White Sox at Cleveland postponed; Rick Renteria tests negative for COVID-19

Progressive Field in Cleveland

The series opener between the White Sox and Cleveland Indians was postponed Monday because of rain.

The game will be made up Tuesday as part of a straight doubleheader, starting at 2:30 p.m. The regularly scheduled game will begin about 45 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.

The pitching matchups will remain the same, with Dylan Cease and Carlos Rodon scheduled to pitch for the Sox (1-2). The Indians (2-1) will go with Aaron Civale and Adam Plutko.

Renteria reportedly OK after COVID-19 scare

If the game had been played Monday night, Sox manager Rick Renteria would not have been at the ballpark.

Renteria woke up Monday with "a slight cough and nasal congestion," and he opted to undergo tests at a Cleveland hospital before going back to the team hotel. Reports later in the evening indicated Renteria tested negative for COVID-19.

Perhaps the skipper was just suffering because of the high mold count in the area after the recent rains. While we may object to Renteria's usage of Nicky Delmonico in the everyday lineup, we certainly want him to remain healthy.

Health is especially a concern for all with postponements Monday of games between the Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins, and the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees.

A substantial COVID-19 outbreak has occurred within the Marlins, and the MLB season is teetering on the brink. The Phillies are testing all their personnel and quarantining themselves for the time being, as well, because they just hosted Miami in a three-game series over the weekend.

I've been watching a lot of games over the weekend, not just the Sox, and I've noticed plenty of spitting, high fives and hugging after home runs. Mask wearing and social distancing in dugouts seems to be mixed, much as it is in society at large. It makes me wonder whether players are truly taking protocols seriously, and hopefully, the wake-up call has sounded. If not, the 2020 season might not last long.

As far as Renteria has been concerned, I haven't seen him without a mask since baseball resumed. It does seem as though the Sox manager takes the health crisis seriously, and I don't foresee him being the cause of things falling apart.

Lopez to injured list; other roster moves

White Sox pitcher Reynaldo Lopez has been placed on the 10-day injured list after an MRI showed right shoulder inflammation. Lopez pitched only two-thirds of an inning and gave up four earned runs Sunday in a 14-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Right-handed relief pitcher Ian Hamilton was recalled from the Sox's alternate training site to take Lopez's place on the roster. It is expected that Gio Gonzalez will move from a long relief role into the starting rotation.

In another roster move, the Sox designated third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert for assignment and purchased the contract of infielder Ryan Goins.

Kopech files for divorce

White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech filed for divorce from Riverdale star Vanessa Morgan. The couple were only married for six months before parting ways. Morgan is pregnant, so there is a lot going on in Kopech's life right now.

The right-hander opted out of playing this season earlier in July.

3 position battles to watch during White Sox spring training

Nick Madrigal

With the offseason signings of Yasmani Grandal, Dallas Keuchel and Edwin Encarnacion, the White Sox have sent a clear signal that they have made the transition from a rebuilding team to a team that intends to contend in 2020.

Accordingly, there are fewer position battles in spring training this year, with more players considered "locks" for the 26-man roster when compared with what we've seen in the past.

That said, here are three spots the Sox still need to sort out before the season opens March 26 against the Kansas City Royals.

1. Second base

We know Nick Madrigal eventually is going to get his chance to be the second baseman in Chicago. The question is, how soon? The 22-year-old former first-round pick is a career .309/.371/.398 hitter with only 21 strikeouts through 163 professional games.

However, Madrigal has only played 29 games at the Triple-A level, and general manager Rick Hahn has hinted he wants to "see more" from Madrigal before bringing him to the majors for full-time work.

If Madrigal tears apart the Cactus League, it's going to be hard to send him to Charlotte, especially in a win-now season, when every game matters, and when it's imperative to have the best man for the job on the field at every position.

But, if Madrigal is mediocre or struggles in Arizona, he's not coming north with the team when the season starts. The Sox could give Danny Mendick a month of starts at second base, just to see if there's any staying power to the .308/.325/.462 slash line the 26-year-old posted in 16 games during his September call-up last season.

Or, Leury Garcia is always an option, even if he's not an exciting one. Garcia isn't going to be starting in the outfield anymore -- unless someone among the Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Nomar Mazara group gets injured. The Sox obviously like Garcia, so it wouldn't be a surprise if his new job description reads "stopgap at second until Madrigal arrives."

2. Last spot in the bullpen

I hesitate to call the Sox bullpen a strength. I see scenarios in which it could be, but with Alex Colome, Aaron Bummer and Evan Marshall all being regression candidates, I also can see scenarios where the Sox struggle to close games.

