White Sox drop four players from 40-man roster

The offseason purge started for the White Sox on Monday. The team announced that pitcher Manny Banuelos, outfielder Ryan Cordell and infielders Ryan Goins and Matt Skole have been outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte.

The four players will become minor-league free agents after the World Series is over. The moves drop the Sox's 40-man roster to 35 players.

All four of these moves were no-brainers, as October "outrightings" tend to be. For me, the end of the Banuelos Era couldn't come soon enough. At SoxFest 2019, in response to my question about starting rotation depth, general manager Rick Hahn famously told fans that scouts had "pounded the table," urging him to trade for Banuelos. The argument was that the left-hander had reclaimed the health and form that once had him ranked among the top prospects in the game.

The reality said otherwise. Banuelos has been a combination of injured and bad his whole career, and he was injured and bad for the Sox. He went 3-4 with a 6.93 ERA in 16 games (8 starts), and he was plagued with shoulder trouble throughout much of the season.

Cordell batted .221/.290/.355 with seven home runs in 24 RBIs in 97 games. His defense was decent, but not spectacular, and there's nothing about his offensive profile that says, "Keep me."

Goins, a 31-year-old journeyman, batted .250/.333/.347 with two homers and 10 RBIs in 52 games. His playing time dried up in September, because there is a younger, cheaper option as a utility infielder on the roster -- Danny Mendick. And once Mendick joined the Sox late in the season, there were few at-bats for Goins.

Skole, a 30-year-old journeyman, batted .208/.275/.236 with no homers and six RBIs in 27 games. He only received an opportunity because numerous other left-handed bats failed the Sox. When all was said and done, Skole added his name to a list of failed left-handed hitters that included Yonder Alonso, Jon Jay, A.J. Reed and Daniel Palka.

The Sox soon will have to add pitchers Michael Kopech, Carlos Rodon and Ryan Burr back to the 40-man roster when they come off the 60-day disabled list. But Jose Abreu, Ross Detwiler, Ivan Nova and Hector Santiago are impending free agents, and Welington Castillo's contract option is almost certainly going to be declined.

There's a possibility Abreu will re-sign with the Sox quickly, but even if he does, that puts the Sox at 34 men on the roster.

That's comfortable for now, and it will allow them to add pitchers Dane Dunning, Jimmy Lambert and Zack Burdi, along with outfielder Blake Rutherford, to the 40-man roster. All those men must be added to protect them from Rule 5 draft status, and one would think the Sox will do that.

Audit on bad White Sox starting pitching in 2019

Without looking it up, I was guessing the White Sox started a pitcher who didn't belong out there in about a quarter of their games. Turns out, my instinct was close to right.

Looking over the numbers, I identified 43 of 161 Sox games that were started by pitchers who probably will not be in the major leagues next season:

1. Ross Detwiler. 3-5 with a 5.84 ERA in 12 starts. The Sox went 6-6 in those games.
2. Dylan Covey. 1-7 with an 8.45 ERA in 12 starts. The Sox went 3-9 in those games.
3. Manny Banuelos. 2-4 with an 8.05 ERA in 8 starts. The Sox went 4-4 in those games.
4. Carson Fulmer. 0-1 with a 12.00 ERA in 2 starts. The Sox went 0-2 in those games.
5. Hector Santiago. 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA in 2 starts. The Sox went 0-2 in those games.
6. Ervin Santana. 0-2 with a 9.45 ERA in 3 starts. The Sox went 1-2 in those games.
7. Odrisamer Despaigne. 0-2 with a 9.45 ERA in 3 starts. The Sox went 0-3 in those games.

Add it all up, and the Sox went 15-28 in games started by these seven men. Considering the team was 17 games below .500 overall (72-89), we can see how the back end of the starting rotation was a major problem. This list above represents 13 games below .500 right there.

This needs to be fixed this offseason.

Charlotte Knights blow opportunity to go to Triple-A playoffs

If you've been watching White Sox games lately -- and you deserve a medal if you have -- you have probably noticed that the TV broadcast team of Jason Benetti and Steve Stone has been touting the potential benefits of a deep playoff run for the Sox's Triple-A affiliate, the Charlotte Knights.

