It is very likely that the Jose Ruiz era on the South Side has come to an end.
This morning, the White Sox announced that Jose Ruiz has been designated for assignment, as the team also selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Jesse Scholtens.
With the move, teams can now claim Ruiz should they choose. If not, he will be sent to Triple-A Charlotte.
Ruiz began his career with the Padres after signing as an international free agent in 2011. He started out as a catcher before transitioning to pitching in 2016, making one appearance with the Padres in 2017. The next season, he was selected off waivers by the White Sox, and he would pitch with the club from 2018 through his latest outing on Thursday. In his six-year White Sox career, he posted a 4.56 ERA in 177.2 innings, posting a 9.1 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 throughout his tenure.
Though the White Sox tried to teach him multiple new offspeed pitches in an attempt to keep his live arm around, Ruiz struggled in his four appearances so far in 2023, giving up nine runs – including three home runs – in just 3.2 innings.
Scholtens, 29, will make his major league debut whenever the club brings him out of the bullpen. The journeyman has spent seven seasons in the minors and signed as a non-roster invite with the club before this season. The White Sox made sure to stretch out Scholtens this spring so that he could serve as a multi-inning relief option should the need arise for the White Sox bullpen – and it certainly has.
With the club’s record sitting at 3-4 and soon facing a rebuilding Pirates club, now seems like it would end up being a great time to bring Scholtens into a few games to save what has been an over-taxed, but also underperforming, bullpen core to this point in 2023.
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