Lucas

Sims

Sims reunites with Chicago on a new deal after passing through waivers unclaimed and electing free agency earlier this week. The 31-year-old reliever posted a serviceable 4.50 ERA across 10 innings over nine appearances with the White Sox earlier this month.

These things happen. The 31-year-old has a 4.5 ERA in 10 innings with the big league ballclub thus far, striking out 10 and walking seven. The journeyman has pitched for four teams since the start of the 2024 and may make it five if he opts out of an outright assignment or is claimed on waivers.

Sims has thrown one scoreless inning in Triple-A this season, but the White Sox will bring the veteran up to have a spot in their bullpen. He struggled last season in Washington and has not been a high-impact reliever for a few years now.

Sims opted out of his minor league deal Saturday, and is back with a deal that assuredly contains another opt-out for the 31-year-old. The White Sox will need to add Sims to the 40-man roster if they deem him worthy of an MLB spot.

All four players were signed to minor-league contracts with invites to spring training, and all four will be given a chance to play elsewhere rather than reassigned to minor-league camp. Wade has the most MLB success for the four, and his ability to hit left-handed pitching makes him likely to find a new landing spot relatively quickly.

Sims has been pretty awful since a trade to the Red Sox at the 2024 deadline; he had a 6.43 ERA in 14 innings for Boston then, a 13.86 ERA in 12 1/3 innings for the Nationals last season and then a 5.56 ERA in 34 innings for the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate after Washington released him. All told, he walked 53 in 60 1/3 innings during that span. He still has his fastball and slider, so there’s always the chance he turns it around. However, even at his best, he was never particularly reliable.

Sims, 31, was let go by the Nationals after giving up 19 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings to open the season. He’ll need to pitch well in Triple-A for a spell before getting a shot with the Phillies.

The 30-year-old right-hander had been absymal during his time with the Nationals — posting a 12.34 ERA, 1.97 WHIP and a 13/10 K/BB ratio over 11 2/3 innings while also plunking a league-leading six batters — so it’s not a surprise to see him get released. Once he passes through release waivers unclaimed, he’ll officially hit the open market.

Unless the Nationals make a late move to bring back Kyle Finnegan or perhaps take a flier on Craig Kimbrel, the closer’s role could come down to Sims and Jorge López. Sims definitely has the raw stuff to do the job, but he’s also walked 15 percent of the batters he’s faced while posting a 3.67 ERA the last two years. López is probably the favorite for saves right now.

Sims split last year between the Red Sox and Reds, finishing with a pedestrian 4.38 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 49/30 K/BB ratio across 49 1/3 innings (58 appearances). He has plenty of high-leverage experience and would figure to be in the mix with Jorge López, Derek Law and Jose A. Ferrer to close for Washington. Even if he winds up winning the job, his fantasy appeal is limited to extremely deep mixed leagues.