It was hard not to feel as though Benetti and Stone were preparing fans for the inevitable -- the fact that top prospects were not going to be called up for September, and that "going to win a championship together" would be ideal for the better players on that Charlotte roster.

Well, guess what?

Charlotte lost eight of its last nine games and blew a four-game lead in the wild-card race over the last 10 days. So, I guess you might say the Knights had the experience of "choking together," and we can only hope the players involved will deal with the situation better should they receive such an opportunity again.

The losing streak was characterized by a three-game sweep at the hands of the Durham Bulls, the team that ultimately took the playoff spot away from Charlotte. Here's a true story: Manny Banuelos and Carson Fulmer basically blew it for the Knights.

Banuelos made a rehab start Aug. 27 and got shelled for seven earned runs over four innings. He gave up seven hits, including three home runs, as Durham beat Charlotte, 10-6.

The very next day, the Knights took a 2-1 lead into the seventh inning, only to see Fulmer come on and allow three of the four batters he faced to reach base -- two on walks and one on a hit. Two of those runners ended up scoring as Durham topped Charlotte, 3-2.

If the Knights win either of those two games, they are in the playoffs, Durham is not, and the season continues for two of the Sox's top prospects -- Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal.

Instead, Robert and Madrigal are going home without a September call-up -- money and service time are most important, you know? -- while Fulmer and Banuelos hysterically were the only two men the Sox called to the big leagues on Sept. 1.

Both these two failed pitchers were seen on the mound Monday, giving up runs as the Sox lost, 11-3, to the Cleveland Indians. With the defeat, the South Siders (60-77) tied their season-worst losing streak at seven games. Will these guys ever win a game again? It doesn't seem like it.

For the record, the Sox did make some call-ups on Tuesday now that Charlotte's season is over. Zack Collins is back, as he should be, and Danny Mendick is rightfully getting a shot. With Jon Jay going on the 60-day injured list with a hip problem, Mendick was added to the 40-man roster.

Let's hope both Collins and Mendick get some playing time from manager Rick Renteria. It would be nice to have more information on these two players going into the offseason. Can Collins be on this roster as a catcher in 2020? Is Mendick a viable option as a utility infielder? I don't know, but now is a good time to see what we can learn about these two guys.

Outfielder Daniel Palka and pitcher Dylan Covey also were recalled, in two moves that we need not get excited over. Let's just hope we don't see Covey back in the starting rotation, and let's hope we don't see Palka getting at-bats ahead of Collins.

Just too much bad pitching on the White Sox

Odrisamer Despaigne

One more thought before I take a break from this for a couple of days -- I'm actually going to the White Sox game on Thursday when they play the New York Yankees, so I won't have time to blog.

It wasn't Odrisamer Despaigne's fault that the Sox got beat, 12-1, by the Washington Nationals on Monday night. The 32-year-old journeyman was making his first start for the South Siders, and he did a credible job.

He went six innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits. He struck out two and walked two. It was a quality start, and that's good enough to win sometimes.

The front end of the bullpen -- Jose Ruiz, Josh Osich, Thyago Vieira and Juan Minaya -- gave up nine runs over the last three innings and caused the Sox to get humiliated.

That being said, it's frustrating that Despaigne is on this team in Year 3 of the rebuild. This is the sort of pitcher who makes starts for you in the first year of a rebuild -- see Derek Holland and Mike Pelfrey in 2017. These are all pitchers of similar quality.

And the relief pitchers listed above, with the possible exception of Ruiz, also are nothing more than roster filler, to put it charitably. Less charitably, they are cannon fodder. Minaya has had plenty of chances. Vieira can't find the plate. Osich has tried and failed with other organizations.

By now, wouldn't you like to think more interesting pitchers would be around in the organization and available to take these innings? Alas, it isn't to be. Manny Banuelos is starting Tuesday against the Nationals, and he's another guy who you'd expect to see in a first-year rebuild.

Year 3, and there are still mornings when I wake up and say, "The Sox are in trouble today." It's so frustrating to watch this bad pitching, especially when there are position players who are decent and making progress on this team.

