White Sox quiet as trade deadline passes Monday

Mike Clevinger

Major League Baseball's trade deadline passed Monday afternoon, and the White Sox made no major moves.

Sure, they tinkered on the margins of the roster, activating infielder Yolmer Sanchez and designating infielder Ryan Goins for assignment, but I don't think that's the move Sox fans had in mind.

The South Siders were rumored to be interested in starting pitchers, with Cleveland's Mike Clevinger, Texas' Lance Lynn, the Los Angeles Angels' Dylan Bundy and Arizona's Robbie Ray among the names mentioned.

As it turns out, Lynn and Bundy stayed put. Ray was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, and Clevinger went to the San Diego Padres as part of a blockbuster nine-player swap.

Given the prospect haul the Padres gave the Indians, I do not believe the Sox could have matched that deal. And, frankly, I wouldn't have traded that much for Clevinger, who has had some injuries the past couple of seasons. I'm not convinced he is the "finishing piece" the Sox need.

I would have been interested in Lynn for the right price. The 33-year-old has a reasonably priced contract for 2021 ($8 million), and he could have helped the Sox in the middle of the rotation both this year and next. However, I was not willing to part with any of Michael Kopech, Nick Madrigal or Andrew Vaughn to acquire Lynn. If that was the asking price -- and none of us here knows that for sure -- then I believe Sox general manager Rick Hahn was right to pass.

It is somewhat disappointing the Sox didn't add to their bullpen, given the more reasonable asking prices for relievers, Aaron Bummer's status on the injured list, and the struggles we saw the Sox have over the weekend trying to bridge the gap between their starting pitchers and closer Alex Colome.

Right now, the middle reliever that Sox manager Rick Renteria seems to trust most is Evan Marshall. Beyond that, he's throwing darts, overusing Jimmy Cordero and lacking a left-handed reliever that can be used in high-leverage situations. (Garrett Crochet, anyone?)

When I saw David Phelps move from Milwaukee to Philadelphia and Archie Bradley move from Arizona to Cincinnati for reasonable prices, I thought to myself, "Damn, the Sox couldn't outbid those teams?"

Thinking back to SoxFest, we all knew at that time that the Sox had four great prospects -- Luis Robert, Madrigal, Vaughn and Kopech. But beyond that, the organizational depth was looking a little thin. I asked Hahn in January whether the Sox had enough prospect capital to swing midseason deals to patch holes in the roster for the playoff drive.

Of course, he gave a long-winded answer of "yes," but it turns out the answer was "no."

Too bad, because the Sox are certainly in good position with 25 games to play in the 60-game season. They stand at 22-13 after Monday's come-from-behind, 8-5 win over the Minnesota Twins. They lead Cleveland by one game in the AL Central. They are 2.5 games ahead of the Twins.

Yolmer Sanchez returns to White Sox on minor-league deal

Yolmer Sanchez

Infielder Yolmer Sanchez is returning to the White Sox on a minor-league-deal, reports say.

Sanchez, 28, recently requested his release from the San Francisco Giants in order to "pursue other opportunities." He won an American League Gold Glove Award as the Sox's primary second baseman in 2019, but he was nontendered during the offseason because his bat isn't nearly as good as his glove.

Sanchez slashed .252/.318/.321 with only two home runs, 20 doubles and 43 RBIs last season.

However, it didn't work out for him in San Francisco, and the Sox find themselves in need of infield depth. Second baseman Nick Madrigal remains on the injured list with a separated shoulder, and all-purpose player Leury Garcia is done for the year after tearing ligaments in his thumb on an ill-advised dive into first base.

Danny Mendick has filled in admirably at second base, but third baseman Yoan Moncada has been laboring around the field, grimacing every time he has to run out a ground ball and struggling to play his position. Clearly, Moncada is operating at less than 100%, but he needs to be on the field because with Madrigal and Garcia out, the next-best infield option is ... Ryan Goins. (Gulp.)

Enter Sanchez, who despite his weaknesses with the bat is a capable fielder no matter where you put him on the infield. He's a switch-hitter, and he is better offensively than the journeyman Goins.

I expect Sanchez to get some reps in at the Sox's alternate site in Schaumburg, and then eventually replace Goins on the 28-man roster.

So, let's welcome Sanchez back to the Sox organization with our traditional song:

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.

