Yoan Moncada is not the only player the Chicago White Sox are moving on from.
The White Sox also declined backup catcher Max Stassi's option. You would be excused if you did not know he was on the team, as he spent the entire season on the injured list.
Stassi entering free agency runs the White Sox's free agent number to six.
Flexen, Soroka, Leone and Clevinger on this list from the White Sox https://t.co/I0hOs30nNH
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) November 1, 2024
May we never see those players in a White Sox uniform again.
Chris Flexen is the only Sox free agent to post an fWAR over one, and it was a 1.3--that is nothing special.
Flexen, along with Mike Clevinger, were the poster boys of the White Sox wasting precious big-league development innings for their outstanding young pitchers as the team foolishly kept trotting them out despite having no trade value.
It was even more frustrating to watch Flexen still start after the trade deadline since the team was so bad, and there was no point in showcasing him to the league anymore. That would have been the perfect time to see what promising prospect Mason Adams could do. Instead, Flexen was getting the ball every five days.
Chris had his moments, but he was good at putting runners on during most of his starts, and then we had to pray he would not have a big inning. There could be a temptation to bring him back to have a veteran starter in case the team trades ace Garrett Crochet this offseason.
That would be a mistake. The Sox must give a full season runway to young pitchers like Jonathan Cannon, Sean Burke, Drew Thorpe, and Davis Martin.
Clevinger has character issues and an injury history. Somehow, the White Sox keep being the one team that still thinks he is a big-leaguer despite those two major red flags.
Maybe he can join his buddy Trevor Bauer in Mexico, and we can never hear from Clevinger again.
Dominic Leone is another example of the White Sox picking the wrong veteran bullpen pitcher after spring training. Instead of going with Jesse Chavez and Jake Cousins, who had good seasons this year with the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees, the Sox went with Leone and Bryan Shaw.
Shaw lasted just a few games this year with the Sox before being designated for assignment. Leone's solid spring training turned out to be a mirage, as he posted a 6.63 ERA and spent the bulk of the season on the injured list.
The only value Leone provided was tutoring rookie pitcher Nick Nastrini during Dominic's rehab assignment at Triple-A. Even then, Nastrini had one good start before continuing to have his command problems.
Michael Soroka was worth seeing if he could recapture his 2019 form, but his injury problems continued to follow him from Atlanta to Chicago. Plus, he was not effective as a starter to start the season and got demoted to the bullpen. He did show some promise that he could have a career as a long reliever, but even then, you had to squint hard to see it.
Moncada was never available with all his injuries to where it made no sense to bring him back for $25 million. Inconsistency also played a role as he never could replicate his 2019 career season. Now he must hope he can convince a big-league club to give him something better than a minor-league contract with an invite to camp.
You lose 121 games when you have a roster full of non-value players like the Sox had. That is what the White Sox are giving back to the free-agent market.