Keynan Middleton was moved from the Southside of Chicago to The Bronx as the Yankees added another piece to the best bullpen in the majors.
The news broke about 10 minutes before Tuesday afternoon’s trade deadline that the White Sox would be trading Middleton to New York in exchange for their 29th ranked prospect, Single-A pitcher Juan Carela.
He was a bright spot in what has been a disappointing year in Chicago.
“It is great to feel wanted around this time,” Middleton told MLBbro.com
“I am excited to go to New York and win. That is all I want to do.”
On the year, Middleton has a 3.36 ERA in 36.1 innings pitched with 47 strikeouts.
He did not allow a single run in the 11.2 innings he threw during the month of May and was solid throughout most of June, but ran into trouble in July posting an 8.64 ERA and allowing four home runs in just nine appearances.
A freshly shaved beard and new beginnings now await Middleton.
He joins a Yankees bullpen that leads the majors with an ERA of 3.10, the next closest team being the Toronto Blue Jays who have theirs sitting at 3.62.
The bullpen is led by former big leaguer and first-round pick Mike Harkey, who has been the team’s bullpen coach for the team since 2016.
Middleton will now play for the fifth different team in his seven-year career.
After being drafted in the third round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels he made his debut with the team in June of 2017 and finished the year with a 3.86 ERA.
Between 2017 and 2018, he had a 1.49 ERA in 27 games but had both seasons cut short due to injuries to his elbow, going under the knife for Tommy John surgery in 2018.
After leaving the Angeles he signed with the 2021 Seattle Mariners who at that moment had the most Black players on a roster in the majors including J.P. Crawford, Justin Dunn, Kyle Lewis, Taylor Trammell and Justus Sheffield.
Middleton spent the 2022 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks before signing with the White Sox in January.
Cheating in professional sports has always been frowned upon. Such was the case with the 2017 Houston Astros involvement in the sign stealing fiasco which ultimately helped the team win the 2017 World Series.
The stench of the tainted championship run has followed all those involved, and MLBbro Kenyan Middleton is making it his mission to not let Carlos Correa forget what he did.
Wednesday the Chicago White Sox faced their division rival Minnesota Twins.
Chicago manager Pedro Grifol elected to go with the seven year MLBbro veteran for the closing of the game.
After the MLBbro struck out Minnesota Twins’ shortstop Carlos Correa, he celebrated with much passion.
Reporters asked Middleton how he felt after blowing a fastball past Correa in the ninth inning. He replied by saying “I don’t like him. I enjoyed that a lot”.
Keynan Middleton Having A Strong Season
Kenyan Middleton spent his first four seasons in the Major Leagues playing for the Los Angeles Angels. Playing against the Astros as a division rival surely helped to fuel some of the disdain that Middleton has for Correa and the 2017 Astro members.
The type of passion shown by the MLBbro after the game is symbolic for the strong season he has gotten off to.
Middleton has appeared in 11 games this season, pitching 9.1 innings. The MLBbro has struck out 17 against only four walks.
With a 2.89 ERA and a whip of 1.393, he has made a strong case for the closer role in the south side of Chicago.
After back-to-back disappointing years with the Seattle Mariners and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the MLBbro is looking to settle into a role with the White Sox.
If he can maintain his current pace, his age-29 season can turn into somewhat of a breakout. If he gets to face Carlos Correa, or the “cheater” as he put it, more often in division matchups perhaps he can add even more motivation to continue his strong performance.
Correa was asked about Middleton’s comments on Thursday, but really didn’t want any smoke. With Minnesota in first place in the AL Central Division, CC doesn’t want to give his rivals any inspiration by engaging in a war of words.
Reliever Keynan Middleton is back, and the Seattle Mariners’ bullpen has to be happy.
Middleton, who had been out since May 5 with a strained bicep, looked strong in his return on Friday night against the San Diego Padres. In fact, the righthander looked a lot like the budding young talent the Mariners had hoped to be getting this offseason.
Middleton pitched one scoreless inning with a walk in a losing effort for the Mariners. But his strong appearance is another sign that the promising pitcher is returning to pre-Tommy John form.
Once dubbed the closer of the future for the Los Angeles Angels organization, Middleton has shown flashes of dominance out the pen.
During the 2020 season, the average velocity of his fastball returned to pre-TJ form (97.1) while he had also added four mph to his slider and changeup. Despite his return to form physically, the Angels decided to cut ties with the promising reliever this offseason, which led to the Oregon native heading back to the Pacific Northwest.
Now in Seattle, Middleton has been able to showcase the velocity and spin that many in the Angels’ organization were unsure was back for good.
As a result of his recent success, many around the Mariners’ organization think he may force manager Scott Servais into a tough decision.
“The returned fastball velocity is one thing — Middleton probably needs it if he hopes to be a solid reliever,” writes SB Nation’s Michael Ajeto. “But an improved slider is his second prerequisite if he hopes to exist in the form of a potent, dominant reliever … If Middleton continues to surge with his fastball velocity and slider, he may add to that. And within a matter of weeks, that may mean putting Rafael Montero out of a job.”
The Black Relief Pitcher
The emergence of Middleton as a dominant reliever would place him amongst a very small distinguished group. The majority of conversations surrounding the lack of Black pitchers in the major league have focused strictly on starting pitching, but there has been little attention given to the lack of Black relief pitchers.
We rightfully speak of the Black Aces with reverence, but when we begin to speak of legendary Black relievers, most fans simply don’t know where to begin. We remember names like Flash Gordon and Lee Smith, but that’s where most conversations end.
This lack of representation in bullpens across the sport is why Middleton’s resurgence is so important. Gordon and Smith are both Top 100 all-time in saves, yet are barely mentioned when we speak of the greatest relievers of all time.
At just 27 years old, Middleton has the potential to build a reputation as one of the best relievers in the game. Boasting a 3.86 ERA with a .86 WHIP in 11 2/3 innings, all the tools are there.
Only time will tell if he can put it all together, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on him here at MLBbro.com.
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