White Sox announce 30-man Opening Day roster

Nick Madrigal

Here are the 30 players who will be in uniform Friday when the White Sox open the season against the Minnesota Twins:

Starting pitchers (5): Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, Reynaldo Lopez, Dylan Cease, Carlos Rodon

Relief pitchers (11): Alex Colome, Aaron Bummer, Steve Cishek, Evan Marshall, Jace Fry, Kelvin Herrera, Gio Gonzalez, Jimmy Lambert, Codi Heuer, Jimmy Cordero, Ross Detwiler

Catchers (3): Yasmani Grandal, James McCann, Zack Collins

Infielders (7): Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, Leury Garcia, Danny Mendick, Edwin Encarnacion, Cheslor Cuthbert

Outfielders (4): Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Adam Engel, Nicky Delmonico

Notable omissions: INF Nick Madrigal, RHP Carson Fulmer, C Yermin Mercedes

So, even though the Sox have shifted into win-now mode, they are still playing the service time manipulation game. Madrigal probably deserves to be the second baseman, but he'll start the year playing intrasquad games in Schaumburg.

I disagree with that decision, as I always disagree whenever a club manipulates the service time of a good prospect. How much do you want to bet Madrigal will be added to the active roster next week after the cutoff to collect a year of service time passes?

The Sox had 39 men on the 40-man roster, and they needed to add Cuthbert and Detwiler, so that meant that somebody had to go.

That somebody was Fulmer. The former top-10 draft pick was designated for assignment after his latest brutal display of control, when he walked the bases loaded with a 7-2 lead in the eighth inning Sunday against the Cubs. If you can't throw strikes in that situation, when can you throw strikes? Fulmer cannot be counted on to move lopsided games along, and that being the case, he needs to not be on the team. So long, happy trails.

It was expected that the Sox would keep three catchers, and they chose Collins over Mercedes. In this case, you figure Collins' left-handedness helped him. With outfielder Nomar Mazara on the 10-day injured list, the Sox are a little short on left-handed thump. Also, Collins is a former first-round draft pick, and much more has been invested in him than in Mercedes, who is 27 years old and is on his third professional organization.

In other news, infielder Andrew Romine was given his release, and the Sox signed infielder Ryan Goins to a contract and assigned him to Schaumburg. Romine and Goins are similar players. Not sure what made them prefer one Quad-A veteran over another, but let's hope that move doesn't matter in the big picture.

We also were wondering if manager Rick Renteria would announce a starting pitcher for Sunday's third game of the season. No word on that yet. Here are your pitching probables for the weekend series with the Twins:

Friday, 7:10 p.m.: Giolito vs. Jose Berrios
Saturday, 1:10 p.m.: Keuchel vs. Rich Hill
Sunday, 1:10 p.m.: TBD vs. Kenta Maeda

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.

Why is Yoan Moncada still in Charlotte? Zack Collins? Luis Robert?

White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte at the end of last week. Through three games with the Knights, he was 4 for 12 with a home run.

Then, he didn't play Sunday night, so I figured he was flying to Minnesota to join the team for its three-game series with the Twins starting Monday night.

After all, the Sox lost three out of four over the weekend to the Los Angeles Angels. They could use the help.

But no, Moncada is playing for Charlotte (again) on Monday night. Why? Who knows?

In other news from the farm, Zack Collins was named International League Batter of the Week. The left-handed slugger hit .538 (14 for 26) with eight runs scored, three doubles, four home runs and nine RBIs over seven games this week.

This is terrific news, as Collins has been swinging a hot bat since his demotion to Charlotte. Whatever adjustments he is making are working, and I'm in favor of his return to Chicago. Alas, it hasn't happened yet.

Given the Sox's struggles against even mediocre right-handed pitching of late, perhaps the lineup would look better with Moncada and Collins in it. Manager Rick Renteria continues to resort to Jon Jay batting cleanup against right-handed pitchers. This cannot continue.

And then there's Luis Robert, who homered twice Sunday night and homered again in Monday's game for Charlotte. Robert was batting .306 and slugging .639 in 33 games coming into Monday night, and this latest home run is his 12th since his promotion from Double-A Birmingham.

I just don't see what Robert has left to prove in Triple-A. I hope we see him -- and Collins -- in Chicago sooner rather than later. It's time to get ready for 2020, and those two men need to be part of it. 

