White Sox sign right-handed pitcher Chris Flexen to MLB deal

Flexen, 29, first pitched in the major leagues with the New York Mets back in 2017. A 14th round draft pick of the Mets, Flexen pitched parts of three seasons in New York before signing a deal to play overseas in the KBO in 2020. When he returned to the majors in 2021, he posted the best season of his career, going 8-4 with a 3.61 ERA in 179.2 innings with the Mariners. He followed up that season with strong results in 2022, posting a 3.73 ERA in 137.2 innings in Seattle. However, he struggled mightily in 2023, pitching to a 6.86 ERA with the Mariners and Rockies.

Flexen features a heavy mix of pitches – he threw seven different ones in 2023 (fastball, cutter, changeup, slider, sweeper, curveball, and sinker). He isn’t known as a strikeout pitcher, posting just 6.51 K/9 last season – and lower values in the two seasons before that. What he becomes is a depth piece for a rotation that is about to lose its main member – Dylan Cease – in the coming weeks. Flexen figures to battle with Erick Fedde, Touki Toussaint, Mike Soroka, Jared Shuster, and other minor league arms for innings this season in what is hopefully a bounce-back campaign for the right-hander.