White Sox add Garrett Crochet to bullpen, shelve Evan Marshall

BATON ROUGE, LA - APRIL 13: Tennessee Volunteers pitcher Garrett Crochet (34) throws a pitch during a game between the LSU Tigers and the Tennessee Volunteers at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on April 13, 2018. (Photo by John Korduner/Icon Sportswire)

Garrett Crochet is coming to Chicago, but he’s coming at a cost.

The White Sox have called up this year’s first-round pick to join the bullpen with his high-90s fastball/slider combo, and other circumstances, it’d feel like the White Sox were deploying all hands on deck for the postseason push.

Crochet is replacing a hand, though, not adding one. The White Sox made room for him on the 40-man roster by designating Ian Hamilton for assignment, which makes sense, but they opened a spot for him on the 28-man roster by moving Evan Marshall to the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, which could hurt.

When combining run prevention, peripherals and leverage, Marshall has been the White Sox’s best or second-best reliever all season, with a 2.49 ERA and 29 strikeouts to seven walks and a homer over 21⅔ innings. He was conspicuously absent during Thursday’s win over Minnesota, as Rick Renteria used Codi Heuer and Alex Colomé to cover the last three innings between them, rather than deploying Marshall for his customary eighth-inning assignment. He hadn’t pitched since Monday, when he stranded the bases loaded of inherited runners in the sixth and pitched a perfect seventh.

Rick Hahn said that he expected Marshall to return for the final series of the regular season against the Cubs, so hopefully the White Sox are codifying some rest for a guy who just isn’t 100 percent, an opportunity clinching provides. Reynaldo López came back from his shoulder inflammation missing a couple ticks, so my guard is a little elevated on Marshall’s post-return state.

The White Sox aren’t short on right-handed relievers, but the ones asked to step up don’t have a whole lot of experience. Heuer’s slider has sharpened in recent outings to the point that it doesn’t seem irresponsible to throw higher leverage his way, whereas Matt Foster has allowed nine baserunners over his six September outings. Heuer’s the guy, at least to my eye.

Crochet is not a righty, but it’s possible that he could take medium-leverage innings that Heuer vacates in such a scenario, which would also free up Jace Fry for more specific lefty situations. Crochet also stands a chance of being a high-leverage LOOGY candidate, if that one out is the last one of an inning.

It makes sense to see what his stuff looks like in the context of some major-league games before grander plans are established. Considering Crochet threw one game at Tennessee and has spent his post-draft days in Schaumburg, he might look utterly undercooked, and it’s better to learn that earlier than later. Still, as long as Aaron Bummer is an uncertainty, it makes sense to have an overpowering arm eligible for postseason use, especially if it’s effective enough in short stints.

As for Hamilton, he hasn’t been the same since a run of Frank Grimes-luck befell him last season. His 2019 started with a car accident at the start of spring training, and it ended with facial fractures from a line drive in the dugout at Charlotte. He’s one of the guys who could have used a full and proper minor-league season to try getting back on track. I suppose that extends his bad luck, but this instance is not specific to him.

(Photo by John Korduner/Icon Sportswire)

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Steve

I guess we’re all in.

As Cirensica

What I find a bit surprising is Hahn risking a year of control? Maybe not? I forgot how that year of control works on this weird season.

snoopy369

It is just number of days, I think, at this point, so it is no different than any other September callup. A year is defined as 172 days on the roster. So this will risk what, 12 days? It will only come into play if he has a Kris Bryant type situation, where he’s sent back to the minors to start the season next year; then he’d have (assuming a normal season) 183 days available, and needs to reach 160 (172-12) to get to his first year. So they’d have to send him down for 24 days instead of 12 days. Not really relevant.

phillyd

If he blows out his arm in the next 10 days he will accrue service time while on IL. I don’t particularly care. Worth the risk to me.

NDSox12

If he winds up being in the Major Leagues for good, yes, I suppose this could wind up costing them a year of control (compared to bringing him up after a few weeks next year). But I would be pretty surprised if that happens. If they still view him as a starter, he’ll almost certainly be pitching most/all of next year in the minors.

Foulkelore

Not a full year. They ended up pro-rating service time. They can still have another 6 full years. This would just push out the date they would need to leave him in the minors if they wanted to further manipulate service time in the future for whatever year that is to count as a full year.

asinwreck

Francisco Rodriguez made his debate with the Angels on September 18, 2002. He was a big reason the Angels defeated the Yankees for the pennant and Giants for all the marbles that year. That’s the 99th percentile example for this move, and fun to dream on.

Ted Mulvey

I forgot about that little K-Rod tidbit!

asinwreck

And I apparently forgot how to spell the word “debut” in that comment!

Joliet Orange Sox

Thanks for clarifying. I thought maybe on that day K-Rod and Jorge Fabregas had an argument about how the U.S. should respond to Saddam Hussein’s then-recent offer to allow in weapons inspectors. 🙂

Greg Nix

Jim, it’s impressive you got through this whole post without comparing Crochet to Chris Sale or Bobby Jenks.

andyfaust

Talk about a niche audience…

tommytwonines

Wasn’t Ian Hamilton already “designated for assignment” by Bond. James Bond?

shaggy65

I’m really sorry to see Hamilton on waivers and I’d be surprised if he goes unclaimed. I know good teams lose good players this way from time to time, but I felt like there was a really good reliever in there if he could just get a few breaks to go his way.

Oddvark

It is a bummer that Marshall went on the IL. But glad they decided to marshall all resources by calling up Crochet. They need to continue to foster their young bullpen arms like Heuer, this year, who have the talent to fry the competition and shine with the brightness of 100 foot-lamberts.

andyfaust

You should’ve included the decision between Colomé and column B.

andyfaust

And it wouldn’t surprise me if the new lefty bullpen workhorse they rode on was Rodón.

tommytwonines

Column A and Column B! I liked it, Andy.

mikeyb

This comment is an absolute bummer.

Eagle Bones

Poor hamilton. I hope he doesnt live above a bowling alley and below another bowling alley.