Grading The White Sox Chris Flexen Signing 

On Saturday the White Sox officially announced a one-year deal with right-hander Chris Flexen. The agreement is worth $1.75 million with $1 million in performance bonuses according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. 

Flexen is the latest addition to a  starting rotation full of question marks. The six-year MLB veteran owns a career 1.4 WAR, 4.95 ERA, and 1.485 WHIP. He is coming off a  rough season that saw him allow more runs (81) than he had strikeouts (74). Flexen made 29 appearances and started in 16 games split between the Mariners and Rockies last season. He posted a 6.86 ERA during that stretch. Only two pitchers in the MLB who threw more than 100 innings, allowed earned runs at a higher rate than Flexen. 

Statcast doesn’t paint a much better picture for the 29-year-old. His 6.20 expected ERA ranked in the bottom 3% of the league. He also ranked inside the bottom 5% of the league in Expected Batting Average (.297), Expected Slugging Percentage (.509), Weighted On Base Average (.392)and Expected Weighted On Base Average (.374).  

Simply put opponents had no problems making hard contact against Flexen. Pitching in Coors Field didn’t help matters but things won’t get much easier for him at Guaranteed Rate Field. Last season Flexen’s ground ball rate was just 38.9%. The MLB average is 44.6%, which Flexen has yet to surpass in his career. 

Flexen did show a good command of the strike zone last season, only walking 38 batters in 102.1 innings. He boasts a seven-pitch but throws his four-seam fastball most of the time at 41.1%. Opponents batted .383 off said fastball. 

So why would Chris Getz add an ineffective veteran starter to a one-year? The White Sox already have a pool of starters including Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech, Touki Toussaint, Micheal Soroka, Erick Fedde, and Jared Shuster. They also have young prospects Nick Nastrini and Jake Eder who are hungry to get an opportunity in the big leagues. 

On the surface, it looks like Flexen will serve as an innings eater to help protect the bullpen. If he fails to earn a spot in the rotation in Spring Training then he will likely be the White Sox long reliever. But Getz could also try to flip him at the trade deadline. Flexen has shown the ability to be an effective MLB starter. 

Flexen owned an 8.07 ERA in his first three seasons trying to carve out a role with the Met’s pitching staff before he decided to take his talents to the KBO in 2020. In one season with the Doosan Bears, Flexed went 8-4 with a 3.01 ERA and averaged  10.2 strikeouts per nine innings. Upon returning to the MLB in 2021, the former KBO hurler posted a 14-6 record with a career-best 3.61 ERA in 31 starts with the Mariners. The following season he had another strong campaign posting a 3.73 ERA in 33 games and even recorded two saves. 

Getz has emphasized improving the White Sox team defense all offseason and his moves reflect that. While Flexen may not strike out many hitters, he throws strikes and draws a lot of contact. Getz is hoping that the White Sox improved defense can help the right-hander revert to his 2021-22 form.  

From a financial standpoint, it makes sense to grab a cheap starter to fill out a rotation that isn’t projected to be very good anyway. It also adds some extra protection to some of the younger arms the White Sox are trying to develop, which will be especially useful if Dylan Cease gets traded. However, other than hoping he has a bounceback year so the White Sox can trade him at the deadline, it is hard to see Flexen providing any long-term value. 

The Grade: D+