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White Sox Avoid Arbitration With Jennings, Petricka
The White Sox avoided arbitration with relievers Dan Jennings and Jake Petricka. Jennings will make $1.4 million while Petricka will make $825K.
The Chicago White Sox took a step to improve their bullpen. Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets the team avoided arbitration with left hander Dan Jennings while Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets they avoided arbitration with right hander Jake Petricka. Jennings will make $1.4 million next season while Petricka will earn $825K.
Jennings was a top option in the bullpen last season. In 64 appearances, the southpaw was 4-3 with a 2.08 ERA. He struck out 46, which was a career high. Petricka meanwhile appeared in only nine games while posting at 4.50 ERA. The 28-year-old underwent season-ending hip surgery in June.
The bullpen was a major area of concern last season. At times, the bullpen would surrender leads when the starters pitched well. Jennings was one of the best options the team had. The loss of Petricka really hurt the organization. He pitched well in previous seasons for the White Sox. They will definitely count on him next season. Hopefully Jennings can perform just as well too. That would give the team an improved bullpen when the duo is paired with Nate Jones.
It seems Rick Hahn got both players back at a bargain. They didn’t have to break the bank and they are bringing back two guys that will help a bullpen that struggled all last season. Jennings exceeded expectations. It seemed like everyone else struggled. An improved bullpen will help this team tremendously.
Part of the problem last season was former manager Robin Ventura couldn’t be confident in them. It seemed like he had to constantly rely on guys like Matt Albers, who weren’t pitching well. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction and the bullpen can get back on track in 2017.
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