Juan Minaya

In addition to losing Nate Jones to a season-ending elbow injury, the White Sox traded several key members of their bullpen to contending clubs in 2017, opening up save chances for Minaya during the final two months of the season. While he finished the season 9-for-10 converting those opportunities, he's unlikely to return to that role to begin 2018 after a January trade brought Joakim Soria into the mix. He showed the ability to miss bats at a healthy clip, striking out 27.7 percent of the batters he faced, but he was susceptible to the long ball (1.4 HR/9) and prone to issuing too many walks (10.9 percent), raising questions about his chances of remaining in a high-leverage role long term. Minaya works with a 93-96 mph fastball, while mixing in curveballs and sliders. If he can improve the command of his breaking pitches, the control might improve enough for him to become another success story for pitching coach Don Cooper.

Minaya began the season in the Astros organization, but some early-season struggles didn't keep him there long. Houston initially protected him from the Rule 5 draft by adding him to the 40-man roster, but they designated him for assignment in mid-June, after which the White Sox plucked him off waivers. The 26-year-old then turned things around a bit in the Chicago system, producing a 3.38 ERA and 9.6 K/9 across 26.2 innings with Triple-A Charlotte. This performance warranted a September call-up for the reliever, and although he found success at first, the wheels came off as he stumbled to the finish line with a 4.35 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Minaya isn't a high-profile prospect, although his lively fastball does create a lot of swing-and-miss potential going forward. The right-hander will likely be in the hunt for a spot in the major league bullpen during the spring, although his control issues may inhibit his ability to lock down anything more than a middle-relief role when he is up with the White Sox.