AL Central update: Josh Donaldson, Ivan Nova and ... Andrew Romine

Josh Donaldson

The Minnesota Twins struck out in their attempts to fortify their starting rotation with a big-name pitcher this offseason, so they did the next best thing: They made an already good lineup stronger by signing third baseman Josh Donaldson to a four-year, $92 million contract.

After two injury-plagued seasons in 2017-18, Donaldson signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the Atlanta Braves last offseason. Then he went out and proved it, playing 155 games and posting a .259/.379/.521 slash line with 37 home runs, 33 doubles and 94 RBIs. The Braves won 97 games and won the National League East.

Back on the open market this winter, Donaldson has cashed in with a big contract entering his age-34 season. He'll add to a lineup that mashed 307 home runs last season, and his glove at third base is still above average -- so that will help Minnesota's suspect pitching staff. Miguel Sano will move from third base to first base, where he will be less of a defensive liability.

And, bad news for the White Sox, because Donaldson owns them. He's a lifetime .333/.435/.686 hitter with 15 home runs in 44 games against the South Siders. The Sox will have to deal with him 18 games a year now, instead of the six or seven games a year when Donaldson was with the Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics.

Donaldson did strike out a career-high 155 times in 2019, so maybe that's a sign that his bat has slowed a little bit. The Sox will have to hope the aging curve begins to take its toll on Donaldson -- and Minnesota's seemingly ageless designated hitter Nelson Cruz.

Nova signs with Detroit

Former Sox right-hander Ivan Nova has a new address in the AL Central. He signed a one-year deal worth $1.5 million with the Detroit Tigers. He can earn an additional $500,000 in incentives.

Nova, 33, made 34 starts for the Sox in 2019, going 11-12 with a 4.72 ERA. Hopefully, he's no longer good enough to make the inside knowledge he has of the Sox work for him.

Sox add utilityman Romine

Andrew Romine hasn't played in the majors since 2018, and hopefully, he won't play in the majors for the Sox either.

But the veteran utility infielder is in the Sox organization after signing a minor-league contract. He will earn $900,000 if he makes it to the big leagues this season.

Romine, 34, is a switch-hitter who has played in 581 career games for the Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners. His career slash line is .235/.291/.301 with 10 home runs in 1,323 plate appearances.

Hey, somebody has to play second base in Triple-A Charlotte once Nick Madrigal gets called to the majors, right?

White Sox (finally) designate Dylan Covey for assignment

We mentioned in an earlier blog that the White Sox would have to make a roster move when the signing of relief pitcher Steve Cishek became official.

That happened Tuesday as the club announced the signing and designated right-hander Dylan Covey for assignment.

I don't think too many Sox fans will be shedding tears over Covey's removal from the roster. Here are his numbers over the past three seasons:

2017: 0-7, 7.71 ERA in 18 games (12 starts)
2018: 5-14, 5.18 ERA in 27 games (21 starts)
2019: 1-8, 7.98 ERA in 18 games (12 starts)
Total: 6-29, 6.54 ERA in 63 games (45 starts)

In fairness to Covey, he was a Rule 5 draft pick, and expectations were low for him. Not to mention, he was miscast as a starting pitcher, when a long relief role may have best fit his skill set.

During a rebuilding period, you do expect to see pitchers such as this cycle through your roster. You just don't expect them to continue to get opportunities FOR THREE YEARS.

The main problem I have with Covey is he received more opportunities than he earned, and frankly, that's not his fault, because he's not the one who makes the roster decisions. It appears as though, finally, his time is up.

Updated list of 2020 SoxFest attendees

SoxFest is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Jan. 24-25 at McCormick Place West in Chicago. Here is the most recent update on the list of attendees, according to whitesox.com.

Current players:

Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson, Aaron Bummer, Dylan Cease, Zack Collins, Leury Garcia, Lucas Giolito, Yasmani Grandal, Eloy Jimenez, Dallas Keuchel, Michael Kopech, Evan Marshall, Nomar Mazara, Danny Mendick and Yoan Moncada

Prospects:

Micker Adolfo, Dane Dunning, Luis Gonzalez, Tyler Johnson, Nick Madrigal, Luis Robert, Blake Rutherford, Gavin Sheets, Jonathan Stiever and Andrew Vaughn

White Sox alumni:

Harold Baines, Jose Contreras, Danny Farquhar, Carlton Fisk, Ozzie Guillen, Ken "Hawk" Harrelson, Bo Jackson, Ron Kittle, Tom Paciorek, Tim Raines, Mike Sirotka and Frank Thomas

Coaching staff

Manager Rick Renteria and coaches Daryl Boston, Nick Capra, Scott Coolbaugh, Don Cooper, Curt Hasler, Joe McEwing and Frank Menechino

White Sox avoid arbitration with five players

Alex Colome

The White Sox on Friday announced that they reached agreements with each of their remaining five arbitration-eligible players. Here's how the contracts break down for the 2020 season:

RHP Alex Colome: $10,532,500
RF Nomar Mazara: $5.56M
LHP Carlos Rodon: $4.45M
UTIL Leury Garcia: $3.25M
RHP Evan Marshall: $1.1M

It's always good to avoid going to court with arbitration-eligible players. Those hearings are never fun, because they require the club to highlight why a player isn't worth the money he's asking for. That creates animosity and bad feelings that can last throughout a season.

So, it's just best to come to an agreeable number and move forward. That's what the Sox have done with these five players.

