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Zack Burdi

Nationals, Zack Burdi Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals recently signed reliever Zack Burdi to a minor league contract, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. He has been assigned to the team’s complex in Florida.

Burdi was released by the Diamondbacks in Spring Training. Arizona had claimed him off waivers from the Orioles last fall but elected not to keep him on the 40-man roster heading into the season. After passing through release waivers unclaimed, the 27-year-old will try to pitch his way back to the big league level with the Nats.

A first-round pick of the White Sox in 2016, Burdi was an elite college closer at the University of Louisville. The hope had been that he’d carry that success through the minors quickly and emerge as an immediate late-game weapon for the South Siders, but injuries have thrown him off course. The right-hander had run his fastball as high as 102 MPH in college, but he suffered a 2017 UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery and kept him out for all of 2018. Upon returning, Burdi’s velocity had fallen into the low-mid 90s. He’d rediscovered his arm speed by 2020 and made his MLB debut that year, but he’s struggled with both free passes and longballs over the past couple seasons.

Burdi owns a 7.79 ERA in 17 1/3 innings over 15 big league appearances with the White Sox and Orioles between 2020-21. He worked 28 2/3 innings of 6.59 ERA ball with those teams’ respective Triple-A affiliates last season, punching out an excellent 34.5% of batters faced but allowing nine home runs with an elevated 13% walk rate. He’ll look to bounce back from that rough 2021 showing and carve out a spot in a Washington bullpen that has posted below-average marks in both ERA (3.94) and SIERA (3.62) over the season’s first few weeks.

Diamondbacks Release Zack Burdi

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The Diamondbacks released right-handed pitcher Zack Burdi earlier this week according to MLB.com’s transaction tracker. Arizona frees up a spot on its 40-man roster, which currently has 39 spots filled.

Acquired in an October waiver claim out of the Baltimore organization, Burdi’s time in the desert will prove practically nonexistent. A former first-round pick with the White Sox, Burdi has endured a trying handful of years since a scintillating minor league debut in 2016. After he skyrocketed all the way up to Triple-A in his first minor league season, the one-time relief prospect has endured a number of health issues, headlined by Tommy John surgery in July 2017.

While Burdi has shown promise when taking the (predominately minor league) field in recent seasons, hitting the mid to upper 90’s with his fastball and striking out batters in droves, he’s also proven awfully susceptible to walks and home runs. Last season proved no different, unfortunately, as the 27-year-old was rocked in Triple-A and in the Majors. Between a Chicago call-up and a cameo out of the Orioles bullpen Burdi sported a 5.40 ERA, with his three home runs and five walks allowed through 10 innings actually looking better than his work in 28 plus Triple-A frames.

Given his pedigree, it’s likely Burdi can latch onto another organization via a minor league deal. Teams who feel they can tap into the right-hander’s potential may also find his remaining minor league option year appealing, given that they can shuttle him between the big leagues and minor leagues if he can stick on a team’s 40-man roster.

Diamondbacks Claim Zack Burdi Off Waivers From Orioles

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The Diamondbacks have claimed reliever Zack Burdi off waivers from the Orioles, both clubs announced. Baltimore also announced that reliever Travis Lakins Sr. has cleared waivers and been outrighted off the 40-man roster. Arizona’s 40-man roster is up to 38, while Baltimore’s 40-man tally now sits at 39. Lakins had previously been on the 60-day injured list and didn’t count against the 40-man.

Burdi is a hard-throwing righty who was selected by the White Sox in the first round after a dominant season closing at the University of Louisville. The hope had been that the Sox could fast-track Burdi to the big league ’pen, but his career was beset by injuries. He missed most of the 2018 season recovering from a Tommy John surgery, then wound up missing the final three months of the 2019 campaign.

Over the past two seasons, Burdi has tossed 17 1/3 innings of 7.79 ERA ball, allowing seven homers in that brief showing. His average fastball velocity sat just under 98 MPH in 2020. It was down two ticks last season, though, and Chicago lost him on waivers to the O’s in mid-August.

