Keeping tabs on old White Sox friends: Vol. 4
Reynaldo López thrives in Atlanta, Marcus Semien continues to shine, and Joe Kelly hits the IL again
Hey there, fellow White Sox fans! Welcome to this season’s new feature. It’s a bimonthly update on how some of our beloved former players are faring with their current teams. Additionally, I’ll cover some of our lesser-known old favorites, some mid-level players, and even a few former prospects.
Fan favorite
Reynaldo López — RHP
In August 2012, the Washington Nationals signed the Dominican native to a minor league contract when he was just 18 years old. By 2014, he was a rising star in their system, demonstrating some promise with a 7-3 record and a 1.08 ERA with a 0.82 WHIP over 83 1⁄3 innings. His impressive performance received some national recognition, and in 2015, Baseball America ranked him as their No. 49 prospect.
ReyLo made his major league debut on July 19, 2016 against the Atlanta Braves, and it was a humbling experience. The righthander struggled, giving up six runs on 10 hits over 4 2⁄3 innings. Despite this setback, he showed resilience, going back and forth between the majors and minors and between starter and reliever for the rest of the year. He finished his first big league season with a respectable 5-3 record and 4.91 ERA over 11 appearances and 44 innings.
In December 2016, the Nats traded López, along with Lucas Giolitio and Dane Dunning, to the White Sox for outfielder Adam Eaton. This trade was a pivotal moment in the upcoming Chicago rebuild, and Reynaldo promptly slotted in as MLB’s No. 45 and the Sox’s No. 6 prospect for 2017. He spent most of the 2017 season in Charlotte, focusing on development, starting 19 games for the Knights before being called up by the South Siders in August. His performances were a mix of highs and lows, but with a 95-99 mph fastball, solid curve, and changeup, the future looked promising for the young player.
Inconsistency is the best word I can come up with to define López’s next five-plus years with the Sox. It probably didn’t help that the Sox never seemed to settle in on his role as either a starter or reliever. He certainly was outstanding in the second half of 2021 after undergoing surgery in May on both corneas to correct a vision condition called keratoconus. His fantastic work out of the bullpen — especially in July and August— was a crucial part of the 2021 AL Central championship run.
After that season, with the exception of one start, López worked exclusively out of the pen. He had a strong showing in both 2022 and 2023, and after the implosion of the contention window, Chicago had no need for a setup man who was in the last year of his contract. As a result, in one of Rick Hahn’s final parting gifts, on July 26, he sent both ReyLo and Lucas Giolito to the Angels in a trade for prospects Edgar Quero and Ky Bush.
At the time of the trade, the Angels were still vying for one of the AL Wild Card spots. Eager to make one last playoff push with Shohei Ohtani, the Angels gave up much more in prospects than they received in return. López, for the most part, did what he was acquired to do as he accumulated a 2.77 ERA, surrendering only four runs over 13 appearances. The same, unfortunately, can not be said for Giolito, who was awful once he got to Anaheim.
Once eight games over .500 on June 18, the Angels went 8-19 in August. With the writing on the wall, the team waved the white flag and held a fire sale on August 29, placing Reynaldo on waivers along with Gio, Matt Moore, Hunter Renfroe, and Randal Grichuk.
Then, in a last-minute push to try and get themselves into the postseason, the Cleveland Guardians picked up ReyLo and Gio. In 12 games, López was perfect. He was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 11 innings. Cleveland couldn’t cut it, though, as they went 12-15 in September. However, López certainly helped himself in the offseason free agent market. After three straight seasons of solid bullpen performance, the Atlanta Braves quickly snatched up the righty and signed him to a three-year, $30 million deal in November 2023. Right away, the organization said they would not pigeonhole him to a pen-only role, offering him the opportunity to work towards being a starter in spring training.
Well, it turns out that the Braves may know a thing or two about pitching. After a strong spring showing, the 30-year-old locked down the fifth starter position and has been Atlanta’s best pitcher so far this season. In eight starts, López is 2-1 with a 1.54 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP over 46 2⁄3 innings. With the loss of Spencer Strider, ReyLo’s success has become even more significant. While the Braves are in second place behind the Philadelphia Phillies, they have a stronghold on the top NL Wild Card, with a six-game lead over the Chicago Cubs.
