Former Dodgers get rude introduction to White Sox system

Trayce Thompson

So far, so bad for the three players the White Sox acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers last week in exchange for pitchers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly.

Trayce Thompson is back for his third stint with the Sox. Longtime fans will recall the Sox drafted him in the second round in 2009. He made it to the majors in 2015 before being traded to the Dodgers the following offseason. He was with the Sox briefly in 2018, and like a cat with nine lives, he's back on the South Side again.

The 32-year-old outfielder went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in his first game back with the Sox on Thursday, a 5-3 loss to the Texas Rangers. 

Thompson is a good defensive player who can handle all three outfield spots competently. He's also reportedly a good guy in the clubhouse. That's probably why he keeps getting opportunities in the majors. It certainly isn't his skill at the plate. He's a lifetime .215/.302/.426 hitter.

To be honest, I'm not sure why Thompson is here. What purpose does he serve? Your guess is as good as mine. He's in the twilight of a journeyman career, trying to hang on to a roster spot in the majors.

The two guys who matter most to the Sox in this deal are pitchers Nick Nastrini and Jordan Leasure.

Nastrini, a 23-year-old right-hander, was the No. 9 prospect in the Dodgers system. He is now the No. 4 prospect in the Sox system. Reports say he could be major league ready as soon as next year. Let's hope so, because the Sox have plenty of holes to fill in the starting rotation.

However, Nastrini's first start at Double-A Birmingham went poorly. He gave up seven runs, five earned, on six hits over 4.2 innings. But hey, at least he struck out six. That's an indication that some swing-and-miss stuff was there. This season, Nastrini has fanned 91 batters over 78.1 innings. We can hope that his bad outing was just a matter of getting acclimated to a new team. After all, it can be jarring for a young player after he gets traded.

Speaking of jarring, Leasure is 0-2 with a 40.50 ERA through his first two relief appearances at Triple-A Charlotte. He gave up four runs in two-thirds of an inning in his first outing, and gave up a two-run walk-off homer in his second appearance. That's rough.

The 24-year-old throws 98 mph, and I've heard some people say he might get a look in Chicago in September. I wouldn't mind that, but first he'll need to stabilize his performance with Charlotte.

White Sox make 6 deals in days leading up to trade deadline

The White Sox needed to sell at the Aug. 1 trade deadline, and they did. Here's a look at the six trades the team has made over the past week:

1. Traded pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez to the Los Angeles Angels for catcher Edgar Quero and pitcher Ky Bush.
2. Traded pitchers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitchers Nick Nastrini, Jordan Leasure and outfielder Trayce Thompson.
3. Traded pitcher Kendall Graveman to the Houston Astros for catcher Korey Lee.
4. Traded infielder Jake Burger to the Miami Marlins for pitcher Jake Eder.
5. Traded pitcher Keynan Middleton to the New York Yankees for pitcher Juan Carela.
6. Acquired pitcher Luis Patino from the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations.

I'll talk more about these deals in the days ahead. The Sox are 43-64 heading into Tuesday night's game with the Texas Rangers, so there will not be much on the field to talk about. 

Maybe we'll get a look at a couple of these new acquisitions before 2023 is over. I'm thinking Lee and Patino are candidates to be on the roster soon. We shall see.

Bullpen isn't biggest problem for White Sox

The White Sox lost two out of three games to the Miami Marlins this past weekend, with all three games being decided in the ninth inning.

Luis Robert Jr.'s walk-off single lifted the Sox to a 2-1 victory on Friday night, but the other two games were losses characterized by bullpen meltdowns.

Joe Kelly gave up five runs (two earned) in the top of the ninth Saturday, turning a 1-0 lead into a 5-1 loss. He was not helped by Tim Anderson's error.

On Sunday, the Sox took a 5-1 lead into the eighth inning, but they lost 6-5. Keynan Middleton, who hadn't allowed a run since April, gave up two solo home runs in the eighth. Kendall Graveman, who also hadn't allowed a run since April, gave up three runs in the ninth and took the loss. He was not helped by a catcher's interference call against Seby Zavala.

That said, I don't feel like the bullpen is the biggest problem for the Sox. Far from it. Before Saturday, the relievers were receiving praise for a lights-out performance. Through the first seven games of June, the Sox bullpen posted 0.78 ERA with a .117 batting average against. 

The Sox won six of those seven games, with relievers earning the win in five of those contests. What happened over the weekend is inevitable regression.

Here's something that is not regression: The Sox offense stinks. Despite being 6-3 in June, this team is batting .202/.274/.343 this month. The Sox need more from hitters up and down the lineup, as we detailed last week.

Nothing has changed. The Sox are 29-38.

Lucas Giolito throws six no-hit innings; White Sox beat Yankees

Lucas Giolito

Aaron Judge did not play for the New York Yankees on Tuesday night ... and the White Sox actually took advantage!

