White Sox pitching prospect Jordan Leasure.
Chicago White Sox
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Jordan Leasure hears the chatter. The White Sox have not identified their closer for 2024, at least not publicly, but his name is one that pops up in closer conversations.
“I mean, outside people mention it and obviously, as a reliever, who doesn’t want to be in that role?” Leasure said.
Leasure has not pitched in the major leagues and hasn’t even made the team yet, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves. He has all of 13 1/3 innings of Triple-A experience, and that didn’t exactly distinguish him. He posted a 6.08 ERA at Charlotte after the Sox acquired him in a trade with the Dodgers.
But Leasure came to camp well-regarded, acquired with right-hander Nick Nastrini – another prospect with aspirations for making his major league debut soon – in the mid-season deal for veteran pitchers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly. His three-pitch mix includes an upper-90s fastball, 88-mph slider with bite and a curveball.
He arrived at camp on the heels of a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League – 1.08 ERA, 13 strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings — and he has impressed in spring training, in his bullpens and live batting practice sessions and in three Cactus League relief appearances.
“He’s got a nice carry fastball, getting to the top of the zone very easily,” pitching coach Ethan Katz said. “Worked on the curveball this offseason, a little bit in the Fall League and he was landing that. And he has a wipeout slider. It’s a nice three-pitch mix, but the fastball gets on guys.”
“What’s not to like?” manager Pedro Grifol said. “He throws a ton of strikes. He’s got plus-plus stuff. He’s got three pitches. He’s a good athlete. He repeats his delivery. He’s competing for a job. He really is.”
Whether the job is in ninth inning remains to be seen. For a team not built to win, identifying a closer doesn’t need to be a top priority.
Leasure, 25, is certainly willing.
“That’s a role you want to be in,” he said. “Just when it comes to helping the team win. I don’t know when it is, this year or next year or whenever that is, it would be great. But until then my goal is to make the team and help the team win.”
John Brebbia, signed to a $5.5 million deal as a free agent in the offseason, has high-leverage work, perhaps in the ninth inning, in his Sox future, although he is out with a right calf strain. Brebbia is slated to throw a bullpen Thursday, his first in two weeks as he aims to be ready by Opening Day. But Brebbia, who posted a 3.18 ERA in a National League high 76 appearances for the Giants in 2022, has two career saves.
Left-handed submariner Tim Hill, another free-agent acquisition expected to be used late, has four career saves. Experienced non-roster invitees such as Jesse Chavez, 40, are competing for jobs, too.
“We have talent and we have good arms,” Grifol said. “We have guys who are really intriguing, guys who’ve done it before, guys who’ve been in the big leagues and are coming in great shape. And showing the ability to pitch in those leverage situations. So it’s actually been fun to try to sort through this stuff and. And everybody has different ideas on what it’s going to look like. But it’s tough to say.”
The Sox won’t want to thrust Leasure, who with Double-A Tulsa last season had nine saves, a 3.09 ERA and 56 strikeouts and 16 walks in 35 innings, into such a high-profile role without confidence that he won’t fail. Easing him in seems the most logical avenue.
“The White Sox definitely see something in me,” Leasure said. “Just take that, run with it and try to help them any way I can.”
Leasure has appeared in three games, pitching one inning each outing without allowing a run. He has five strikeouts, and two walks and two hits allowed.
“It’s feeling great, the body is feeling great,” he said. “Still building up, getting more comfortable. I couldn’t be happier with how I feel.”