White Sox finish 6-1 on homestand vs. Royals, Indians

Jose Abreu

The White Sox finished 6-1 on their just-completed seven-game homestand against the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians. They haven't had a homestand this successful since 2010.

After sweeping Kansas City, the Sox (29-30) took three out of four games from the Indians (29-30) to move into a second-place tie. In doing so, they overcame a couple of pitching matchups that didn't look too promising coming into the series.

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

Thursday, May 30
White Sox 10, Indians 4: Cleveland right-hander Carlos Carrasco had made two previous starts against the Sox this season, and he won them both. In fact, he was unscored upon in 12 innings. So, it didn't look too good for the Sox with Carrasco starting against left-hander Manny Banuelos.

Surprise! The Sox cuffed Carrasco around for six runs on 10 hits over 6.1 innings, then blew the game open with four more runs off reliever Dan Otero.

Jose Abreu and Yonder Alonso both homered, and Leury Garcia and Eloy Jimenez each had three-hit games. Jimenez's two-run double in the second inning started the Sox's scoring. Alonso's two-run homer in the third put them ahead to stay.

Banuelos (3-4) was good enough. He allowed three runs on five hits over 5.1 innings. For a guy with a 7.36 ERA, you take that.

Friday, May 31
White Sox 6, Indians 1: Once again, the starting pitching matchup didn't look favorable. The Indians were throwing their best healthy pitcher in Trevor Bauer, while the Sox were countering with the winless Dylan Covey.

Surprise! Covey (1-4) isn't winless anymore. He gave up a leadoff homer to Francisco Lindor in the first inning, but no other runs over six innings pitched. He allowed eight hits, but managed to pitch around them.

Meanwhile, Cleveland committed four errors, causing Bauer to give up four unearned runs (and two additional earned runs) over seven innings.

Charlie Tilson paced the Sox offense with two hits, including a two-run double in the bottom of the third that put the South Siders ahead to stay.

Saturday, June 1
Indians 5, White Sox 2: There has to be a rotten apple in every bunch, right? Sox starter Ivan Nova (3-5) wasn't terrible, but a couple home runs by left-handed hitters hurt him. Carlos Santana broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning with a solo home run, and Leonys Martin added a two-run shot in the seventh for a 4-1 Indians lead.

The Sox could not overcome that deficit as they managed only four hits against a hodgepodge of six Cleveland pitchers. Reliever Oliver Perez (1-0) retired all five batters he faced in the fifth inning and at the start of the sixth inning to get the win for the Tribe. Brad Hand worked an easy ninth for his 16th save.

Jimenez had two hits for the Sox, including a double, but not much else was going on.

Sunday, June 2
White Sox 2, Indians 0: Lucas Giolito (8-1) did it again, improving to 6-0 with a 1.03 ERA over his past six starts. He went 7.1 innings, allowing only five hits and no walks. He struck out nine. Aaron Bummer got a double play ball to end the eighth inning, and Alex Colome worked around a leadoff double by Lindor in the ninth to earn his 12th save of the season.

It wasn't easy for Giolito, as he pitched with no margin for error thanks to a strong start by Cleveland rookie Zach Plesac (0-1), who tossed seven innings of one-run ball.

That one run was a 429-foot homer by Tim Anderson, his ninth of the season, in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Sox added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on Anderson's two-out RBI double, which scored Yolmer Sanchez.

The satisfying win should make for a pleasant off day Monday for the Sox, who just completed a busy stretch of 36 games in 37 days. They have a brief two-game series in Washington against the Nationals on Tuesday and Wednesday, before another off day on Thursday.

Weird schedule this season, huh?

White Sox split two-game series with Cleveland Indians

It's a good thing the White Sox won Monday. There was no reason to be optimistic about Tuesday's matchup with Carlos Carrasco pitching for the Cleveland Indians and the hapless Manny Banuelos pitching for the Sox. That game went as expected.

So, the Sox (19-22) split this brief two-game home series against Cleveland and now are 4-4 against the Indians (22-19) this season.

