Brantly, Ynoa, and Jennings Among Latest Additions
It has certainly been a busy offseason for the Chicago White Sox. Everyone already knows about the major upgrades to the team this winter — including Jeff Samardzjia, Adam LaRoche, David Robertson, Melky Cabrera, and Zach Duke.
If you read this blog regularly (I hope you do) you also know about some of the other players that have been added, as well as subtracted so far this offseason.
Let’s now take a look at some of the other players that have been added to the organization that may have gone under the radar a bit so far during the offseason.
Rob Brantly — Claimed by the White Sox off waivers from the Marlins on December 8.
Brantly, 25, has appeared in 98 Major League games over parts of two seasons with the Marlins (2012–2013) and owns a career .235 batting average in 323 at-bats. He appeared in 31 games with the Marlins in 2012 and 67 games in 2013. The backstop spent the entire 2014 season in New Orleans with the Triple-A Marlins — hitting .255 with four home runs and 37 RBIs over 101 games.
A native of San Diego, CA, Brantly was originally drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the third round of the 2010 draft. He spent parts of three seasons in the Tigers organization — going from Single-A to Triple-A (2010–2012) — before being traded to Miami on July 23, 2012 as part of the trade that sent Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez to the Tigers. Brantly, Brian Flynn, and Jacob Turner were the players that the Marlins received in the deal.
Over the course of his Minor League career (2010-present), Brantly has compiled a .269 batting average with 21 home runs and 164 RBIs in 383 games. From 2012 to 2014, Brantly has appeared in 171 games at the Triple-A level.
A day later, the White Sox made a big splash in the trade market — acquiring Jeff Samardzjia from the Oakland A’s in a trade that sent former Knights Josh Phegley and Marcus Semien to Oakland.
Michael Ynoa — Acquired by the White Sox from Oakland in a trade on December 9
On December 9, Ynoa (pronounced IN-no-ah) was traded to the White Sox from the Oakland A’s as part of the Samardzjia trade. While the key addition of the trade was the acquisition of Samardjzia — a top pitcher in the majors — the addition of Ynoa was a good one for the Sox. Just 23 years old, Ynoa, a native of Puerto Rico, is a hard-throwing, 6'7" right-hander.
As a 16-year-old in 2008, Ynoa was signed by Oakland for $4.25 million — setting a new record for the A’s organization. He was named the “Number One” and the “crown jewel” in the “Best Latino Prospects of 2008”.
He entered the 2009 season ranked as the 20th best prospect in the A’s organization and Baseball America ranked him as possessing the best curveball in the A’s organization that year.
Ynoa pitched for the Rookie level A’s in 2010 — appearing in just three games (9.0 IP) before being shut down. He underwent Tommy John surgery that year and then missed the entire 2011 season.
He returned to the mound in 2012 and combined to post a 1–4 record with a 6.46 ERA in 14 games between the Rookie-level A’s and the Short-Season Vermont Lake Monsters. A year later, he jumped to Single-A Beloit and then to High-A Stockton. In 15 starts with Beloit, Ynoa excelled and compiled a 2–1 record with a 2.14 ERA.
Entering the 2014 season, Ynoa was ranked by Baseball America as the fourth-best prospect in the A’s organization. He compiled a 4–2 record with a 5.52 ERA over 31 games. He struck-out 64 batters over 45.2 IP and limited lefties to a .191 batting average (13–68). At just 23 years old, Ynoa will look to work his way up Chicago’s organizational ladder in 2015.
Dan Jennings — Acquired by Chicago in a trade with the Marlins for Andre Rienzo
Jennings is a 27-year-old left-hander, who was originally selected by the Marlins in the ninth round of the 2008 draft out of the University of Nebraska. In his three years at Nebraska, Jennings posted a 7–3 record with a 3.66 ERA.
In Miami’s system, the 6'3" Berkeley, California native made his way through the minors and into the majors — making his Major League debut on April 30, 2012. Since then, Jennings has appeared in 116 games in the majors — all out of Miami’s bullpen. He owns a 3–6 career record with a 2.43 ERA in 100.0 innings at the Major League level.
During his first season with the Marlins in 2012, Jennings went 1–0 with a 1.89 ERA in 22 games. The following season, he appeared in 47 games with Miami and went 2–4 with a 3.76 ERA. Last season with the Marlins, Jennings posted a 1.34 ERA in 47 games. He went 0–2 over 40.1 innings — allowing 45 hits and striking out 38 batters.
