White Sox call up 3B prospect Bryan Ramos, win series at St. Louis

In a surprise move, the White Sox called up the No. 4-ranked prospect in their farm system, Bryan Ramos, before the start of Saturday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Danny Mendick went on the 10-day injured list with a back strain, and with Yoan Moncada (adductor strain) still months away from a potential return, the Sox found themselves with a hole at third base.

Both Lenyn Sosa and Ramos were already on the 40-man roster, and with Sosa having fumbled his previous opportunities in the majors, the Sox decided the time was right to give the 22-year-old Ramos a shot. 

This was unexpected because Ramos was off to a slow start in Double-A Birmingham this season. He was batting .182/.265/.307 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 24 games at the time of his recall. But, he was on a eight-game hitting streak.

Ramos got his first start with the Sox on Sunday, and he showed well. He went 1 for 3 with a single, a sacrifice fly, an RBI and a run scored in a 5-1 victory over the Cardinals.

The Sox won two out of three in the series. Here's a look back at the weekend:

Friday, May 3

Cardinals 3, White Sox 0. The problems in the first game of a series continued for the Sox. In those situations, they are 1-10 and have been outscored 61-13.

The Sox managed only three hits in this game off St. Louis starter Sonny Gray (4-1) and two Cardinals relievers. 

Brad Keller (0-1) made his first start since joining the Sox, allowing three earned runs over 4.2 innings pitched. 

Saturday, May 4

White Sox 6, Cardinals 5 (10 inn.). Tommy Pham's RBI single with one out in the top of the 10th put the Sox ahead to stay, but this win didn't come without some drama.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the 10th inning before Sox reliever John Brebbia rallied to strike out Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn. Sometime during Winn's at-bat, it started pouring rain. 

Brebbia fired strike one to Nolan Gorman with the bases loaded and two outs, but with the field quickly becoming a muddy mess, umpires called for the tarp. The rain delay lasted three hours, three minutes.

After that delay, Brebbia had to be pulled from the game. Lefty Tanner Banks relieved him when play resumed, and St. Louis countered by sending right-handed-hitting Ivan Herrera to the plate to pinch hit for Gorman. 

Five pitches later, the game was over. Banks struck out Herrera looking on questionable call to pick up his first save of the season.

Catcher Korey Lee lead the Sox offense, going 2 for 4 with a two-run single in the sixth inning that tied the game at 5. Michael Kopech (1-3) pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth for his first win of the season.

Sunday, May 5

White Sox 5, Cardinals 1. A four-run top of the seventh broke open a 1-all tie and propelled the Sox to one of their cleaner victories of 2024.

Eloy Jimenez started the seventh-inning rally with his fourth home run of the year. Gavin Sheets doubled and scored on another double by Paul DeJong. Ramos singled to put runners on first and third, then Braden Shewmake's RBI single made it 4-1. A sacrifice fly by Robbie Grossman scored Ramos to cap the scoring.

That made a winner out of Garrett Crochet (2-4), who tossed six innings of one-run ball. He struck out six, walked nobody and allowed only three hits. Steven Wilson, Jordan Leasure and Brebbia each worked a scoreless inning out of the bullpen to close the series.

The Sox are 8-26. They next head to Tampa Bay for a three-game series that begins Monday night.

Yoan Moncada injured in White Sox win at Cleveland

Yoan Moncada (right)

During spring training, White Sox designated hitter Eloy Jimenez said his goal was to play 150 games during the 2024 season, alongside teammates Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert Jr.

That's not looking possible right now. Only 11 games into the season, Jimenez and Robert are already on the injured list, and Moncada is almost certainly heading there after suffering an adductor strain during Tuesday's 7-5 victory over the Cleveland Guardians.

Moncada was ... wait for it ... running to first base in the second inning after hitting a grounder to the left side of the infield. He went down as if he were shot about halfway down the line and rolled around in agony.

After the game, manager Pedro Grifol described Moncada as being in "severe pain" on the field. He added that more would be known tomorrow after the injury is evaluated.

Reports indicate the Sox will call up outfielder Oscar Colas to take Moncada's spot on the roster ahead of Wednesday's series finale in Cleveland.

Two of the top prospects in the Sox farm system are infielders -- shortstop Colson Montgomery and third baseman Bryan Ramos. However, neither is ready for the majors, and the Sox are wisely resisting the temptation to call them up prematurely.

Montgomery, who is at Triple-A Charlotte, and Ramos, who is at Double-A Birmingham, should be allowed to continue their development in the minor leagues. They should be called up when they are ready for the big leagues. They should NOT be called up to solve a crisis in Chicago.

As for the game, the Sox scored five runs in the top of the first inning, but starting pitcher Michael Soroka couldn't hold it. The Guardians tied the score at 5 in the bottom of the fourth inning.

That's where the score stayed until the top of the eighth, when Dominic Fletcher delivered a two-run double to put the Sox ahead 7-5.

Michael Kopech took it from there, firing two scoreless innings of relief for his second save of the season. The right-hander retired all six men he faced, four by strikeout, and threw 15 pitches that were 100 mph or faster. It was the kind of performance you'd like to see more often from Kopech.

The Sox are 2-9.

White Sox trim spring training roster by 9

The White Sox on Sunday announced a series of roster moves that trim their spring training roster by nine players.

Catcher Carlos Perez and infielder Lenyn Sosa were optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. Infielders Bryan Ramos and Jose Rodriguez were optioned to Double-A Birmingham. Outfielder Yoelquis Cespedes and pitchers Edgar Navarro, Nate Fisher, Andrew Perez and Sammy Peralta were optioned to minor league camp.

Most notable here is the optioning of Sosa, who saw some big league time in 2022 and was mentioned at one point as a possible starting second baseman.

The 23-year-old was 2 for 15 in the Cactus League with two RBIs. The good news is he didn't strike out in any plate appearances. The bad news is he also did not walk. He'll always be a free swinger, but a little more time in Triple-A should help Sosa make better swing decisions at the plate.

Ramos, a 21-year-old third baseman, is the No. 2 prospect in the Sox system. He had a good showing in camp, going 7 for 19 with a homer and five RBIs. Rodriguez is also a top-10 prospect in the Sox system, and he'll start at second base for Birmingham.

One wonders whether shortstop Colson Montgomery, the Sox's top prospect, will also end up in Double-A Birmingham. That would be an interesting starting infield for the Barons.