Lucas Giolito pitched six no-hit innings, and catcher Seby Zavala homered twice to lift the Sox to a 3-2 win at Yankee Stadium.

This was the second time this season that Giolito (5-4) went six innings without allowing a hit. Both times, he had to be removed because of a high pitch count. In this outing, he struck out seven, walked three and threw 58 of his 100 pitches for strikes. 

In particular, Giolito's slider was effective to right-handed hitters, and no doubt the absence of Judge (day-to-day with a foot injury) -- the reigning American League MVP -- made his job a little bit easier.

Of all people, Zavala was the one to come through offensively. In the bottom of the third inning, he hit a 320-foot wall-scraper that just cleared the 314 mark by the right-field foul pole. It might have been a home run in only one of 30 MLB parks, but that one park happens to be Yankee Stadium.

Zavala added a two-run shot in the fifth off New York starter Clarke Schmidt (2-6). This was one not cheap. It was a 435-foot blast to the pull field on what looked like a hanging slider. That gave the Sox a 3-0 lead, which is where the score remained until the seventh.

Joe Kelly relieved for the Sox and issued a two-out walk. Poor defense cost the Sox the no-hitter when Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Benintendi miscommunicated on a fly ball to left-center by Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Nobody called for the ball, and it fell at Robert Jr.'s feet for an RBI "double."

Kelly escaped the inning without further damage, and Kendall Graveman worked a 1-2-3 eighth for the Sox.

That set the stage for Liam Hendriks' first save opportunity of the season. It was an interesting move by Sox manager Pedro Grifol, because Hendriks entered Tuesday's action with a career 7.83 ERA against the Yankees.

That ERA went up when Josh Donaldson hit Hendriks' first pitch of the ninth for a solo homer to make it 3-2. However, Hendriks rallied and got three consecutive groundouts to shortstop to earn his first save since returning from cancer treatment.

The Sox are 27-35.

White Sox sweep Kansas City Royals

Guaranteed Rate Field on Sunday afternoon.

It's only the Kansas City Royals, but the 2023 White Sox have finally swept a three-game series. And given that the Royals took three out of four from the Sox in Kansas City just last week, perhaps we shouldn't be minimizing the accomplishment. 

Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, May 19: White Sox 2, Royals 0

Michael Kopech (2-4) dominated the Royals over eight innings, allowing only one hit while striking out 10 and walking none. The lone Kansas City hit was a broken-bat single by Michael Massey, and he was quickly erased when Jackie Bradley Jr. grounded into a double play. 

Kendall Graveman worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his third save of the season, and Sox pitchers ended up facing the minimum 27 batters. That's the first time the Sox have done that since Philip Humber's perfect game in 2012.

The Sox offense produced only five singles, but four of them came in the second inning, yielding the only two runs that were needed. Gavin Sheets had an RBI single, and Romy Gonzalez added a sacrifice fly.

Saturday, May 20: White Sox 5, Royals 1

Jake Burger's three-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning turned a slim 2-1 Sox lead into a comfortable advantage. Yoan Moncada's two-run single in the first inning produced the other Sox runs.

After giving up a home run to Salvador Perez in the first inning, Lucas Giolito (3-3) settled in to give the Sox six quality innings. He allowed six hits, while striking out four and walking one. 

Four Sox relievers combined to allow only one hit over the last three innings.

Sunday, May 21: White Sox 5, Royals 2

The big hit in this game came from Gonzalez, of all people. The backup infielder entered Sunday's game with a .132 batting average, but with runners on second and third and the Sox trailing 2-1 in the fifth inning, Gonzalez delivered a two-run triple that put the Sox ahead to stay. His average is up to .195 after a 3-for-3 day.

Luis Robert connected for this 13th home run of the season, a solo shot in the fourth, and Andrew Benintendi added the other two RBIs -- a sacrifice fly after Gonzalez's triple in the fifth and an RBI single in the seventh.

Lance Lynn (3-5) gave up a two-run homer to Massey in the second, but nothing more, over six innings. He struck out six and walked two.

Relievers Keynan Middleton, Aaron Bummer and Joe Kelly did not allow a hit over the final three innings. Kelly struck out two in his 1-2-3 ninth inning and earned his first save of the season.

The Sox are 19-29. The Royals are 14-34.

Home runs fuel White Sox offense in win vs. Cleveland

It stands to reason that a team increases its odds of winning by hitting two or more home runs in a game.

The White Sox have done that 14 times in 44 games during the 2023 season. In those 14 games, they are 7-7. That doesn't seem like much until you realize the team is 16-28 overall, which means they are 9-21 when they don't hit at least two homers.

But, they are 2-0 in their last two games against the Cleveland Guardians, and they've hit six homers in these two wins -- including three Wednesday in a 7-2 victory.