Encarnacion deal becomes official

The Sox also officially announced the signing of veteran designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion to a one-year, $12 million contract.

One other note on Encarnacion: According to the latest addition of Baseball Digest, he hit the second-most home runs of any Major League player during the decade spanning 2010-19 with 335. Only Nelson Cruz (346 home runs), currently with the Minnesota Twins, hit more.

Encarnacion also ranked third over the past decade with 956 RBIs. Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels led all hitters with 963 RBIs, while Cruz ranked second with 961.

Hopefully, the 37-year-old Encarnacion still has some homers and RBIs left in him.

Medeiros outrighted

To make room on the roster for Encarnacion, the Sox designated left-handed pitcher Kodi Medeiros for assignment. Medeiros was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in the middle of the 2018 season in exchange for reliever Joakim Soria.

Medeiros cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Charlotte.

The Sox's 40-man roster is at maximum capacity, and someone else will have to be dropped when the signing of relief pitcher Steve Cishek becomes official.

White Sox sign relief pitcher Steve Cishek to one-year deal

Steve Cishek

The White Sox on Tuesday moved to increase their bullpen depth by signing veteran relief pitcher Steve Cishek to a one-year, $6 million contract.

Cishek, 33, will earn $5.25 million in 2020. The deal includes an option for 2021 worth $6.75 million, with a $750,000 buyout -- thus the $6 million guaranteed.

The right-hander spent the past two seasons with the Cubs. He appeared in 70 games in 2019, going 4-6 with a 2.95 ERA and seven saves. He struck out 57 and walked 29 with a 1.203 WHIP over 64 innings pitched.

Let's discuss the pluses and minuses of this signing in 3-up, 3-down format.

3 up

1. An ERA below 3.00 for four consecutive seasons. That 2.95 ERA in 2019 represents the *worst* season Cishek has had in recent memory. Over the past four years, his ERAs have been 2.81, 2.01, 2.18 and 2.95, respectively. Even if he regresses, he has a higher floor that some of the other candidates for the Sox bullpen, such as Carson Fulmer and Jose Ruiz.

2. Experience. Cishek is a veteran of 10 MLB seasons, and he's appeared in 572 games. His career ERA is 2.69, and while he likely won't be asked to close for the Sox, he has 132 saves lifetime. This is somebody who has been in his share of high-leverage situations. There's no reason he can't be placed in a seventh- or eighth-inning role.

3. Rubber arm. Cishek appeared in 150 games over the past two seasons, including a ridiculous 80 appearances in 2018. He's pitched in 60 or more games six times during his career. That reliability has to be respected.

3 down

1. A declining strikeout rate. Cishek struck out 10.0 batters per nine innings with the Cubs in 2018, but that declined to 8.0 batters per nine innings last season. His career mark is 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings, so he performed below his norms in 2019. There may be a little less swing-and-miss in his game going forward.

2. Overuse. I don't care who you are, 150 appearances is a ton over two years. In a way, it's a testament to Cishek that his former manager, Joe Maddon, trusted him that often. But sooner or later, that kind of usage has to take its toll. Perhaps that concern is among the reasons Cishek is only getting one year guaranteed on the open market.

3. An increasing home run rate. Cishek gave up 1.0 home runs per nine innings in 2019, which was the second-highest rate of his career. His career mark is 0.6 home runs per nine innings, which is the exact figure he was at during the 2018 season. Of course, to be fair, the ball was juiced last summer, so a lot of pitchers around the league saw an increase in their home run rate.

With the addition of Cishek, I think we can take a good guess at seven of the eight spots in the Sox bullpen. Here's how it most likely looks today:

Left-handers: Aaron Bummer, Jace Fry
Right-handers: Alex Colome, Kelvin Herrera, Cishek, Evan Marshall, Jimmy Cordero, ??????

Here are some candidates to fill in those question marks: Fulmer, Ruiz, Dylan Covey, Zack Burdi, Matt Foster and Ian Hamilton.

Luis Robert, White Sox agree on six-year contract

Luis Robert

The White Sox on Thursday agreed to terms with top prospect Luis Robert on a six-year, $50 million contract. The deal includes two club options that could extend Robert's tenure with the team through 2027 season.

Robert, 22, is the No. 3 prospect in baseball. He played at three levels during the 2019 season -- Class-A Winston-Salem, Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte.

He batted .328/.376/.624 with 31 doubles, 11 triples, 32 home runs, 92 RBIs, 108 runs scored, 36 stolen bases and a 1.001 OPS over 122 games.

He became the first minor-league player since at least 1988 to hit .325 with 30 doubles, 10 triples, 30 homers, 90 RBIs, 100 runs scored, 300 total bases and 35 steals in a single season.

What does this mean? It means that Robert will be in center field for the Sox on Opening Day. Frankly, he should have been in center field for the Sox last season, if merit were the only consideration.

Alas, service time is a thing, and Robert was being kept in the minor leagues in order to delay his free agency years down the line. However, with this contract, he's under team control for the next eight years, so that is no longer a concern. Look for Robert to be wearing his No. 88 at Guaranteed Rate Field on March 26.

Here's how the contract breaks down by year:

2020: $1.5 million
2021: $3.5 million
2022: $6 million
2023: $9.5 million
2024: $12.5 million
2025: $15 million
2026: $20 million club option ($2 million buyout)
2027: $20 million club option ($2 million buyout)

In order to make room for Robert on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher Tayron Guerrero was designated for assignment.

Happy New Year from The Baseball Kid