Chicago White Sox sign Bruce Rondon to minor-league deal
By Eric Brown
In an effort to bolster their bullpen, the White Sox have signed former Tigers pitcer Bruce Rondon to a minor-league deal.
The Chicago White Sox bullpen was a major ordeal during the 2017 season, with pitchers failing to hold leads late in the game. In an effort to fix those situations, the White Sox have focused on signing relief pitching this offseason. The latest reliever that Chicago has signed is former Detroit Tigers pitcher Bruce Rondon, per SBNation insider Chris Cotillo.
Source: White Sox sign Bruce Rondon to minor-league deal.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) February 2, 2018
After being non-tendered by the Tigers organization this offseason, the market for Rondon appeared to have reached a screeching halt. It seemed as if no team was willing to take a shot on the four-year MLB veteran. After spending five seasons with Detroit’s minor league teams, Rondon was brought up during the 2013 season, where he pitched in 30 total games for 28.2 innings. In those limited innings, Rondon gave up 11 runs while striking out 30 batters.
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After the spectacular rookie season, he had to undergo Tommy John surgery during spring training before the 2014 season. In his first two seasons after the surgery, Rondon gave the Tigers a mixed bag of results.
In the 2015 season, he pitched to the tune of a 5.81 ERA in 31 innings, while striking out only 36 batters. The next season wound up being much better, in 36.1 innings Rondon had an unbelievable ERA of 2.97 and providing the Tigers with a much needed bullpen arm they could trust.
Going into the 2017 season, Rondon was supposed to become an integral part of the Tigers bullpen rotation. Possibly even becoming the teams closer if the situation arose. Let’s just say, he did invoke many positive thoughts for the front office. With an ERA over 10, it’s possible that he was one of the worst relief pitchers in all of baseball.
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With the signing of Rondon, the team is certainly hoping that he reaches the level that he was once projected to be. Starting him out in the minor-leagues give the White Sox a win-win in this situation. If he does pan out, they can simply bring him up the major league roster. If not, they can cut ties without guaranteeing major money.