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

Jeanmar Gomez

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Palka ties White Sox record

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

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

Hard to envision Nicky Delmonico sticking with the 2019 White Sox

The White Sox activated Jose Abreu from the disabled list for Monday night's game against the Kansas City Royals.

The Sox's first baseman and best hitter hasn't played since Aug. 20, and his three-week-long absence opened the door for Nicky Delmonico, Matt Davidson and Daniel Palka to get more consistent playing time.

With Abreu back, one of these guys is likely to sit more often. It's probably going to be Delmonico, who hasn't done enough this season to make his 2017 success seem like anything more than a fluke.

I was reminded of what a rough time Delmonico has been having as I watched Sunday's game, a 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels that capped a gloomy 3-7 homestand for the Sox.

Delmonico was summoned to pinch hit for Ryan LaMarre with runners at the corners and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Angels manager Mike Scioscia made an unorthodox countermove, knowing the Sox had no right-handed hitters left on the bench. He pulled his closer -- right-hander Blake Parker -- and replaced him with left-hander Jose Alvarez, who did not have a single save all season.

Well, Alvarez has one save now after striking out Delmonico on five pitches -- all of them breaking balls. The first two pitches were both hangers, begging to be hit hard somewhere, if not into the seats. Despite the lefty-lefty matchup, Delmonico had a great chance to be a hero, but he fouled off both hangers and dug himself an 0-2 hole in the count that he never recovered from.

Missed opportunities have become a trend for Delmonico, as he's been a combination of injured and bad throughout the 2018 season. His season statistics are lingering behind those of Davidson and the surprising Palka, who was an afterthought coming out of spring training.

Delmonico: .215/.301/.389, 8 HRs, 24 RBIs, 11 2Bs, 4 3Bs in 279 ABs
Davidson: .235/.330/.451, 20 HRs, 58 RBIs, 22 2Bs, 0 3Bs in 436 ABs
Palka: .237/.285/.469, 21 HRs, 55 RBIs, 14 2Bs, 3 3Bs, in 382 ABs

None of these three players provide much in the way of defensive utility. Both Delmonico and Palka are substandard corner outfielders. At least Palka has enough arm to play both left and right field. Delmonico never moves off left field, other than the occasional appearance at first base. Davidson is a below-average defender at both corner infield positions.

In short, all three of these men need to hit to justify their roster spots. Davidson and Palka both are flawed players, but they have brought more to the table offensively than Delmonico this season. Palka has the highest batting average and slugging percentage. He has hit a team-best six home runs in the ninth inning. Davidson has the highest on-base percentage. Both Palka and Davidson are challenging Abreu (22 HRs) for the team's home run lead.

Granted, Delmonico has had fewer at-bats -- a broken bone in his hand earlier in the season limited his playing time. But his production just wouldn't compare even if you gave him another 100 to 150 at-bats or so to bring him equal with the opportunities Palka and Davidson have had.

I do not see a roster spot available in 2019 for Delmonico. He can't make the team ahead of other fringe guys such as Davidson and Palka, and with Eloy Jimenez on the horizon and Abreu and Avisail Garcia both likely to return next season, it's looking as though there aren't any more spots for corner outfielders and 1B/DH types, especially ones that can't punish a hanging slider with the game on the line.

Eloy Jimenez's agents could file grievance against White Sox

Eloy Jimenez

White Sox outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez should be in the major leagues right now.

Jimenez has nothing left to do at the Triple-A level, and he has the .365/.406/.604 slash line in 51 games with the Charlotte Knights to prove it.

Jimenez's agents openly wondered in an interview with Fancred Sports' Jon Heyman why their client has yet to be called to Chicago. They are accusing the Sox of prioritizing service time considerations over MLB readiness. A grievance could be filed.

Frankly, I agree with Jimenez's agents, and I'm annoyed by Sox fans who are lining up behind management. This is ridiculous. I don't care about the 2025 payroll. I care about my team getting better and winning some games.

I'm a fan, not a front office dweeb, and I want the Sox to put the best team on the field on a daily basis. For me, that means Jimenez should be playing left field and batting either third or fourth on the South Side of Chicago this weekend against the Boston Red Sox.