Let's take a look back at the series.

Monday, May 13
White Sox 5, Indians 2: The game started ominously for Reynaldo Lopez, as Cleveland leadoff man Francisco Lindor hit a 435-foot home run off him on his third pitch of the night.

However, that was the only earned run Lopez (3-4) allowed over 7.2 innings, the longest outing by a Sox starter so far this season.The right-hander limited the Indians to only two hits while striking out six and walking two.

The Sox hit four solo home runs, two of them by third baseman Yoan Moncada, who now has nine homers for the season. It was good night all around for Moncada, who went 3 for 4 to raise his average to .289. That .877 OPS looks pretty good. I would like to see that stick for the whole season.

Jose Abreu also homered -- his team-high 10th -- and Welington Castillo hit his third home run of the season. Castillo also doubled and scored on a double by Yolmer Sanchez in the seventh.

Aaron Bummer got the final out of the eighth in relief of Lopez, and Alex Colome worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his eighth save in as many chances. Good win.

Tuesday, May 14
Indians 9, White Sox 0: The Sox have been outscored 29-2 in the past three games that Banuelos (2-3) has started. The meager two runs scored are not Banuelos' fault. The 29 runs allowed very much are his fault.

The left-hander left in the fifth inning with some sort of shoulder ailment, but not before he gave up five earned runs, including three homers. This guy just isn't rotation material, and I'm still aggravated that the Sox came into the season believing he could help them. That 7.26 ERA says otherwise.

Now, Banuelos might need to go on the injured list, so the Sox will need a replacement for the replacement. Honestly, I couldn't tell you what direction they are going to go, assuming they are going to stick to their guns and not call up Dylan Cease. Jordan Stephens is on the 40-man roster, but he has a 9.48 ERA at Triple-A Charlotte this season. No, he's not a viable option.

Offensively, the Sox were quiet against Carrasco, who tossed seven shutout innings. Same as it ever was.

The Sox have a day off Wednesday in advance of this weekend's four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The rest is probably coming at a good time.

When 'settling for a split' feels like the best possible outcome ...

Jose Ramirez

If you read or listen to recaps of this week's four-game series between the White Sox and the Cleveland Indians, someone may note that the Sox "settled for a split."

The phrase is commonly used when a team wins the first two games of a series, only to lose the last two. And that's precisely what the Sox did in this case.

Jose Ramirez hit a two-run homer off Kelvin Herrera in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday, lifting the Indians to a 5-3 win. Cleveland also won Thursday, 5-0, in a game that was shortened to five innings by rain.

Truthfully, the rain was a blessing for the Sox. Their bullpen didn't get have to pitch another three innings in a game that was a lost cause. Sox hitters, as is their custom, could do nothing with Carlos Carrasco. And Manny Banuelos is a long reliever (at best) being asked to be a starting pitcher on this team.

Predictable results ensue.

And that's pretty much the problem here. If you had asked me Sunday night if I would take a Sox split of this four-game series, I would have said, "You bet."

We've reached a point of hopelessness to where two wins out of four games is considered a rousing success. Let's not pretend the Indians are a juggernaut -- they are 20-16; they aren't going to win 102 games like they did two seasons ago.

It shouldn't be completely implausible for the Sox to take three out of four from this Cleveland team, and while they had two opportunities to do so, there was never any real feeling that they'd actually pull it off.

That's a reason why I refer to Sox fandom as being like a second job these days. The absolute best you can hope for is for the team to not embarrass itself. The Sox didn't embarrass themselves in Cleveland, so we gleefully "settle for the split" and get ready to watch a weekend series against Toronto.

White Sox rotation looking to avoid 'worst-ever' label

Just when I was ready to label the White Sox starting rotation as the worst I've seen on the South Side in my lifetime, Sox pitchers came up with two outstanding starts.

Ivan Nova (1-3) went seven innings of one-run ball Monday to pick up his first victory as a member of the Sox, as the South Siders roughed up Cleveland's Trevor Bauer in a 9-1 win.

The veteran right-hander allowed eight hits, but walked only one while striking out five. Even with the quality start, his season ERA is at 7.04.

