Andy Masur joins White Sox radio booth; latest on Field of Dreams game

A couple of White Sox notes from Tuesday:

First, Andy Masur will be the radio play-by-play voice of the Sox on WGN 720-AM this season. Masur will replace the late Ed Farmer and work with longtime analyst Darrin Jackson.

Farmer, who battled kidney disease throughout his life, died of an undisclosed illness April 1 at age 70.

Masur has filled in for Farmer on numerous occasions, including during some spring training games in March. Masur grew up in the Chicago area and has spent the past two seasons as a pregame host on Sox games.

The veteran broadcaster also worked in the Cubs' radio booth as an occasional fill-in for Pat Hughes when the North Siders were on WGN radio. He also spent eight years in San Diego as part of the Padres' radio broadcast team.

Reports indicate Masur has been given no guarantees past 2020, and replacing Farmer will be no easy task.

“Ed was a legend in his own right, and it was a well-deserved legendary status,” Masur told MLB.com on Tuesday. “The guy bled White Sox baseball. He pitched for them. He got a chance to grow up watching them and got a chance to be around them when they won a World Series. He had been around them as they’ve been rebuilding to what they hope to be here in the next couple of years.

“From my perspective, I go in and just kind of do what I do and hope that I make Ed proud and hope I make D.J. proud. I hope I give White Sox fans what they are looking for, as far as a game broadcast with information and making sure you know where the ball is and what the inning is and what the score is.”

Sox might play NL Central opponent in Iowa

Remember when the Sox were supposed to play the New York Yankees in the Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa, on Aug. 13?

Well, the Sox definitely won't be playing the Yankees. With this shortened season and a geographically based schedule, there will be no games against New York -- just games against clubs from the AL Central and NL Central.

The latest reporting says that Field of Dreams game could go on, but the opponent will be a National League team -- either the Cardinals, the Cubs or the Brewers.

Let me cast my vote: Bring on the Cardinals!

I'm pretty sure the eyes of Chicago will be on the six games between the Sox and the Cubs, no matter where they are played. Those games do not need an unusual venue to get extra attention.

So why not play St. Louis instead? Let's add a little juice -- and a national TV audience -- to a matchup between the Sox and Cardinals.

Here are the 44 players coming to White Sox camp

The White Sox will report to Guaranteed Rate Field on Friday for their 2020 summer camp, ahead of the anticipated July 24 opening of the season.

As many as 60 players can participate, but for now, the Sox are bringing 44. Additional players eventually will be added to bring the roster to the full complement of 60, but general manager Rick Hahn says those players will not report until mid-July.

Thirty players will make up the Opening Day roster, while the remainder will make up a "taxi squad," which will conduct workouts elsewhere in Chicago to stay ready in the event of an injury or a COVID-19 infection. It is anticipated that no minor league baseball will be played this summer.

For now, let's take a look at the 44 players, position by position:

Catchers (4): Yasmani Grandal, James McCann, Zack Collins, Yermin Mercedes

Comments: Grandal and McCann are roster locks, if healthy, and it remains to be seen whether the Sox want to use either Collins or Mercedes as a bench bat. Collins has the advantage of being a left-handed hitter, and of having had previous major league experience. Mercedes was impressive in March and played his way into the conversation.

Infielders (10): Jose Abreu, Leury Garcia, Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, Edwin Encarnacion, Andrew Vaughn, Andrew Romine, Danny Mendick, Nick Madrigal, Cheslor Cuthbert

Comments: If healthy (a common phrase right now), Abreu, Anderson and Moncada are entrenched starters. Let's include Encarnacion in the entrenched starters group, as he will be the primary designated hitter. But what about second base? Garcia will be on the club as a super-utility guy, and the guess here is he starts the season at second base. The Sox will hold Madrigal back for a week for service time reasons. One week of sitting him out is all they need to retain another year of team control. Vaughn is a great prospect, but there are no at-bats for him right now at the big league level. Romine is a Quad-A extra who could see time in the event of an injury. Will Mendick make the 30-man roster, or will the Sox carry extra pitching? We'll see.

Outfielders (6): Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Nomar Mazara, Adam Engel, Nicky Delmonico, Luis Alexander Basabe

Comments: We know the starters, if healthy, are Jimenez, Robert and Mazara. We know Engel is the extra outfielder, and we know Garcia provides extra depth when he's not playing infield. Delmonico is on the roster bubble. He was impressive in March, but he has a thin track record against major league pitching. Basabe's inclusion shows the Sox view him as the most rosterable among the remaining outfield prospects not named Robert.

