Criswell and the Sox worked out an $800,000 contract last month. While the righty committed a fully guaranteed salary slightly above the MLB minimum, that also indicated a likely DFA this offseason. It has become increasingly common for teams to make slightly above minimum deals on players they are considering cutting from the 40-man roster. The salary could be a small deterrent for another team to file a waiver claim. Perhaps more importantly, it gives the player an incentive to accept a minor league assignment if he/she succeeds.
The 29-year-old Criswell was outrighted by the Rays during the 2022 season. That gives him the right to refuse future outrights in his career. Criswell would have opted for free agency had the Sox put him through waivers earlier this winter. He’s less likely to walk away from guaranteed money, so the Sox could move him to Triple-A if no other team files a claim.
Criswell had a decent season in a swing role in 2024. He logged a career-high 99 1/3 innings pitched with a 4.08 earned run average. He doesn’t have huge speed or swing-and-miss potential, but he threw strikes and caught a decent amount of ground balls. He didn’t get nearly as much work in the big league last season. Criswell logged 17 2/3 frames with a 3.57 ERA over seven appearances. He spent the remainder of the season at Triple-A Worcester, pitching to a 3.70 ERA with an above-average strikeout rate of 24.5% over 65 2/3 frames.
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