Former All-Star Jared Walsh Signs Minor League Deal With Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox have taken a flier on Jared Walsh, who was once an All-Star with the Los Angeles Angels before a brief stint with the Texas Rangers.

Apr 10, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Jared Walsh (21) fields a throw. / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago White Sox have signed first baseman Jared Walsh to a minor league contract, MLB.com's Scott Merkin and others reported Tuesday.

Walsh began the year with the Texas Rangers, signing a minor league deal with the club back in January. The non-roster invitee won an Opening Day roster spot and appeared in 17 regular season games before the Rangers activated Nathaniel Lowe off the injured list and designated Walsh for assignment on April 20.

Before he was let go, Walsh was batting .226 with one home runs, seven RBI and a .637 OPS.

Walsh latched on with the White Sox six days after electing to enter free agency. Per Merkin, Walsh is reporting to the team's training facility in Arizona before he is officially assigned to Triple-A Charlotte.

White Sox have signed 1B Jared Walsh to minor league deal. He will report to Arizona before being assigned to Charlotte, per the team.

— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) April 30, 2024

Walsh spent the previous six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, making one All-Star appearance in 2021. He hit .277 with 29 home runs, 98 RBI, an .850 OPS and a 2.8 WAR that year, but has failed to approach that kind of production ever since.

After batting .215 with a .642 OPS in 2022 and undergoing undergoing thoracic outlet surgery the following offseason, Walsh bounced between the big leagues and minors for most of 2023. In just 39 MLB appearances, he hit .125 with a .494 OPS.

Taking out his breakout 2021 campaign, Walsh owns a -1.4 WAR for his career.

Should Walsh earn a call-up from the White Sox, he would become just the latest veteran to join the struggling squad. Chicago was off to a historically slow start and had the worst record in the league as recently as last week, but they swept the Tampa Bay Rays immediately after calling up outfielder Tommy Pham.

Walsh is behind Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets on the organizational depth chart, but the 30-year-old slugger has shown flashes throughout his career that could make him valuable as an injury replacement somewhere down the line.

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