Gavin Sheets (No. 6) and Andrew Vaughn (No. 5) hit solo home runs, and Jake Burger (No. 10) had a two-run homer to fuel the offense. 

Burger went 3 for 4 and finished a double short of the cycle. It's fair to say he enjoys hitting at Guaranteed Rate Field, where he has hit nine of his 10 homers. For the season, he has only 89 plate appearances. One home run per every 8.9 plate appearances ... yeah, that's something you like to see from the player who is serving as your designated hitter.

In 52 at-bats at home, Burger has 50 total bases. In 27 road at-bats, he has nine total bases. Those are insane home-road splits.

Mike Clevinger (3-3) picked up the win for the Sox. He went six-plus innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked four, with two of the walks coming in the seventh inning.

Clevinger departed in the seventh inning, leading 7-1, with the bases loaded and no outs. Reynaldo Lopez walked in a run, but was able to get three outs without allowing any further damage.

Joe Kelly and Kendall Graveman each worked a scoreless inning to close it out.

The Sox have not swept a series yet this season, and they'll have the opportunity to so Thursday afternoon. Given the hole this team has dug for itself, realistically, they need to sweep some divisional opponents if they hope to get back in the race.

White Sox even series with Kansas City

Quick recap tonight, because it's getting late after a long rain delay. The White Sox and Kansas City Royals waited two hours to start Tuesday, and then the game itself took only two hours and two minutes to play. (Three cheers for the pitch clock!)

Thank goodness the Sox won, 4-2, because it would be embarrassing to lose to Kansas City two days in a row.

Luis Robert Jr. hit his eighth home run of the season -- a solo shot -- in the fourth inning. Andrew Vaughn's fourth homer of the year brought home two runs in the sixth, and Seby Zavala added an RBI single in the seventh to cap the Sox's scoring against Jordan Lyles (0-6), who pitched a complete game for the Royals despite taking the loss.

Lucas Giolito struck out nine over six innings of two-run ball for the Sox. Three relief pitchers combined to retire all nine Kansas City batters they faced. Joe Kelly pitched the seventh. Reynaldo Lopez worked the eighth. Kendall Graveman needed only seven pitches to induce three pop-outs in the ninth for his first save of 2023. 

Giolito is 2-2 with a 3.59 ERA. He's posted five quality starts in his past six outings. He is indeed back to being the Sox's most reliable starting pitcher. It is the final year of his contract, so he's got millions of reasons to continue pitching well.

The Sox are 13-24. The Royals are 10-27.

White Sox make 11 roster moves, beat Twins in 10 innings

Tim Anderson

Andrew Benintendi's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted the White Sox to a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

It took 30 games, but the Sox (9-21) have finally won two in a row for the first time in the 2023 season. But the biggest news of the day came during the afternoon, when the club announced a series of 11 roster moves.

In the 40-plus years I've been following this team, I don't think I've seen anything quite like it. I guess you might say it's indicative of the fact that things have not been going well. 

Let's take a look at the comings and goings.

Who's here?

• Tim Anderson (sprained knee) was activated off the 10-day injured list. He played shortstop and batted leadoff Tuesday night for the first time since suffering the injury April 10. The Sox went 3-15 during his 18-game absence.
• Hanser Alberto (groin strain) was activated off the 10-day injured list. He appeared in Tuesday's game as a late-inning defensive replacement and scored the winning run as the ghost runner in the 10th inning.
• Veteran right-hander Alex Colome had his contract selected from Triple-A Charlotte. Colome served as the Sox closer in 2019-20. He pitched two-thirds of an inning Tuesday night and gave up a game-tying solo home run to Minnesota's Nick Gordon.
• Outfielder Billy Hamilton had his contract selected from Triple-A Charlotte. This is also his second stint with the Sox. He was a member of the 2021 AL Central championship team. He appeared in Tuesday's game as a pinch runner in the ninth inning. He stole a base, but was stranded at third.
• Pitcher Sammy Peralta had his contract selected from Triple-A Charlotte. The 24-year-old has never pitched in the majors. He figures to be deployed as the second lefty out of the bullpen -- or maybe the first lefty, given how bad Aaron Bummer has pitched this season.

Who's gone?

• Veteran relief pitcher Joe Kelly was placed on the paternity list. This move was expected Tuesday.
• Right fielder Oscar Colas was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. The decision to give the 24-year-old rookie a starting job proved premature, as Colas batted .211/.265/.276 with only one home run in 25 games. He'll need to work on his plate discipline before he can return to the majors. Once again, right field looks like a sore spot for the Sox.
• Second baseman Lenyn Sosa was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. The 23-year-old is not ready for the big leagues at this time. He batted .151/.167/.245 in 16 games with one homer. With Anderson's return, Elvis Andrus moves from shortstop back to second base.
• Utility player Romy Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. A fake injury? You decide. Gonzalez is batting .139/.139/.194, and he's struggled at every position he's played defensively. Had he been optioned to Charlotte, no one would have batted an eye.
• Veteran reliever Jake Diekman was designated for assignment. The lefty was the only acquisition made by the Sox at last season's trade deadline, and he was a disaster. He had a 6.52 ERA in 26 games with the Sox in 2022. This year, he was 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA in 13 games. The evidence suggests the 36-year-old's career might be over.
• Minor league pitcher Franklin German was designated for assignment to clear space on the 40-man roster for some of the additions noted above.

