The White Sox have signed veteran reliever Bryan Shaw to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training, the team announced. The CAA client will vie for a spot in Chicago’s bullpen over the next several weeks.
Shaw, 35, has spent the bulk of his career — including the past two seasons — in Cleveland. He struggled to a 5.40 ERA in 58 1/3 innings with the Guardians in 2022, thanks to one of the lowest strand rates of his career (66.3%) and one of the highest home-run rates he’s ever yielded (1.39 HR/9, 15.5% homer-to-flyball ratio).
Shaw was one of the most consistent and most durable relievers in the game from 2013-17, thrice leading the American League in appearances and twice leading all of MLB in that category. In that span, he tossed 358 2/3 innings of 3.11 ERA ball, which set the stage for a three-year, $27MM deal in Colorado that almost immediately proved regrettable for the Rockies. Shaw was tagged for a 5.61 ERA in two seasons with Colorado before being released and struggling with the Mariners the following season.
While things have gone poorly for Shaw dating back to 2018 — 5.23 ERA, 268 1/3 innings — his 2021 season offered a glimpse of his vintage form. He’s only one year removed from 77 1/3 frames of 3.49 ERA ball in his first of two seasons back in Cleveland. Even as he’s struggled, Shaw has maintained solid velocity (94.6 mph average four-seamer over the past couple seasons) and above-average ground-ball tendencies.
Shaw will give the ChiSox a durable veteran arm who can potentially be stashed in he upper minors, and if he’s able to round into 2021 form, he can help the Sox to weather the absences of Garrett Crochet (April 2022 Tommy John surgery) and Liam Hendriks (undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma). As things currently stand, Chicago’s primary late-inning relievers include Kendall Graveman, Joe Kelly, Aaron Bummer, Reynaldo Lopez and Jake Diekman.
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