I have no interest, NONE, in trying to save owner Jerry Reinsdorf money a few years down the road.

If young players such as Jimenez and Michael Kopech do what the Sox and their fans hope they will do, they will deserve to make more money somewhere down the road. I don't begrudge them that.

Not to mention, the Sox would be slowing Jimenez's development by not letting him face major league pitching in September. Let him see how he matches up now, and then he can assess the things he needs to work on going into the 2019 season.

I see no reason for the Sox to "punt" the 2019 season. The AL Central is weak, and if everything goes right, hey, maybe they can be a surprised contender. But that will not happen if they are going to hold back prospects who are ready in order to manipulate service time.

Enough of this stuff. Call up Jimenez.

Sox win first series in New York since 2005

It's too bad we have to complain about the Sox's front office today, when we could be celebrating a series win over the New York Yankees.

Ryan LaMarre, of all people, went 3 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs to lead the Sox to a 4-1 win over the Yankees on Wednesday.

The Sox took two out of three, and that's the first series win for the team in New York since the world championship season of 2005.

No world championship is forthcoming this season, of course, but it's always nice to beat the Yankees.

Lack of right-handed relief options at issue for White Sox

Rick Renteria

Sometimes I feel as though White Sox manager Rick Renteria trusts mediocre, right-handed relief pitcher Juan Minaya way more than he should.

But, every time I feel that way, I stop myself and say, "Well, if not Minaya, then who?"

In fairness to Minaya, let's first point out that he got his job done in Monday's 6-2 victory over the New York Yankees. Minaya relieved Carlos Rodon, who pitched another strong game and earned the win, in the eighth inning and retired five of the six hitters he faced.

Minaya threw 16 of his 23 pitches for strikes Monday. He allowed only a harmless single and never made you feel as though the Sox's lead was in jeopardy. Xavier Cedeno ended up getting the last out of the game, in what was a good night for the bullpen and the Sox as a whole.

Fast-forward to Tuesday night in New York. The Sox had the lead, 4-2, going into the bottom of the eighth inning. Minaya, once again, was summoned from the bullpen.

I cringed, knowing that Minaya had a multi-inning outing the night before, and I figured his stuff would not be the same.

It was not.

Minaya faced two batters. He gave up a rope of a single to Giancarlo Stanton and a long home run to Aaron Hicks. Bye-bye lead, 4-4 tie.

The Yankees won, 5-4, on a home run by Neil Walker off Dylan Covey (4-12) in the bottom of the ninth.

I'd like to blame Minaya for this loss, but he is who he is. He's an inconsistent reliever with a 4.18 season ERA. He's dominant at times, but horrible at others, and he shouldn't be considered the best right-handed relief option on a team. Really, he should be pitching in the sixth or seventh inning, not the eighth or ninth.

I'd like to blame Renteria, too, but what other right-handed relief options does he have?

Jeanmar Gomez is a veteran, but his 4.50 ERA and 1.429 WHIP do not inspire confidence. Thyago Vieira and Ryan Burr have a combined 11 big league appearances between them. Are they ready to pitch in a high-leverage situation at Yankee Stadium? Not really. Then there's Covey, who was used Tuesday in a big spot, and he lost the game, so there's that.

It was a tough loss to take Tuesday, because the Sox led, 4-0, as late as the sixth inning. However, their weaknesses in the bullpen showed up while playing a superior team. What can you do? You just have to grin and bear it for 30 more games, hope the good Minaya shows up more than the bad Minaya and hope the front office gives Renteria a deeper stable of relief arms for the 2019 season.

White Sox take three out of four from Detroit Tigers

Kevan Smith (left) catching during a game in 2017.

The White Sox have won three in a row and nine out of 12 after they took three games out of four in a weekend series against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

This sets the Sox (51-79) up to possibly have their first winning month of the season. They are 14-10 in August with five days before the calendar turns, so they only need to win one game between now and Friday to clinch a winning August.

