Thursday, February 27, 2020

Dallas Keuchel feels 'phenomenal.' Jace Fry, not so much.

Dallas Keuchel
Dylan Cease is the only member of the White Sox's projected starting rotation to appear in a spring training game thus far.

Reynaldo Lopez had his start Feb. 22 against the Los Angeles Angels rained out. Lucas Giolito is nursing a minor chest strain, and Gio Gonzalez is being held back because of shoulder discomfort.

Free agent acquisition Dallas Keuchel? Well, he's feeling "phenomenal," according to this report from MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

Keuchel's day to pitch was Wednesday, but the Sox were scheduled to face an American League Central rival in the Kansas City Royals. Rather than allow the Royals to get a live look at Keuchel before the actual games begin, the Sox started organizational pitcher Matt Tomshaw and had Keuchel throw a live bullpen session on the back fields at Camelback Ranch.

The report says Keuchel "got up and down three times," which is a fancy way to say he threw the equivalent of three innings. Keuchel says he's throwing his breaking ball more now than he has at this same time in previous years.

Frankly, I'm wishing for some televised games, so we could get a look at some of these guys ourselves.

Fry dealing with back strain

Jace Fry, projected to be the second left-hander in the Sox's bullpen, is sidelined by back soreness. The issue is said to be minor.

If that injury ends up lingering, it could open the door for nonroster invitee Adalberto Mejia to make the roster. Mejia tossed a scoreless inning Thursday in a 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Mejia has 62 games of MLB experience, including 25 starts, all with the Minnesota Twins. Actually, Mejia may be a candidate for the eighth spot in the bullpen, even if Fry is healthy. The Sox need a guy who can work multiple innings in long relief, and well, Mejia may be able to do that job better than Carson Fulmer.

That's one of the roster battles playing out as the spring progresses.

No comments:

Post a Comment