White Sox - Signed Ward

Chicago White Sox - Signed PH Daryle Ward to a minor-league contract.

It’s hard to believe that Ward’s going to turn 34 this year.

Two things are working against Ward.  First, while he’s a pretty good pinch-hitter (a .700 OPS is actually pretty good), with modern bullpens that look like a Verizon commercial, the professional pinch-hitter is almost extinct.  Still plenty of pinch-hitting going on, but not many teams want to use a roster spot unless the player can play defense as well.  Ward, of course, plays defense about as well as the Italian Tenth Army.

I’m pulling this out of my ass, but I suspect that Ward faces a harder path because everyone remembers that he was supposed to be a big hitter, but never really developed.  He certainly looks like a guy who should have some game-breaking power, but he really doesn’t and has managed a measly 15 home runs per 162 games in the majors.

Ward started the season in the Atlantic League, so his services haven’t exactly been sought after since he was cut by the Reds.  It’s still possible that Ward sees some time in the majors as the Charlotte Knights are rather thin in hitting prospects.

2009 ZiPS Projection - Daryle Ward
———————————————————————————————————-

Period         AB   R    H  2B 3B  HR RBI  BB  SO  SB    BA   OBP   SLG 
———————————————————————————————————-

Year-to-Date    0   0    0   0  0   0   0   0   0   0  .000  .000  .000   

Rest-of-Yr    102  12   28   7  0   3  15  14  20   0  .271  .360  .437 
———————————————————————————————————-

Total         102  12   28   7  0   3  15  14  20   0  .271  .360  .437 
———————————————————————————————————-
Year-to-date and totals include minor-league translations, if applicable