How much impact will these moves make? My thinking is that Anderson is the only one that moves the needle, but it's clear that Sox brass is shaking it up to try to save this sagging season. 

What else is there to do right now?

White Sox bullpen remains a disaster

Andrew Vaughn hit a 3-run homer to cap a seven-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday at Guaranteed Rate Field, lifting the White Sox to a 12-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

With the win, the Sox (8-21) snapped a potentially season-killing 10-game losing streak and overcame yet another spectacular bullpen meltdown.

Don't let the final score fool you, folks. This game was not a slugfest. In fact, the Sox led 4-2 after seven innings, before the whole thing went off the rails in the eighth and ninth.

The Rays scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning to take a 7-4 lead. The Sox answered with one in the bottom of the inning to make it 7-5. The Rays increased their lead to 9-5 with two runs in the ninth.

Fortunately for the Sox, the Rays (23-6) chose to use two of their weaker relievers -- Jalen Beeks and Garrett Cleavinger -- in the bottom of the ninth. Closer Pete Fairbanks was evidently unavailable, and the Sox pounded the lesser Tampa Bay bullpen arms for an exciting and improbable victory.

Is this the type of win that can turn a sagging season around? Sadly, no, that seems unlikely. Outslugging your terrible bullpen is something you can do every now and then, but trying to do that regularly is not a recipe for long-term success.

I would have been happier if the Sox had won 4-2 on Sunday, as opposed to this wild finish. Why? Because having relief pitchers who can record big outs and post shutdown innings IS a sustainable way to win games over a 162-games season.

Unfortunately, the Sox have nothing of the sort. Their bullpen, coming into Monday, ranks last in MLB with a 6.86 ERA. Almost everyone has been bad, but let's look at the current members of the bullpen -- starting with those who have struggled the most:

Aaron Bummer. The man who is supposed to be the primary left-handed reliever in the bullpen has a 9.64 ERA through 13 appearances. He can't retire lefties, who have a .417 OBP against him. He can't retire the first batter he faces either. So far this season, the first batter Bummer faces has posted a .500/.615/.700 slash line. At Guaranteed Rate Field, he has a 16.62 ERA and a 3.231 WHIP over seven appearances. That's ridiculously bad.

Reynaldo Lopez. The man who would be closer has a 8.76 ERA in 14 appearances and a home run problem. Lopez did an incredible job of keeping the ball in the park in 2022, when he allowed only one homer in 65.1 innings. So far in 2023, he's allowed five home runs in only 12.1 innings. He might not be healthy either. After surrendering three runs in the eighth inning (including a go-ahead home run) Sunday, he was removed from the game with biceps discomfort.

Jake Diekman. Here's another left-handed reliever who can't get out left-handed batters. As a matter of fact, lefties have an OBP of .500 against Diekman. Is he aware that he's supposed to have the advantage in those situations? It sure doesn't look like it. Diekman has a 7.94 ERA, and he's lucky it's not worse -- given that he's walking 10.3 batters per nine innings, and has a 2.118 WHIP.

Joe Kelly. Hey, he struck out the side in the seventh inning Sunday! That represents Kelly's first positive contribution to the 2023 Sox. As usual, he's been injured. He's made only five appearances, with a 7.71 ERA. The two-year, $17 million contract he signed with the Sox before the 2022 season remains some of the worst money on the team's books.

Jimmy Lambert. After not giving up an earned run over his first seven outings of the season, the roof has caved in on the right-hander. He's allowed 10 earned runs over his last seven appearances. In fact, he's allowed six runs earned runs over his past two innings of work, causing his ERA to balloon from a respectable 3.27 to an ugly 6.92. Lambert appears to be suffering from overuse, having appeared in 14 of the team's 29 games. 

Kendall Graveman. The veteran's ERA has shot up to 5.56, largely because he's given up three home runs in his last three appearances. He pitched in three of the four games against Tampa Bay, and got taken deep in all of them. A home run allowed Friday night cost the Sox a game in the ninth inning.

Keynan Middleton. The journeyman didn't make the roster out of spring training, but he showed enough to get a call-up early in the season. He's struck out 13 in seven innings pitched over nine appearances. He has a 3.86 ERA in middle-leverage work. In other words, he's been fine. It's a sad commentary that he's the second-best pitcher in the Sox bullpen.

