Eloy Jimenez, Paul DeJong, Tanner Banks traded on deadline day

The Major League Baseball trade deadline has passed. Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. are still members of the White Sox.

Paul DeJong, Tanner Banks and, surprisingly, Eloy Jimenez are not.

Jimenez, the erstwhile 27-year-old "slugger" who hasn't homered since May 14, was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Triple-A lefty Trey McGough.

As per usual, injuries have limited Jimenez to 65 games this season. He's batting .240/.297/.345 with just five home runs and 16 RBIs. His bWAR is -0.7. His OPS+ is 81, which means he's 19% below league average.

Normally, I'm critical of the Sox for making salary dumps. This one, I'm fine with. I'm tired of Jimenez hitting grounders to the left side of the infield, not hitting for any power and being unable to run the bases hard. 

In recent days, I've described Jimenez as a DFA candidate. Moving on from him is a good idea.

DeJong was traded to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for low-A reliever Jarold Rosado.

Honestly, DeJong exceeded expectations with the Sox this season. He's batting .228/.275/.430, and he strikes out too much --- 112 Ks in 363 plate appearances. But that .430 slugging percentage plays for a guy who can stand in the middle infield. DeJong leads the Sox with 18 homers, and given that he's making $1.5 million on a one-year deal, that's not a bad return.

That said, he's not part of the Sox's long-term plan, so you get something in return when you can.

Banks, the 32-year-old lefty reliever, was 2-2 with a 4.13 ERA in 41 games this season. He's basically a replacement-level reliever, and contenders can never have too many bullpen arms.

Thus, Banks is on his way to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for 19-year-old infielder William Bergolla.

My take on Crochet and Robert Jr. staying put is simple: I'd rather see no trades than a bad trade. And I thought Monday's three-way deal that sent Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham to the St. Louis Cardinals, and Michael Kopech to the Los Angeles Dodgers, was a bad trade for the Sox.

Ultimately, Miguel Vargas -- acquired from the Dodgers -- is the only player the Sox added who can potentially help them in 2025.

Where does that leave the Sox in the near future? The 2024 team is on pace to set a record for losses in the modern era. I haven't set foot in the ballpark this season, and it's possible I'll take the same stance in 2025. 

I'm struggling to see how this gets better. Maybe there will be some impactful trades in the offseason, but that's difficult to forecast because it takes another team to make a deal. The calvary isn't coming in free agency. With Sox attendance at a low -- they may not draw 1.3 million this year -- owner Jerry Reinsdorf isn't likely to spend money. 

Plus, if you're a free agent with multiple suitors, why would you sign with the Sox?

Nothing that has happened this week changes the outlook in a positive way. It looks bleak.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday, May 3

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

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

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

Saturday, May 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunday, May 5

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

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

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

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

Jonathan Cannon's debut also a success; Sox split doubleheader

The White Sox did not win Jonathan Cannon's first major-league start, but the rookie right-hander can say he did his job.

Cannon worked five innings in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, allowing only one earned run on three hits. He struck out three and walked one, and he left the game with a 2-1 lead.

Alas, the Sox bullpen happened, and the Royals rallied for a 4-2 victory.

The run Cannon allowed was not his fault. He retired the first two batters in the top of the second inning, including his first career strikeout, which came against Salvador Perez.

Alas, center fielder Dominic Fletcher slipped and fell on what should have been a routine flyout off the bat of Nelson Velasquez, who made second base on the "double" and scored on a single by Adam Frazier.

Fortunately, the Kansas City lead didn't last. Paul DeJong's third home run of the season, a two-run shot, gave the Sox a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second.

The score stayed there until the eighth inning, when Perez connected for a two-run homer on a middle-middle fastball from Michael Kopech (0-2) to put the Royals ahead to stay at 3-2.

Hunter Renfroe added a solo home run for Kansas City in the ninth, and the Sox were toast.