Granted, that will not be easy. The next three games are in New York against the Yankees (83-47). Then the Sox come home Thursday to face the American League-best Boston Red Sox (90-42). With this schedule, a six- or seven-game losing streak could be lurking just around the corner, but for now, we can say the Sox are playing their best baseball of the season.

Aside from August, their best month this season has been June, when they went 12-17. That's not very good, so recent games have been more watchable and a welcome change.

Here's a look back at the Detroit series:

Thursday, Aug. 23
Tigers 7, White Sox 2: It's been baffling to hear James Shields mentioned as a possible waiver trade candidate. Is there a contending team out there that would see Shields as an upgrade for the back end of their starting rotation?

Not in my estimation.

Shields (5-15) still has a chance to reach 20 losses after he got hit hard in the opener in Detroit. He allowed seven runs on 10 hits -- including three home runs in the sixth inning -- to a light-hitting Tigers team in this loss.

At least Shields pitched 6.2 innings. That meant only Ryan Burr had to pitch in relief. The rookie right-hander retired all four men he faced to mercifully bring the game to a quick end.

Jose Rondon's fourth home run of the season accounted for the two Sox runs.

Friday, Aug. 24
White Sox 6, Tigers 3: This was a dead performance for the Sox through seven innings. They trailed, 3-0, going into the eighth, and then they scored six runs off Detroit's two best relievers, Joe Jimenez and Shane Greene.

Greene has 27 saves this season, but this was his fourth blown save as he did not retire a Sox batter when he was summoned with one out in the eighth inning.

Yoan Moncada's two-run double with the bases loaded put the Sox on the board and knocked Jimenez out of the game. Avisail Garcia's game-tying single greeted Greene. Daniel Palka doubled to put the Sox ahead, 4-3, and Tim Anderson capped the rally with a two-run double.

Thyago Vieira pitched to one batter in the bottom of the seventh inning. He retired him and picked up his first major-league win in easy fashion.

Saturday, Aug. 25
White Sox 6, Tigers 1: This might have been Lucas Giolito's best game of the season. The right-hander had both his good velocity (94-95 mph) and command of his fastball, and his curve and changeup both were effective, as well.

That resulted in a third straight win for Giolito (10-9), who tossed seven innings, allowing only one run on three hits. He struck out six and walked one. He allowed a solo home run to Mikie Mahtook in the second inning, but he was never in trouble at any other point.

The Sox scored five runs in the first three innings off Detroit starter Ryan Carpenter. The highlight was Kevan Smith's two-run homer in the second inning, his first of the season.

It was an emotional moment for Smith, who was wearing former teammate Daniel Webb's nickname on his back for MLB's Players' Weekend. Webb, you may recall, is the Sox relief pitcher who tragically died in an ATV accident Oct. 14.

You can watch a video about Smith and Webb's friendship here. And here is a video featuring Smith's postgame comments after Saturday's win. Cool stuff.

Sunday, Aug. 26
White Sox 7, Tigers 2: Oh yeah, Michael Kopech pitched and earned his first major league victory.

The rookie right-hander didn't have his best stuff in his second start, but he got through six innings, allowing only one run on seven hits. He struck out four and, most importantly, walked nobody.

Kopech has not issued a walk in his first eight major league innings. That is a recipe for success. He worked out of two bases-loaded jams, one in the fourth and one in the sixth.

The Tigers did score their lone run in the sixth, but they threatened for more with the bags full, one out and a 3-0 count on shortstop Ronny Rodriguez. Kopech grabbed strike one, and then induced an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play on the 3-1 pitch to escape the inning.

A combination of four relievers closed out the win, with Jace Fry retiring two batters with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to earn his third save.

A four-run third inning keyed the Sox offense. Palka's 19th home run of the season highlighted an 11-hit attack. Anderson, Garcia, Omar Narvaez and Adam Engel all had two-hit games in what was a solid overall game for the Sox.

Now it's on to New York, where the Sox will face a superior team. We'll see if they can hold their own.

A very White Sox-like Tuesday at Guaranteed Rate Field (Michael Kopech's debut)

It figures, doesn't it?

With Michael Kopech making his major league debut, the White Sox had an extra 9,000 fans walk up to the ticket booth, and the crowd at Guaranteed Rate Field was fully engaged in the game for perhaps the first time since Opening Day.