On Tuesday, Lucas Giolito (3-1) backed that up with perhaps the best start he's had since he joined the Sox. He tossed 7.1 innings of shutout ball in a 2-0 victory, allowing three hits and three walks with eight strikeouts.

Remarkably Giolito threw only four breaking balls among his 105 pitches. He threw 67 fastballs and 34 changeups, and since the Indians never solved that two-pitch combination, he wisely stuck with it.

Nevertheless, this Sox rotation of Nova, Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Manny Banuelos and Dylan Covey is not going to intimidate anyone.

Entering Wednesday's action, the Sox's team ERA was 5.35, and the starting rotation had posted only 11 quality starts in 34 games. Against that backdrop, it's remarkable the Sox won 16 of those first 34 games.

Going back through my lifetime, I was trying to think of another Sox rotation that looked as leaky as this one does. The one that stood in my mind was the 1998 team, which finished the season with a 5.22 ERA.

That Sox club managed to go 80-82, but that was a team with a excellent offense. Albert Belle rewrote the franchise record book, and the lineup also featured Frank Thomas, Robin Ventura, Ray Durham and Magglio Ordonez.

But the starting pitching, oh boy, it was bad. Here's a look at the numbers for Sox pitchers who made 15 starts or more in 1998:

Mike Sirotka: 14-15, 5.06 ERA, 1.427 WHIP in 33 starts
Jaime Navarro: 8-16, 6.36 ERA, 1.737 WHIP in 37 games (27 starts)
James Baldwin: 13-6, 5.32 ERA, 1.484 WHIP in 37 games (24 starts)
Jim Parque: 7-5, 5.10 ERA, 1.628 WHIP in 21 starts
Scott Eyre: 3-8, 5.38 ERA, 1.664 WHIP in 33 games (17 starts)
Jason Bere: 3-7, 6.45 ERA, 1.865 WHIP in 18 games (15 starts)

Yeah, so that's the low bar this Sox rotation has to clear. You could say they should sign Dallas Keuchel (or maybe even James Shields). You could say they should bring up Dylan Cease, but there's no indication any of that is going to happen, so why bother discussing it?

By way of comparison, here are the numbers the Sox rotation is putting up (through Tuesday):

Nova: 1-3, 7.04 ERA, 1.696 WHIP in seven starts
Giolito: 3-1, 4.06 ERA, 1.290 WHIP in six starts
Lopez: 2-4, 6.69 ERA, 1.761 WHIP in seven starts
Banuelos: 2-1, 5.96 ERA, 1.676 WHIP in seven games (three starts)
Covey: 0-1, 4.50 ERA, 2.000 WHIP in three games (one start)

There are still 128 games to get through this season ...

White Sox's pitching house of cards crumbles vs. Red Sox

Chris Sale

Here's one way to look at this weekend: The White Sox won one more game against the Boston Red Sox than expected. It turned out to be the first game of the four-games series, but oh, those three losses ...

They were as ugly as ugly gets.

The starting pitching is crumbling on the South Side of Chicago, and we still have 130 games to go. Carlos Rodon is out for an extended period. Ivan Nova is failing miserably as the veteran innings-eater. Ervin Santana already has been released.

Manny Banuelos is NOT the answer the Sox hoped he would be when they touted his skills at SoxFest in January, and once again, we're stuck with Dylan Covey as the most viable option to fill space.

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

Thursday, May 2
White Sox 6, Red Sox 4: Nicky Delmonico hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to turn a possible 4-3 loss into a Sox victory. And my main reaction was, "Well, at least they won't get swept."

Boston opened the door when third baseman Rafael Devers kicked a routine grounder hit by Jose Rondon. Yonder Alonso singled to move Rondon to third, and that set the table for Delmonico.

But, the one positive takeaway from this whole weekend, for me, was something else: Lucas Giolito looked competent on the mound in his first game back from the injured list. He worked five respectable innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. He struck out seven and walked two against a good lineup.

Obviously, we want more than five innings from Giolito his next time out, but this performance was encouraging.

