The White Sox seem to have the most depth at the starting pitching position they have had in a long time. At this point it does include Dylan Cease, but he is likely to be traded. Besides Cease, the White Sox have Mike Soroka, Eric Fedde, Jared Shuster, Michael Kopech, Nick Nastrini, Touki Toussiant, and Jesse Scholtens as potential rotation options. Some of these guys could have some solid seasons, but most of them aren’t sitting on elite potential at this point in their carrers.
This is where the White Sox need to strike. This is the time where they can take the chances on players that have high upside, as they will not likely field a competitive roster next year. This is where Yariel Rodriguez comes into play.
Rodriguez is from Cuba, but has been playing in Japan professionally for the last three seasons. He is a 27 year old right handed pitcher that both starts and could be a bullpen arm. He has the potential to be a very good pitcher for an MLB club, whether it is in the bullpen or in the rotation. At this point, the White Sox have every incentive to sign him, as he could be one of the best arms on the roster.
In three seasons in Japan, Rodriguez was just a reliever, but posted a 3.03 ERA over 175 innings. He had 188 strikeouts in that span and a respectable 1.2 WHIP. While these aren’t ace numbers out of Japan, these are still very solid and he could be a very good arm for the White Sox.
He also pitched in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, starting two games and pitching to a 2.45 ERA in 7.1 innings. He struck out 10 batters in that stretch. He has very good stuff that equates to more than a strikeout an inning, which translates well over to the MLB.
He has a mid 90s fastball to go along with a very good slider, which at worst makes him a very good reliever. He also throws a splitter, changeup, and curveball, so he definitely has the arsenal to be a starting pitcher. At this point the White Sox could easily use a high upside starter, as they have a lot of question marks in the rotation.
With Cease likely gone, that leaves Mike Soroka, Michael Kopech, and Eric Fedde as three of the main starting pitchers. Mike Soroka has been injured the last few years, but he has been very good in the past, but we are not sure what version of Soroka will show up. Kopech was removed from starting last year, so we are not sure what will happen with him, and Fedde was in Korea last year, so he is unknown. This would be a perfect opportunity to get Rodriguez in the rotation.
At this point, Rodriguez would be in the White Sox price range, as he won’t command a nine figure salary. Should the White Sox be interested, they could have a leg up on other teams as he is familiar with Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert Jr. from the Cuban national team.
Rodriguez is exactly the type of player the White Sox should target, as the upside is undeniable. Plus, if he struggles in his first year in the MLB, that is okay as the White Sox are not expected to compete, and he is still young enough to be on the next good White Sox team.