Even working with diminished arm strength, Burdi’s heater was still above-average. The D-Backs will take no-risk flier on that live arm which once made Burdi such a promising relief prospect. He still has a minor league option year remaining, so Arizona can shuttle him between the majors and Triple-A Reno next season if he sticks on their 40-man roster for the entire winter.

Lakins made 24 appearances with the O’s last season, his third consecutive year logging big league action. He worked 28 innings with a 5.79 ERA, striking out a below-average 19.5% of batters faced while walking an elevated 13.8% of opponents. Lakins ended the season on the injured list after undergoing surgery to repair an olecranon stress fracture in his elbow in early July, although the hope at the time had been that he’d be ready for Spring Training. He’ll remain in the organization without requiring a 40-man roster spot and hope to pitch his way back into the mix next spring.

Orioles Claim Zack Burdi

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The Orioles have claimed right-hander Zack Burdi off waivers from the White Sox and designated lefty Ryan Hartman for assignment, per a team announcement. Burdi, 26, had been designated for assignment by the White Sox earlier this week. Baltimore has optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk for the time being.

The 26-year-old Burdi was the White Sox’ first-round pick out of Louisville back in 2016. The younger brother of former Twins top prospect Nick Burdi, Zack was viewed as a potential late-inning powerhouse (as was his brother) when the Sox tabbed him with the 26th overall pick. Unfortunately for both Burdi brothers, injuries have severely impacted their development. Zack had Tommy John surgery in 2018 and has also missed time due to a torn tendon in his knee.

Even though it’s been more than five years since he was drafted, injuries have limited Burdi to just 141 1/3 innings between the minors and the big leagues. He’s tossed just 16 1/3 of those frames in the Majors and allowed 15 runs in that time. His minor league numbers aren’t overwhelmingly better; he’s worked to a 4.90 ERA across five levels, including a 4.74 mark in 74 Triple-A frames.

That said, it’s also not hard to see why a club in the Orioles’ position would be intrigued by Burdi. He’s still just 26 years old, isn’t far removed from being considered one of the game’s more promising bullpen prospects, and his power arsenal is still tantalizing. Burdi averaged a whopping 98 mph on his fastball in 2020 and 96 mph in 2021, and he’s fanned 29.9 percent of the opponents he’s faced as a professional. The Orioles have a number of bullpen-only arms on their 40-man roster, and while Burdi is something of a project, he also comes with a good bit more upside than most of those other bullpen prospects. Baltimore has lost 13 straight to drop to MLB’s worst club, but in the process, they’ve moved to the top priority on leaguewide waiver claims.

Hartman, 27, made his big league debut with the Astros earlier this season but has still pitched just 2 1/3 innings at the MLB level. He’s allowed a run on three hits and no walks with two punchouts in that time. Baltimore claimed him off waivers on the day of the trade deadline, but it could be a brief stay in the organization. He’s allowed four runs in 2 1/3 Triple-A frames since being claimed and, for the season, carries an ugly 5.40 ERA in 65 Triple-A innings.

Hartman does have strong numbers up through the Double-A level and quality strikeout-to-walk numbers this season, so it’s possible another club will want to take a look once he hits waivers. He’s in the first of three option years, so anyone who picks him up could keep him as a flexible depth option for the foreseeable future.

White Sox Designate Zack Burdi For Assignment

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The White Sox announced Monday that they have designated right-hander Zack Burdi for assignment to clear a spot for right-hander Mike Wright, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Charlotte. Chicago also placed outfielder Adam Engel on the 10-day IL with inflammation in his left shoulder, recalled righty Ryan Burr from Charlotte and optioned righty Matt Foster to Charlotte.