Gregory Santos. The guy who made the club as the 13th pitcher on the staff out of camp is actually the Sox best reliever. Santos has been performing a lot of low-leverage work and middle inning relief, but he has a 1.88 ERA over 13 outings. He's struck out 16 batters in 14.1 innings. This is an inexperienced pitcher -- he has only 18 MLB games under his belt. It's unclear whether he's ready for a higher leverage role. He might get an opportunity, just because everyone else stinks.

After Sunday's game, I saw people on social media criticizing Sox manager Pedro Grifol for bringing Lopez into the game. I guess that's understandable, since Lopez lost the lead, but who exactly should he have brought in? (Santos had already been used.)

There just aren't a lot of good options here. The Sox find themselves nine games out of the AL Central lead on May 1 for a lot of different reasons. Chief among them is the fact that this bullpen is terrible.

Tim Anderson hits the IL; White Sox lose two straight at Minnesota

The 2023 White Sox are starting to look like the bad sequel to the box office bust known as the 2022 White Sox.

Tim Anderson, who was limited to 78 games last season by injury, once again hit the injured list Tuesday. He's out 2-4 weeks with a sprained knee after a collision with Minnesota's Matt Wallner during a botched rundown during Monday's game.

Anderson joins Eloy Jimenez (hamstring) on the sidelines, along with erstwhile reliever Joe Kelly (groin), who was hurt running in from the bullpen during a bench-clearing incident Sunday in Pittsburgh.

Third baseman Yoan Moncada did not play in any of the three games against the Twins. He's listed as day-to-day with back soreness.

That leaves Luis Robert Jr. as the only man standing among "the core 4" of Sox position players. All of that feels eerily familiar.

Also eerily familiar is bad defense. The Sox lost, 4-3, in 10 innings Tuesday night when Hanser Alberto's throwing error allowed the Twins to score the winning run.

Remember when Rick Hahn said the Sox were going to stop putting first basemen in the outfield? Well, there was Gavin Sheets in right field on Wednesday, and he fell down on a routine fly ball that was scored a "triple," leading to the first Minnesota run in an eventual 3-1 Sox loss.

The Sox have played four series so far this season. They've lost three and split one. Two weeks into the season, they have yet to win consecutive games. Their record is 5-8.

During the three seasons of intentional losing (2017-19), we were assured that a prolonged "contention window" was coming. Whatever window there was seemed to close after a quick playoff exit in 2021.

Sox fans, are we having fun yet?

White Sox place Reynaldo Lopez on 15-day injured list

The White Sox on Thursday placed relief pitcher Reynaldo Lopez on the 15-day injured list with a lower back strain, retroactive to July 25.

It's getting thin in the bullpen for the Sox, who are already without Aaron Bummer (lat strain) and Garrett Crochet (torn elbow ligament). It's also possible Joe Kelly is going to hit the injured list, as he left Wednesday's game in Colorado with a right biceps injury.

The Sox said they would announce who would take Lopez's place on the roster before Friday's series opener against the Oakland Athletics at Guaranteed Rate Field.

It would come as no surprise if the Sox actually had to add two pitchers -- one to replace Lopez and one to replace Kelly.

The lack of an immediate roster addition makes one wonder whether the Sox are trying to swing a trade. General manager Rick Hahn has already identified the bullpen as his "biggest need" at Tuesday's trade deadline.

While I disagree with Hahn that the bullpen is the biggest need, there is no question that it is among the needs.

Personally, I would prefer to see Hahn shop at the Ryan Tepera level of relievers, not the Craig Kimbrel level.

As you might recall, Hahn made two deadline deals with the crosstown Cubs last season to acquire relief help. He sent A-ball pitcher Bailey Horn to the Cubs in exchange for Tepera, and that was a move that worked out just fine for the Sox. Tepera worked effectively as a middle-inning reliever the last two months plus of the 2021 season.

Hahn also traded off his major league roster, sending Codi Heuer and Nick Madrigal to the North Side for Kimbrel. That move proved to be a disaster for all, as Heuer and Madrigal have been nothing but injured since joining the Cubs, and Kimbrel was worthless to the Sox in 2021 before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to the start of this season.

The lesson here: Don't swing big to get relief help. Smaller moves can help. There are guys out there who can pitch the sixth and seventh innings effectively who can be acquired without giving up high-end prospects and players on the major league roster. 

Even with all the injuries, the Sox have the eighth (Kendall Graveman) and ninth innings (Liam Hendriks) covered. They do need a little help building the bridge from the starting pitchers to their high-leverage relievers.

But what the Sox really need are legitimate solutions at corner outfield and second base. They still need that left-handed power bat that we've been coveting but not getting for years. 

If the Sox are going to trade high-end prospects at this deadline, they should trade them for a position player who solves a need both this season and in years to come. 

With a record of 49-49 on July 28, it's kind of silly to think a couple of relievers is all this team needs to get over the hump. Sure, relief help is needed -- no one who is paying attention would deny that. 