Friday, May 3
Red Sox 6, White Sox 1: Chris Sale was 0-5 coming into this game. His velocity was down, he has a World Series hangover, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Whatever. That guy is still a great pitcher, and him being 0-5 just meant he was due for a win.

He's now 1-5 after blanked the Sox over six innings, striking out 10 and allowing only three hits. He kicked the Sox's asses fair and square, and that had to be satisfying for him.

Reynaldo Lopez (2-4) gave up a three-run homer to Devers in the top of the first inning, and that was all Sale would need.

Rondon pitched an inning of scoreless relief in the ninth for the Sox. I was scratching my head as to why a team with an eight-man bullpen was using an infielder to pitch in a five-run game. It was 6-1, not 15-2, you know?

Saturday, May 4
Red Sox 15, White Sox 2: About that 15-2 ... Banuelos retired the first eight men he faced. Then he gave up 10 straight hits as the Red Sox posted a nine-spot in the top of the third inning.

I actually felt bad for Banuelos, who should not have been left in the game that long. But the Sox have a taxed bullpen, so on and so forth, and they were trying to get a few more outs from him. Those outs simply weren't forthcoming.

Carson Fulmer appeared with his gas can and gave up five more runs in the fourth. He retired only one of the seven hitters he faced and walked three. After the game, Fulmer was mercifully sent back to Triple-A.

Here's the thing: If you can't throw strikes when there's no penalty for throwing strikes, such as when your team is down 9-1 in the fourth, you don't belong in the major leagues. Fulmer is a tremendous disappointment, being a former first-round draft pick.

Banuelos is a scrap-heap pickup who is being asked to handle more than he should. I have no bad feelings toward him. Rather, I have bad feelings toward those who erroneously believed he was a viable answer for this starting rotation.

Kelvin Herrera, a high-leverage reliever, finished this game instead of a position player, for some reason.

Sunday, May 5
Red Sox 9, White Sox 2: Covey did his job. I was hoping for four decent innings. He provided 4.2 decent innings, allowing two runs.

This game was tied at 2 through seven innings, and then Boston scored seven runs in the eighth against Herrera, Caleb Frare and Juan Minaya. (Yep, Minaya's back. Somebody had to take Fulmer's place. And maybe Herrera shouldn't have been wasting bullets Saturday.)

That Boston rally started with a clown shoes play that I'm not sure I can do justice. Devers hit one off the left-field fence, and Delmonico actually did a great job of playing the carom. He got the ball in quickly, holding Devers to a long single.

Problem is, Tim Anderson tried to catch Devers as he scrambled back to first, and he threw the ball away. As Devers broke for second, Jose Abreu retrieved the ball and decided he'd try to throw out the Boston runner. Instead, he chucked the ball into left field, allowing Devers to make third.

So, a one-out single turned into a Little League triple. Before you knew it, there were walks and hits and a grand slam by Xander Bogaerts, and the game was over.

There was a crowd of 36,553, more than on Opening Day. They were all still there when the eighth inning started. By the bottom of the eighth, there were about 6,000 there, and probably 5,000 of them were in Red Sox gear.

Oh well. Easier for me to get out of the parking lot, I guess. 

All this means the Sox got outscored 30-5 in the final three games of the series. Rick Hahn talks a lot about positioning the organization to "compete for multiple championships." He just got a lesson in how far away he truly is. 

White Sox DFA Ervin Santana, reinstate Eloy Jimenez from bereavement list

Ervin Santana

When a veteran pitcher is signed to be an "innings-eater" at the back of the rotation, you expect him to -- well, you know -- eat innings.

However, when said pitcher struggles to make it through five innings in every start, that deal becomes a difficult proposition.

Ervin Santana, we hardly knew ye.

The White Sox on Friday designated the right-handed pitcher for assignment. Rookie left fielder Eloy Jimenez was reinstated from the bereavement list to take Santana's place on the 25-man roster.

Santana made three starts and went 0-2 with a 9.45 ERA. He allowed 14 earned runs and six home runs in 13.1 innings, and he walked more people (6) than he struck out (5).

