seasons. His value will be limited to the depth he provides if an infielder such as Yolmer Sanchez, Tim Anderson or Yoan Moncada were to go down with an injury this upcoming season.

Alex Colome Named Closer

According to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, Alex Colome has been named the closer for the Sox for this upcoming season. The Sox acquired Colome this past offseason in a trade with the Seattle Mariners in exchange for catcher Omar Narvaez.

Colome being named the Sox closer should come as no surprise. He has a wealth of experience as a closer and was an All-Star with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016 when he finished that season with 37 saves. In 2017, Colome had a career-high 47 saves with the Rays.

Last season with the Rays and Seattle Mariners, Colome had a total of 18 saves. The Sox could surely use a solid closer for this season as they have a mostly young starting rotation and will need to protect as many leads as they can.

Next. White Sox Fifth Starter Battle. dark

Opening Day is less than a week away and the Sox are making moves to complete their final roster. There should be some more moves made before the start of the season. Before we all know it, the Sox will compete in their first regular season game of 2019. It’s time for fans to get excited about live baseball again.

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