Many Chicago fans often had a love-hate relationship with Reynaldo due to his up-and-down success during his time with the team, but finishing off strong during his last few years seems to have left a lot of fans with a soft spot for him. Hopefully, Quero and Bush will leave a lasting legacy here as a part of what could be a new era in White Sox baseball, in part because of ReyLo. Thanks, old friend.
Mid-dude
Joe Kelly — RHP
The South Siders acquired Kelly as a free agent in March 2022 as part of Hahn’s super bullpen experiment. I remember fans being a bit puzzled at the news, because the reliever was still recovering from an injury when he was signed.
The second thing I recall is the buzz about him being a good get because of his beef with the much-despised Houston Astros. After all, the Astros had just defeated the Sox in the ALDS, so the idea of having a dude who hated them too was kind of fun. The incident happened on July 28, 2020, the first time the Dodgers played back at Minute Maid Park since Houston defeated them in the 2017 World Series. When Kelly entered the game in the sixth inning, he threw a wild pitch (surprised?) over Alex Bregman’s head, and when it was Carlos Correa’s turn at the plate, Kelly also threw over his head and then proceeded to strike him out. The two started shouting at one another after the K and the righthander stuck out his lower lip, mocking Correa. Then, the benches cleared.
The Joe Kelly pouty face became an overnight sensation, and the Dodgers even painted it on a mural in their ballpark. I mean, pretty much everyone hates the Astros except their own fans, so this was entertaining. MLB handed Kelly an eight-game suspension that he eventually had reduced to five for his role in instigating the brawl.
Joe Kelly’s statue at Dodger Stadium already in progress pic.twitter.com/EjnTljf5JN
— ESPN Los Angeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) July 29, 2020
Unfortunately, Kelly’s time in Chicago turned out to be anything but amusing. Throughout his one-and-a-half seasons, he was 2-8 with a 5.59 ERA. He was wild, inconsistent, and often injured. There were stretches of brilliance, but that unreliability was always just a pitch away and always when the Sox were at home, seemingly with a lead. He was freakishly horrible at Guaranteed Rate Field in 2022, with an 11.05 ERA versus his 2.82 ERA in away games. It really was too bad, because Kelly seemed like a guy with a South Side personality and a chip on his shoulder. Sox fans typically love those types of players; they get us, and we get them.
As part of the sell-off of 2023, Kelly made his way back to California when Hahn and Co. traded him and Lance Lynn to the Dodgers for Trayce Thompson and prospects Nick Nastrini and Jordan Leasure. This is shaping up to be one heck of an acquisition, as neither Lynn nor Kelly had a place on a rebuilding squad, and Nastrini and Leasure both look to be integral pieces in the future. Nastrini should be a back-end rotation starter, and Leasure has been lights-out in 2024 as a set-up man with a 1.96 ERA, two saves, and a 0.9 WAR.
That brings us to what Kelly has done with the Dodgers since leaving Chi-town. Well, in 2023 he was terrific — WHEN he was healthy. In 11 appearances, Kelly was 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA over 10 1⁄3 innings. But he missed a month with right forearm inflammation, and his injury woes continue. He only pitched 13 1⁄3 innings this year before hitting the IL yet again, this time with a right posterior shoulder strain. Kelly’s 2024 numbers weren’t great before the injury, as he owns a 4.73 ERA and 1.35 WHIP over 15 appearances. At age 35, Kelly’s best days are probably in the rearview mirror at this point. Here’s to a speedy recovery, old friend, and maybe we’ll see you, your pouty face, and your awful G-Rate ERA in June.
Who did you say, again?
Carson Fulmer — RHP
The Sox selected Fulmer out of Vanderbilt University in Round 1 (No. 8) of the 2015 MLB Draft. In a draft that included names like Dansby Swanson, Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Ian Happ, Josh Naylor, and the guy picked right before him at No. 7 (Andrew Benintendi), Fulmer was a high-risk, high-reward guy. He had top-notch stuff but a strange max-effort delivery with violent arm action. His heater sat at 93-95 mph, sometimes topping out at 97 mph, with an elite spin on both the fastball and curveball; but his cross-body throwing style led to concerns about control.