Starting pitchers (9): Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Dylan Cease, Gio Gonzalez, Michael Kopech, Carlos Rodon, Dane Dunning, Jimmy Lambert

Comments: Kopech and Rodon should be completely recovered and ready to go after elbow surgeries. Neither man was expected to be on the Opening Day roster had the season started as scheduled, but now we figure to see both in the Sox's rotation. Gonzalez may no longer be needed as a starter, since he was viewed as a stopgap to get the Sox through the April, May and June. Still, he's a veteran presence, so he'll be on the team, perhaps as a long reliever. Only Dunning and Lambert, two others who are coming off elbow surgery, figure to not make the Opening Day roster. Suddenly, the Sox have seven starting pitchers to choose from.

Relief pitchers (15): Alex Colome, Aaron Bummer, Jimmy Cordero, Jace Fry, Kelvin Herrera, Steve Cishek, Carson Fulmer, Evan Marshall, Jose Ruiz, Ian Hamilton, Ross Detwiler, Codi Heuer, Tayron Guerrero, Tyler Johnson, Drew Anderson

Comments: Will they carry eight relievers? Perhaps nine? Maybe even 10? I guess it depends on how much they want to protect their starting pitchers, who probably won't be ready to pitch deep into ballgames right at the start of the season. The roster locks, if healthy, are Colome, Bummer, Cordero, Fry, Herrera, Cishek and Marshall. There's seven. At the start of the year, we thought Fulmer would get one more kick at the can because he's out of options. Maybe that's still true. Heuer impressed in Arizona in March and is a dark horse to make the roster.

Notable omissions: RHP Zack Burdi, C Seby Zavala, OF Micker Adolfo, OF Blake Rutherford, OF Luis Gonzalez, LHP Garrett Crochet, RHP Jared Kelley

Comments: Any or all of these guys could be added when the roster fills out to 60. It's a surprise Burdi isn't in the mix in the first group, just because so much has been invested in the former first-round pick. I figure Zavala will eventually come on board. What if two of the other four catchers get the coronavirus? Wouldn't it be nice to have a good defensive catcher such as Zavala hanging around? I believe so. As we said in the outfielders section, evidently Basabe is more highly regarded that the other fringy outfield prospects, all of whom I included on this list. Crochet and Kelley are the Sox's top two draft picks. Is there any plan for them this year? Crochet, in particular, could contribute immediately as a reliever, depending on how the Sox want to develop him.

All White Sox draft picks are signed; 5 players released

All five of the White Sox's 2020 draft picks have agreed to contracts. Their second-round pick, right-handed pitcher Jared Kelley, signed for $3 million, which as expected was overslot. Fifth-round pick Bailey Horn, a left-handed pitcher, agreed to sign for $150,000, which as expected was underslot.

Kelley basically got late first-round money. By way of comparison, his bonus matches the money received by another high school pitcher, Nick Bitsko, who was selected 24th overall by the Tampa Bay Rays. Kelley was the No. 47 overall selection.

Here's the final rundown on Sox draft picks and the money they signed for:

First round: Garrett Crochet, LHP, $4,547,500 ($4,547,500 slot)
Second round: Jared Kelley, RHP, $3,000,000 ($1,582,000 slot)
Third round: Adisyn Coffey, RHP, $50,000 ($733,100 slot)
Fourth round: Kade Mechals, RHP, $10,000 ($517,400 slot)
Fifth round: Bailey Horn, LHP, $150,000 ($386,600)

All total, the Sox spent $7,757,500 of their bonus pool. That is $7,300 less than their maximum allowed total of $7,764,800.

Five players released

Major League Baseball ended its roster freeze Friday, and the Sox released these five players: Caleb Frare, Zach Putnam, Matt Skole, Matt Tomshaw and Ramon Torres.


Remember spring 2019? We used to think Frare could be a viable left-handed reliever out of the bullpen, but he forgot how to throw strikes and hasn't seen the bigs since posting a 10.13 ERA in five April appearances last year.

Putnam was a pretty good reliever for the Sox from 2014-17. He appeared in 130 games with the South Siders and posted a 9-6 record with a 2.71 ERA and six saves over that time span. But, he had Tommy John surgery in 2017 and has never made it back to the majors. It's possible he's thrown his last professional pitch.

Skole, a left-handed hitting first baseman, somehow managed to get added to the 25-man roster in both 2018 and 2019. He batted .217/.290/.277 with one home run in 31 games and 93 plate appearances over those two seasons with the Sox.

Tomshaw and Torres? Well, I don't have much to say about them. Tomshaw is a 30-year-old lefty pitcher who was decent at Double-A, but he got hit around every time he was promoted to Triple-A. Torres, a utility infielder, was last seen playing for the Kansas City Royals in 2018. There's no reason to believe he would have had any role in the Sox organization.

ICYMI: White Sox sign top draft pick Garrett Crochet

Garrett Crochet

Perhaps because of the labor negotiations, we neglected to mention that the White Sox signed their No. 1 draft pick, Garrett Crochet, on Monday.