The buzz died quickly, but not because Kopech did anything disappointing. He kept the Minnesota Twins off the board for two innings, striking out four men and pitching out of a first-inning jam.

But then the rains came, and after a 52-minute delay, Sox brass decided it was best not to send Kopech back to the mound.

Wise decision, in my opinion, but it sure stinks for the fans who bought tickets for that game. The Sox ended up losing, 5-2, after the Twins scored three runs with two outs in the top of the ninth inning.

The other big Sox news from Tuesday? Jose Abreu had unexpected, outpatient surgery on his lower abdominal/groin area, and he will not be able to resume baseball activities for at least 10 days.

So, the best player on the club is headed to the disabled list, and the top pitching prospect had his highly anticipated debut cut short by circumstances beyond anyone's control.

Does this kind of stuff happen to other teams besides the Sox? Sometimes it sure feels as though we're the only fan base that has to tolerate this sort of thing, and it sure does stink.

But we'll keep watching, hoping for a speedy recovery for Abreu and an opportunity to see more of Kopech in his next start, likely Sunday afternoon at Detroit.

Roster moves

As mentioned, Abreu is on the disabled list, and infielder Jose Rondon has been recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to take his place.

Rondon appeared in 22 games earlier this season with the Sox, hitting .245/.288./.490 with three doubles, three home runs and six RBIs in 52 plate appearances. He's been having a decent season at shortstop in Charlotte, where he was hitting .250/.290/.497 with 18 home runs, 15 doubles and 38 RBIs in 80 games.

The Sox on Tuesday also traded left-handed reliever Luis Avilan to the Philadelphia Phillies for right-handed pitcher Felix Paulino. Paulino will be assigned to Double-A Birmingham.

Right-handed reliever Ryan Burr has been called up from Charlotte to take Avilan's place on the 25-man roster.

Burr, 24, has a 4-3 record with a 2.45 ERA, two saves, a .190 opponent batting average and 51 strikeouts in 51.1 innings over 37 combined appearances this season between Birmingham and Charlotte.

In his past 21 appearances -- 14 in Birmingham, seven in Charlotte -- Burr allowed only one run in 28.2 innings.

Awaiting word on White Sox roster moves; Lucas Giolito back to .500

Matt Davidson

In case you haven't heard, Michael Kopech is pitching for the White Sox on Tuesday. That means he needs to be added to the 40-man roster -- a nonissue, the Sox's roster currently sits at 38 -- and somebody needs to be subtracted from the 25-man roster.

Not sure who that someone is just yet.

I'm also wondering if Leury Garcia is headed back to the disabled list after he reinjured his left hamstring Monday in an 8-5 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Speaking of that victory in Minnesota, Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito earned the win to improve to 9-9.

The right-hander threw a season-high 111 pitches in what was pretty much a league-average sort of outing. He went six innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He struck out six and walked two, but he never relinquished the lead after the Sox scored four runs for him in the top of the second inning.

A lot of observers, including me, predicted at the start of the season that Giolito would lead the Sox in wins. He is, in fact, doing that. With nine wins, he has four more than any other pitcher on the team. (James Shields has five wins.) We just didn't expect Giolito's wins to be coupled with a 6.08 ERA, but hopefully he's better for this experience when the 2019 season begins.

Matt Davidson on Monday went 2 for 5 with his 18th home run of the season and three RBIs, and Jose Abreu added two hits and two RBIs -- including a two-run double that highlighted the four-run second inning.

Juan Minaya had a good outing out of the bullpen. He struck out five of the six Minnesota batters he faced in two perfect innings of relief.

Thyago Vieira, however, continued to struggle. His season ERA is now 7.56 after he allowed two runs in the bottom of the ninth, but hey, that's why you bring him in when the score is 8-3. If he does have a rough time, you still win 8-5.

The Sox now have won five of their past six games. A market correction is due soon, of course, but at 47-77, they at least have a chance of reaching the 60-win plateau. At one point in time, I was worried they might lose 110 or 115 games. It's unlikely it's going to get that bad.