But the Sox are also operating two bats short, and I'd like to see an acquisition that can make an impact on a daily basis -- and that means a position player. After all, even the best relievers only pitch three or four times a week.

White Sox reliever Kendall Graveman struggles when he pitches back-to-back days

The White Sox played horrendous baseball Wednesday in a 6-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies. All the horrors of the 2022 season were on full display: two asinine baserunning blunders, a mental error on defense, an injury to a high-priced player, underperformance by a highly regarded starting pitcher, etc., etc., etc.

Lucas Giolito gave up three runs in the first inning to put the Sox in an early hole. Leury Garcia was picked off third base for the third out of an inning with the bases loaded. Jose Abreu was doubled off second base on an infield line drive. Tim Anderson forgot to tag second base when turning a double play. Joe Kelly walked off the mound in the eighth inning with an apparent biceps injury.

All the things wrong with this team were front and center once more, BUT they somehow managed to take a 5-4 lead into the ninth inning. Perhaps that's because the Rockies stink, and through eight innings, Colorado let the Sox off the hook for their blunders.

Alas, Kendall Graveman had a massive meltdown in the bottom of the ninth inning. He walked the bases loaded on 17 pitches, then gave up a two-run single to Elias Diaz. The Rockies got the two runs they needed to win the game before Graveman could even record an out.

Where was usual closer Liam Hendriks, you ask? Well, Hendriks needed 26 pitches to close out Tuesday's 2-1 victory over the Rockies, and apparently, he has some problem pitching in altitude that requires medication.

Graveman needed only 11 pitches to record a scoreless eighth in Tuesday's game, so he was the fresher and more available reliever for Wednesday.

Unfortunately, Graveman's results were disastrous, and that's the continuation of a trend of struggles he has when pitching on back-to-back days.

Wednesday's game marked the 10th time he's appeared on back-to-back days in 2022, and he's allowed seven earned runs in 9.1 innings pitched in those situations. That's a 6.75 ERA.

In all other situations, Graveman has allowed seven earned runs over 34.1 innings, which pencils out to a 1.83 ERA.

Eight of the 17 walks Graveman has issued this season have been on zero days' rest, along with two of the four home runs he's allowed.

I guess you could say stop pitching Graveman on back-to-back days, but I don't think that's feasible given that Aaron Bummer is on the injured list, Reynaldo Lopez is day-to-day with a back strain and now Kelly is hurt. Who else you going to pitch?

More over, Graveman was given a three-year, $24 million contract in the offseason. He's being paid a lot of money to pitch in high-leverage situations, and pitching on back-to-back days is part of the job description. He needs to better in these spots.

Liam Hendriks is latest White Sox player to hit injured list

Relief pitcher Liam Hendriks is the latest White Sox player to hit the injured list. The veteran closer will be out for at least three weeks with a right forearm strain.

Hendriks has appeared in 25 games this season, going 1-2 with a 2.81 ERA. He leads the American League with 16 saves.

I always cringe a little when I hear a pitcher has a forearm strain. Those are often the precursor to a torn elbow ligament, which requires Tommy John surgery.

Hendriks appeared in 69 games for the Sox last season, and once appeared in 75 games for the Oakland Athletics in 2019. At age 33, he does have some mileage on his arm. 

There's no question he is very important to whatever chance the Sox have of getting back in the American League Central race, so here's hoping the three-week timetable for a return is accurate.

The Sox did not require a closer Tuesday night, as they defeated the Detroit Tigers, 5-1.

Dylan Cease (5-3) needed 108 pitches to get through five innings, but ultimately, he had a successful outing. The right-hander improved to 10-0 in 11 lifetime starts against the Tigers. He allowed one unearned run on seven hits. He struck out eight and walked one.

In a baseball oddity, Cease has allowed 10 runs over his past four starts, but none of them have been earned. He is the first pitcher since 1913 to allow at least one run, but no earned runs, in four straight starts. 

Cease's ERA is 2.91.

The top three batters in the Sox lineup collected eight of the team's 12 hits. Andrew Vaughn went 4 for 4 with four singles, a walk, a run scored and an RBI. Luis Robert was 2 for 4 with a run scored and two RBIs.

AJ Pollock now has six consecutive multihit games. On Tuesday, he was 2 for 5 with a double and two runs scored.

The Sox bullpen worked four scoreless innings. I suspect Jimmy Lambert is heading back to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday when Vince Velasquez is scheduled to come off the injured list, but Lambert served his purpose with two scoreless innings Tuesday.

Joe Kelly came off the injured list to take Hendriks' spot on the roster, and he worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning with two strikeouts. His stuff looked impressive.

Reynaldo Lopez allowed a two-out single but nothing more in the ninth. He recorded two strikeouts in his scoreless inning.

The Sox are 29-31.

