The minor league deals continue to come for the White Sox, as per MiLB transactions, the team has signed left-handed pitcher Luis Amaya to a minor league contract. The move is official according to Amaya’s MLB Player Page.
Tejada, 23, is from Venezuela and was signed as an International Free Agent back on December 15, 2014, by the San Francisco Giants. He had been with the Giants’ organization from 2015 to 2021, working from the Dominican Summer League as a 17-year-old all the way to AA in 2021. He started three games in the minors in 2021, however, he has been a reliever and closer for most of his career. He was once the May Relief Pitcher of the Month back in 2019.
The lefty has had an up-and-down career, posting high strikeout rates – but similarly high walk rates – at the same time. He pitched the entire 2021 season at AA, going 2-0 with a 5.57 ERA in 33 appearances (3 starts). He posted an impressive 28.5% strikeout rate to go with a less-than-stellar 13.4% walk rate. His career has been filled with fluctuations with command, posting walk rates as low as 5.6% and as high as 15.6%. However, his strikeout rate has remained around 28-29% since 2018, when he first started showing an ability to become a strikeout pitcher. He has spent this winter playing for the VenezuelanWinter League, posting a 7.79 ERA across 17.1 innings of work. Much like the rest of his career, he has struggled with walks, but for the first time, he has walked more batters than he has struck out.
The White Sox organization clearly sees something in Amaya’s left-handed profile that caused them to take a chance on him. Amaya was assigned to AA Birmingham, meaning the first task for him will be to prove that he can find some consistent command on all of his pitches. Because of his high-strikeout profile, Amaya is a player that has the ability to make an impact with consistent command. He will be a name to watch as the minor league season get underway.
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Featured Photo: Luis Amaya / Twitter
