So the White Sox would have been wrong to not call up Kopech this year, but in 2020 when they expect to be good, sending him down because of service time is a pretty good idea? WTF? 

8 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

No they weren't.  When he was originally optioned after his minor league rehab was maxed out in July sometime, you could make an argument it was performance based.  Since he came off the minor league DL again in mid-August, he hit .365/.400/.550 in AAA and plays gold glove caliber defense.  The Twins made the decision they made 100% completely and solely due to getting an extra year of control. 

If they can do that with a guy with over 300 games played in the MLB, the Sox can option a kid with 14 innings pitched in the big leagues, coming off a major elbow injury and who hasn't pitched in a game that counts in 20 months.  

When they sent him down, he had a .383 OPS going at the major league level.

36 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

So the White Sox would have been wrong to not call up Kopech this year, but in 2020 when they expect to be good, sending him down because of service time is a pretty good idea? WTF? 

By that point he will not have pitched in a game in 20 months and is pitching with a newly constructed UCL.  Slightly different circumstances.  And for the record, I was never really in support in Kopech getting called up this year,  Once it was done, I certainly looked forward to and enjoyed watching him pitch, and also understood that things are bit different for pitchers than position players.  But I would have left him in AAA with Eloy.  Obviously I would never in a million years wish ill upon the kid, but what has transpired is pretty much the worst case scenario in that now ~20% of his service time with Sox is down the drain assuming the Sox don't option him out of ST 2020. 

35 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

When they sent him down, he had a .383 OPS going at the major league level.

And when rosters expanded 10 days ago, he'd been raking for a few weeks in AAA and was by far the best CF option in the organization.  Yet they told him to go home because 10 more days on the 25 man meant they get him one less season.    

 

Just now, ChiSox59 said:

By that point he will not have pitched in a game in 20 months and is pitching with a newly constructed UCL.  Slightly different circumstances.  And for the record, I was never really in support in Kopech getting called up this year,  Once it was done, I certainly looked forward to and enjoyed watching him pitch, and also understood that things are bit different for pitchers than position players.  But I would have left him in AAA with Eloy.  Obviously I would never in a million years wish ill upon the kid, but what has transpired is pretty much the worst case scenario in that now ~20% of his service time with Sox is down the drain assuming the Sox don't option him out of ST 2020. 

And when rosters expanded 10 days ago, he'd been raking for a few weeks in AAA and was by far the best CF option in the organization.  Yet they told him to go home because 10 more days on the 25 man meant they get him one less season.    

 

Sure.  But they still have a failure at the major league level to lean on.  The Sox would have nothing.

7 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Sure.  But they still have a failure at the major league level to lean on.  The Sox would have nothing.

I have to imagine that there are guys out there who have gone done for TJS with less than 50 innings pitched in the big leagues that were optioned before appearing in another big league game.  I don't really care to spend the time to look it up, but I don't think the Sox would blazing some new trail.  

I get the optics may not be fantastic, and for that reason, maybe they don't do it.  But it seems to make a ton of sense in salvaging something out of pretty much worst case scenario the past couple weeks have been for Kopech. 

12 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

I have to imagine that there are guys out there who have gone done for TJS with less than 50 innings pitched in the big leagues that were optioned before appearing in another big league game.  I don't really care to spend the time to look it up, but I don't think the Sox would blazing some new trail.  

I get the optics may not be fantastic, and for that reason, maybe they don't do it.  But it seems to make a ton of sense in salvaging something out of pretty much worst case scenario the past couple weeks have been for Kopech. 

I would love to hear of one, because I can't recall any.

The team supposedly won't be in rebuilding mode when he should be ready to return. The only way he is sent down is if he isn't one of their better pitchers at the time, which can either mean something really good or really bad. 

To have the service time clock stopped, Kopech would have to be sent down for “performance”  reasons. Spending time in the minors as a rehab project doesn’t stop the clock. 

  Very likely the Sox will nuance this grey area and get that lost year of service time back after 6 weeks. 

Edited September 11, 20187 yr by Baker

2 hours ago, Baker said:

To have the service time clock stopped, Kopech would have to be sent down for “performance”  reasons. Spending time in the minors as a rehab project doesn’t stop the clock. 

  Very likely the Sox will nuance this grey area and get that lost year of service time back after 6 weeks. 

Hypothetically, he would have to come off the DL at the end of 2019. Therefore, I'm not sure a trip to the minors to open 2020 is considered a rehab assignment.

The Sox were so thoughtful in bringing him up early to start the clock I'm sure Kopech will be kind enough to return the favor for them.