Diamondbacks' Seby Zavala: Claimed by Diamondbacks
Rotowire
Zavala was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Zavala was designated for assignment by the White Sox earlier this week but has found a new home and goes to a team in playoff contention. The 30-year-old is out of options, so he'll head straight to the major-league club.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Loses 40-man spot
Rotowire
The White Sox activated Zavala (oblique) from the 10-day injured list and designated him for assignment Monday.
The move comes as somewhat of a surprise, as Zavala had been seeing the bulk of the starts at catcher prior to straining his oblique in early August. However, the White Sox are prepared to go with Korey Lee and Yasmani Grandal as their catching duo down the stretch. Zavala has a career .613 OPS over parts of four big-league seasons, but with so many teams looking for catching depth, it's possible he gets claimed on waivers.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Rehab assignment on tap
Rotowire
The White Sox announced Sunday that Zavala (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte in the coming days, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Zavala has been on the injured list for two weeks due to a strained left oblique, but he appears to be closing in on a return since he's been cleared to resume game action in the minors. If all goes well during his rehab assignment, it's possible he rejoins the major-league club sometime this week.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Out with oblique strain
Rotowire
Zavala was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a strained left oblique.
Zavala has apparently been dealing with the injury for the past few days since he hasn't seen the field since going 1-for-3 with a solo homer Wednesday. Carlos Perez was called up in a corresponding move, while Yasmani Grandal should serve as the White Sox's top option behind the plate.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Losing work to Grandal
Rotowire
Zavala is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Beginning July 26, Zavala began a stretch in which he made six starts behind the dish in seven games, but he's now been on the bench for four consecutive contests. With Zavala having mustered a lowly .439 OPS since the beginning of July, the White Sox appear to have pulled the plug on him as their primary catcher and have turned those duties back over to Yasmani Grandal.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Picking up more work
Rotowire
Zavala will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Rangers.
Zavala will be making his sixth start behind the plate in seven games, though Yasmani Grandal was simultaneously included in the lineup at first base for one of those contests. For the third game in a row, however, Grandal finds himself on the bench, so unless he's dealing with an unreported illness or injury, he appears to have ceded the No. 1 catcher's role to Zavala. Given that Zavala is getting on base at a .133 clip in 10 games since the All-Star break, he's not yet doing anything to run away with the job.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Sitting Friday
Rotowire
Zavala is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Twins.
Zavala will remain on the bench for a second straight game Friday. Yasmani Grandal will start at catcher and bat sixth in the series opener with Minnesota.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Resting Wednesday
Rotowire
Zavala is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.
Zavala will take a seat after going 1-for-10 at the dish while starting at catcher in each of Chicago's last three contests. He appeared to overtake Yasmani Grandal as the team's preferred catcher shortly before the All-Star break, but the White Sox were able to find room for both players in the lineup over the last three games by deploying Grandal at designated hitter. Grandal will remain the team's DH on Wednesday, but Carlos Perez will swap in for Zavala behind the plate.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Stealing work from Grandal
Rotowire
Zavala will start at catcher and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
Though the White Sox recently added a third catcher (Carlos Perez) to the active roster, his addition hasn't prompted manager Pedro Grifol to make major use of Yasmani Grandal or Zavala at designated hitter. Instead, it's been Zavala who has emerged as the primary backstop, while Grandal has lost out on playing time. Zavala will be behind the dish for the sixth time in eight games Sunday and has earned the extra work by supplying a 1.117 OPS since June 28. At least until his bat cools down, Zavala looks like he'll continue to operate as Chicago's preferred catcher.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Playing time trending up
Rotowire
Zavala will start at catcher and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Athletics.
With top backstop Yasmani Grandal getting the day off, Zavala will enter the lineup for the fourth time in five games. With manager Pedro Grifol having shown an increased willingness to deploy Grandal at designated hitter of late, Zavala could continue to see more playing time than the typical No. 2 backstop. Zavala helped his case for earning more work by slugging two home runs in an 11-5 win over the Angels on Wednesday, but he's still holding down a weak .552 OPS on the season.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Goes deep twice Wednesday
Rotowire
Zavala went 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs and four RBI in Wednesday's 11-5 win over the Angels.
