White Sox spring roster battle: Utility infielder

Leury Garcia

Who will be the utility infielder for the White Sox in 2023? This is one roster battle I'm keeping an eye on during Cactus League play this year.

There are three players under consideration for that spot: Leury Garcia, Romy Gonzalez and Hanser Alberto. 

With Pedro Grifol being a first-year manager, we can't be sure what he values in terms of his bench. Might he keep two of these three utility players? Possibly, but I would assume that only one of them comes north. If you keep two, they are redundant on the roster. 

Garcia would seem to be the favorite, because he's got two years and $11 million remaining on his contract. If he doesn't make the club, Jerry Reinsdorf would have to pay him to go away. That doesn't seem likely, right?

Alberto is at a disadvantage. He's a non-roster invitee. Gonzalez can still be optioned to Triple-A Charlotte, but at least he has the security of being on the 40-man roster.

I was thinking about this roster battle because all three players started Thursday in the Sox's 6-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

Alberto started at third base and had a big game. He went 3 for 3 with a triple, a double and two runs scored. He's now 6 for 8 on the spring.

Garcia started at shortstop and went 1 for 3 with a two-run homer. Garcia is currently 3 for 10 this spring.

Gonzalez batted leadoff and played right field, going 0 for 3. He is now 1 for 9 in the Cactus League.

The regulars on the left side of the Sox infield, shortstop Tim Anderson and third baseman Yoan Moncada, are off to play in the World Baseball Classic. That means, all these guys will receive plenty of playing time to sort this out.

With Thursday's win, the Sox are 3-3 in spring ball.

Elvis Andrus signs 1-year deal with White Sox

Elvis Andrus

Elvis Andrus is back with the White Sox on a one-year deal worth $3 million, according to reports.

The 34-year-old is a veteran of 1,947 games and 14 seasons, but he's never played a position other than shortstop or designated hitter. For the 2023 Sox, he is expected to be the starting second baseman.

Andrus joined the Sox on Aug. 19, 2022, after being released by the Oakland Athletics and after Tim Anderson suffered a season-ending hand injury. 

In 43 games with Chicago, Andrus played better than he had in years, batting .271/.309/.464 with nine home runs, 28 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. In fact, Andrus hit more homers last season with the Sox than he did in 106 games with Oakland (8). He also stole more bases than he did with the A's (7).

It's also notable that Andrus was an asset defensively, and an excellent base runner. Those two attributes are rare on the current Sox roster, and that made his competence in those areas stand out even more.

There are two key questions surrounding this signing. First, was Andrus' late-season surge in 2022 a dead-cat bounce from a guy looking for his next contract, or was it a sign that he still has some useful baseball left? Second, can he make the transition to second base after years and years of playing shortstop?

Clearly, other teams were not sold on Andrus as a starting shortstop. To be fair, the free agent market was saturated this offseason with high-level shortstops -- Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Dansby Swanson -- and that made it difficult for Andrus to find a job.

His best path to a regular spot in a lineup was to come back to the Sox as a second baseman, a position that is a sore spot on the South Side. Does anybody out there believe the internal candidates -- Romy Gonzalez, Lenyn Sosa or Leury Garcia -- can play above replacement level, or even at replacement level? I'm skeptical. 

Andrus raises the floor at second base, and he also provides injury insurance for Anderson, who is usually good for at least one stint on the injured list per season. We know Andrus can still handle shortstop, and we know Andrus is likely to stay healthy -- he's appeared in 145 or more games in 12 of his 14 seasons in the majors.

Can Andrus handle second base defensively? I'm going to say he can, because the working theory is always, "If you can play shortstop, you can play anywhere else." 

At this point, there's not much of a downside here. Do I wish the Sox would have found a better option for second base earlier in the offseason? Yes, no question. But given that there were apparently no trades to be made, bringing back Andrus is better than doing nothing. After all, what sense does it make to go with such unproven internal options in the middle of what is supposed to be a "contention window"?

Here's a look at how the Sox lineup could look on Opening Day, if everyone makes it through spring training healthy:

1. Anderson, SS
2. Andrew Benintendi, LF
3. Luis Robert, CF
4. Eloy Jimenez, DH
5. Yasmani Grandal, C
6. Andrew Vaughn, 1B
7. Yoan Moncada, 3B
8. Oscar Colas, RF
9. Andrus, 2B
   

Some more free agent signings to catch up on ...

Here's a look at some recent free agent signings:

• Michael Conforto, San Franciso Giants, 2 years, $36 million
• Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers, 2 years, $34 million
• Corey Kluber, Boston Red Sox, 1 year, $10 million
• Jean Segura, Miami Marlins, 2 years, $17 million
• Drew Smyly, Cubs, 2 years, $19 million
• Taylor Rogers, San Francisco Giants, 3 years, $33 million

Segura's signing takes the most prominent remaining free agent option at second base off the board, which caused White Sox Twitter to melt down for approximately the 23rd time this offseason.

You can't really blame the fans, though, since the internal "options" being sold to them by the front office include Romy Gonzalez, Lenyn Sosa and ... gulp, Leury Garcia.

Gonzalez has not shown that he's good enough to start for a team that expects to contend. Sosa has promise, but he's simply not ready yet. The big fear is this road leads back to Garcia. Again.

San Francisco's signing of Rogers had a ripple effect, too, as the Giants designated second baseman Tommy La Stella for assignment to make room for the veteran pitcher on the roster.