White Sox add Joe Kelly, Josh Harrison, Vince Velasquez

Joe Kelly

None of these additions are likely to tip the balance of power in the American League, but the White Sox made three moves over the weekend to fortify their depth.

Right-handed reliever Joe Kelly is coming to Chicago on a two-year deal, and veteran infielder Josh Harrison has agreed to a one-year deal. Right-handed pitcher Vince Velasquez also has reportedly agreed to terms. 

A few thoughts on each signing:

Kelly: If it's postseason experience you seek, Kelly has it in abundance. He's pitched in the playoffs for seven straight seasons and eight times in the 11 years he's been in the league. He's appeared in the World Series three times and owns two championship rings. 

Kelly made 48 appearances with the Dodgers in 2021, going 2-0 with a 2.86 ERA. In 44 innings, he produced a ground-ball rate of 58.9% and a strikeout rate of 27.5%. He features a high-90s fastball and a swing-and-miss curve, and he only gave up three home runs last season. The Sox tend to like relievers who throw grounders and suppress home runs, especially playing in hitter-friendly Guaranteed Rate Field. In that context, this addition is not a surprise.

The Sox bullpen is getting a little crowded, however. Kelly joins Liam Hendriks, Craig Kimbrel, Kendall Graveman, Aaron Bummer and Garrett Crochet as relievers likely to make the Opening Day roster -- barring a trade of Kimbrel. That leaves Ryan Burr, Jose Ruiz, Reynaldo Lopez and the aforementioned Velazquez competing for what is likely to be two spots. Burr is the unlucky one with options remaining.

Harrison: I guess the 34-year-old veteran in the starting second baseman? Harrison is probably best suited for a utility role at this stage of his career, but throw him in the mix with Leury Garcia, Danny Mendick and Romy Gonzalez as players competing for playing time at second.

Harrison played decently for the Washington Nationals in both 2020 and 2021, posting a .291/.363/.431 slash over 123 games. The .363 on-base percentage jumps out at me -- I would take that right now if Harrison could provide that. At the trade deadline last season, the Nationals sent Harrison to Oakland as part of a fire sale. He batted an uninspiring .254/.296/.341 as the Athletics missed the playoffs.

Harrison can also play third base and stand in an outfield corner, if necessary. The guess here is he plays a lot at second base. The hope is he'll play good defense and add some on-base ability to the bottom of the lineup. But I've already expressed my skepticism.

Velazquez: Here are Velazquez's ERA for the past five seasons ... 5.13, 4.85, 4.91, 5.56, 6.30 ... yikes. I don't know about this move. Velazquez has what they call "arm talent," meaning he throws hard. But he's never been able to establish a secondary pitch, causing plenty of frustrating for Philadelphia fans over his six years and 116 starts with the Phillies.

Did the Sox need to make a move to fortify their rotation depth? Absolutely. It would have been nice to see them trade for, say, Chris Bassitt, who was traded from Oakland to the New York Mets, or Sean Manaea, another member of the Oakland rotation who is reportedly on the trade block.

Alas, the Sox have the 30th-ranked farm system in baseball, so maybe they don't have the trade capital to make such a move. Hence, you end up signing a guy such as Velazquez as insurance against injury.

Do networks know the Boston Red Sox aren't going to make the playoffs?

Dave Dombrowski

The Boston Red Sox on Monday fired Dave Dombrowski, their president of baseball operations.

The move comes only 11 months after the Red Sox won 108 games and claimed the 2018 World Series championship. Boston has won the AL East the past three seasons, but it will not be repeating this year.

While the Red Sox were a respectable 79-64 entering Monday's play, they were 17.5 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East. And, they were eight games out of a wild-card spot with two teams to pass. With only three weeks left in the regular season, they need a miracle to qualify for the 2019 postseason, and we don't believe in miracles here at The Baseball Kid.

So, Dombrowski was fired, because he's handed out some big contracts that didn't net Boston ownership a good return on investment, and he is no longer seen as the right guy to lead the Red Sox moving forward. Standards are high in Boston, and the tolerance for losing is low.

I can recite the Red Sox's problems chapter and verse:

1. Chris Sale has been a combination of injured and bad all season. He's out for the year with elbow inflammation.
2. Injuries have limited David Price to 22 starts this season.
3. Rick Porcello has had a terrible year, with an ERA up near 6.
4. Postseason hero Nathan Eovaldi was given a big contract as a reward, but he too has been injured and ineffective.
5. Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly, key Boston relievers a year ago, left the team via free agency. And while neither man has had a great season for their new teams, the Red Sox haven't had a reliable back end of the bullpen. No current Boston reliever has more than 11 saves.

Why do I know all this about the Red Sox? Because they are on TV all the time! On any day of the week, you can find Boston on one of the networks, and the announcers will inevitably touch on the five bullet points listed above.

The Red Sox are completing a four-game series Monday against the Yankees, and literally all four games were televised here -- in Chicago. MLB Network had the New York-Boston game on Friday Night Baseball and Monday Night Baseball.

