Once a Blue Jays fan favourite, Ryan Goins has reportedly agreed to terms with the Chicago White Sox.
According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, the rebuilding Chicago White Sox are signing former Toronto Blue Jays infielder Ryan Goins to a minor-league deal that includes an invite to major-league spring training. Cotillo also adds that if Goins makes it to the majors, he will have a $975,000 base salary.
Goins had previously been designated for assignment by his former team, the Kansas City Royals, on June 28 to make room on the 40-man roster. He spent the 2018 season in the Royals organization after parts of five seasons with the Blue Jays.
In 2018, he slashed a paltry .226/.252/.313 with the Royals and smashed one home run and eight doubles in 41 games. For his career, he’s appeared in 489 big league contests and carries a slash line of .228/.274/.333.
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Though an excellent defender, Goins, 30, has consistently struggled to reach base with any degree of regularity, as evidenced by his career 90 walks in over 1500 plate appearances. His career OPS+ is 64, and he has logged innings at shortstop, second base, third base, first base, and in the outfield. He also, funnily enough, pitched one inning for the Jays in 2016.
The owner of a career .989 fielding percentage, Goins could possibly sneak his way on the White Sox 40-man roster from his glove alone, but he’ll likely have to do some work in Spring Training in order to make his bat strong enough to crack a big-league roster.
While in Toronto, Goins was known as a friendly teammate who was especially close with pitcher Marcus Stroman. Goins was non-tendered on December 1, 2017, and signed with the Royals two months later. He also spent three months at the end of the 2018 season with the Philadelphia Phillies, playing primarily for their Triple-A affiliate, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.