Burdi, 26, was a first-round pick out of Louisville back in 2016. As was the case with his older brother, Nick, he was drafted as a flamethrowing righty with the potential to emerge as a dominant late-inning reliever. Unfortunately, both Burdi brothers have been repeatedly hindered by injuries. Both had Tommy John surgery — Zack’s back in 2018 — and Zack has also missed significant time due to a torn patellar tendon in his knee.

Those injuries, as one would expect, have limited Burdi’s time on the field. He’s pitched just 16 1/3 innings in the Majors, all coming since Opening Day 2020, and allowed 15 runs in that time. The damage has come largely on the strength of an alarmins seven home runs, which have been a problem for the younger Burdi throughout the upper minors (combined 1.40 HR/9 between Double-A and Triple-A).

Despite being drafted back in 2016, Burdi has thrown just 141 1/3 innings total innings between the big leagues and the minors. He’ll have one more minor league option remaining beyond the 2021 season, however, so a club that’s intrigued by the raw arm strength could potentially overlook the 7.30 ERA and eight home runs he’s logged in 24 2/3 innings of Triple-A this season in order to take a speculative look. With the trade deadline now passed, Burdi will be placed on outright waivers within the next week.

Wright, 31, has pitched 258 innings in the big leagues and had his own struggles, working to a combined 6.00 ERA between the Orioles and the Mariners. He spent the 2020 season with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization and posted a 4.68 ERA in 157 2/3 innings before returning to the U.S. on a minor league deal with the ChiSox. He’s made 16 starts and compiled a 3.40 ERA in 95 1/3 frames with the Knights this year, striking out 23 percent of his opponents against a 7.4 percent walk rate with a 47.7 percent ground-ball rate.

The loss of the 29-year-old Engel for a yet-to-be-determined period of time stings a bit, given the outfielder’s breakout showing at the dish. Engel had a terrific 2020 season, albeit in just 93 plate appearances, and has largely backed that up with a similarly strong showing in 121 trips to the plate this year. He’s hitting .269/.336/.492 across the past two seasons, with 10 homers, 11 doubles, a triple and eight steals in his past 214 big league plate appearances.

Chicago recently welcomed stars Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez back from the injured list, and the South Siders have also gotten fine work from Brian Goodwin and first baseman-turned-outfielder Andrew Vaughn. They’re certainly equipped to handle the loss, particularly with the AL Central already effectively wrapped up, but the hope is obviously that Engel will return in short order to give the club as much depth as possible for the forthcoming postseason run.

White Sox Promote Jake Burger, Option Yermin Mercedes

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11:38am: The White Sox announced that they have indeed recalled Burger from Triple-A Charlotte. Chicago has also reinstated Adam Eaton from the injured list. In a pair of corresponding roster moves, they’ve optioned righty Zack Burdi and, most notably, designated hitter Yermin Mercedes.

The 28-year-old Mercedes was the talk of baseball when he started the season 8-for-8 and generally decimated big league pitching for the first six weeks of the season. Mercedes batted .368/.417/.571 through the season’s first 38 games, producing at a Herculean level even as hitters throughout the league struggled so extensively that MLB finally began to crack down on pitchers’ use of foreign substances.

In his next 31 games, however, Mercedes has seen his offensive production completely evaporate. The endpoint here, admittedly, is rather arbitrary, but Mercedes is hitting just .150/.220/.196 across his past 118 plate appearances. Understandably, the Sox have begun to cut back on his playing time, and he’s now Charlotte-bound, where the team will hope he can get a reset of sorts to round back into the form he displayed early in the 2021 campaign.

11:00am: The White Sox are calling up infield prospect Jake Burger for his big league debut today, tweets The Athletic’s James Fegan. Scott Merkin of MLB.com suggested last night (via Twitter) that Burger was likely to be with the club in Detroit this weekend, and the White Sox themselves have even tweeted a not-so-subtle indication that Burger is getting the call — though they’ve yet to make a formal announcement and reveal the corresponding roster moves.