The Saturday Game of the Week on FS1? Yep, New York at Boston.

Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN? Yep, New York at Boston.

Meanwhile, there were four weekend series in Major League Baseball that were more compelling and more vital to the playoff races: Indians-Twins, Nationals-Braves, Brewers-Cubs and Phillies-Mets.

I know the Red Sox are defending champions. I know they play in a big market. I know they are a TV draw. But can't these networks flex to some other games? This is September, and there is plenty of meaningful baseball being played, and this year it just doesn't involve Boston.

If the Red Sox were in it, Dombrowski probably wouldn't be getting fired.

Oakland, Detroit, St. Louis biggest winners at trade deadline

If there's one thing we learned at the MLB trading deadline, it's that GMs believe front-line starting pitching wins in the playoffs. On Thursday, we saw three contenders make bold moves to solidify their respective starting rotations for the stretch drive.

Oakland, Detroit and St. Louis were each willing to include established major-leaguers in trades in order to acquire the front-line starters they coveted. All three of those teams now have a better chance to get to the World Series and win it than they did just 24 hours ago.

Thursday's frenzy started with a blockbuster deal between Oakland and Boston. The Red Sox sent ace pitcher Jon Lester and outfielder Jonny Gomes to the A's in exchange for outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.

My initial reaction to this move was shock. How often do you see the cleanup hitter on the team with the best record in baseball (Cespedes) moved at the trading deadline? But the more I thought about this deal, the more I liked it for Oakland.

Cespedes is a big media name and a dangerous hitter, but he's not a great hitter, as his so-so .256/.303/.464 slash line will attest. From the seventh inning on, Cespedes has a slash line of .191/.236/.330 this year. This tells us there are plenty of ways to get him out with the game on the line. Opposing managers can bring in that power right-handed reliever to shut down Cespedes in the late innings. You don't have to fear him. You can pitch to him.

No doubt Oakland GM Billy Beane knows this, and that's why he was willing to part with Cespedes -- especially when the return is a legitimate ace with tons of postseason experience in Lester, who possesses a lifetime 2.11 ERA in the playoffs. During the Red Sox' run to the championship last year, Lester went 4-1 with 1.56 ERA in five starts. His only loss was a 1-0 defeat.

Lester is a money pitcher, and the A's are October ready with him, Jeff Samardzija, Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir in their rotation.

Beane's big move put the pressure on Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski to respond. Respond he did, acquiring Tampa Bay ace David Price just minutes before the trading deadline.

The Tigers paid a price, though, in the three-team swap. The deal cost them two players off their 25-man roster. Center fielder Austin Jackson is now a member of the Seattle Mariners. Left-handed starting pitcher Drew Smyly is now with Tampa Bay.

In a bizarre scene Thursday, the game between the Tigers and the White Sox had to be halted mid-inning so Jackson could be removed from center field at 3:56 p.m. EDT -- four minutes before the deadline.

Jackson is an inconsistent hitter, but make no mistake, the Tigers will not be able to replace his defense in center field. Who is going to play center field in Detroit now? Rajai Davis? Will they ask Torii Hunter to turn back the hands of time and move from right field to center? I don't know.

Maybe the Tigers are hoping fewer balls get hit into the outfield with the addition of Price.

There's no denying Detroit has a monster rotation now: Max Scherzer, Price, Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez. The first three on that list are former Cy Young award winners. Think they may be tough to beat in a short series?

Yeah, even with the hole in center field, I think so.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals made the boldest move among National League teams. On Wednesday, they added Justin Masterson to their rotation. They followed that up Thursday by acquiring John Lackey from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for pitcher Joe Kelly and outfielder Allen Craig.

I like this trade for the Cardinals. Lackey has some age on him -- he's 35 -- but he's another guy who shines on the postseason stage (3.03 career ERA in 19 games). St. Louis knows that well, since Lackey shut the Cardinals down in the clinching game of the World Series last October.

Craig and his .237/.291/.346 slash line will not be missed in St. Louis, especially since his departure creates an opportunity for top prospect Oscar Taveras to play every day in the outfield.

Injuries have limited Kelly to seven starts this year. I suspect his 4.37 ERA and 1.457 WHIP also will not be missed in St. Louis.

Even if the Cardinals don't get Michael Wacha back, they have a front four of Adam Wainwright, Lackey, Masterson and Lance Lynn in their rotation. I don't think it makes them the favorite in the National League, but they would at least have a fighting chance in a short series against Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Their chances are certainly better now than they were before these deals.

There were several other deadline deals made on Thursday. We won't analyze all of them. This blog is already long enough. You can find a list of other trades here.

We'll wrap it up by saying Oakland, Detroit and St. Louis were the biggest winners at the deadline. Who will be the biggest winner on the field? We'll find out between now and late October.