The Chicago White Sox signed veteran right-hander Javy Guerra to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Charlotte two days after he was released by the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, the Gwinnett Stripers.
The Chicago White Sox moved quickly to add depth to their pitching staff, signing veteran right-handed reliever Javy Guerra to a minor league contract and assigning him to Triple-A Charlotte on Saturday.
The timing carries its own weight: it came two days after Guerra was released by the Atlanta Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, the Gwinnett Stripers.
Guerra. 30. spent the last two seasons with the Nippon Professional Baseball’s Hanshin Tigers after returning to the United States this offseason. His 2024 season in Japan ended with a 1.55 ERA across 58 innings and 14 saves, a stretch that also came with improved command. Opponents managed only a 4.9% walk rate during that run.
That upward momentum wasn’t sustained into his second year overseas. Guerra appeared in only six games in his follow-up season, and that limited body of work left his next step in MLB organizations uncertain.
He first re-entered major-league organization baseball in January, when he signed a minor league deal with the Braves. With Gwinnett, he posted a 5.68 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP across 25.1 innings in 16 appearances. He struck out 17 batters while issuing 20 walks during that stretch. His spring training didn’t soften the picture—he allowed five earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings.
Across his major league career, Guerra has appeared in parts of five seasons, primarily with the San Diego Padres. His most recent appearance in the majors came in 2023 with the Tampa Bay Rays.
It is a familiar kind of reset for a veteran reliever: a new contract, a new stop in Triple-A with the Charlotte assignment as the immediate landing point, and the expectation that he can turn a rougher stretch into something serviceable again.
Chicago White Sox Javy Guerra Triple-A Charlotte Gwinnett Stripers Atlanta Braves Hanshin Tigers minor league contract right-handed reliever MLB
So they signed him after the Braves dropped him… sounds like a waste but ok.
Wait is this the guy who had like a 1.55 ERA or am I mixing him up? Braves cut him and Sox grab him two days later… chaos lol. Hope it works out.
If he’s going to Charlotte that means he’s basically not making the MLB roster, right? Like why even call it a gamble if he’s just stuck in Triple-A again. Also 20 walks in 25 innings sounds not great… but maybe he just needed a new catcher.
I don’t get it. The Braves release him from Gwinnett and then two days later the White Sox sign him like it’s some big brain move. Isn’t that what teams do when they’re desperate though? Plus he went from Japan to MLB orgs and his spring numbers were bad, so… I guess we’ll see? Sox are gonna Sox.