The White Sox introduced that they’ve claimed right-hander Gus Varland off waivers from the Dodgers and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte. The righty was not too long ago designated for task within the wake of the Dodgers making a number of offers forward of the commerce deadline. The Sox had three open roster spots from their very own trades and their 40-man roster depend now jumps to 38.
Varland, now 27, was capable of make his main league debut with the Brewers final yr after that membership took him from the Dodgers within the Rule 5 draft. However he allowed 11 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings and was despatched again to the Dodgers in late Might.
The Dodgers chosen him to their 40-man roster in August of final yr however he has principally been on optionally available task since then. He made eight main league appearances for the Dodgers final yr and 7 extra this yr. Between these and his time with the Brewers, he has a 5.81 earned run common in 26 1/3 innings with a 17.3% strikeout price, 15% stroll price and 46.5% floor ball price.
The Sox are certainly extra focused on his Triple-A output. Final yr, he logged 33 1/3 innings for Triple Oklahoma Metropolis with a 2.16 ERA whereas hanging out 29.3% of opponents and giving out walks simply 6% of the time. This yr, the outcomes haven’t been as good, however with loads of dangerous luck. In 32 2/3 innings at Triple-A in 2024, he has a .372 batting common on balls in play and 18.5% house run per flyball price, which undoubtedly helped produce his 53.1% strand price. The 7.99 ERA isn’t fairly however his 23.8% strikeout price, 8.6% stroll price and 44.3% floor ball price are all first rate metrics.
The Sox already had one of many weaker pitching staffs within the league and simply subtracted from it by buying and selling away Erick Fedde, Michael Kopech and Tanner Banks previous to the deadline. By claiming Varland, they’ll fill in among the misplaced depth with potential advantages down the road. Varland nonetheless has a full slate of choices and fewer than a yr of service time, making him a possible long-term play if issues break proper for him.