However, I'm pretty sure it's going to be an eight-man bullpen. And I'm pretty sure who seven of those eight men are going to be.

Colome and Marshall will be joined by fellow right-handers Kelvin Herrera, Steve Cishek and Jimmy Cordero. Bummer and Jace Fry will be the two lefties.

That leaves who, exactly, for the eighth spot? Maybe Carson Fulmer gets one more kick at the can? He's out of options, and the Sox are notoriously slow to give up on former first-round picks in whom they've invested a lot of time and capital.

Looking at the seven names above, none of them qualifies as a "long reliever," someone who can come in and provide some length on days when the starting pitcher gets knocked out early. Does that open the door for left-hander Bernardo Flores, who has started throughout his minor league career, but maybe lacks a bread-and-butter pitch to stick in a big league rotation?

Matt Foster, Ian Hamilton, Zack Burdi and Jose Ruiz are other possibilities among pitchers currently on the 40-man roster. Hamilton and Burdi both were once regarded as solid prospects, but injuries have derailed their careers. Are they healthy enough to compete for a spot?

Among nonroster invitees, here are three names to watch: Tayron Guerrero, Codi Heuer and Tyler Johnson.

3. Remaining bench spots

For purposes of this blog, let's say Madrigal starts the season in Triple-A, and Garcia starts the season at second base. I happen to think that's the most likely scenario, so let's go with that.

That puts Mendick in the bench infielder role, and we know James McCann will be the second catcher after Grandal. That's two of the four bench spots. What about the other two?

You figure one of them will be an outfielder, and Adam Engel has the inside track with his superior glove. A career .215 hitter, Engel doesn't have a good track record with the bat, but he did slash .313/.360/.482 in 89 plate appearances against lefties in the 2019. That's, well, something, and it's a skill that could keep Engel around as a bench player if he shows a similar ability this spring.

Nicky Delmonico is back with the organization, too, if for some reason the Sox still think he can be a viable lefty bat off the bench. He lacks a position, so he faces an uphill climb. The same can be said for Daniel Palka, who missed an opportunity to establish himself last season.

Veteran infielder Andrew Romine is in camp on a minor league deal, and there's always the possibility he makes the club if Engel falters, and the club decides they're better off with Garcia serving as the backup outfielder.

Then there's Zack Collins and Yermin Mercedes. The Sox have five catchers on the 40-man, which is rare, and both these two guys are bat-first players. Neither has distinguished themselves as a receiver, but there don't seem to be many DH at-bats available with both Encarnacion and Jose Abreu on the roster. Could either Collins or Mercedes stick as a pinch hitter and third catcher?

I'd say Mercedes has a better shot, because bench bat is probably his ceiling. Collins is a former first-round pick, so I doubt the Sox will be OK with him playing once a week in the majors and getting the occasional pinch-hitting appearance. I look for Collins to start the season as the everyday catcher in Charlotte, but he may be the first call in the event an offense-first player gets injured in Chicago.

White Sox sign relief pitcher Steve Cishek to one-year deal

Steve Cishek

The White Sox on Tuesday moved to increase their bullpen depth by signing veteran relief pitcher Steve Cishek to a one-year, $6 million contract.

Cishek, 33, will earn $5.25 million in 2020. The deal includes an option for 2021 worth $6.75 million, with a $750,000 buyout -- thus the $6 million guaranteed.

The right-hander spent the past two seasons with the Cubs. He appeared in 70 games in 2019, going 4-6 with a 2.95 ERA and seven saves. He struck out 57 and walked 29 with a 1.203 WHIP over 64 innings pitched.

Let's discuss the pluses and minuses of this signing in 3-up, 3-down format.

3 up

1. An ERA below 3.00 for four consecutive seasons. That 2.95 ERA in 2019 represents the *worst* season Cishek has had in recent memory. Over the past four years, his ERAs have been 2.81, 2.01, 2.18 and 2.95, respectively. Even if he regresses, he has a higher floor that some of the other candidates for the Sox bullpen, such as Carson Fulmer and Jose Ruiz.

2. Experience. Cishek is a veteran of 10 MLB seasons, and he's appeared in 572 games. His career ERA is 2.69, and while he likely won't be asked to close for the Sox, he has 132 saves lifetime. This is somebody who has been in his share of high-leverage situations. There's no reason he can't be placed in a seventh- or eighth-inning role.

3. Rubber arm. Cishek appeared in 150 games over the past two seasons, including a ridiculous 80 appearances in 2018. He's pitched in 60 or more games six times during his career. That reliability has to be respected.