Zavala had gone just 1-for-20 across 10 games since his previous multi-homer game June 6 versus the Yankees. The catcher remains in a backup role behind Yasmani Grandal, which gives Zavala few opportunities to prove himself. While he's up to six homers on the year, the 29-year-old has slashed just .168/.200/.336 with 15 RBI, 11 runs scored and a stolen base over 120 plate appearances.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Smashes two long balls
Rotowire
Zavala went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a two-run homer in Tuesday's 3-2 victory over the Yankees.
Zavala was the lone source of offense for the ChiSox on Tuesday, tagging Clarke Schmidt for long balls in the third and fifth innings to drive in all three of the team's runs. The home runs were his third and fourth of the season and marked his first since May 6 (19 games). Tuesday's outing was also his first multi-homer game since July 31, 2021. Despite the pair of long balls, Zavala has struggled in 2023, slashing .170/.204/.318 across 93 plate appearances.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Retreats to bench Monday
Rotowire
Zavala is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Royals.
Zavala had started at catcher in three of the White Sox's previous four games, in part due to the fact that Yasmani Grandal had been limited to designated-hitter duties while dealing with a back spasm. With Grandal reprising his usual duties behind the plate Monday, Zavala will retreat to the bench and may see more sporadic playing time moving forward.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Tallies second homer
Rotowire
Zavala went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Saturday against the Reds.
Zavala picked up a rare start behind the plate and took advantage by slugging his second home run of the season. With Eloy Jimenez (abdomen) sidelined for at least the next month, the White Sox could opt to get Yasmani Grandal more plate appearances as the designated hitter -- in turn opening more playing time for Zavala at catcher. Zavala hasn't dictated that outcome with his performance to this point in the season, as he has just a .179 average and 62 wRC+ across 42 plate appearances.
Zavala went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in Saturday's loss to the Astros.
Zavala got his first start of the year in the White Sox's third game and made the most of it, homering off Jose Urquidy in the fourth inning. He should continue to serve as the White Sox's backup catcher unless Yasmani Grandal gets injured.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Looking to secure backup role
Rotowire
Zavala has appeared in five Cactus League games to date, going 3-for-9 with a home run and a 3:4 BB:K.
Zavala closed the 2022 season on the injured list with a concussion, but he's back to full health for spring training and will be looking to lock down the No. 2 catcher role behind Yasmani Grandal. He may face some competition for those duties from 26-year-old prospect Carlos Perez, but because Perez has two minor-league options remaining, Zavala most likely has the inside track for the backup gig. Zavala helped his case by producing at an above-league-average level at the plate in his 205 plate appearances a season ago (.270/.347/.382 slash line, 111 wRC+), and he also graded out favorably as a defender.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: To IL with concussion
Rotowire
Zavala was placed on the 7-day concussion injured list Tuesday.
Zavala will be eligible to return Oct. 2 in San Diego, but it's possible his season is over due to the concussion. Carlos Perez was recalled to take over the backup catcher duties.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Drives in pair
Rotowire
Zavala went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored Saturday against the Twins.
Zavala had been out of the lineup for the team's last three games since the return of Yasmani Grandal. Zavala tallied a two-run single with position player Nick Gordon on the mound in the eighth inning of the blowout 13-0 win. He will find regular plate appearances hard to come by so long as Grandal is healthy, but Zavala has maintained a strong .276/.349/.388 line across 174 plate appearances on the season.
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White Sox's Seby Zavala: Cedes catching duties to Grandal
Rotowire
Zavala is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.
With Yasmani Grandal (knee) returning to action Wednesday and starting behind the plate following a minimum-length stay on the injured list, Zavala's reign as the White Sox's clear No. 1 catcher will come to an end. While Grandal's longer track record of success at the big-league level gives him a decent amount of leash, Zavala's superior production this season could be enough for him to stick around in a timeshare with Grandal. Zavala owns a .743 OPS over 170 plate appearances in 2022, a stark contrast to Grandal's .566 OPS over 290 plate appearances.
