White Sox prospect Luis Robert injures thumb (again)

Can someone on the White Sox's coaching staff please teach Luis Robert how to slide?

The prized outfield prospect is once again injured, having hurt his thumb sliding head-first into second base on a stolen base attempt Saturday during an intrasquad game.

This is the third time Robert has hurt his thumb in the past 12 months. He first got hurt on a slide during spring training last year, and he reinjured the thumb on July 3 of last season.

Robert played in only 50 games in 2018; the injuries cost the 21-year-old valuable development time.

Fortunately, this injury is not thought to be serious. The team expects him to return to game action as soon as Thursday.

Sox manager Rick Renteria said Robert wasn't supposed to be trying to steal in the intrasquad game. He apparently made the attempt on his own. Renteria said the youngster was guilty of a "lapse in his own judgment."

I do applaud the Sox coaches for not wanting Robert to take risks on the base paths in meaningless games. However, it's clear he needs to be coached on his technique.

This is a player who is important to the Sox's rebuild. Fix this problem, so that Robert can stay on the field.

Madrigal among first cuts

The Sox made their first roster cuts of the spring Tuesday. Nick Madrigal, the team's No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, was among the players reassigned to minor-league camp.

Outfielders Blake Rutherford and Luis Gonzalez and left-handed pitchers Jordan Guerrero and Bernardo Flores also are headed to minor-league camp.

Second impression of 2019 White Sox ... more tolerable

I'm a glutton for punishment. After Sunday's disastrous game, I gave White Sox spring training baseball another chance on my commute home from work Monday afternoon.

I picked up the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Sox trailing the Los Angeles Angels, 6-5.

Moments later, the Sox tied the game on an infield single by minor-league catcher Nate Nolan that included a throwing error by Angels minor-league third baseman Jordan Zimmerman (not the Detroit Tigers pitcher).

I listened to the rest of the game, which ended in a 6-6 tie, before I made it home.

Hey, at least they didn't lose!

And they rallied from an early 6-2 deficit. I've read that Reynaldo Lopez struggled, allowing four earned runs on four hits over 3.1 innings. However, he said he was happy with the outing, and that he's not worried about his spring numbers. True enough, spring numbers don't matter for guys who know they are going to be on the team.

That said, it's nice when guys who are going to be on the team perform well. Take presumed closer-to-be Alex Colome, who retired the side in order in the bottom of the fifth inning. Or reliever Nate Jones, who allowed a hit but worked a scoreless sixth.

Backup catcher James McCann went 2 for 3 and is hitting .333 for the spring, so there's that.

The Sox are now 3-6-2 in Cactus League games. It will be nice when a game or two makes its way to TV, so there can be more to observe than just a few nuggets gleaned from a box score.

In the meantime, the next game on the radio is Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers. Presuming I have a decent day at work, maybe I'll be in the mood to tune in and listen to Ed Farmer and Darrin Jackson during my drive time.

First impression of 2019 White Sox ... intolerable

High temperatures on Sunday in Chicago never made it out of the teens. Wind chills were in the single digits all day. Amid this miserable March weather, I thought it would be nice to think spring and listen to some baseball on the radio.

I made it to the bottom of the third inning before I remembered that White Sox baseball is intolerable.

I turned off my radio with the Sox trailing 9-0, on their way to a 13-4 loss to the Cubs. The Sox had no hits through the first three innings. Their pitchers had walked six men and hit a batter through 2.1 innings, and at one point, eight consecutive Cubs batters had hits.

Feel free to insert jokes here about the Sox being a laughingstock, but after six consecutive losing seasons, I'm tired of my favorite team being the butt of every joke.

Remember SoxFest, when general manager Rick Hahn touted Manny Banuelos as a candidate for the starting rotation? That seems ridiculous after Banuelos faced nine batters Sunday and five of them reached base -- four on walks and one on a hit batsmen.

This is the pitcher Sox talent evaluators identified as someone who could help the big-league team right now? No wonder I don't believe in the rebuild.

Banuelos gifted the Cubs a run in the first inning with four walks, then hit the second batter of the second inning before thankfully being removed.

Too bad Juan Minaya was even worse. He walked his first hitter, then gave up five consecutive hits. Included was a three-run homer by the Cubs' Kris Bryant, and the rout was on. Aaron Bummer relieved Minaya, and at least he managed to get three outs.

He did, however, give up two runs on four hits with one walk.

Minaya's spring ERA is 21.00. Bummer's is 17.18. These are pitchers who are supposed to be candidates for the 25-man roster. Hell, Minaya is almost certain to be on the club.