It’s the culmination of a remarkable journey for the 2017 first-rounder, who has twice torn his Achilles tendon and endured grueling, months-long rehabilitations. Burger didn’t play in a single minor league game from 2018-19 (or in 2020, for obvious reasons). Making the jump from Class-A to Triple-A after a three-year layoff from competitive games is impressive in itself, but Burger has done far more than simply make that leap — he’s absolutely torn Triple-A pitching apart. In 185 plate appearances over 42 games, the former No. 11 overall pick has mashed at a .322/.368/.596 clip, swatting 10 homers, 15 doubles and a triple along the way.

Burger only recently turned 25, so despite the considerable injury hurdles he’s had to clear in his journey to this point, his age lines up nicely with the rest of an increasingly impressive core of young White Sox stars. He’s played primarily third base in the minor leagues, but the Sox began getting him some looks at second base when Nick Madrigal went down with a season-ending hamstring tear. For the time being, however, Burger could get a look at his primary position at the hot corner, as Yoan Moncada sustained a hand injury on a slide into third base yesterday.

Burger’s early performance could be pivotal for the White Sox. While they’re comfortably in command of the American League Central, they’ve still reportedly been discussing a trade centering around D-backs infielder Eduardo Escobar. While those talks have apparently slowed as other teams jump into the Escobar bidding, Burger’s performance could conceivably curb Chicago’s own interest.

If Burger storms out to a hot start and Moncada comes back healthy sooner than later, the Sox could just let Burger run with the second base role and forgo an infield upgrade entirely. Conversely, if Burger looks overmatched, the Sox might be more interested in pursuing a short-term upgrade at a clear position of need on a win-now club — be it Escobar or another trade candidate.

White Sox Place Adam Eaton On 10-Day Injured List

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The White Sox placed outfielder Adam Eaton the 10-day injured list today due to a strained right hamstring.  The placement is retroactive to June 15.  Right-hander Zack Burdi was promoted from Triple-A to take Eaton’s spot on the active roster.

With Eaton sidelined, this means that Chicago’s entire projected Opening Day outfield is now on the injured list.  While Eaton’s hamstring problem doesn’t seem nearly as serious as the injuries that have sidelined Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert for the bulk of the season, it does underline how the Sox have managed to adapt and thrive despite these significant setbacks.  In particular, hamstring and leg injuries have struck several White Sox players this season, with GM Rick Hahn recently discussing about how the team has been trying to figure out if there is any sort of root cause behind this unusual recurring issue.

Originally a member of the White Sox from 2014-16, Eaton returned to the Windy City this offseason after signing a one-year free agent deal worth $8MM in guaranteed money (including the $1MM buyout of an $8.5MM club option the Sox hold on Eaton for 2022).  The results haven’t been good at the plate, as Eaton is hitting .195/.296/.345 over 203 plate appearances and his 25.1% strikeout rate is the highest of his career.

With Eaton gone, the Sox have Andrew Vaughn, Adam Engel, and Brian Goodwin as their starting outfield, with Jake Lamb and Leury Garcia able to fill in as part-timers.  Outfield already seemed like a target area for the White Sox at the trade deadline given the uncertainty over Jimenez and Robert, and if Eaton ends up having to miss more time beyond the 10-day minimum, the club could be inspired to make a move sooner rather than later to shore up depth.

Roster Notes: Bettinger, Burdi, Lakins, Tom, Paredes

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With three doubleheaders around baseball today, we have a number of 27th men getting an opportunity today. Alec Bettinger gets the temporary call-up for the Brewers’ twin bill against the Nationals today, per the team. Bettinger has made three appearances for the Brewers this season, including one start. Elsewhere…