Thus, La Stella is a free agent, and some Sox fans are talking about him as a possible option. Buyer beware. 

Injuries limited La Stella to 60 games last season, when he accumulated -0.7 WAR. He's entering his age-34 season, and it's not unreasonable to believe his days as a useful player are past. He doesn't merit anything other than a minor league contract, if that. There's a reason the Giants let him go.

Some updates on the White Sox roster

Tim Anderson

The Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, which means the 2022-23 offseason can finally begin.

Let's go over some of the roster moves the White Sox have made thus far.

Shortstop Tim Anderson, who is coming off an injury-plagued season, had his $12.5 million contract option exercised.

However, it looks like his double play partner will be someone new. The Sox declined a $5.5 million club option on second baseman Josh Harrison, instead opting to pay him a $1.5 million buyout for a savings of $4 million.

The Sox cleared additional space on their 40-man roster by outrighting relief pitcher Kyle Crick and outfielder Adam Haseley. Look for those two players to have their jerseys on the clearance rack at the garage sale if the Sox ever host a SoxFest again.

First baseman Jose Abreu, shortstop Elvis Andrus, and pitchers Johnny Cueto and Vince Velasquez have elected free agency.

That leaves the Sox roster at 35 players, although they will have to reinstate infielder Danny Mendick and pitchers Garrett Crochet and Jonathan Stiever from the 60-day disabled list at some point. That would take the roster to 38 players, so there's still room.

The most notable of these moves is the decision to cut ties with Harrison, who played 119 games and batted .256/.317/.370 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs in 2022. The veteran basically met expectations. Maybe Harrison wasn't part of the solution, but he wasn't a problem either. He essentially earned his salary.

Had the Sox picked up that option, they probably could have gotten similar production next season. But perhaps they are looking to cut costs, figuring they can get the same numbers for less money from other internal options. Those options include Mendick, Romy Gonzalez and ... gulp ... Leury Garcia.

OK, actually Garcia makes $5.5 million, so he's making the same money as Harrison would have. But the two are somewhat redundant on the roster, so it makes little sense to carry them both.

Perhaps the Sox intend to fill second base via trade, since the free agent market at the position is thin. We'll find out in the coming months.

3 good changes Miguel Cairo has made to the White Sox lineup

Miguel Cairo

The White Sox are 13-6 since Miguel Cairo took over as acting manager on Aug. 30. Tony La Russa remains sidelined while dealing with a heart problem, and while I wish La Russa all the best with his health, there's no getting around the fact that the Sox have played much better baseball under Cairo's direction.

That said, the Sox remain in dire straits in the AL Central Division race. Their hot streak has coincided with a hot streak by the Cleveland Guardians, who have won 12 of their past 15 games.

The Guardians (80-67) come to Chicago for a three-game series that starts Tuesday night, and they own a four-game division lead over the Sox (76-71) with 15 games left in the season. 

Yes, it feels like a must-sweep for the Sox, especially since the Guardians own a 9-7 edge in the season series, and they will secure the division tiebreaker with just one more win over Chicago.

That means any Sox loss to Cleveland, in effect, is like losing two games in the standings.

As Sox fans, the only comfort we can take is that team is playing as well as it's played all season right now, and focusing on some positives, here are three things Cairo has done with the batting order that have really helped:

1. He made Eloy Jimenez the full-time DH. Jimenez remains a prodigious offensive talent, and he's a destructive force in the middle of the lineup when he's healthy. The problem is he's rarely healthy, and many of his injuries have occurred during his misadventures in left field.

What's the answer to this problem? Get Jimenez the hell out of left field, where he's a hazard to himself and everyone out there. Yes, birds too. Cairo has done just that. Jimenez has started 18 games at DH and zero games in the outfield since Cairo took over the team.

In those games, Jimenez is batting .348 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs. That is excellent production. Jimenez's job is to hit, and he's getting it done right now.

There's always the chance Jimenez will hurt one of his balky hamstrings when running the bases, but keeping him out of the outfield maximizes his chances of staying in the lineup. When he's in the lineup, he hits.

2. Yasmani Grandal does not DH anymore. Putting Jimenez in the lineup as the DH means that Grandal cannot DH anymore. ... Praise Jesus!

We've heard Sox GM Rick Hahn talk a lot this year about expecting players to "play to the back of the baseball card" over a 162-game schedule. Well, anyone who is watching Grandal's at-bats knows that he's not going to finish anywhere near his career norms this season.

He's batting .202/.305/.274 with only five homers and 26 RBIs. Inexplicably, La Russa started him as the DH 24 times this season, even though those offensive statistics are terrible.

Sure, Grandal was a dangerous hitter the second half of 2021 -- he hit 23 home runs last season, which is terrific production for a catcher. However, injuries have taken their toll on Grandal in his age-33 season. His swing has been all upper body all season. His legs aren't helping him, and his power is gone. In other words, his bat is a minus, and if he's not catching, he's not helping.

As a matter of fact, Grandal's defense has suffered this season, too. He's a -1.2 WAR player, and Seby Zavala, an average defensive catcher, is arguably a better option behind the plate at this point. But kudos to Cairo for not trying to force-fit Grandal's struggling bat into the lineup at the expense of the team.

3. Leury Garcia is stapled to the bench. It truly boggles the mind that La Russa found a way to pencil Garcia into the starting lineup 71 times in the first 128 games of the season.

Under Cairo, Garcia has started only five times in 19 games, and he's started only once since Sept. 4. In other words, Garcia has been picking splinters out of his ass ever since Yoan Moncada came off the injured list.

You might say, "But Garcia had to play because of all the injuries!" To which I reply, "You know damn well that Garcia would be playing second base right now if La Russa were managing the team."

Cairo has wisely alternated between Josh Harrison and Romy Gonzalez at second base -- both of those two players have simply outperformed Garcia, who is batting .211/.234/.268 for the season and is a -1.0 WAR player. Garcia's OPS+ is 42, which means he is performing 58% below league average.

Garcia is another one who simply isn't going to perform to "the back of his baseball card" this year. He's rightfully taken a seat as the Sox fight to stay relevant in the AL Central.

White Sox reportedly signing Elvis Andrus in attempt to fill shortstop hole

Elvis Andrus

There is nothing official yet, but I trust ESPN's Jeff Passan when he says the White Sox are signing free-agent shortstop Elvis Andrus.

The Sox are in trouble at that position. Tim Anderson is out for at least another month after having surgery on his left hand. Danny Mendick, who filled in capably in late May and early June when Anderson was out with a groin strain, is done for the season with a torn ACL. And Leury Garcia is also on the injured list with a back strain.

That leaves Romy Gonzalez and Lenyn Sosa to play shortstop. Gonzalez is a Quad-A player. Sosa is a 22-year-old prospect who needs more reps at Triple-A. He's talented, but not ready for the majors.

Enter Andrus, who will turn 34 next Friday. The Oakland Athletics just released him because he was approaching the amount of plate appearances that would automatically cause his $15 million option for 2023 to vest. Oakland is rebuilding, and would rather play younger players, so it's in the interest of the both the A's and Andrus to part ways.

By no means is Andrus the cure for what ails the Sox, but he'll provide league-average play at shortstop -- an upgrade over both Gonzalez and Sosa -- and an upgrade over Garcia if and when he returns.

Andrus is batting .237/.301/.373 with eight home runs and 24 doubles this season. No, that .674 OPS doesn't thrill anyone, but again, it's about competence. And at the very least, Andrus is a good defender who will solidify the left side of the infield in the short run.

According to Passan's report, Andrus will join the Sox in time for an important three-game series with the Cleveland Guardians that starts Friday.

The Sox are limping into Cleveland, having been destroyed 21-5 by the Houston Astros on Thursday. After taking the first two games of the four-game set against the league-best Astros, the Sox lost the final two games of that series to fall to 61-58.

They are 2.5 games out of first heading into the weekend.

Michael Kopech throws six no-hit innings in Sox win

For the first time all season, the White Sox have won three straight home games. That's hard to believe given that it's Aug. 12, isn't it?

The Sox offense wasn't exactly crackling Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, but they managed a 2-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers behind a great start from Michael Kopech and solid relief pitching from three guys.

Kopech, in fact, had one of the most dominant starts of his career. He worked six innings and did not give up a hit. He struck out 11, walked three and got 22 swinging strikes out of the 85 pitches he threw. Fifty-six of those 85 pitches were strikes.

Alas, he did not get the win, because the Sox did not score while he was in the game. Somehow, left-handed Daniel Norris -- who was released by the Cubs last month and had an ERA near 7 for the season -- threw 4.2 innings of scoreless ball for the Tigers.

Removing Kopech after 85 pitches was a controversial decision, and an unpopular one with fans, who criticized manager Tony La Russa on social media and booed the move at the ballpark.

But, we know Kopech is on an undetermined innings limit for this season, and his services are needed again five days from now when the AL-best Houston Astros are in town. From that perspective, the decision is understandable.

It's just weird how La Russa leaves starters in too long as a habit, and sometimes forces players to gut it out through injury (Leury Garcia in last Tuesday's doubleheader, for example), and other times, he pulls out the "abundance of caution" card.

In any case, Reynaldo Lopez relieved in the seventh inning and worked around a leadoff single by Javier Baez. Lopez (5-2) got the win after the Sox plated two in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out, two-run single by Andrew Vaughn with the bases loaded.

Kendall Graveman and Liam Hendriks each worked a scoreless inning, with Hendriks picking up his 24th save.

There was more bad injury news for the Sox, as Luis Robert left Friday's game with a sprained left wrist. He is day to day.

The Sox are 57-56, and they remain 3.5 games back of the Cleveland Guardians, who won their sixth straight Friday with an 8-0 skunking of the Toronto Blue Jays.

I wasn't overly impressed with the way the Sox swung the bats in this game against a lousy Detroit pitching staff. The Sox had eight hits, with AJ Pollock's double being the only one that went for extra bases.

If guys don't start hitting for power, this team will continue to spin its wheels. 

White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson out six weeks with hand injury

Tim Anderson

Has anyone heard of a sagittal band before? 

Before today, that term was foreign to me. But White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson has a sagittal band tear on the middle finger of his left hand. He will undergo surgery Thursday, and the Sox placed him on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday. He will be out for six weeks.

This could be the death blow for whatever hopes the Sox have of winning the American League Central Division, but then again, Anderson has been poor lately.

In the 39 games since he returned from his last injury -- a groin strain suffered Memorial Day weekend against the Cubs -- Anderson has hit .249/.287/.290 with just one home run. That's pretty much replacement-level performance.

By way of comparison, Leury Garcia has the exact same slugging percentage over his past 39 games (coming into Tuesday's doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals). Garcia's slash line over that time period: .237/.273/.290.

Yeah, it's pretty bleak.

The best we can hope for is that, somehow, Sox manager Tony La Russa decides to give rookie Lenyn Sosa a shot to play shortstop on a regular basis during Anderson's absence, and that Sosa makes a quick adjustment to a new level.

To be honest, the bar isn't hard to clear. All he has to do is slug .300, right?

Sosa hit his first career home run Tuesday night, giving the Sox an early lead in an eventual 3-2 victory over the Royals in Game 2 of the doubleheader. Kansas City won Game 1, 4-2, so in true Sox fashion, the South Siders played .500 baseball for the day.

For the season, the Sox are 56-54. Through the first 14 games of this 19-game stretch against losing teams, the Sox are 8-6. That's decent, but not the big run the optimists were hoping for. The Sox are still 2.0 games back of the Minnesota Twins, pending Minnesota's late result against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

I was thinking the Sox really needed to go 12-7 or 13-6 during this stretch. That is still mathematically possible, but not likely. The Sox have two games remaining in Kansas City, before a three-game weekend series at home against the Detroit Tigers.

On the current road trip through Texas and Kansas City, the Sox are 3-3. (.500 again!) And in those six games, they've scored only 17 runs. 

Yes, offense is still the problem. The Sox needed GM Rick Hahn to acquire two bats at the trade deadline. Instead, he got none, and with Anderson out, it's fair to say the Sox are playing three bats short.

Even in a weak division, good luck with that.

White Sox reliever Kendall Graveman struggles when he pitches back-to-back days

The White Sox played horrendous baseball Wednesday in a 6-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies. All the horrors of the 2022 season were on full display: two asinine baserunning blunders, a mental error on defense, an injury to a high-priced player, underperformance by a highly regarded starting pitcher, etc., etc., etc.

Lucas Giolito gave up three runs in the first inning to put the Sox in an early hole. Leury Garcia was picked off third base for the third out of an inning with the bases loaded. Jose Abreu was doubled off second base on an infield line drive. Tim Anderson forgot to tag second base when turning a double play. Joe Kelly walked off the mound in the eighth inning with an apparent biceps injury.

All the things wrong with this team were front and center once more, BUT they somehow managed to take a 5-4 lead into the ninth inning. Perhaps that's because the Rockies stink, and through eight innings, Colorado let the Sox off the hook for their blunders.

Alas, Kendall Graveman had a massive meltdown in the bottom of the ninth inning. He walked the bases loaded on 17 pitches, then gave up a two-run single to Elias Diaz. The Rockies got the two runs they needed to win the game before Graveman could even record an out.

Where was usual closer Liam Hendriks, you ask? Well, Hendriks needed 26 pitches to close out Tuesday's 2-1 victory over the Rockies, and apparently, he has some problem pitching in altitude that requires medication.

Graveman needed only 11 pitches to record a scoreless eighth in Tuesday's game, so he was the fresher and more available reliever for Wednesday.

Unfortunately, Graveman's results were disastrous, and that's the continuation of a trend of struggles he has when pitching on back-to-back days.

Wednesday's game marked the 10th time he's appeared on back-to-back days in 2022, and he's allowed seven earned runs in 9.1 innings pitched in those situations. That's a 6.75 ERA.

In all other situations, Graveman has allowed seven earned runs over 34.1 innings, which pencils out to a 1.83 ERA.

Eight of the 17 walks Graveman has issued this season have been on zero days' rest, along with two of the four home runs he's allowed.

I guess you could say stop pitching Graveman on back-to-back days, but I don't think that's feasible given that Aaron Bummer is on the injured list, Reynaldo Lopez is day-to-day with a back strain and now Kelly is hurt. Who else you going to pitch?

More over, Graveman was given a three-year, $24 million contract in the offseason. He's being paid a lot of money to pitch in high-leverage situations, and pitching on back-to-back days is part of the job description. He needs to better in these spots.

White Sox finish 'make-or-break' stretch with a 10-9 record

Dylan Cease

The White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians, 6-3, on Sunday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field to salvage a split in a four-game series.

Dylan Cease (10-4) got the win with six innings of shutout ball. Leury Garcia and AJ Pollock homered off Cleveland starter Shane Bieber (4-6) as part of a five-run second inning, and Eloy Jimenez also homered for the Sox.

The game completed what was described as a "crucial, make-or-break" 19-game stretch during which the Sox saw nothing but American League Central Division opponents.

Turns out, the Sox went 10-9 during those 19 games. When this stretch started, the Sox were 4.5 games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins. Today, they are 4.0 games behind the Twins. 

In other words, nothing has changed, really. That's on brand for this 2022 Sox team.

The Sox are neither "made" nor "broken" after this "make-or-break" stretch. They are simply stuck in neutral, spinning their wheels, as they have all season. They have been a .500 team, and they have the 48-48 record to prove it. 

And they've been a .500 team during these divisional games. They are doing enough to stay within striking distance of the division lead, but they haven't made anything resembling a strong push, either.

Cease, however, has been ridiculously good. Over his last 11 starts, he's allowed a grand total of three earned runs. 

Only twice in baseball history has a pitcher allowed only three earned runs in an 11-start span. Hall of Famer Bob Gibson did it in 1968, and now Cease. That's it. Nobody else.

Cease leads the AL in strikeouts with 154. His ERA is 2.03. If it said "New York" or "Boston" across his chest, he'd probably be getting more Cy Young hype. At the very least, he would have received an All-Star Game selection.

Yoan Moncada (finally) contributes to White Sox offense

Yoan Moncada

There's nothing like a series against the sad-sack Detroit Tigers to cure what ails you, right? 

The White Sox completed a three-game sweep in Detroit with a 13-0 victory on Wednesday afternoon. Their 22-hit attack was powered by ... Yoan Moncada?

Yes, Yoan Moncada. It's about time.

Moncada entered Wednesday's game with a .141/.198/.222 slash line. He had only two home runs, two doubles and seven RBIs in 106 plate appearances. Since May 22, he had just two extra-base hits, and one of them was a "bunt double" down the left-field line against a shifted infield.

Well, Moncada had two extra-base hits on Wednesday alone. He went 5 for 6 with a home run, a double, two runs scored and five RBIs. He nearly doubled his season RBI total, going from seven to 12. His batting average improved 40 points to .181. His OPS went from .420 to .527.

And, Moncada had the biggest hit of the game. He came to the plate with two on and two out in the first inning, and roped a fastball from Detroit starter Alex Faedo into the right-field seats for a 3-run homer.

That staked the Sox to an early multi-run lead, and they cruised from there.

Sure, the Tigers used position players to pitch the last three innings, and Moncada piled on with two of his five hits against those guys. But it's worth noting that Leury Garcia also had two at-bats against Detroit position players, and he made three outs.

Amusingly, or not amusingly, depending on your perspective, Garcia struck out against Harold Castro and grounded into a double play against Tucker Barnhart.

Garcia was 0 for 2 off the bench. He gave center fielder Luis Robert a few innings off after the game got out of hand. But enough about Garcia and his inept nonsense. The nine Sox players who started the game all had at least one hit.

Jose Abreu went 4 for 5 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Andrew Vaughn totaled three hits, and AJ Pollock now has seven straight multi-hit games after a 2-for-4 day. Pollock reached base four times and scored twice.

Danny Mendick and Seby Zavala homered for the Sox.

Rookie right-hander Davis Martin picked up his first career victory with 5.1 innings of scoreless relief. Vince Velasquez was activated off the injured list to start Wednesday's game. He worked 2.2 scoreless innings before being removed. Perhaps he was on a pitch count.

Reliever Kyle Crick was placed on the injured list with right elbow inflammation to make room for Velasquez on the roster.

The Sox are 30-31, still five games behind the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central.

The next six games are a little tougher. The South Siders play three games at Houston over the weekend, before coming home for three games against Toronto.

Not that anyone needs a reminder, but the Sox were 0-6 in Houston last season -- regular season and playoffs combined -- so we'll see if they can compete a little better in this next series.

White Sox sweep Red Sox at Fenway Park

Jose Abreu

The White Sox have scored four runs or fewer in each of their past six games. However, they've won all six of them. That's never happened before in franchise history.

As Chris Kamka pointed out on Twitter, the Sox once had a five-game winning streak where they scored four runs or fewer in every game -- from Sept. 18-25, 1904.

Has the dead ball era returned? The run-scoring environment has certainly been low in Major League Baseball so far this season, but this weekend in Boston, the Sox managed to score a run or two more than the Red Sox every day and complete a three-game sweep.

Let's look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, May 6

White Sox 4, Red Sox 2: A three-run third inning ended up being all the Sox needed in this game. Tim Anderson and AJ Pollock singled. Jose Abreu hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Anderson, and Luis Robert hit his fourth home run of the season -- a two-run shot -- to put the Sox ahead 3-0. Boston never caught up.

Vince Velasquez (2-2) pitched five innings of one-run ball to earn his second victory during this winning streak. Four relievers combined to limit the Red Sox to one run on three hits over four innings. Liam Hendriks worked a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his eighth save of the season.

Saturday, May 7

White Sox 3, Red Sox 1 (10 innings): This was an extremely frustrating game for eight innings. Boston starter Nick Pivetta entered the game with a 7.64 ERA, and he blanked the Sox for six innings.

In fact, Boston took a 1-0 lead into the ninth inning. The Sox offense woke up just in time. Jake Burger drew a leadoff walk, advanced to third on a double by Adam Engel and scored on a sacrifice fly by Leury Garcia to tie the game and force the extra inning.

In the 10th, Abreu doubled in the ghost runner to put the Sox up 2-1. Robert then singled to score Abreu and account for the final margin.

Hendricks worked a 1-2-3 10th for his ninth save of the season, making a winner out of Reynaldo Lopez (4-0), who escaped a second-and-third, one-out jam in the bottom of the ninth.

Dylan Cease struck out eight over five innings of one-run ball for the Sox.

Sunday, May 8

White Sox 3, Red Sox 2: Just like Friday night, a three-run third inning was all the Sox needed. The rally featured an RBI infield single by Garcia and a two-run double by Abreu. The Sox had only six hits in the game, but at least they bunched three of them in one inning.

Dallas Keuchel (2-3) might have been pitching for his job, and it showed. He kept Boston off the scoreboard for the first five innings, before cracking and allowing two runs in the sixth. Keuchel struck out five and walked only one, and he ended up getting the win because the lesser-known relievers in the Sox bullpen were able to hold a one-run edge over the last three innings.

Hendriks had worked five out of six days and was unavailable. Kendall Graveman and Aaron Bummer were also unavailable, with Bummer headed to the injured list with a knee problem.

Turns out Ryan Burr, Matt Foster, Jose Ruiz and Bennett Sousa got it done. Burr had a 1-2-3 seventh. Foster struck out the side in the eighth. Ruiz gave up a leadoff double in the ninth to J.D. Martinez, but he recorded two outs after that. Sousa came on and got pinch hitter Kevin Plawecki to fly out to Robert to end the game. For the left-handed rookie, it was his first career save.

The Sox are 14-13.

Matt Foster unlikely hero for White Sox

The White Sox completed a sweep of the crosstown Cubs on Wednesday with a 4-3 victory at Wrigley Field. And just like we all expected, the hero of the game was ... Matt Foster? 

Yep, that's right, Matt Foster, the 27-year-old reliever who spent most of the 2021 season bouncing back and forth between Chicago and Triple-A Charlotte. And when Foster was in Chicago last season, he posted a 6.00 ERA and a 1.436 WHIP in 37 appearances.

Coming into spring training, he wasn't really in the plans. However, extended rosters and injuries created opportunity, and Foster made the team out of camp. 

And he's pitched really well in his opportunities in 2022. Coming into Wednesday night, he had allowed only one earned run in 11 innings across 10 appearances.

The assignment Foster received Wednesday night was his toughest yet. He was asked to clean up Aaron Bummer's mess in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Cubs had runners at first and third with one out, and the Sox were clinging to a 4-3 lead. Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ, the No. 2 and No. 3 batters in the Cubs' lineup, were due up.

Foster got Suzuki to foul out to first baseman Gavin Sheets on a fastball up and out of the zone. The Cubs' runner on first, Nick Madrigal, was going with the pitch, so perhaps that enticed Suzuki to swing at a pitch that was not a strike. No matter. Either way, it was the second out.

Happ followed, and on a 2-2 pitch, Foster aced him with fastball at the bottom of the zone and struck him out looking. Jam escaped. Lead perserved. Foster's ERA is down to 0.77.

Liam Hendriks worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his seventh save in eight opportunities. That allowed Lucas Giolito (1-1) to pick up his first victory of the season. The right-hander allowed three runs across 5.2 innings, but he struck out 10 Cubs batters.

Jose Abreu (3rd of the season) and Leury Garcia (2nd of the season) homered for the Sox, who overcame an early 3-1 deficit. Sheets had a two-out RBI single in the fourth to tie the game. AJ Pollock had a two-out RBI single in the sixth that put the South Siders ahead for good.

The Sox are now 11-13. The Cubs drop to 9-15.

The remaining free agent second basemen ... not enticing

Josh Harrison

One day, the Major League Baseball lockout will end, and when it does, the White Sox will still need a second baseman.

That's assuming you don't think all-purpose player Leury Garcia is the everyday answer at the position. (Hint: He's not.)

So, here is the list of remaining free agent second basemen. Trigger warning: There are some relics from the White Sox rebuilding days on this list:

• Brad Miller
• Donovan Solano
• Niko Goodrum
• Joe Panik
• Brock Holt
• Asdrubal Cabrera
• Hanser Alberto
• Jed Lowrie
• Charlie Culberson
• Josh Harrison
• Chris Owings
• Ronald Torreyes
• Mike Freeman
• Jose Rondon
• Phil Gosselin
• Breyvic Valera
• Kean Wong
• Ryan Goins
• Tyler Ladendorf

See anyone you like there? Me neither, and the thought of Rondon or Goins coming back to the Sox sends chills down my spine.

At least one writer, The Athletic's Andy McCullough, thinks Harrison would be a good pickup for the Sox. He said as much in his "One New Year's resolution for every team" column.

Yikes! This is what it has come to? In the middle of an alleged championship window, the Sox should gamble on 34-year-old Josh Harrison and his career .719 OPS? I'll pass.

McCullough notes that Harrison has been an above-average offensive player the past two years. Not wrong. Harrison posted a 108 OPS+ in 2020, and a 106 OPS+ in 2021.

However, Harrison has struggled with both the American League teams he has played with in the past (Oakland and Detroit). Check out his AL/NL career splits:

National League: .279/.323/.411 in 965 games

American League: .220/.263/.307 in 84 games

Granted, the sample size is much smaller in the American League. And Harrison's prime years were spent in the National League, where he was a two-time All-Star with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

However, Harrison last played at an All-Star level in 2017, and the way he finished the 2021 season in Oakland was not impressive. He batted .254/.296/.341 with two homers, 22 RBIs and 10 doubles in 199 plate appearances after coming over midseason from the Washington Nationals. 

With Oakland, Harrison's OPS+ was 79, or 21% below league average. Harrison will turn 35 next July 8, and I tend to believe his struggles down the stretch in 2021 are the start of a decline at his age.

Of course, that means he's likely available on a one-year deal. ... That's right in the wheelhouse for Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and GM Rick Hahn!

The Sox love giving one-year deals to declining veterans, and if they do sign Harrison, count me among the unimpressed.

The standard here should be "Better than Leury Garcia." I'm not convinced Harrison will be better than Garcia in 2022.

Top 5 White Sox moments for 2021

Tim Anderson

What's a new year without a list recapping the year that just ended, right? And with the Major League Baseball lockout droning on with no end in sight, we don't have much else to discuss.

So, let's ring in 2022 by looking back at my five favorite White Sox moments of 2021. Let me know if I've missed anything important:

5. Jose Abreu's mad dash to the plate: Maybe I remember this one more than most people because I was at this game, but it might have been the single most exciting play of the season that wasn't a home run. The Sox scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to rally for a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. The fourth and game-winning run was scored with two outs, when Abreu dashed down the line from third base on a very short wild pitch by Kansas City reliever Wade Davis. Abreu somehow got around the tag of Royals catcher Cam Gallagher, hitting his hand on the plate as he slid by. After a lengthy video review, the call on the field was confirmed: safe. The whole thing was so improbable, because when Abreu took off, it looks as if he would be out by 10 feet. 

4. Brian Goodwin's bat flip for the ages: The second-place Cleveland Indians came to Chicago on July 30 trailing the Sox by eight games in the American League Central Division. There was a feeling the Indians needed to take two out of three -- if not sweep -- in order to have a legitimate chance to make the Central a race. The teams split the first two games, and the Sunday finale was a tight affair throughout. The score was 1-1 going into the ninth inning, and Goodwin won the game for the Sox with a solo home run off Cleveland reliever Nick Wittgren. Goodwin punctuated his blast by flipping his bat toward the Cleveland dugout, about 30 feet up in the air. That was Aug. 1, and the Sox had a nine-game lead. This was the moment where you felt the Sox had the division in hand -- for me, it was more enjoyable than the day the Sox clinched, because September was a foregone conclusion. 

3. Leury Garcia's home run in Game 3 of the ALDS: Some people might have this as their best moment of the season -- especially if they were lucky enough to be at this game, which I was. The Sox, of course, had lost the first two games of the series against the Houston Astros, and they were facing elimination. There was definitely a feeling of impending doom at Guaranteed Rate Field after the Astros jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the third inning of Game 3. But the Sox responded with five runs in the bottom of the third, capped by an improbable 3-run homer to deep center field by Garcia. The blast gave the Sox a 6-5 lead, and they survived for one more game by securing a 12-6 victory. When Garcia's ball left the park, that was the loudest I've ever heard the ballpark (note, I did not attend 2005 World Series Game 2). And I've never seen so much high-priced beer flying through the air during a home run celebration. Of course, Game 3 would be the last Sox victory of 2021. They lost the series in four games. Had that home run actually flipped the outcome of the series, this would be higher on my list.

2. Carlos Rodon pitches a no-hitter: I'll be honest -- I didn't really want Rodon back on the Sox after watching him labor through four consecutive injury-plagued seasons. But the veteran left-hander quickly quieted me and other critics by getting the 2021 season off to a great start. Rodon pitched a no-hitter in his second start of the season, April 14 against the Cleveland Indians. And frankly, this was really damn close to being a perfect game. Rodon retired the first 25 batters he faced before hitting Cleveland catcher Roberto Perez in the toe with a back-foot slider with one out in the top of the ninth. That spoiled the perfect game, before Rodon recovered to retire the next two batters and secure the no-hitter and an 8-0 victory. Injuries once again hindered Rodon the second half of the season, but I don't think any Sox fan can complain about the 24 starts he made in 2021. Rodon went 13-5 with a 2.37 ERA, made the All-Star team and provided fans with one of the most memorable performances of the entire season on a chilly night in April.

1. Tim Anderson walks it off in the Field of Dreams Game: If there's a single moment from the 2021 White Sox season that everyone will remember, it's got to be this, right? The Field of Dreams Game was the most-watched baseball telecast in 15 years, and the heavyweight fight between the Sox and the New York Yankees did not disappoint. The Yankees scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning off Liam Hendriks to turn a 7-4 Sox lead into an 8-7 deficit. It looked as if the Sox were going to suffer one of their most frustrating losses of the season in the most high profile of games. But Anderson changed the narrative. After Seby Zavala took a walk, Anderson drove a pitch from New York's Zach Britton over the fence in right field and into the corn for a two-run homer to give the Sox an improbable 9-8 victory. It was kind of funny that Anderson was on the record as not having seen the movie "Field of Dreams," yet he ended up being the hero and providing the signature moment of the game. MLB is doing another such game next season -- it will feature the Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds. Good luck duplicating the drama and excitement from this Sox-Yankees matchup.

White Sox bring back Leury Garcia on 3-year contract

Leury Garcia

The White Sox just can't quit Leury Garcia, can they? 

Garcia, a 30-year-old utility player who has been with the Sox since 2013, has agreed to a three-year deal to return to the South Side of Chicago, according to multiple reports.

The Sox signed relief pitcher Kendall Graveman to a three-year, $24 million contract, but they've yet to address their glaring holes at second base or in right field.

Bringing back Garcia is not a bad move, per se, as he plays multiple positions somewhat competently and can fill in all over the diamond in the event of an injury to a starting player. He also switch-hits, which is a nice bonus.

The problem is, the Sox seem to see him as more than that. He played in 126 games in 2021 and took 474 at-bats, finishing with a .267/.335/.376 slash line with five home runs and 54 RBIs. Basically, the team treats Garcia like a starting player, and manager Tony La Russa has said as much.

Garcia, of course, should be a bench player on a team with championship aspirations. He shouldn't be starting in the playoffs at second base, or in right field, but that's exactly what he was doing in the 2021 playoffs. 

I wouldn't mind it if the Sox had brought Garcia back on a one-year deal. But the three-year deal makes me believe the team intends to make him the starting second baseman. That's especially true given that some of the other viable options at the position are off the board:

• Marcus Semien signed with the Texas Rangers.
• Eduardo Escobar signed with the New York Mets.
• Adam Frazier was traded to the Seattle Mariners
• If the Sox wanted to reunite with Cesar Hernandez for less money, no sale. He signed with Washington.

The terms of the Garcia deal have not yet been disclosed. It will be interesting to see whether he got starter money. Then that calls into question whether the Sox are allocating resources properly. There is still time, of course, for the Sox to adequately address holes. But this start to the offseason has that here-we-go-again feeling.

Were the 2021 White Sox a success? Or a failure?

Jen and I before Game 3

At least we got to attend two playoff games at Guaranteed Rate Field this October, right? That hadn't happened in 13 years. The 2021 White Sox won the American League Central Division championship, and that's at least something.

But after the Sox lost the American League Division Series to the Houston Astros, 3 games to 1, how do we define this season? Was it a success? Was it a failure? 

There's a case to be made either way, but I'm going to vote "failure." Those who would argue that this was a "success" would correctly point out that 93 wins and a division championship are pretty rare in the totality of Sox history. You go back, two, three, four years ago -- even eight or nine years ago -- and Sox fans could only dream of such success.

However, the problem for me is this: The Sox were outscored 31-18 in the four-game series. They took Game 3, 12-6, but in the other three games, they were outscored 25-5. They were soundly beaten by a far superior Houston team.

This is a failure by the expectations the Sox set for themselves. From the first day of spring training, we were hearing about parades, October glory, and how nothing short of getting to the World Series would be considered acceptable. Well, the Sox fell well short of that. They overpromised and underdelivered.

Since the series ended, I've had several people offer me their "condolences" on the loss. Thing is, I wasn't upset about the outcome of this series, because I knew the Astros were better. In fact, I selected Houston to win in four games, and told my girlfriend Jen, "I just hope they win a game, and hopefully it's one we go to." 

Indeed they did win a game that we attended, so in that regard, no complaints.

All the things that upset me about the Sox were things that happened throughout the season, and dating back to last offseason. I don't think general manager Rick Hahn adequately addressed lineup holes, and sure enough, the Sox ended up with Leury Garcia starting in right field in the playoffs. And they were relying on rookies to man the designated hitter spot.

Those holes remained unfilled at the trading deadline, as Hahn worked to load up his bullpen. Turns out, Craig Kimbrel was a total bust, and the combination of big free-agent acquisition Liam Hendriks and Kimbrel at the back end of the bullpen turned out to be a nonfactor, because the Sox weren't strong enough to have a lead after seven innings in three of four games.

The Sox were sloppy, arrogant and complacent throughout much of the year, as they went unchallenged in the AL Central. Many of us criticized them for not winning on the road, failing to beat good teams, playing poor defense, grounding into too many double plays, not holding base runners on, and issuing too many walks and wild pitches.

The team's defenders assured us it would be different in the playoffs. It was not. We saw all those weaknesses come to the forefront, in fact, and now the Sox have to reevaluate. They were dominated, punched right in the face.

Now, how do they react this offseason? Can they be honest with themselves and admit they have some significant roster holes? Can they admit that details matter, and that they need shore up some of these things that will give them wins on the margins? 

If I'm angry, it's because the front office sent the team into a gunfight with a knife. They didn't have a deep enough roster to beat the Astros. They weren't prepared enough to beat the Astros. The loss itself was inevitable; it was fait accompli.

A walk-off home run by ... Leury Garcia

Leury Garcia

Give Leury Garcia credit for this: He has stepped up in Tim Anderson's absence. Not only has Garcia played a credible defensive shortstop, he's contributed to the White Sox with his bat, too.

Since Anderson went on the injured list on Aug. 29, Garcia has gone 14 for 40 with two home runs and seven RBIs. He homered in Saturday's 9-8 loss to the Boston Red Sox, and over the previous 14 days leading into Sunday, he was slashing .365/.407/.519.

But we hadn't seen anything yet.

With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth Sunday, Garcia stepped to the plate with two outs and nobody on against Boston reliever Garrett Whitlock. Garcia fell behind 0-2 in the count, and it looked like the game was going to extra innings.

Instead, Garcia jumped on the 0-2 pitch and launched it 430 feet over the wall in center field for a walk-off homer and a 2-1 White Sox victory.

It was only his fifth home run of the season. Go figure. Unlikely hero.

Certainly, all Sox fans are looking forward to Anderson's return to the lineup, which reportedly will happen Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels. 

But Garcia has done his job in a backup role. During parts of nine seasons with the Sox, Garcia has played seven different positions on the field, including pitcher. When he first joined the professional ranks, he was a shortstop by trade, and honestly, it feels as though his most productive times at the plate have occurred when he's playing shortstop and filling in for Anderson.

He just must be most comfortable at that position, although he there's no chance he'll take Anderson's job. In the meantime, he deserves his props for a big hit Sunday.

The Sox are 82-61 after taking two of three from Boston. Their AL Central lead is 12. Their magic number is 9.