It is great to see the Chicago White Sox dumping their worst pitcher after just one week of the regular season, but even after pitching a total of 3.2 innings, it was painfully clear that right-handed reliever José Ruiz had no place in the bullpen.

White Sox DFA José Ruiz

On Friday morning, the White Sox announced that they designated Ruiz for assignment, getting him off the team’s active roster. The 28-year-old pitcher is being replaced by Jesse Scholtens.

Ruiz began the 2023 season with a scoreless inning of relief against the Houston Astros in the team’s second game. However, the righty proceeded to give up nine earned runs in 2.2 innings in the next three appearances. That included giving up three home runs and seven earned runs against the San Francisco Giants this week.

Ruiz has a career 4.53 ERA in 178 appearances, 177 of which have come with the White Sox since 2018.

This past offseason, the White Sox decided to bring back Ruiz, tendering him a contract and agreed to pay him $925K for the 2023 season. It was somewhat of a surprise because Ruiz hasn’t necessarily been a solid reliever, doing his best work in low leverage situations. But maybe the White Sox sticking with him shows the lack of options or maybe it is the lack of confidence in the options they have in the minor leagues.

Last year, Ruiz had a 4.60 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 63 relief outings. There is always going to be one pitcher in the bullpen who is tasked to eat innings in blowouts and that was basically Ruiz’s role for a few years now. There were times Ruiz was trusted in high leverage spots and as White Sox fans, that did not work out most of the time. His best season with the White Sox came in 2021, when Ruiz had a 3.05 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 59 games, striking out 63 batters in 65 innings.

Ruiz had some White Sox fans thinking he had some untapped potential, as he looked great pitching for Venezuela in this year’s World Baseball Classic. He definitely looked good in some high pressure spots in that tournament, with a playoff-like atmosphere against the United States in the quarterfinals Ruiz pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, striking out two and allowing only one hit against a potent lineup.

But when a pitcher has a track record of middling results, a team can’t continue to wait on any perceived potential to be fulfilled. Especially the White Sox, who after a brutal 2022 season, cannot afford to get off to another slow start. There is no room for error on this roster and they have to try and find advantages anywhere they can. That includes replacing José Ruiz, who wasn’t high on the totem pole in the bullpen.

Jesse Scholtens

Right-handed pitcher Jesse Scholtens is a career minor leaguer, with 633.1 innings across his pro career since being drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2016. The 29-year-old made 15 starts and made 37 total outings in 2022 at Triple-A, posting a 4.10 ERA in 83.1 innings. Overall, Scholtens has recorded a 4.29 ERA in the minor leagues.

The White Sox signed Scholtens to a minor league deal this past offseason after seven years in San Diego’s farm system.