Maybe that's why it is hard not to feel as though the Sox are destined for a third-straight 90-plus loss season.

The loss drops the Sox to 3-6-1 on the spring, and granted, none of this counts. But after the misery of the past several seasons, you'd like to see some signs of hope this March.

But through the first 10 games of spring training, this appears to be more of the same.

White Sox sign veteran right-hander Ervin Santana to minor-league deal

Ervin Santana

The White Sox on Friday agreed to terms with veteran right-hander Ervin Santana on a minor-league contract.

If Santana makes the club -- a good bet if he's healthy -- his salary will be $4.3 million, according to reports.

There is good news and bad news about the 36-year-old Santana. First, the good news:

He's only two years removed from the best season of his 14-year MLB career. In 2017, Santana went 16-8 with a 3.28 ERA in 33 starts for the Minnesota Twins. He led the American League in both complete games (5) and shutouts (3), and was selected to the All-Star team for the second time in his career and for the first time since 2008.

Now, the bad news:

Santana was hurt last season. Surgery on his right middle finger limited him to five starts and 24.1 innings in 2018, and he went 0-1 with an 8.03 ERA.

Yes, that's the reason he's available on a minor-league deal.

That being said, I don't object to this signing. At SoxFest, I asked general manager Rick Hahn about getting another starter for the rotation, and he gave me a line of bull about how Manny Banuelos is capable of helping this team.

Not sold on Banuelos, and looking at the remaining free agent starting pitchers, I felt like either Santana or Gio Gonzalez would fit the bill as a one-year stopgap. Turns out Santana is the choice.

The Sox's 2020 rotation projects to be Carlos Rodon, Michael Kopech, Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease.

But right now, Kopech is recovering from elbow surgery and will miss all of 2019. Cease needs another half-season or so of experience in the minor leagues before he gets called up.

The Sox need a couple of veterans to fill those two spots in the short run, so let's hope Santana and Ivan Nova can do the job.

Based upon the young pitching that is in place, and the young pitching that is on the way, I don't have a problem with the Sox declining to make a longer-term investment in the rotation at this time.

The lineup, however, is another matter. Looking at all the weak bats on this roster, I would like to see some money spent on position players. There remains money to be spent, but there is no indication that it will be spent before the season begins March 28.

White Sox remind everyone that they are cheap, timid and stupid

Manny Machado

Remember when White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said the team and its fans are allowed to have nice things?

Turns out we're not, surprise surprise. As expected on this blog, the Sox failed to sign Manny Machado. The superstar infielder agreed to terms Tuesday on a 10-year, $300 million deal with the San Diego Padres, according to reports.

That's right, the Padres. Not the New York Yankees. Not the Los Angeles Dodgers. Not the Boston Red Sox. Not the Philadelphia Phillies. Not the Cubs.

The Padres, who haven't had a winning season since 2010 and are one of the few clubs with a longer postseason drought than the Sox. (San Diego last made the playoffs in 2006.)

According to reports, the Sox weren't willing to go above eight years and $250 million in guaranteed money. In fact, senior vice president Ken Williams said the Sox weren't willing to go to the $300 million mark to sign this player.

"That level wasn't feasible to us because we still have to project putting together a total winning roster and keeping the young players that will ultimately earn into greater dollars themselves," Williams said, according to a tweet from MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

Here's the big problem with that: This free agency sweepstakes was ALWAYS going to end with Machado getting $300 million in guaranteed money. If the Sox weren't willing to go to that point, why did they waste the past three months in this fruitless pursuit?

The Sox have spent the past two seasons losing games and dumping payroll, all to achieve precious "flexibility" to pursue marquee free agents this offseason. Thus far, they have done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING with that payroll flexibility, and there's no indication they will.

Once again, this regime came this far, only to pull up two years and $50 million short.

Only the White Sox would spend 90-plus days chasing a free agent that they never were willing to go the extra mile for to sign. Only the White Sox would tell fans at SoxFest that they would be "disappointed" if they didn't "convert" on Machado and then get outbid by another also-ran team.

And, oh yeah, the Sox brought in two players who don't fit their roster in an attempt to lure Machado to the team. Fans, you don't get Machado himself, but you do get Machado's brother-in-law (Yonder Alonso) and his BFF (Jon Jay). I'm sure the at-bats from those two unneeded veterans will sell tickets this summer, won't they?

I dare the Sox to shut me up by using the Machado money to sign Bryce Harper. That's the only thing that could lessen my anger at this point.

Until then it's the same ol' Sox: cheap, timid and stupid.

