Chicago White Sox sign Nick Senzel while Cubs welcome Jesus Tinoco

Chicago witnessed on Tuesday the 94th edition of the MLB All-Star Game, which was played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, ending with a 5-3 victory for the American League. This officially marked the halfway point of the 2024 season.

This is the right time for teams to make changes to their rosters to meet the goals of the campaign. In some cases, these changes were planned before the start of the year, and in others, they were made to address issues as they arose. The Chicago teams are no exception, and both the White Sox and Cubs have announced several roster changes.

The Chicago White Sox have signed infielder Nick Senzel, who was recently released by the Nationals, according to Jon Heyman. James Fegan of Sox Machine also confirms the news, adding that Senzel will sign a major league contract.

Senzel, 29, had a disappointing season with the Nationals, batting .209 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs. Last year, he hit for .236 with 13 home runs.

With the Nationals, Senzel primarily played third base and designated hitter. However, he also has experience in the outfield, having played 269 games in center field and 303 games in the outfield overall.

Considering the rebuilding the MLB team is undergoing, the Chicago White Sox present themselves as a logical choice for Senzel. No team has seen less production from its third basemen this season than the White Sox. In 371 at-bats, White Sox third basemen have posted a .206/.246/.315 offensive line with six homers and a 4.6% base-on-base rate.

This situation is due in part to the injury to Yoan Moncada, who has been on the disabled list since the second week of the season. However, even with Moncada rehabbing in the minor leagues and close to returning, there are plenty of opportunities for Senzel to excel in Chicago’s infield.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs announced on their social networks in recent hours the acquisition of reliever Jesus Tinoco from the Kansas City Royals for cash considerations. Tinoco, 29, signed a minor league contract with the Royals three weeks ago and was not on their 40-man roster. The Cubs are not required to immediately add Tinoco to their 40-man roster unless there is an upward mobility clause in his contract.

Tinoco has pitched in five MLB seasons between the Rockies, Marlins and Rangers. In 2019, he pitched a career-high 36 innings with a 4.75 ERA as a rookie with the Rockies. However, his appearances were more sporadic in the following years, and he only topped 20 innings once.

Tinoco appeared in six games with the Royals’ high-A affiliate in Omaha, pitching 6 2/3 innings and allowing three runs with 10 strikeouts and one walk. He also turned in notable performances in Triple-A with the Rangers earlier in the season, striking out 30.3% of the batters he faced in 21 1/3 innings. However, his control was more erratic in that span, as he walked over 11% of his opponents.

As for his overall MLB performance, Tinoco has a career ERA of 4.58 in 76 2/3 innings, with a below-average strikeout rate of 18.1% and a hitters-walked percentage of nearly 14%. He spent last season in Japan, where he posted a 2.83 ERA despite mediocre strikeout and on-base numbers with the Seibu Lions.

Most recently, Tinoco signed a minor league contract with the Rangers over the winter and made nine MLB appearances with Texas to start the season, allowing nine runs in 10 innings.

Although Tinoco has struggled against major league hitters, his recent stellar performance in Triple-A has piqued Chicago Cubs‘ interest. The Cubs rank 16th in the league in effectiveness of their relief staff, with an average of 4.01. Although they rank in the top ten in strikeouts, only the Rangers and White Sox have given up more walks.

In addition, the Chicago Cubs currently have six relievers – Julian Merryweather, Adbert Alzolay, Colten Brewer, Yency Almonte, Keegan Thompson and Luke Little – on the disabled list. As a result, the Cubs optioned Daniel Palencia to Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday to clear a spot in the major league bullpen. If they decide to promote Tinoco directly to the major league team, they will have to make room on the 40-man roster.