The loss not only wasted Cannon's start, but it also ruined DeJong's best game in a Sox uniform. The shortstop went 3 for 3 with the aforementioned homer, a single, a double and a walk.

Game 2 goes to Sox

We have a surprise for you! The Sox won Game 2!

This time, two runs was enough. The Sox got a strong starting pitching performance from Erick Fedde in a 2-1 victory.

Fedde (1-0) allowed no runs on three hits over 5.2 innings. He struck out five and walked three.

The Sox got a run in the fourth after Andrew Vaughn doubled and scored on a single by Fletcher. Gavin Sheets hit his third home run of the season in the sixth inning for a 2-0 lead, and this time, the bullpen made it stick.

Tanner Banks allowed an unearned run in the seventh, but Deivi Garcia got six outs for his first save of the season.

The Sox are 3-15. There are 144 more games of this crap remaining.

Minnesota Twins outscore White Sox 30-11 in 4-game series

Guaranteed Rate Field on Sept. 16

There are two things that I can say about the Minnesota Twins:

1.     They are going to win the American League Central Division, easily.
2.     They are not a particularly impressive team.

After taking three games out of four from the White Sox this weekend at Guaranteed Rate Field, the Twins are still only eight games above .500 at 79-71. They also possess a seven-game lead in the division with 12 to play, because the second-place Cleveland Guardians are 72-78.

That said, that mediocrity did not stop Minnesota from outscoring the Sox 30-11 over the course of the four-game series. Each of the Twins' three victories came in convincing fashion, the closest of the bunch being their 4-0 win on Sunday.

It's very difficult to sweep a four-game series. The garbage team usually wins one, and the Sox happened to win the game I attended this weekend, 7-6 on Saturday.

The Sox had a 7-1 lead after seven innings Saturday, but they gave up four runs in the eighth and one run in the ninth. The Twins had the bases loaded when Tanner Banks recorded the final out for his first career save.

So, it was pretty close to being a four-game sweep. Again, keep this in mind when the Sox claim they can compete in 2024. This weekend, they were completely outclassed on their home field by the middling Twins.

The Sox are 22 games behind Minnesota at 57-93. The Twins would be at least five games out if they were in any other division besides the AL Central. I don't see them winning anything in October, but there is no denying they are far superior to the Sox.

Sox manager Pedro Grifol continues to prattle on about "setting a tone" for next season and "developing a winning culture" and such. As far as I can tell, the only thing he's doing is getting his ass kicked by mediocre and bad teams.

The Sox are 4-12 in September, all against AL Central foes. What does that tell you?

Luis Robert Jr. looks like favorite to represent White Sox in All-Star Game

About an hour before game time Sunday, in Suite 250.

Luis Robert Jr. went 3 for 4 with two home runs and three RBIs on Sunday, lifting the White Sox to a 4-1 win over the Boston Red Sox in the rubber match of a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Robert Jr.'s first homer was in the fourth inning, a high fly to right-center field that just cleared the fence. The two-run shot gave the Sox their first lead of the game at 2-1.

Andrew Benintendi's RBI double scored Gavin Sheets, who had walked, in the fifth inning to make it 3-1. Robert Jr. then capped the scoring in the sixth with a screaming liner to left field that cleared the Sox bullpen.

On the pitching side, it was a bullpen game for the Sox. Tanner Banks started and gave up the lone Boston run over 2.2 innings pitched. Jesse Scholtens (1-2) went four scoreless innings to pick up the first win of his career, and Keynan Middleton worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his second save of the season.

Robert Jr. now has 21 home runs this season, to go along with 20 doubles.

Here is a list of Sox players to clear 20 home runs and 20 doubles before the All-Star break:

• Frank Thomas, 1993
• Frank Thomas, 1994
• Magglio Ordonez, 2000
• Frank Thomas, 2003
• Jermaine Dye, 2008
• Jose Abreu, 2014
• Jose Abreu, 2019
• Luis Robert Jr., 2023

It's exclusive list. Robert Jr.'s slash line is now .269/.326/.559. Even with his high strikeout totals (91 in 315 plate appearances), his extra-base power and premium defense in center field easily make Robert Jr. the most effective player on the Sox this season.

