The Chicago White Sox had a lot of very good arms in the bullpen for the 2021 season. It was highlighted by pitchers like Michael Kopech, Aaron Bummer, and Liam Hendriks but there were a few players who had underrated seasons. One of those players was Jose Ruiz. He was very good for the role that he had.
Ruiz pitched in 65.0 innings over 59 appearances and did good things for his team. He had a 3.05 ERA, a 1.169 WHIP, and 63 strikeouts on the season. It was a really nice year as he was viewed as the last pitcher on the roster for most of the year.
In that role, he was perfect. The White Sox obviously used the aforementioned pitchers in high leverage situations but Ruiz wasn’t given the easiest assignments all the time either. He pitched in some big innings for the Sox throughout the year.
Having good pitchers provide depth on the team is important. It is also important to have a guy that is fine with going in there when it is a blowout in one way or another. Ruiz was fine with whatever role Tony La Russa had for him which was really fun to watch. There were times where he was suspect but was mostly good all year long.
2021 Final Grade: B
There are plenty of pitchers that would get a lower grade if their role was different. However, Ruiz was the 26th man on the roster that was there to eat some innings at certain points throughout the season. He was also pretty good at times when there was more on the line than he was used to.
Early in the year, people might have been worried about the fact that he was coming in because they didn’t recognize the name. There are more notable names on the roster because of what they’ve done in their careers but Ruiz proved everyone wrong. Is he a superstar reliever? No. But he is good enough to get the job done from time to time.
2022 Expectations:
Jose Ruiz will more than likely be on the Chicago White Sox in 2022. He was good enough in 2021 to get another look in 2022. He should have a similar role as well as the team looks to be even better. If he is the “weakest link” of a bullpen, then you have a very good bullpen. Expect him to have another very solid year with a very solid mix of pitchers.