3 down

1. A declining strikeout rate. Cishek struck out 10.0 batters per nine innings with the Cubs in 2018, but that declined to 8.0 batters per nine innings last season. His career mark is 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings, so he performed below his norms in 2019. There may be a little less swing-and-miss in his game going forward.

2. Overuse. I don't care who you are, 150 appearances is a ton over two years. In a way, it's a testament to Cishek that his former manager, Joe Maddon, trusted him that often. But sooner or later, that kind of usage has to take its toll. Perhaps that concern is among the reasons Cishek is only getting one year guaranteed on the open market.

3. An increasing home run rate. Cishek gave up 1.0 home runs per nine innings in 2019, which was the second-highest rate of his career. His career mark is 0.6 home runs per nine innings, which is the exact figure he was at during the 2018 season. Of course, to be fair, the ball was juiced last summer, so a lot of pitchers around the league saw an increase in their home run rate.

With the addition of Cishek, I think we can take a good guess at seven of the eight spots in the Sox bullpen. Here's how it most likely looks today:

Left-handers: Aaron Bummer, Jace Fry
Right-handers: Alex Colome, Kelvin Herrera, Cishek, Evan Marshall, Jimmy Cordero, ??????

Here are some candidates to fill in those question marks: Fulmer, Ruiz, Dylan Covey, Zack Burdi, Matt Foster and Ian Hamilton.

Carlos Rodon's second spring start a good one

Carlos Rodon

Here's something encouraging: White Sox starting pitcher Carlos Rodon was sharp in his second Cactus League start.

The left-hander tossed four scoreless innings, allowing only one hit Thursday in a 9-5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Rodon struck out three and walked one.

Dylan Covey also is making his case for a roster spot -- as a reliever, thankfully, not a starter. I've long thought Covey was miscast as a starting pitcher. I think he can help a team as a swingman, the 11th or 12th man on a pitching staff.

On Thursday, Covey relieved in the eighth inning and pitched the rest of the game, retiring all six Brewers he faced. Granted, none of this was against an "A" lineup, but I'm in favor of guys throwing strikes and getting outs, no matter the situation.

Rodon and Covey have been exceptions to the rule for Sox pitchers this spring. We've seen some inflated offensive numbers and some ugly Arizona box scores.

Let's look at the ERAs for Sox pitchers. For purposes of this exercise, we'll limit it to guys who are candidates for roster spots:

Alex Colome: 0.00
Covey: 0.00
Ryan Burr: 1.59
Ivan Nova: 3.38
Rodon: 3.86
Nate Jones: 6.75
Lucas Giolito: 7.71
Manny Banuelos: 8.10
Jace Fry: 9.00
Carson Fulmer: 9.00
Thyago Vieira: 9.82
Reynaldo Lopez: 10.13
Randall Delgado: 10.80
Caleb Frare: 13.50
Aaron Bummer: 17.18
Juan Minaya: 22.09
Kelvin Herrera: 27.00
Ian Hamilton: 36.00

Funny thing is, Hamilton got the win Thursday. He entered in the top of the seventh inning with a 5-1 lead and gave up four runs. The Sox answered with four in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead, highlighted by a 3-run homer by Danny Mendick.

Covey did the rest, and all of a sudden, Hamilton was a winner. In fairness to Hamilton, it was his first game action of the spring after he was in a minor car crash, so we'll give him a pass.

But looking at that list, there's nobody on the bubble who is stepping up to claim a job -- except for Covey.

White Sox reliever Caleb Frare: Right idea, bad execution

Jason Kipnis

The White Sox lost, 4-1, to the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night, after Jason Kipnis hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning.

That's not news -- the Sox are 0-8 at Progressive Field this season. However, they could have had a 1-0 victory if relief pitcher Caleb Frare had followed through with good execution after he had the right idea of what play to make in a bunt situation.

Cleveland had runners on first and second with nobody out in the ninth after Josh Donaldson's infield single and Yandy Diaz's ground ball with eyes.

The next hitter was Melky Cabrera, and he popped up a bunt right back to Frare at the pitcher's mound. The runners had to freeze -- there is no infield fly rule protection on a bunt -- so Frare dropped the ball and threw to third base for what he hoped would start a double play, and potentially a triple play.

Frare didn't make the best throw to third, but that's neither here nor there, because umpires signaled the play dead, called Cabrera out and sent the runners back to their bases.

Why? Because Frare touched the ball and intentionally dropped it. Had he just let the popped-up bunt fall without touching it, he would have been well within his rights to throw to third for a force, and give his team an opportunity to record multiple outs on the play.