It's hard to see a scenario where he isn't the guy to represent the Sox during the MLB All-Star Game next month in Seattle.

How does White Sox bullpen shape up heading into spring training?

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn famously said at the start of the offseason that the trade market would be "more fruitful" for the team than free agency this winter.

To this point, that statement is false. The Sox have not made any impact acquisitions via trade this offseason, but they did swing a minor deal over the weekend. The South Siders picked up right-handed reliever Franklin German from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for relief pitching prospect Theo Denlinger.

German, 25, was Boston's Minor League Pitcher of the Year last season. He made a combined 43 relief appearances between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, going 5-2 with a 2.72 ERA, seven saves and 64 strikeouts in 49.2 innings. 

He was rewarded with a late-season audition in Boston, which did not go so well. He allowed eight earned runs in four innings over five appearances. German was designated for assignment in late January. The White Sox likely put a waiver claim in on him, and that led to this trade.

Scouting reports say German is a fastball-slider pitcher, with his heater topping out around 97 mph. This is a depth acquisition. It wouldn't be a surprise if German spends most of the season at Triple-A Charlotte, while getting a recall at some point when the big league club needs an extra arm.

So, how does the Sox bullpen look going into spring training? We know Liam Hendriks will be missing. He's out indefinitely while he undergoes treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. We should also expect Garrett Crochet to miss the start of the season as he continues his recovery from elbow surgery.

There are eight spots available in the bullpen. Assuming good health (a big assumption with this group), here's how things look right now:

Roster locks (5)

• RHP Kendall Graveman
• RHP Joe Kelly
• LHP Aaron Bummer
• RHP Reynaldo Lopez
• LHP Jake Diekman

Likely to make the roster (2)

• RHP Jose Ruiz
• RHP Jimmy Lambert

Others in competition (7)

• RHP Nick Avila
• RHP A.J. Alexy
• LHP Tanner Banks
• RHP Matt Foster
• RHP Franklin German
• RHP Gregory Santos
• LHP Bennett Sousa

Non-roster invitees to watch (3)

• RHP Keynan Middleton
• RHP Jesse Scholtens
• LHP Nate Fisher

A few notes to bring up here: Ruiz is out of options, so he'll probably stick with the club unless he has a disastrous spring. Lambert had a strong season last year after converting from starting pitcher to reliever, but his historical inconsistency makes me reluctant to make him a "roster lock." That said, a decent spring should be good enough for him to break with the team.

If those top seven guys are all healthy and functioning, that leaves only one spot open. Avila figures to be the odds-on favorite, as he is a Rule 5 draftee. If he doesn't stick on the Opening Day roster, the Sox have to offer him back to the San Francisco Giants. The guess here is he'll be given every opportunity to stick.

Banks is the likely choice if the Sox decide they'd like a third lefty in the bullpen. Alexy is most likely going to be stretched out as starting pitching depth, but you never know. If he shows well enough, he could be kept on the roster as a swing man. 

We've seen Foster succeed sporadically in the past. He's split his time between Chicago and Triple-A Charlotte over the past two seasons. However, he may have been passed by on the depth chart with the offseason acquisitions of Santos and German.

This is one area of the roster where the Sox seem to have some depth. They will no doubt miss Hendriks and Crochet, who are the most dominant relief arms on the 40-man roster. But they have options to try if whatever their Plan A is doesn't succeed.

Is it time for the White Sox to cut Dallas Keuchel?

White Sox left-hander Dallas Keuchel has faced 82 batters through his first four starts of the 2022 season. Thirty-five of them have reached base either by a hit or a walk.

That means opposing batters have a .427 on-base percentage against Keuchel. It's stating the obvious, but this is not good.

