The White Sox announced that they have claimed infielder/outfielder Vinny Capra off waivers from the Brewers. He had been designated for assignment by Milwaukee last week. The Sox opened a 40-man spot recently by designating Gage Workman for assignment, so no corresponding move will be necessary there. Capra is out of options, so the Sox will need to open active roster space once he reports to the club.
Capra, 28, has been a good minor league performer in his career but hasn’t really had a chance to carve out a major league career. He has appeared in each of the four most recent major league seasons but has only been sent up to the plate 96 times over those campaigns. He has produced a dismal .105/.170/.163 line in those.
But on the farm, he received 1,287 plate appearances from 2021 to 2024. He drew walks in 11.4% of those while limiting strikeouts to an 18.6% clip. He had a combined .287/.376/.431 line and 118 wRC+ over those seasons. He also stole 25 bases while bouncing around the diamond. He has played every position except first base, though that includes just one inning as a catcher and just a third of an inning on the mound.
The Brewers apparently thought there was a chance of Capra being a useful big league player. They claimed him off waivers from the Pirates in 2023. Coming into 2025, he had exhausted his option years but earned an Opening Day roster spot by hitting .292/.358/.729 in spring training. However, he didn’t carry it over into the regular season, which nudged him off the roster and onto the waiver wire.
The Chicago roster is a bit of a motley crew right now. After losing 121 games last year, they are giving playing time to guys like Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Vaughn, with the club hoping those guys can build trade value in the coming months. Meanwhile, guys like Miguel Vargas and Chase Meidroth are attempting to establish themselves as bonafide major leaguers and form part of the next core. Capra will jump in there and can bounce around to multiple spots. If he can get some plate appearances and produce some offense like he has in the minors, he’ll be a nice pickup for the Sox.
Photo courtesy of Benny Sieu, Imagn Images