All White Sox draft picks are signed; 5 players released

All five of the White Sox's 2020 draft picks have agreed to contracts. Their second-round pick, right-handed pitcher Jared Kelley, signed for $3 million, which as expected was overslot. Fifth-round pick Bailey Horn, a left-handed pitcher, agreed to sign for $150,000, which as expected was underslot.

Kelley basically got late first-round money. By way of comparison, his bonus matches the money received by another high school pitcher, Nick Bitsko, who was selected 24th overall by the Tampa Bay Rays. Kelley was the No. 47 overall selection.

Here's the final rundown on Sox draft picks and the money they signed for:

First round: Garrett Crochet, LHP, $4,547,500 ($4,547,500 slot)
Second round: Jared Kelley, RHP, $3,000,000 ($1,582,000 slot)
Third round: Adisyn Coffey, RHP, $50,000 ($733,100 slot)
Fourth round: Kade Mechals, RHP, $10,000 ($517,400 slot)
Fifth round: Bailey Horn, LHP, $150,000 ($386,600)

All total, the Sox spent $7,757,500 of their bonus pool. That is $7,300 less than their maximum allowed total of $7,764,800.

Five players released

Major League Baseball ended its roster freeze Friday, and the Sox released these five players: Caleb Frare, Zach Putnam, Matt Skole, Matt Tomshaw and Ramon Torres.


Remember spring 2019? We used to think Frare could be a viable left-handed reliever out of the bullpen, but he forgot how to throw strikes and hasn't seen the bigs since posting a 10.13 ERA in five April appearances last year.

Putnam was a pretty good reliever for the Sox from 2014-17. He appeared in 130 games with the South Siders and posted a 9-6 record with a 2.71 ERA and six saves over that time span. But, he had Tommy John surgery in 2017 and has never made it back to the majors. It's possible he's thrown his last professional pitch.

Skole, a left-handed hitting first baseman, somehow managed to get added to the 25-man roster in both 2018 and 2019. He batted .217/.290/.277 with one home run in 31 games and 93 plate appearances over those two seasons with the Sox.

Tomshaw and Torres? Well, I don't have much to say about them. Tomshaw is a 30-year-old lefty pitcher who was decent at Double-A, but he got hit around every time he was promoted to Triple-A. Torres, a utility infielder, was last seen playing for the Kansas City Royals in 2018. There's no reason to believe he would have had any role in the Sox organization.

Dallas Keuchel feels 'phenomenal.' Jace Fry, not so much.

Dallas Keuchel

Dylan Cease is the only member of the White Sox's projected starting rotation to appear in a spring training game thus far.

Reynaldo Lopez had his start Feb. 22 against the Los Angeles Angels rained out. Lucas Giolito is nursing a minor chest strain, and Gio Gonzalez is being held back because of shoulder discomfort.

Free agent acquisition Dallas Keuchel? Well, he's feeling "phenomenal," according to this report from MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

Keuchel's day to pitch was Wednesday, but the Sox were scheduled to face an American League Central rival in the Kansas City Royals. Rather than allow the Royals to get a live look at Keuchel before the actual games begin, the Sox started organizational pitcher Matt Tomshaw and had Keuchel throw a live bullpen session on the back fields at Camelback Ranch.

The report says Keuchel "got up and down three times," which is a fancy way to say he threw the equivalent of three innings. Keuchel says he's throwing his breaking ball more now than he has at this same time in previous years.

Frankly, I'm wishing for some televised games, so we could get a look at some of these guys ourselves.

Fry dealing with back strain

Jace Fry, projected to be the second left-hander in the Sox's bullpen, is sidelined by back soreness. The issue is said to be minor.

If that injury ends up lingering, it could open the door for nonroster invitee Adalberto Mejia to make the roster. Mejia tossed a scoreless inning Thursday in a 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Mejia has 62 games of MLB experience, including 25 starts, all with the Minnesota Twins. Actually, Mejia may be a candidate for the eighth spot in the bullpen, even if Fry is healthy. The Sox need a guy who can work multiple innings in long relief, and well, Mejia may be able to do that job better than Carson Fulmer.

That's one of the roster battles playing out as the spring progresses.