  • The White Sox recalled Zack Burdi to be their 27th man for a double dip against Baltimore today, per the team. Yesterday’s game in Chicago was cancelled due to inclement weather. The 26-year-old tossed three innings against the Red Sox on April 19th, allowing one earned run in his only big-league appearances of the season.
  • On Baltimore’s end, Travis Lakins has been recalled to be the extra man for the day, the team announced. Lakins has been up and down with the big league club this year, and he’ll serve as a right-handed option out of the pen for manager Brandon Hyde. He owns a 7.36 ERA in 14 2/3 innings over 16 appearances.
  • The Pirates reinstated Ka’ai Tom from the injured list today, per the team. He will serve as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader. Tom began the season as a Rule 5 draft pick on the A’s, and as a waiver claim, he maintains that designation with the Pirates. Thus, the Pirates will need to add him to the active roster tomorrow in order to keep him in the organization.
  • In non-doubleheader roster news, the Astros optioned Enoli Paredes to Triple-a today to make room for Jake Odorizzi, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Paredes struggled mightily with his command, issuing 11 walks in just 4 1/3 innings.

White Sox Place Lance Lynn On Injured List

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3:47 pm: The team is hopeful Lynn will only need to miss one start, per Fegan (via Twitter).

3:24 pm: The White Sox are placing right-hander Lance Lynn on the injured list with a strained right trapezius muscle, retroactive to April 17, James Fegan of the Athletic was among those to relay (Twitter link). Reliever Zack Burdi is being recalled from the alternate training site in a corresponding move.

Chicago acquired Lynn from the Rangers over the winter in one of the biggest offseason moves for any team. The 33-year-old (34 next month) has given the Sox everything they could’ve asked for over his first three starts, tossing 19.2 innings of 0.92 ERA/2.36 SIERA ball, striking out 27 against only two walks. The White Sox didn’t announce a timetable for his potential return.

With Lynn sidelined, Chicago figures to lean on a rotation of Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech and Carlos Rodón. Kopech is slated to start this evening’s game against the Red Sox.

White Sox Activate Gio Gonzalez

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The Chicago White Sox have activated Gio Gonzalez, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin (via Twitter). Zack Burdi has been optioned to the team’s alternate site to make room on the roster.

Gonzalez has pitched both out of the bullpen and from the rotation this season. Given the injury concerns for the soon-to-be 35-year-old, Chicago could reason that the bullpen would be the prudent and more effective usage play for Gonzalez. Instead, they’re likely to put him back into their starting five for now alongside Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, Dylan Cease, and Dane Dunning. Keuchel has been struggling with a balky back, so getting Gonzalez tuned up and back to his usual innings-eating self could be a benefit for the Pale Hose come playoff time.

The veteran southpaw has the battle scars to mark his playoff resume. He’s made 8 starts in his postseason career for the Nationals and Brewers with his team’s going an even 4-4 in those games. Batters have hit just .215/.346/.393 over those 29 1/3 innings, while Gonzalez has racked up 27 strikeouts and a 4.91 ERA. In sum, Gonzalez has suppressed batter contact and power throughout his playoff tenure, but also struggled at times with command leading to short starts and an average start length of less than 4 innings. Still, when the playoffs roll around, 4 solid innings from a time-tested veteran might be preferable to relying on the youth of Cease and/or Dunning. Now that the White Sox have all guaranteed a playoff berth, we have only time in the way of learning the White Sox’ postseason strategy.

The 25-year-old Burdi made 8 appearances this season, and while 13.5 K/9 to 3.7 BB/9 are sound peripheral numbers, Burdi was saddled with an 11.05 ERA across 7 1/3 innings. An 8.57 FIP only paints a marginally better picture for the hard-throwing right-hander. Things started out well-enough when Burdi allowed just 1 earned run over his first four outings, but 8 earned runs over his final 3 1/3 marred the earlier performance and likely played a role in his demotion. The Illinois-native suffered a particularly brutal 1/3 of an inning at the hands of the Royals, surrendering a solo shot, an RBI single, and then another long ball to Maikel Franco that plated three and ended Burdi’s evening. Despite the rough outings, Burdi boasts an electric 98 mph fastball and will find his way back to the majors.

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