Division rival takes chance on former Guardians reliever

There is a chance the Cleveland Guardians could be facing someone they are very familiar with multiple times in 2025. The Chicago White Sox have signed former Guardians reliever James Karinchak to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training.

While Karinchak will have to prove his worth to make the major league roster in Chicago, the relatively uncompetitive state of the White Sox should give him the opportunity to return to the big leagues. This is the exact type of opportunity for someone fitting Karinchak's description needs if they are ever going to prove they belong in a major league bullpen, as the White Sox have pretty much nothing to play for in 2025 and can afford to let him work out his issues in games that will not mean anything in terms of competitiveness.

Upon making his debut with Cleveland back in 2019, Karinchak looked like he could be the next dominant relief arm in their bullpen. Channeling his inner Ricky Vaughn from Major League, Karinchak was the real-life version of Wild Thing and even changed his number to 99 to reflect that.

Overall, Karinchak's numbers are impressive, with a career 3.10 ERA, 1.183 WHIP, and 13.7 strikeouts per nine innings, this is exactly the type of relief arm that most teams want in their bullpen. The problem is that while his 2023 numbers were more than acceptable, (3.23 ERA, 1.333 WHIP, 12 strikeouts per nine innings), the way he got there was not pretty.

Karinchak was one of multiple pitchers who experienced difficulties adjusting to Major League Baseball's efforts to increase the pace of play. The long and drawn-out routine that Karinchak was once accustomed to throughout his career was now interrupted, and it was clear that it was going to take a long time to become comfortable with the increased speed of the game. Of course, that is assuming that he could, and that is far from a guaranteed outcome.

Perhaps Karinchak will be able to catch on in Chicago and get his career back on the right track, but it would not be surprising to see his stay with the White Sox be brief and end unceremoniously, considering how things have played out for him over the last couple of seasons.