Crochet, a left-handed pitcher out of Tennessee, received a $4,547,500 signing bonus, which is equal to the recommended slot value for the No. 11 overall pick in the draft.

Among the five Sox draft picks, second-rounder Jared Kelley and fifth-rounder Bailey Horn remain unsigned.

Kelley's slot value is $1,580,200, but as we stated in a previous blog, he's getting more than that. No doubt he's getting first-round money.

After signing Crochet for slot, the Sox have $3,157,300 remaining in their draft pool. The guess here is they can get Kelley in the fold if they offer him about $3 million.

Opening Day is July 24; let's hope this all works out

Must admit, I'm surprised the league-imposed 2020 Major League Baseball schedule is going to be 60 games. I figured the owners would want a 48- or 52-game schedule, but I suppose by playing 60, they increase their chances of winning in court when the MLBPA inevitably files a grievance arguing that owners didn't bargain in good faith.

Anyway ... the latest news ... the union informed the league Tuesday that it will comply with the imposed outline for the 2020 season. Players will report to spring, err.., summer training on July 1, and the season is expected to begin July 24.

The two sides still are working to finalize health and safety protocols. The league is expected to conclude its regular season Sept. 27 -- for those scoring at home, that means 60 games in 66 days. The usual 10-team playoff format applies, and that should be over by the end of October.

If the league and the players can avoid having this whole thing shut down by stupid COVID-19. Let's hope the infections are kept to a minimum, and that we can have baseball. Well, hopefully, there are no infections, but I'm not sure how realistic that is.

MLBPA votes down 60-game proposal

The MLB Players Association voted, 33-5, on Monday to reject Major League Baseball's proposal to start the 2020 season, sources say.

The vote was conducted by the union's eight-member executive committee, plus one player representative per team.

The proposal called for:

• a 60-game season
• a 16-team expanded playoff
• prorated pay for players
• no additional salary guarantees should the season be canceled because of COVID-19
• the union to waive its right to file a grievance claiming the owners did not negotiate in good faith

The guess here is that fifth and final statement was the sticking point.

Where do we go from here? Well, we wait for MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to tell the players "when and where" the 2020 season will begin, if it begins at all.

I think there are three ways this could go. MLB could cancel the season, fearing that COVID-19 could torpedo the playoffs in October, thus cutting off a large source of revenue that owners are counting on.

Or, Manfred could call for a season of 48 games, get the regular season over as quickly as possible, and hope for the best with the usual 10-team playoff.

Or, owners could be altruistic, have Manfred mandate a 60-game season and hope the playoffs get completed.

As a baseball fan, I hope the last option will happen, but rationally, I know better. We are looking squarely at one of the first two options I mentioned.

A 75% yes vote would be required to pass any plan Manfred chooses to implement. If eight owners vote to cancel the season, there will be no season.

White Sox have signed 2 of their 5 draft picks (but not the top 2)

Jim Callis, senior writer for MLB Pipeline, has been using his Twitter feed to keep the world updated on draft signings.

I'll spare you a lot of scrolling and just tell you that the White Sox have agreed on contracts with both third-round pick Adisyn Coffey and fourth-round pick Kade Mechals.

The Sox's top two picks, left-handed pitcher Garrett Crochet and right-handed pitcher Jared Kelley remain unsigned, although a tweet from MLB.com's Scott Merkin said Crochet would be in Chicago for a physical this week, and that contract could be wrapped up soon. Fifth-round pick Bailey Horn also remains unsigned.

Coffey, a right-handed pitcher and sometimes shortstop out of Wabash Valley Community College, signed with the Sox for $50,000, well below the slot value of $733,100.

Mechals, a right-handed pitcher out of Grand Canyon University, underwent Tommy John surgery in May, so he had no leverage in contract negotiations. He got the standard rate that you would normally assign to a college senior who was selected on the second day of the draft: $10,000. In case you were wondering, slot rate is $517,400.

So, if you combine the savings on these two underslot deals for Coffey and Mechals, you get $1,190,500 that the Sox can put toward signing Kelley for first-round money.

The slot value for Crochet is $4,547,000. The slot value for Kelley is $1,582,000. I'm expecting Crochet to get right at that figure, or somewhere in the neighborhood.

Assuming Crochet signs at slot, the Sox would have $3,157,300 remaining in their draft pool with which to sign Kelley and Horn. With the 5 percent overage, the Sox can spend as much as $3,545,540 before they would have to surrender future draft picks.

The slot value on Horn is $386,600. He doesn't have a lot of leverage here as a fifth-round pick, so expect most of that $3 million-plus to go to Kelley, who most people believe was a first-round talent who slid to the second round because of signability issues.