The Chicago White Sox might not be as bad as the Colorado Rockies this season, but they’re still one of the worst teams in the league. The acquisition of Vinny Capra off waivers shows why, and sparked yet more outrage from a very frustrated fan base.
While the White Sox do deserve credit for paying attention to the waiver wire in an attempt to upgrade their team, the fan base wonders what exactly they see here. To be honest, it’s hard to blame them.
Capra had just four hits in 54 at-bats for the Milwaukee Brewers this season before they DFA’d him (.074 batting average). He has 12 hits in 86 at-bats (.105 BA) at the MLB level in parts of four big-league seasons for three different teams. To cap it off, he’s 28 years old, so it’s not as if he’s a major future play. Again, what do the White Sox see here?
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White Sox latest acquisition has the fan base in shambles, and for good reason
If Capra had a .251 average, that would be alright. In fact, nowadays, a .251 average would be a tick above average. If he had a .251 on-base percentage that wouldn’t be good, but for a 26th man on a bad roster, that wouldn’t be the end of the world. A .251 OPS, though, is horrific. Sure, he only has 59 plate appearances, but among the 359 position players with at least 50 plate appearances, Capra’s .251 OPS ranks 358th. The only player below him is his new teammate, Jacob Amaya, who has a .2244 OPS.
How a player who has struggled this much is in the majors is beyond me. Perhaps if Capra were a 21-year-old rookie, it’d be fair to let him push through his struggles, especially on a bad team. However, he’s 28 years old. He has an uninspiring .748 career OPS across six minor league seasons and has been completely overmatched at the MLB level. The White Sox are bad, but how can rostering him be justified? Can they really not find a better or younger player to be on the team over him?
White Sox fans want him DFA’d in record time, and it’s hard to blame them. Clearly, GM Chris Getz sees something in him to justify making this move, so he won’t be DFA’d yet, but you’d have to imagine his leash is short.
The one possible silver lining for White Sox fans is that perhaps Capra can be the next Shane Smith. The White Sox selected Smith in the Rule-5 Draft from the Brewers’ organization, and he’s been a godsend in their rotation. If this works out half as well, White Sox fans will be thrilled. Unfortunately, there’s no real reason to expect that.
