The White Sox announced this morning that they’ve designated left-hander Jake Eder and outfielder Dominic Fletcher for assignment. They’ve also placed righty Drew Thorpe on the 60-day injured list while he recovers from Tommy John surgery. That trio of moves clears the way for righty Mike Clevinger, infielder Nick Maton and outfielder Travis Jankowski to be selected to the big league roster. (Maton and Jankowski were already known to have made the club.) All three had been non-roster invitees in camp this spring.
Eder, 26, was a fourth-round pick by the Marlins out of Vanderbilt back in 2020. He was considered one of the best prospects in Miami’s system when the Sox acquired him in a straight-up swap for slugger Jake Burger back at the 2023 trade deadline. Prior to Eder requiring Tommy John surgery late in the 2021 season, he’d even begun to garner some attention on midseason iterations of top-100 prospect rankings at Baseball America (No. 68) and MLB.com (No. 81).
At the time of the trade, Eder was just making his way back from that UCL repair. He’d pitched 39 1/3 innings in the Marlins’ minor league system and showed well. He was rocked in five starts with the White Sox’ Double-A club following the swap, but for a then-24-year-old just returning from major surgery, it wasn’t necessarily a shock to see him fade down the stretch.
Eder’s 2024 struggles, however, were more concerning. The left-hander split last season between Double-A and Triple-A, working to a combined 6.61 earned run average with glaring command troubles. Eder fanned a quality 24.4% of his opponents but also walked 11.6% of the batters he faced — including a sky-high 16.1% of his opponents in nine Triple-A starts. He also plunked five hitters and was charged with 10 wild pitches. His spring work wasn’t any better; Eder faced 13 hitters in 2 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on a pair of hits and three walks with four strikeouts.
Fletcher, 27, came over from the D-backs last offseason in a one-for-one swap that sent pitching prospect Cristian Mena to Arizona. He got a decent look in the South Siders’ outfield but turned in only a .206/.252/.256 slash in 241 trips to the plate. He’d been coming off a strong 2023 showing that saw him hit .291/.399/.500 in Triple-A and .301/.350/.441 in 102 plate appearances during his MLB debut.
Fletcher not only struggled in the majors, however, but also hit poorly in the minors. He clearly fell out of favor, as the Sox instead signed both Mike Tauchman and Michael A. Taylor to big league deals, pushing Fletcher down the depth chart. Even with Tauchman opening the season on the injured list due to a right hamstring strain, Fletcher didn’t make the cut and now is off the 40-man roster entirely.
The Sox will have the next five days to trade Eder and/or Fletcher. If no deal is reached by then, the pair would be placed on waivers, which is another 48-hour process. Either could be waived before that point, but the maximum length of their DFA window will seven days. Eder still has two minor league option years remaining. Fletcher has one.
As for Clevinger, he’ll return for a third stint with the ChiSox, this time in a bullpen role. The 34-year-old fired six shutout innings as a reliever during camp, fanning eight of 21 opponents (38.1%) against just one walk (4.8%). He’s far and away the most experienced pitcher in Chicago’s bullpen and could find his way to late-inning work early on, given the youth of the Sox’ bullpen. Clevinger, Bryse Wilson and Penn Murfee are the only Sox relievers with even a year of major league service (and much of Murfee’s MLB service has been spent on the 60-day IL).
Hope Dom can okay ti his potential and carve out an MLB job.
He’s a really good dude.
Fletcher is nothing more of a 4A depth/player. Still hoping Eder has a decent shot of being a long reliever.
Bad teams make themselves worse when they make trades like these. Fletcher gone in a year, Eder on a year and a half. You put yourself in a hole when you burn though trade assets and prospects and get nothing in return. It makes the hole a lot harder to get out of, especially in a sport where drafting isn’t a saving grace.
Getz didn’t make the infamous Eder trade but agree on all points.
Poor scouting. Poor player development. That’s how we got here.
Burger had more than 30 home runs on a punchless team when he was traded for Eder, who stunk from the beginning.
Letting the VP make moves over the GMs head also is how they got to this point..
And sleepy Drunk Tony
Yes, but at least they are not compounding the problem. At least they are DFAing these dead-enders instead of stubbornly continuing to run them out there anyway.
At least they are not getting rid of Brooke Fletcher. Looking forward to seeing in the dugout this season.
white Sox sold at Burger’s highpoint but recieved minimal.. Should have gotten Miami’s #1 prospect.
Agree, they should have gotten a hitter instead of Eder (preferably an OF or a SS) but then again Burger’s value was limited due to DH.
Aiden: He played 3B for the Marlins and is playing 1B for the Rangers. More than just a DH, wouldn’t you say?
He plays 3rd and 1st like a DH.
Burger is Kyle Schwarber 2.0. He’ll end up sticking around and slugging 200 HR over the next five or six seasons.
Really liked Fletcher., but he could never hit major league pitching consistently. Will be a good bench and late inning defensive replacement OF elsewhere. Hope he catches on with another team in the next few weeks.
He could clear waivers and be sent down to Charlotte.
Except Fletcher can’t play CF worth a damn, so basically he is a bench corner OF with zero power in the bat.
I really wish they would stop acquiring midgets.
Yeah he’s not a CF he’s strictly a corner OF and it hurts him.
What a stupid move.
Wasn’t that trade Hahn and Williams last trade!!
Burger was traded by Williams either behind Hahn’s back or over his head. Just another sign of how dysfunctional the White Sox management is.
The White Sox are dumping Jake Eder and Dominic Fletcher too soon. Eder’s a pitcher who could get better after his surgery recovery, and Fletcher’s a hitter who might bounce back with more time—both are young enough to improve. Keeping them another year could pay off more than the older guys they’re bringing in now, but the team’s choosing quick fixes over waiting for bigger rewards. It’s like selling cheap stocks before they rise.
Why would you do that when you could have the exciting combo of…Mike Clevinger and Travis Jankowski lol.
Clevinger could be a candidate for comeback player of the year as a closer. He much better suited for the bullpen.
Imagine a White Sox rotation to start this season of:
Sale
Cease
Crochet
Rodon
Reynaldo Lopez/Chris Bassitt for 5th starter.
Over the recent years, so much talent has been allowed to leave this team for nothing in return. Rodon, Semien, Bassitt, Tatis Jr., Burger, etc.
If Miguel Vargas plays most of this season and ends up with a negative WAR, add Kopech to the list of traded players that can be considered gifts to other clubs.
Like to see Eder land in AAAwith pirates our coaches seem to work wonders with MOST pitchers