Sox brass, unfortunately, seems more content to kill time with Jay, Ryan Cordell and Adam Engel all on the big league roster, not to mention Matt Skole, Welington Castillo and Ryan Goins. Well, I guess Goins is making a case to be around in 2020, but the rest of these guys are just filler.

At what point does this rebuild move on from roster filler?

James McCann's grand slam gives White Sox series win over Houston Astros

James McCann

James McCann hit a two-out, two-strike grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning Wednesday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field, lifting the White Sox to a 13-9 win in a wild slugfest against the Houston Astros.

With the victory, the Sox took two out of three in the series and won the season series from the American League West-leading Astros, 4 games to 3.

So much for my concern about the Sox pitching staff needing to cover 27 innings in about 24 hours against a powerful Houston offense.

The Sox caught a break in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader, when Houston pitcher and Cy Young candidate Gerrit Cole could not make his start after straining his hamstring warming up in the bullpen.

To the Sox's credit, they took advantage and won that game, with their own starting pitcher (Ivan Nova) tossing a complete game. It is always a boost for a team when a pitcher steps up and throws all nine innings of a game on a day where you're playing a doubleheader. Bullpen saved.

Here's a look back at the Sox's surprising and satisfying series win:

Tuesday, Aug. 13
Astros 6, White Sox 2 (Game 1): It was a mixed bag for Sox starter Dylan Cease, who threw a quality start. He worked six innings, allowing four runs (only two earned) against a good team, and when he left the mound after facing one hitter in the seventh inning, the Sox were only down 3-2. He absolutely gave his team a chance to win.

And the third and fourth (unearned) runs on his tab were both the fault of catcher Welington Castillo, who had three passed balls, two of which allowed runs to score.

On the down side, Cease (2-5) walked five and struck out two, and you can only pitch around walks for so long until the opposition scores runs. I don't think Cease had the fairest strike zone from the home plate umpire, and he got no help from his catcher, but he can pitch better.

The Sox managed only two runs off Houston's Zack Greinke (12-4), who pitched six innings to earn the win.

Tuesday, Aug. 13
White Sox 4, Astros 1 (Game 2): Nova was the story. He needed only 104 pitches to complete the game. He allowed four hits, all singles, and did not walk a batter. He retired 17 of the last 18 men he faced in a game that took two hours, 21 minutes to play.

Over his past four starts, Nova (8-9) is 4-0 with a 0.49 ERA. Obviously, regression is coming, but in the meantime, I'll enjoy this Nova hot streak while it lasts and pray management doesn't reward him with a multiyear contract extension. This was his best start in a Sox uniform, bar none.

As mentioned, Cole was unable to make his start, and the Sox victimized emergency Houston starter Chris Devenski (1-2) for three runs in the bottom of the second inning. All the runs came with two outs, one on a single by Adam Engel and two more on a single by Ryan Goins.

The Sox added a fourth run in the fourth on a two-out RBI double by Ryan Cordell. Nova took it from there, and it was nice to see the Sox come through with some two-out hitting.

Wednesday, Aug. 14
White Sox 13, Astros 9: Speaking of two-out hitting, McCann was down 0-2 in the count when he drove a slider from Ryan Pressly into the right-field bullpen for a grand slam that broke a 9-9 tie in the eighth inning.

Pressly (2-3) is one of the Astros' better relievers. He entered the day with a 1.94 ERA, but he gave up singles to Yolmer Sanchez and Tim Anderson, and walked Jose Abreu, ahead of the big hit by McCann.

It is good to see the Sox catcher using right field again, something he wasn't doing throughout a monthlong slump in July.

This was a wild, back-and-forth game. Houston was up 2-0. The Sox went ahead 4-2. Houston tied it at 4. The Sox went ahead 7-4, and then 8-5. The Astros made it 8-7. Then Eloy Jimenez homered for the Sox to make it 9-7. Jose Altuve answered with a two-run blast to tie it for the Astros.

But the last big hit of the day went to McCann. For a change, the Sox hitters picked up the relief pitchers, who struggled in this game. Jimmy Cordero, Aaron Bummer and Evan Marshall combined to give up five runs over 2.2 innings.

But Alex Colome (4-2) got five outs for the win. He extricated the Sox from a bases-loaded situation in the eighth, and then worked a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts to close it out.