Chris Sale, White Sox Reach Agreement
By Zach Links [June 20 at 6:59pm CST]
The White Sox have come to terms on a deal with first-round pick Chris Sale, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. The pitcher, who was taken 13th overall, agreed to a bonus of $1.656MM.

The bonus figure is surprising as it is equal to MLB's bonus recommendation for his No. 13 slot in the 2009 draft. The Florida Gulf Coast University product was considered by teams to be the first or second-best college pitcher in the draft.

While Sale will get less money than anticipated, Callis writes that he will be given every opportunity to join the big league bullpen, perhaps as early as August. Sale will start off in high-A in Salem with the goal of jumping to Triple-A Charlotte in mid-July.

Sale's agent, B.B. Abbott of Jet Sports Management, conceded that deal will be "perceived in the industry" as a victory for the White Sox, but believes that it is in the best interest of his client.

"While we felt extremely confident that a larger bonus would be available later in the summer, we think Chris not only has a viable opportunity to pitch in the big leagues this year, but a very good chance to do so. As we did with Zack Wheeler last year, we considered the opportunity, the risk and the reward. As clear as it was that Zack should wait, it is equally clear that this is a legitimate opportunity for Chris to pitch in the big leagues in six weeks or less with a contending team. While this was not an easy decision, we believe it is the right decision," Abbott said

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Nice Guys Finish Last

Thank you,and have a nice day !

Is he going to be a reliever down the line?

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Unless they change his arm slot, I don't see him being a long-term starter in the bigs.

Good pitcher, good stuff .... just not mechanics that bode well for holding up under 200+ innings a year.

Hope I'm wrong.

Yeah having a rookie on the pitching staff down the stretch sounds like a great idea.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Yeah it worked out horribly for Francisco Rodriguez and David Price. Oh yeah...and Bobby Jenks. Idiot.

Yeah and you really think this kid is in their league? I highly doubt it.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Well I guess we won't know until it happens.

Yeah, it doesn't sound like a great plan but as Keyser correctly points out it has worked in the recent past fairly often.

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Where do the Sox see him. I don't follow the baseball draft so I don't know if they were drafting him to start or relieve.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

They'll give him a shot at the bullpen this season then send him to the Arizona fall league to be a starter and give him a shot at the rotation next season.

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=47400&p=812719#p812719

Strassberg spent 1 year + in the minors, but the Sox 1st rounder (13th overall) is ready to pitch in the bigs now???? Uhmmmm?

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“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Dont think Strasburg was in the minors for year. I could be wrong. It did take him almost a season's worth of games to get to the majors, but wasn't his team in the CWS last year? And isnt his agent a major douche who had him hold out for a while?

(Yes, I view NFL holdouts dif than MLB holdouts)

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Apples and bowling balls, Bigfan. Strasburg didn't sign until Aug 15. The Nats decided not to send him to the minors for a short season and waited until the Arizona fall league to make his debut. Sale is reporting to high A ball this week and will get at least a month and a half in the minors before a decision is made.

And the Nats even said that they kept him in the minors this year to postpone the first opportunity for arbitration one more year.

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Strasburg could have been the Opening Day starter for the Nats and still probably had a similar line.

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Chris Sale's numbers in high A and triple A:

8 Games
0-0
2.35 ERA
7.2 innings pitched
4 hits
2 ER
3 BB
11 k's

If he continues to throw like this he should be with the big club in a couple weeks.

11 Games
0-0
2.61 ERA
10.1 innings pitched
6 Hits
3 ER
6 BB
19 K's

At this point, I would trust Sale over Randy Williams as the lefty specialist.

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You can find your answer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBKzxNKf ... re=related

I forgot about him in the discussion on what happens to Torres but I could see him being the call up.

Do they have any room on the 40 man for Sale? Or could this finally be what it takes to get Williams DFA'd?

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I was thinking of the same guys as I read that. Until he gets his chance, how can anyone know what he's capable of?

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Go Cubs!!!!

Hawkeye, with Erick Threets on the 15 day DL now with "turf toe", there's talk Chris Sale could be called up possibly as soon as tomorrow, even if Carlos Torres had won in a spot start this eve in Detroit.

HE'S THERE ALREADY!!!!

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Go Cubs!!!!