Aaron Bummer
When the White Sox sent Aaron Bummer to Triple-A following a June 2 loss to the Brewers, it was a bit surprising. In 26 appearances to that point, Bummer had thrown 19 1/3 innings with 21 strikeouts against just six walks and a respectable 3.26 ERA. Still, the underlying numbers told us he was fairly lucky in the small sample size, as despite all that he was allowing a .321 opponent batting average, giving up 27 hits during that span. He rejoined the big club in September to worse results, allowing eight runs in just 12 1/3 innings. But still, his K/BB was fine in the small sample with 14 whiffs against just four walks, and it’s those numbers worth focusing on. Bummer still figures to be someone the White Sox hope to count on in their bullpens of the future — along with the likes of Ian Hamilton, Ryan Burr, and Jace Fry — and his ability to consistently throw strikes and show some swing-and-miss potential is his most obvious route to a spot with the team long-term.
Tyler Danish
After five years of trying to turn their former second-round pick into a viable mid-rotation starter, the White Sox put Danish in the bullpen for the majority of 2018. The results were … underwhelming. In 71 2/3 innings at Triple-A, Danish was fine from a results perspective, but he still doesn’t miss enough bats — or throw enough strikes, period — to warrant much excitement, posting just 53 strikeouts against 28 walks. Danish made seven appearances out of the White Sox bullpen in late July and August, tossing just 6 1/3 innings, giving up 5 earned runs with 5 strikeouts and 4 walks. At 25 by the start of next season, the hope for Danish becoming anyone worth rostering at the major league level has almost completely faded out.
Danny Farquhar
Everyone knows, of course, that Farquhar’s biggest victory of 2018 was fully recovering from a terrifying brain aneurysm that could have cost him much more than his baseball career. Farquhar threw only 8 innings for the 2018 White Sox, and an in-depth interview with The Athletic’s James Fegan revealed his progress in working toward a successful return in 2019. Here’s hoping we see Farquhar in a White Sox uniform — or any major league uniform, for that matter — next season.
Thyago Vieira
Adding a player like Vieira for what he cost to acquire is something any reasonable team does. The White Sox couldn’t spend any notable amount of IFA money after last year’s signing of Luis Robert and thus traded some to the Seattle last season during the Mariners’ pursuit of Shohei Ohtani. The scouting report on Vieira was that he had electric velocity but didn’t seem to have any clue where it was going. And let’s just say that checked out pretty well. Vieira struggled in Triple-A during the first half of the season, posting a 5.05 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 24 walks in 41 innings. He spent the last two months of the season in Chicago and 7.13 ERA in 17 2/3 innings. Vieira is probably the kind of guy who keep around in case one day he “figures it out.” But he doesn’t have any place in a major league bullpen at the moment.
Lead Photo Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports