White Sox DFA Ervin Santana, reinstate Eloy Jimenez from bereavement list

Ervin Santana

When a veteran pitcher is signed to be an "innings-eater" at the back of the rotation, you expect him to -- well, you know -- eat innings.

However, when said pitcher struggles to make it through five innings in every start, that deal becomes a difficult proposition.

Ervin Santana, we hardly knew ye.

The White Sox on Friday designated the right-handed pitcher for assignment. Rookie left fielder Eloy Jimenez was reinstated from the bereavement list to take Santana's place on the 25-man roster.

Santana made three starts and went 0-2 with a 9.45 ERA. He allowed 14 earned runs and six home runs in 13.1 innings, and he walked more people (6) than he struck out (5).

In Santana's best start, he lasted only five innings against the sad-sack Kansas City Royals, and in his most recent outing, he was knocked out in the fifth inning of a loss to the sad-sack Baltimore Orioles.

This is the right move. Santana has shown nothing, even against poor opposition. That said, I'm a little surprised the Sox let Santana go so quickly. They have a cherished history of sticking with struggling players way too long.

Not this time.

I'm guessing this means Lucas Giolito will be healthy and ready to take his next turn in the rotation, likely next Tuesday. Giolito is on the injured list with a hamstring strain right now. This also means Manny Banuelos is likely to get a chance at sticking in the rotation. He tossed four shutout innings in his first start of the season Monday against Baltimore, a game that Sox won handily.

As for Jimenez, he returns after missing the Baltimore series because of the death of his grandmother in the Dominican Republic. The rookie had been struggling of late both at the plate and in the field.

A modest suggestion for Sox manager Rick Renteria: Detroit is pitching two left-handers against the Sox this weekend -- Daniel Norris on Friday and Matthew Boyd on Sunday. Let's allow Jimenez to DH a couple games to take some of the pressure off. He can focus on his hitting and forget about defense.

Sit Yonder Alonso against the lefties -- he's only hitting .179 and hasn't done enough to deserve an everyday role. Then put the best defensive outfield available out there -- Leury Garcia in left field, Adam Engel in center and Ryan Cordell in right.

I think that alignment gives the Sox the best chance to win against left-handed pitching, at least for now.