Should I Stay or Should I Go: Kendall Graveman

fWAR: 0.7
bWAR: 1.0
WARP: 0.9

He should stay Graveman, a ground ball specialist, provides a different look from an array of fireballers in the White Sox bullpen, as a righty complement to Aaron Bummer as a weak contact/double-play ball fireman. Though not posting eye-popping stats, Graveman was a serviceable reliever who led the team in appearances and relief innings thrown, providing dependability as the rotation struggled to provide innings in bulk. Entering his age-32 season, Graveman’s stuff shows no signs of decline, and he may very well remain effective for the duration of his three-year contract.

He should go Another expensive bullpen arm on a team that desperately needs to rework its budget, Graveman had serious issues when called upon to pitch on back-to-back days, and sometimes went unusually long periods of time without pitching (though, to be fair, this team’s terrible roster management was hardly his fault). His ground ball profile is less of an asset given the White Sox have pretty shoddy infield defense; until that gets shored up, investing heavily in a pitcher like Graveman is unlikely to produce a great return.

The verdict Another obvious choice for GM Rick Hahn to trim some fat off his bloated bullpen payroll, even with two years/$16 million remaining on his contract Graveman should be a movable asset. Though there’s no outright need to move Graveman — and he certainly provides plenty of innings the team could use — if the White Sox payroll tightens he may be another player who needs to be jettisoned, if only to reallocate his salary to other ends.