(670 The Score) On the first day of the MLB offseason, the White Sox decided to part ways with a member of their rotation and bring back a go-to reliever.
The White Sox have declined the $16-million team option on right-hander James Shields, they announced Monday afternoon, choosing instead to pay him a $2-million buyout. That will make Shields a free agent.
The team also picked up the $4.65-million team option for 2019 on righty reliever Nate Jones.
The exit of the 36-year-old Shields was expected. He has struggled mightily since the White Sox acquired him during the 2016 season, posting a 5.31 ERA in his Chicago tenure. Shields was 7-16 with a 4.53 ERA and and 1.31 WHIP in 34 appearances, including 33 starts, in 2018.
Jones, 32, had a 3.00 ERA in 33 appearances this past season, which included him missing a long stretch with a pronator muscle strain in his right arm. He has a 3.11 ERA in seven-year big league career, the entirety which has been spent in a White Sox uniform. The team still holds a 5.15-million option on Jones in 2020 and a $6-million option in 2021.
In a procedural move, the White Sox also reinstated 22-year-old right-hander Michael Kopech from the 60-day disabled list. He underwent Tommy John surgery in September and will miss all of 2019.
The White Sox's 40-man roster now sits at 34 players.
