White Sox designate José Ruiz for assignment

The White Sox have designated right-handed reliever José Ruiz for assignment, the team announced on Friday morning.

Ruiz has a 22.09 ERA and 17.14 FIP in four appearances (3 2⁄3 innings) this season. He’s given up multiple runs (nine total) in each of his last three appearances. Righthander Jesse Scholtens has been recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to take his place on the roster.

A converted catcher, the 28-year-old Ruiz appeared in parts of six seasons with the White Sox after being selected off of waivers from the San Diego Padres in 2018. Ruiz concludes his Sox tenure with a 4.56 ERA in 177 appearances totaling 177 2⁄3 innings, walking 89 and striking out 180 in that span. He showed flashes of promise, running an even 3.00 ERA in 69 innings of mostly low-leverage work between 2020 and 2021, but was also frustratingly inconsistent for much of his time here, pre-empting this month’s implosion with a 4.60 ERA (87 ERA+) last season and a 5.63 mark in 2019.

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Scholtens has made one start this season for the Knights, allowing four earned runs on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts. He pitched well in his Spring Training opportunities, allowing three runs with a solid 2:10 walk-to-strikeout ratio in three outings (8 2⁄3 innings). He made 15 starts and 22 relief appearances last season for Triple-A El Paso in the Padres organization. This is pure speculation, but Scholtens' long-relief capabilities may signal a full-time move to short relief for Jimmy Lambert, who has the potential to be a very interesting reliever if he can get his fastball velocity to tick up slightly.

The other 29 teams will have three days to submit a waiver claim on Ruiz before the White Sox may either assign him to Triple-A or grant his release. As a player with more than three years of MLB service time, Ruiz has the right to refuse a minor league assignment and become a free agent.

In other news, the White Sox transaction page lists the acquisition of Alex Colomé, though no announcement has been made by the team. Colomé was reportedly released by the Nationals on April 1.

Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, Michael Kopech, and Aaron Bummer are the only pitchers currently on the roster to have appeared for the White Sox in 2018.