The White Sox announced their previously-reported waiver claim of catcher Jake Rogers. To open a 40-man roster spot, left-hander Joe Rock has been designated for assignment.
Rock, 26, was just acquired from the Rays in May. The Sox sent infielder Oliver Dunn to Tampa in order to acquire the lefty. Since then, Rock has mostly been kept on optional assignment. He has only made four major league appearances for the big league club, allowing four earned runs in 10 1/3 innings with 12 strikeouts but 11 walks, two hit batters and a wild pitch.
The lack of control has been an issue for Rock in the minors this year as well. He has logged 32 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 6.89 earned run average. His 28.1% strikeout rate and 50.6% ground ball rate are strong figures but he has walked 31 of the 171 batters he has faced, an awful 18.1% rate. He has also hit six batters, so that’s 21.6% of opponents getting a free trip to first base.
The wildness has pushed him off the roster and into DFA limbo. With the trade deadline having passed, he’ll be on waivers in the coming days. He is still optionable for the rest of this year and will still have one more option year after that.
Perhaps that roster flexibility will give him some appeal, along with his past results. From 2023 to 2025, he logged 329 minor league innings with a 4.79 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate. He has been moved to a primary relief role this year. The early results haven’t been especially encouraging but perhaps some other club sees light at the end of the tunnel or would want to stretch him back out again.
Photo courtesy of John Jones, Imagn Images