Keuchel (1-3) took the loss in the latest South Side debacle, a 6-5 defeat against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field. He allowed four earned runs on six hits over five innings, while striking out only one and walking five (!). His ERA is 8.40.

We know the Sox are reluctant to release high-salaried players in the middle of the season, but such a move is not unprecedented. John Danks, another left-handed starter, was designated for assignment after making four starts in the 2016 season. Danks, like Keuchel, was in the last season of a lucrative contract at the time.

Earlier Sunday, Jordan Lazowski from Sox on 35th tweeted a helpful comparison:

2016 John Danks after four starts: 22.1 IP, 7.25 ERA, 6.10 FIP, 16 SO, 11 BB  

2022 Dallas Keuchel after four starts: 15.0 IP, 8.40 ERA, 6.78 FIP, 8 SO, 11 BB 

Danks was owed $14.25 million in 2016. Keuchel is owed $18 million this season. But as you can see from the numbers, Keuchel is actually pitching worse now that Danks was when he was designated in 2016.

Why would now be a good time to cut losses with Keuchel? Well, the Sox don't need a fifth starter until May 10.

Dylan Cease is pitching in Monday's series finale against the Angels. Michael Kopech and Lucas Giolito are lined up to pitch Tuesday and Wednesday against the Cubs.

Then comes an off day Thursday before a three-game series in Boston. Vince Velasquez could pitch Friday, having gotten an extra day of rest. Then Cease and Kopech could pitch on regular rest to finish that series.

The Sox come home May 9 to open a series with the Cleveland Guardians, and Giolito would be available on regular rest.

By May 10, perhaps veteran right-hander Johnny Cueto will be ready to pitch in the majors. Cueto is ramping up at Triple-A Charlotte, and he pitched four innings of one-hit, shutout ball with six strikeouts and no walks (!) in his last appearance.

If Cueto is not ready, the Sox still have other options for that fifth spot. How about using Reynaldo Lopez as an opener, and backing him up with Tanner Banks? 

There is a great chance that Keuchel is going to be out of the rotation anyway when Lance Lynn (knee surgery) rejoins the team, likely in late May. But why wait that long?

The Sox are 8-13 and already 4.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central. It's time to think about moving some underperforming players out of the way, and Keuchel tops that list.

Stats for White Sox prospects in Arizona Fall League

Luis Robert impressed, Luis Alexander Basabe did not, and Zack Burdi's time was cut short. That's the quick, snap judgment for White Sox prospects who participated in the Arizona Fall League.

Sox prospects played for the Glendale Desert Dogs, who went 12-18 in 30 games, so for better or for worse, all of this represents a small sample size. But here's how Sox prospects did in the desert: 

Robert, OF: .324/.367/.432 with two home runs, 10 RBIs, two doubles, five stolen bases and 13 strikeouts with five walks in 74 at-bats. Robert has battled hand and thumb injuries all season, so it's good to see him show why he's highly regarded. 

Basabe, OF: .180/.333/.180 with no extra-base hits, two RBIs, four stolen bases and 16 strikeouts with 12 walks in 50 at-bats. Hey, at least he's taking his walks! 

Laz Rivera, 2B: .215/.271/.246 with two doubles, seven RBIs, one stolen base, 14 strikeouts and three walks in 65 at-bats. 

Burdi, RHP: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 5 Ks, 1 BB, 0.00 ERA. Burdi, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, was removed from the roster Nov. 1 for "general fatigue." Burdi's velocity has been sitting at 92-95 mph, instead of his his pre-surgery 97-100 mph, so that's a concern. 

Tanner Banks, LHP: 22.1 IP, 30 H, 14 R, 11 ER, 10 Ks, 5 BBs, 4.43 ERA 

Zach Thompson, RHP: 13.1 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 15 Ks, 6 BBs, 2.70 ERA  

Danny Dopico, RHP: 12.1 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 15 Ks, 12 BBs, 6.57 ERA