In Santana's best start, he lasted only five innings against the sad-sack Kansas City Royals, and in his most recent outing, he was knocked out in the fifth inning of a loss to the sad-sack Baltimore Orioles.

This is the right move. Santana has shown nothing, even against poor opposition. That said, I'm a little surprised the Sox let Santana go so quickly. They have a cherished history of sticking with struggling players way too long.

Not this time.

I'm guessing this means Lucas Giolito will be healthy and ready to take his next turn in the rotation, likely next Tuesday. Giolito is on the injured list with a hamstring strain right now. This also means Manny Banuelos is likely to get a chance at sticking in the rotation. He tossed four shutout innings in his first start of the season Monday against Baltimore, a game that Sox won handily.

As for Jimenez, he returns after missing the Baltimore series because of the death of his grandmother in the Dominican Republic. The rookie had been struggling of late both at the plate and in the field.

A modest suggestion for Sox manager Rick Renteria: Detroit is pitching two left-handers against the Sox this weekend -- Daniel Norris on Friday and Matthew Boyd on Sunday. Let's allow Jimenez to DH a couple games to take some of the pressure off. He can focus on his hitting and forget about defense.

Sit Yonder Alonso against the lefties -- he's only hitting .179 and hasn't done enough to deserve an everyday role. Then put the best defensive outfield available out there -- Leury Garcia in left field, Adam Engel in center and Ryan Cordell in right.

I think that alignment gives the Sox the best chance to win against left-handed pitching, at least for now.

White Sox set eight-man bullpen for Opening Day

Nate Jones

The White Sox's 25-man roster isn't in full focus yet, but we have a pretty good feel for who will be on the pitching staff when the season opens Thursday.

The Sox announced the eight members of their bullpen Sunday, before they concluded the Cactus League schedule with a 7-3 win over the Cleveland Indians.

The bullpen will be:

Right-handers: Alex Colome, Nate Jones, Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Burr, Dylan Covey
Left-handers: Jace Fry, Caleb Frare, Manny Banuelos

Five summarizing thoughts:

• Colome will get first crack at closing. Duh. He led the American League with 47 saves for the Tampa Bay Rays two years ago, so he's a logical choice.
• Jones is fortunate he has a track record. His spring ERA is an unsightly 12.71, and he's had a ton of injuries the past few seasons. His velocity is down to 94-95 mph. He used to sit at 97-98 mph. He doesn't have much deception in his delivery, so I'm wondering if he can be an effective late-inning reliever if the velocity doesn't come back.
• Burr made the team on the basis of a strong spring -- 15 strikeouts and no walks over 10.1 innings pitched. He also allowed only nine hits. That's how you earn a roster spot.
• Covey also was good this spring, a 2.45 ERA and only 12 baserunners allowed in 11 innings. He only struck out four, but maybe he's the guy the Sox bring in when they need someone to induce a double-play grounder in the sixth or seventh inning. His sinker has been working. Covey and Banuelos both are stretched out enough to give the Sox two options who can pitch multiple innings.
• Frare recovered from a terrible start to the spring to beat out Aaron Bummer for the LOOGY role. Frare's 7.88 spring ERA doesn't impress, but that number was at 16.20 after his first three spring appearances. He's been spotted against left-handed hitters in recent spring outings -- that's his role when the season starts -- and he has gotten the job done.

It also appears the Sox will carry only four starting pitchers to start the season. There are off-days March 29, April 2 and April 5. The Sox do not need a fifth starter until April 10, which means Ervin Santana will stay in Arizona to continue to get his work done. Starting pitchers Carlos Rodon, Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito and Ivan Nova will come north with the team.

This means the Sox will have 13 position players on the roster for the first few series of the season. If one of those players is going to be Eloy Jimenez (and I don't see why not), someone will have to go on the disabled list to create a spot for the top prospect, because he was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte earlier this spring.

Nicky Delmonico already has been optioned, so the guess here is Daniel Palka or Jon Jay will come down with some sort of minor ailment that will cause a trip to the injured list.

Carlos Rodon gets Opening Day start for White Sox

Carlos Rodon

The White Sox on Monday announced that left-hander Carlos Rodon will start the season opener March 28 on the road against the Kansas City Royals.

