The White Sox may soon have an opportunity to reunite with former top pitching prospect Peyton Pallette after the Cleveland Guardians designated the right-hander for assignment on Sunday.
The Chicago White Sox may get some bullpen help in the coming weeks from an old friend.
On Sunday morning, the Cleveland Guardians called up Logan Allen and designated right-handed pitcher Peyton Pallette for assignment. Pallette is a former second-round pick by the White Sox who was on the cusp of his MLB debut when he was left off the 40-man roster and selected by Cleveland in the Rule 5 Draft back in December.
He earned himself an opportunity with the Guardians and managed to make the Opening Day roster out of spring training.
But per the rules of the Rule 5 Draft, a player must remain on the active roster for the entire season, or else he'll be offered back to his original team. Pallette has a 5.23 ERA in 16 appearances and 20.2 innings for the Guardians this season. Walks have been a real issue for the 25-year-old, as he's issued 16 of them in those 20.2 innings.
With Pallette being DFA'd, every team will have an opportunity to claim him on waivers. If that happens, he'll land on a different 40-man roster. Mike Vasil was an example of a Rule 5 Draft pick who was claimed on waivers by the White Sox but was never offered back to his original organization because he stuck in Chicago for a full season. So it's no guarantee that the White Sox will be reunited with Pallette.
But if he clears waivers, the Guardians must offer him back to the White Sox, and he'll rejoin an organization that's been looking for bullpen help over the last few weeks.
The White Sox just brought back Jordan Leasure from the minor leagues after placing Jordan Hicks on the IL, and Leasure immediately gave up a grand slam against the Giants on Saturday night. He now has a 6.11 ERA in 17.2 innings pitched this season.
Trevor Richards is another right-handed relief arm who has struggled. He owns a 10.57 ERA in 7.2 innings with the White Sox and has allowed at least one run in three of his last four appearances.
Even though it hasn't always been pretty for Pallette in Cleveland, it does seem like he'd be an immediate upgrade over both Leasure and Richards right now. He also comes with some natural upside as a 25-year-old with big-time stuff.
I was highly critical of the White Sox when they left Pallette unprotected before the Rule 5 Draft and instead opted to give 40-man roster spots to Alexander Alberto and Jedixson Paez. I still stand by that being the wrong decision, but there now seems to be an opportunity for the White Sox to come out of this unscathed if they get reunited with Pallette in the coming weeks.