There was once hope that Fulmer could serve as the staff ace and replace the departed Chris Sale. Regrettably, neither Sox fans nor Carson received that high reward; they just got the unfulfilled dreams. Only 13 months after the draft, on July 17, 2016, Fulmer made his big league debut out of the pen. He made eight appearances that year, but didn’t get another shot in the majors in 2017 until August 21, when he made his first major league start. That start was a disaster, as Fulmer surrendered six runs in 1 1⁄3 innings. But the rest of the season did go swimmingly, as Carson collected a 1.64 ERA and three wins in six appearances over 22 innings. That stretch would prove to be his best in a South Side uniform.
The strong finish to the year earned Fulmer a spot in the 2018 starting rotation, but sadly, it didn’t last long; by the end of May, he was back in Charlotte. From then on, it was a yo-yo for Fulmer between the Knights and the Sox over the next two-and-a-half years until Chicago ended the experiment with a DFA in July 2020.
So, what has happened since with all of that unmet promise? Between July 25, 2020, and May 22, 2022, Fulmer was claimed and DFA’d six different times. During that span, he briefly stuck in the bigs with the Cincinnati Reds, where he pitched out of the bullpen for 25 2⁄3 innings and had a 6.66 ERA over 20 games. He spent most of 2022 with the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate, where he did find some success again out of the pen.
The good news is that the 30-year-old has finally settled into a role and found a place to call home. In May 2023, the Angels signed Fulmer to a minor league deal. After he spent most of the season with the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, the Angels activated him as a late-September call-up. Fulmer started 2024 again, with the Bees but has been up with the big league club since April 9. He’s been on a roll with a 2.50 ERA in nine games over 18 innings. It has certainly been a rollercoaster for the righthander, and here’s hoping the ride finally has a storybook ending. Best of luck to you, old friend.
What could have been
Marcus Semien — 2B
The White Sox selected Semien in Round 6 (No. 201) of the 2011 MLB Draft, and the then-shortstop spent parts of two major league seasons (2013 and 2014) on the South Side before being traded in the 2014 offseason to the Oakland Athletics along with Chris Bassitt, Josh Phegley, and Rangel Ravelo in exchange for — yes, you remember — Jeff Samardzija, and Michael Ynoa.
Honestly, it’s hard for me to give Hahn too much grief for this one. MLB never ranked the infielder as a Top 100 prospect, and while he performed pretty well in the minors for the Sox, Semien hadn’t really shown that he was going to be anything but a replacement-level player. The University of California alumnus profiled as an average athlete with some plate discipline and decent bat speed. Who knew he could go on to be a career 44.2 WAR (and counting) player? Sigh. He sure did look nice in the black-and-white pinstripes.
What I can blame Hahn for is getting us Samardzija. The 2014 Sox were terrible, and what made him believe that adding the Shark would advance us to where we needed to be? Well, he definitely didn’t, that’s for sure. Samardzija went 11-13 with a 4.96 ERA. Thanks, Dick.
Semien’s first couple of years in Oakland were good, not great, but he really came into his own in 2019. That year, he slashed .285/.369/.522 with 45 home runs and 102 RBIs. He played all 162 games and finished third in MVP voting. And it’s been mostly all a victory lap for him since. Twice Semien been an All-Star and Silver Slugger, he’s won a Gold Glove, and he is unbelievably healthy and dependable. Last season, Semien was a massive part of the success of the World Series champion Texas Rangers, when he again played all 162 games and finished third in MVP voting. Additionally, four times he’s been chosen as his team's Heart and Hustle Award winner, and last year, he was the MLB’s overall winner. Seems like the Sox sure could use a second baseman like that, right?
The 33-year-old is now in his 12th professional season, and is off to another great start by hitting .276/.320/.464 in 2024. I honestly love to see players who weren’t projected to be much better than average become superstars. Congratulations to you, old friend.