According to a report on whitesox.com, Rodon will be followed by Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito and Ivan Nova in the starting rotation. Manny Banuelos and Ervin Santana are competing for the No. 5 spot.

For the first time in a couple years, Rodon is healthy and ready to begin the season on the active roster. After experiencing shoulder problems at the end of the 2017 season, he started the 2018 campaign on the disabled list before returning to make 20 starts, going 6-8 with a 4.18 ERA, 90 strikeouts and 55 walks in 120.2 innings pitched.

Rodon, 26, has made three starts this spring, allowing seven runs on nine hits with eight strikeouts in 12.1 innings pitched. He figures to get one more Cactus League outing before the first performance that counts.

Bummer, Fulmer optioned to Charlotte

The Sox announced four roster moves before Monday's 5-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants. 

Left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer and former first-round draft pick Carson Fulmer were optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. Outfielder Charlie Tilson and left-handed pitcher Colton Turner were reassigned to minor league camp.

Of the four, Bummer had the best chance to make the club, but seven walks in nine innings and a spring ERA of 12.00 earns a pitcher a demotion, for sure.

The Sox are 7-14-2 this spring after the loss to the Giants. They have lost four in a row.

Latest guess at White Sox's Opening Day roster

Tim Anderson

The White Sox are 6-10-2 in Cactus League play, and both of their split-squad games were rained out Tuesday. So with nothing meaningful to comment on, and with spring training about half over, let's take a guess at who makes the Opening Day roster as it stands right now.

Starting pitchers (5): Carlos Rodon, Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito, Ivan Nova, Ervin Santana.
Comment: Of course, Santana's presence is dependent on his health, and so far, there's nothing that's been said that leads me to believe he's off track. The only real question is who starts the season opener. The smart money is on Rodon, because he is the most experienced and most accomplished of the younger guys. And I don't think they are going to give the nod to the journeyman Nova.

Relief pitchers (8): Alex Colome, Kelvin Herrera, Nate Jones, Jace Fry, Juan Minaya, Dylan Covey, Ryan Burr, Manny Banuelos.
Comment: None of the left-handed relief candidates have distinguished themselves. Fry was the Sox's best reliever last season, so he's on the club despite his struggling spring. But Aaron Bummer and Caleb Frare need to pick it up to make the team, and I can see Banuelos getting the nod as a second lefty ahead of both of them -- if for no other reason than Banuelos is out of options. Minaya has had a terrible spring, too, but he'll probably hang on because he had a 2.70 ERA the second half of last season. Covey has pitched himself back into the picture with a strong spring. Burr has been strong, as well, after struggling in his call-up to the majors last season. I'm thinking Burr gets a spot over Ian Hamilton, who is dealing with shoulder stiffness after he was in a car crash.

Catchers (2): Welington Castillo, James McCann
Comment: Same as it ever was. Will either Zack Collins or Seby Zavala be ready to come up from Triple-A Charlotte this year?

Infielders (6): Jose Abreu, Yonder Alonso, Yolmer Sanchez, Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, Jose Rondon
Comment: The Sox decided to rearrange the deck chairs after whiffing in their attempt to sign Manny Machado. Moncada now is the third baseman, probably for the long term, while Sanchez switches back to his natural position at second base. Is he keeping the seat warm for Nick Madrigal? Maybe. Anderson is having a great spring -- 12 for 27 with five extra-base hits and only four strikeouts. Please let that be real. Rondon makes the club because he's out of options and can play competent defense at any position on the infield. He also hits lefties, which is a skill this club needs.

Outfielders (4): Adam Engel, Daniel Palka, Jon Jay, Leury Garcia
Comment: Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck. At least Engel is a good defender, so he's your everyday center fielder. Garcia being a switch-hitter, I assume we'll see him quite a bit against left-handed pitching, since neither Palka nor Jay are particularly good at hitting lefties. Somebody on the roster is keeping a seat warm for Eloy Jimenez. The guess here is Palka, Rondon and whoever the eighth reliever is will be in a battle to stay on the team past mid-April.