As the White Sox release their Opening Day roster, one main name was missing: Nick Nastrini. This comes as a surprise, as he was fantastic this spring.
Nastrini, over 14 innings was phenomenal. Over three starts, five games total, Nastrini had a 3.77 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. While these are still great numbers, they were inflated by one poor performance at the end of Spring Training.
These numbers easily earned Nick Nastrini a spot on the roster to start the year. But, when the White Sox released their Opening Day roster, he was the big name that was missing. That shocked a lot of fans, but the reasoning for leaving him off the Opening Day roster is actually very smart.
When Chris Getz spoke to the media, he explained what their process is. According to Daryl Van Schouwen, this is what he said:
While that quote doesn’t necessary point to Nastrini being the 5th starter they are speaking of, White Sox Beat Writer Scott Merkin clarified that Nastrini will indeed be the 5th starter.
This is actually a smart move by the White Sox, something that most fans aren’t used to. For the White Sox to have an extra bullpen arm for the first few games will be huge, as it is likely that most of the starters won’t be going more than 5-6 innings in their start, increasing the need for multiple relievers in each game.
Plus, since it is early in the season, this allows the bullpen to get a bit extra rest on their arms due to the extra player in the ‘pen. The fresher the bullpen arms are, the likelier they are to pitch better, potentially leading to more wins earlier in the year, where games still matter.
Now it is up to the White Sox to determine which arm will be sent down once April 3rd comes around. I imagine it comes down to Bryan Shaw and Dominic Leone, with Leone having the edge to stay on the roster due to his Spring Training performance.
In eight games and eight innings, Leone pitched to a very solid 2.25 ERA. He struck out six and walked two, en route to a fantastic .875 WHIP. This performance earned him a spot on the Opening Day roster and he should get an opportunity to stick around. This was a solid signing by Chris Getz, as he was a non-roster invitee to Spring Training.
Bryan Shaw however, did not have a good Spring Training. In 9.1 innings, he gave up 17 hits and walked four, en route to a horrible 11.57 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP. These aren’t great numbers, but he seems to be a favorite of Pedro Grifol. I would imagine that they plan to use him a few times in the first few games to clean up innings where the game is not close. Then, come April 3rd, he would be DFA’d, making room for Nick Nastrini.
That can change however, as if he pitches well, they might want to keep him around. This could lead to another player being DFA’d in his place, but I feel that Shaw is the likely option to go.
Regardless, this is a solid move by the White Sox, as they can reduce the early season load on the bullpen due to the way the schedule falls. It does stink that Nick Nastrini cannot celebrate being on the Opening Day roster, but he will be on plenty in the future.