Instead, Frare's actions allowed the umpires to invoke little-used Rule 5.09(a)(12), which says an infielder cannot drop a popup intentionally to start a double or triple play:

"An infielder intentionally drops a fair fly ball or line drive, with first, first and second, first and third, or first, second and third base occupied before two are out. The ball is dead and runner or runners shall return to their original base or bases;

"In this situation, the batter is not out if the infielder permits the ball to drop untouched to the ground, except when the Infield Fly rule applies."

So Frare had the right idea. At some point, it must have flashed through his mind, "Don't catch this popup. Get multiple outs." That's the correct thought process, but it wasn't the right execution. He's got to let the ball fall untouched there, and then pick it up and make a throw. The umpires aren't going to let an infielder cheat the system with an intentional drop.

And, of course, after that play went astray, we all know what happened next. Ian Hamilton enters the game, beans Yan Gomes with a pitch to load the bases, and then throws a meatball for Kipnis to hit into the seats.

Another rough loss for the Sox in a season full of them.

Why are the White Sox using Jeanmar Gomez in high-leverage situations?

Jeanmar Gomez

It doesn't matter much that the White Sox lost, 4-3, to the Kansas City Royals on Monday night. And, it doesn't matter much that they lost in a stupid way, with reliever Jeanmar Gomez making a throwing error on a bunt play in the bottom of the 10th inning that allowed Kansas City to score the winning run.

What bothers me is the fact that Gomez was on the mound in the first place. Why is a 30-year-old veteran who is not part of the Sox's future and barely part of their present being allowed to pitch in a high-leverage situation when there are a host of younger, more interesting options available?

The Sox got seven innings out of Lucas Giolito on Monday, and left-hander Jace Fry was the first man out of the bullpen. That's fine, because Fry is a 25-year-old who is under evaluation for a possible long-term relief role.

Once Fry got four outs with the score tied 3-3, the next guy who came in was Gomez. That is inexplicable in September with expanded rosters.

Several relief pitching prospects have been called up from the minor leagues. Right-handers Ian Hamilton, Ryan Burr and Jose Ruiz all are on the roster. So are left-handers Aaron Bummer and Caleb Frare.

With the Sox on a six-game losing streak and hopelessly behind in the standings, these September games are essentially an early jump on spring training 2019.

The fight for bullpen jobs for next season should be underway, and it should not include Gomez. It should, however, include all of the young pitchers mentioned above.

So, put one of them on the mound in the 10th inning of a 3-3 game and see how that pitcher reacts. Even if the guy loses the game, at least we will have learned something.

All we learned last night is something we already knew: that Gomez is washed up and doesn't belong on the 2019 roster. Stop pitching him in high-leverage spots, please.

Palka ties White Sox record

Outfielder Daniel Palka hit his 22nd home run of the season in Monday's loss. He now shares the Sox's team record for most home runs by a left-handed hitting rookie with Pete Ward, who hit 22 home runs in 1963.

Palka might end up leading the 2018 Sox in homers. He and Jose Abreu are tied for the team lead going into Tuesday's play. There are 18 games left in the season.

Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease among White Sox prospects to receive promotions

Eloy Jimenez

The second half of the season begins Thursday for three of the White Sox's minor-league affiliates -- Double-A Birmingham, Class-A Winston-Salem and Class-A Kannapolis -- and it has been no secret that several Sox prospects were going to receive promotions.

I trust James Fegan of The Athletic as much as anyone as a Sox source, so here are the moves that he has tweeted out Thursday afternoon.

Top prospect Eloy Jimenez, catcher Seby Zavala and relief pitcher Ian Hamilton have been promoted from Birmingham to Triple-A Charlotte.

After contributing to Winston-Salem's first-half division title in the Carolina League, starting pitchers Dylan Cease and Bernardo Flores, relievers Matt Foster and Zach Thompson and outfielders Luis Alexander Basabe, Alex Call and Joel Booker have been promoted to Birmingham.

Outfielders Luis Robert and Luis Gonzalez, shortstop Laz Rivera, starting pitchers Lincoln Henzman and Blake Battenfield and relief pitcher Tyler Johnson have been promoted from Kannapolis to Winston-Salem.

The White Sox also released veteran outfielder Michael Saunders from the organization.

And, hey, some other good news: The Sox can't lose Thursday. Thursday's game with the Oakland Athletics has been postponed because of the horrible, wet weather we are experiencing in and near Chicago.

The two clubs will play a straight doubleheader at 3:10 p.m. Friday.