Projecting the White Sox's 25-man roster

Tim Anderson, not Manny Machado, is the shortstop

Spring training is underway, so that means it's time to start talking about roster battles in White Sox camp.

Personally, I'm tired of hearing the Manny Machado rumors, so for purposes of this exercise, I'm going to assume he's not going to be on the team. If he wanted to play for the Sox, wouldn't he have signed by now? And if the Sox were serious about signing him, wouldn't they have made him an offer he can't refuse by now?

Moving on.

Let's take a look at each position group:

Starting pitchers (5)
1. Reynaldo Lopez
2. Carlos Rodon
3. Lucas Giolito
4: Ivan Nova
5: ???????
Other contenders: Manny Banuelos, Dylan Covey, Jordan Stephens
Comment: I think the Sox are short here. I still want to see a veteran acquisition before the season starts, but I'm not holding my breath. Lopez is the only man on this list to surpass 180 innings pitched in 2018. James Shields might not be what he used to be, but he did pitch more than 200 innings last year. Who is going to take that workload? Nova is a partial answer, but I'm not buying the idea that Banuelos can handle the rest. Or Covey.

Relief pitchers (8)
1. Kelvin Herrera
2. Alex Colome
3. Nate Jones
4. Jace Fry
5. Juan Minaya
6. ???????
7. ???????
8. ???????
Other contenders: Aaron Bummer, Caleb Frare, Ian Hamilton, Jose Ruiz, Ryan Burr, Zach Thompson, Thyago Vieira
Comment: This position group actually was addressed over the offseason with the additions of Herrera and Colome, two men with closing experience. I applaud that, because it shoves younger, unproven pitchers down the leverage ladder. Fry is the one left-handed lock. Bummer or Frare will compete for the second left-handed spot, and if both are good, both can make the club. There's enough options here that the Sox can hope a few guys step up and fill out those last few spots.

Catchers (2)
1. Welington Castillo
2. James McCann
Comment: No roster battle here. Like it or not, these are your guys barring injury. And I don't particularly like it. I have a feeling McCann is going to be playing more than I care to see. Castillo usually finds a way to get hurt or suspended. This is a position of weakness.

Starting infield (4)
1B: Jose Abreu
2B: Yoan Moncada
SS: Tim Anderson
3B: Yolmer Sanchez
Comment: Everybody is back from last season, and nobody on the current roster is going to unseat any of these four. Sanchez would be best served as a utility player, but he's the third baseman for now. Hopefully, Moncada's swing adjustments will lead to strides with the bat. The Sox badly need him to step forward this season. Anderson's glove rounded into form last year. Will his bat follow in 2019?

Designated hitter (1)
DH: Yonder Alonso
Comment: He and Abreu will split time between first base and designated hitter. I figure Abreu will get most of the playing time, based upon seniority in the locker room.

Starting outfield (3)
LF: Jon Jay
CF: Adam Engel
RF: Daniel Palka
Other contenders: Nicky Delmonico, Eloy Jimenez, Brandon Guyer
Comment: That's an ugly starting group, isn't it? We all know Jimenez will be the left fielder by May 1, but he's going to be in Charlotte to start the season because of service time considerations. I have to believe Jay beats out Delmonico, whose days on the South Side are numbered. Engel is easily the best defensive outfielder the Sox have. He'll start until somebody better arrives, and that might not happen this year. Palka's power plays, but his defense is poor, so the hit tool needs to develop. Guyer was signed on a minor-league deal, and has a shot to make the club as the right-handed hitting platoon partner for either Jay or Palka.

Bench spots (2)
Utility: Leury Garcia
Utility: ???????
Other contenders: Jose Rondon, Delmonico, Guyer, Danny Mendick, Ryan Cordell
Comment: Garcia plays six positions. I would argue he doesn't play any of them well, but the Sox don't care. He'll make the club because they can put him out there somewhere with a glove on his hand. Rondon can play three infield spots (and play them better than Garcia). That might make him more desirable as a bench player than Delmonico, whose only advantage is his left-handed bat. That means he has to hit to make the club. Don't count on it. He's a career .231 hitter.

Opening Day tickets bought ...

It's Monday night, Feb. 11, and there's some sort of snowy, slushy winter mix falling outside my bedroom window right now. It might take me two hours to get to work tomorrow.

But on the bright side, I bought my tickets for White Sox Opening Day today, so that means spring can't be too far behind.

There are only 45 days until the Major League Baseball season begins. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training Tuesday. And 52 days from now, April 4, I'll be at Guaranteed Rate Field watching the Sox take on the Seattle Mariners.

Think spring, think spring, thing spring ... #ReadyForBaseball.