The White Sox declined to tender contracts to four players Friday, including a trio of relief pitchers as the bullpen continues to undergo a lengthy remodel.
Relievers Jake Petricka, Zach Putnam and Al Alburquerque, along with infielder Alen Hanson, weren’t tendered 2018 contracts and figure to be out of the White Sox plans for the upcoming season.
Petricka was a mainstay in the bullpen for the past five seasons, making 129 appearances during his most prolific seasons in 2014 and 2015. He picked up 14 saves and posted a 2.96 ERA in the first of those two campaigns. But injuries became an issue, and he made just nine appearances in 2016 before pitching in 27 games last season. He was roughed up in that small sample size this past season for a 7.01 ERA in 25.2 innings of work.
Putnam spent the past four years on the South Side after logging 15 appearances in three seasons with the Indians, Rockies and Cubs. As a member of the White Sox, the former Michigan Wolverine threw 139.1 innings in those four seasons and posted a cumulative ERA of 2.71. But he, too, was bothered by injuries, pitching in just 25 games in 2016 and only seven last year.
Alburqueruqe signed a minor league deal with the White Sox in early August and was called up in September. He made 10 appearances and turned in a 1.13 ERA.
Hanson spent significant time with the team in 2017, playing in 69 games. He slashed .231/.276/.651 in 175 plate appearances, hitting four homers, driving in 10 runs and stealing nine bases.
In other roster news, the White Sox avoided arbitration and agreed to a one-year deal with reliever Danny Farquhar. He posted a 4.40 ERA in 14.1 innings with the team last season.
MLB
The bullpen will obviously look a lot different than it did at the beginning of 2016. Friday’s decisions play a factor, of course, but much of the change is thanks to midseason trades, with Rick Hahn shipping David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Anthony Swarzak and Dan Jennings out of town in deals with the Yankees, Brewers and Rays.
The White Sox announced that all remaining unsigned players have been tendered contracts for the 2018 season and that the 40-man roster stands at 36.