The White Sox have activated first baseman/designated hitter Justin Morneau from the disabled list and optioned outfielder Jason Coats to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
Morneau, 35, signed a one-year Major League deal with the Sox earlier this summer. He sat out the early portion of the season whilst recovering from offseason elbow surgery but has since completed a rehab assignment with the Sox, who will hope that he can add some left-handed pop to the middle of their lineup. In that sense, Morneau will fill the role that Adam LaRoche was expected to occupy when he signed prior to the 2015 season, though his pro-rated $1MM salary obviously comes at a fraction of the salary LaRoche forfeited when he retired in Spring Training.
It’s now been a decade since Morneau was named the American League MVP, but he had a pair of productive, albeit injury-shortened seasons with the Rockies in 2014-15. With Colorado, Morneau captured the National League batting title in 2014, and he hit a combined .316/.363/.487 in 184 games as a member of the Rockies. Playing his home games in Coors Field added those numbers, to be sure, but Morneau was as difficult to strike out as ever with the Rox — his 15.2 percent career strikeout rate is considerably lower than most power hitters — and was quite productive even on the road in 2014, suggesting that there’s still life left in his bat.
Health, of course, has been an issue for Morneau, who had what was shaping up to be his best season cut short in June 2010 when he suffered a concussion that plagued him for several years to come. He’s also undergone neck surgery and further concussions since taking a career-altering knee to the head while sliding into second base back in that 2010 season.
Morneau played in just eight games on his rehab assignment with the Sox, so there’s certainly a chance that he’ll be rusty out of the gate. However, the Sox have utilized Avisail Garcia as their primary designated hitter this season, and the once-promising outfielder has continued his big league struggles with a .232/.301/.332 batting line in 276 plate appearances. The ChiSox will hope that their former division rival can inject some life into that spot in the lineup as the club looks to remain in the race for the American League Central title or a Wild Card spot. Chicago currently trails Cleveland by seven games in the Central and is 4.5 games back from a Wild Card spot.
White Sox are being really proactive, I guess they are going to make a strong push for a Wild Card. They ain’t catching my Sox although I expect us to pass the O’s so they’re really chasing them for one of the WC’s
i think the white sox can win the division but they are their own worst enemy. i think cleveland will comeback to the pack. i think your sox win the east
I don’t think there is any chance of Chicago winning the division. Detroit and Cleveland are much better offensively and pitching wise. As far as Boston goes, thats going to be a dog fight. Toronto, Boston and Baltimore are elite offensive teams. As always it comes down to pitching. If Pomeranz is anything close to what he was in San Diego and Rodriguez can improve, which shouldnt be hard considering his era is close to 9.00, then Boston should start to inch out ahead.
As long as Robin Ventura is mismanaging the Sox, the team will go nowhere. I have said it for two years now, but JR loves his guys, and enables them to be inept in his org(s) and gets rid of the guys that know what they are doing. Has done it with the Bulls and now is doing it with the Sox..
Cleveland and Detroit are both better than Chicago. And I dont think its even close.
Highly debatable. Detroit isn’t a great team by any means.
If the Sox win a wild card spot it will be in spite of how Robin manages, not because of it.Ventura mismanages this club so badly it does not matter who the Sox have on the Roster.
you ain’t passing anybody except maybe the Jays
Did bigpapi4ever make a new name?
Yup
Glad Morneau got a shot. I watched him last year some and I think he still has something left in the tank. The poor guy just needs to stay healthy.
Since Morneau was the last of the “top 50 free agents” to sign, who won last winter’s contest?
I’m rooting for ya big guy! I have always admired his game.
“Don’t stop now boys”!
With Justin Morneau now activated to become the regular DH and backup at 1B, along with top prospect Carson Fulmer being promoted as a likely impact reliever for the remainder of the season, the White Sox need to make one more significant addition to their batting order to enhance their chances for the 2016 postseason.
A trade for one more impact bat is needed, be it for a CF like Charlie Blackmon, a corner outfielder like Carlos Gonzalez, Ryan Braun or Yasiel Puig, perhaps even an upgrade at catcher with Jonathan Lucroy.
The White Sox should also get a boost with the return of three players from the disabled list later this month in Carlos Rodon, Austin Jackson and Alex Avila.
All this, good health and the continued improvement of starting pitchers James Shields, Miguel Gonzalez and slugging 1B Jose Abreu should be enough to put the White Sox into the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
If the White Sox do manage to reach the postseason they could be a legitimate threat to vie for another championship.
Btw- I would love to see the White Sox sign Cuban free agent Yulieski Gourriel as a long term investment. He is expected to sign a MLB deal shortly. Gourriel has the ability to play 3B, 2B and LF. He could provide a corner OF bat upgrade as soon as this season and perhaps next, then become the heir apparent at 3B or 2B when Todd Frazier and Brett Lawrie become FA’s in 2018.
Oh well… so much for positive thinking.
Yes. It’s just been reported that Cuban infielder Yulieski Gourriel has agreed to a five-year, $47.5 million deal with the Astros.
An ‘impact bat’ will not matter here. All it will do is drain the minor league system of another good player and ship in a guy to join Robin’s circus of mediocrity which is appears Anderson, who commited two errors last night, is now adapting to. This team is hitting so poorly managed that a pitcher with a 4.27 ERA got 5 of the first 6 outs in the game as K’s.
Nevermind the inability to at least be .500 against teams in their division. There are major systemic issues with this club that another bat will not fix, all it will do is move another possible young component the Sox desperately need to develop. The need to have a ‘fire sale’ now and dump Ventura and KW, and put every other coach on notice that the new guy is allowed to keep you or remove you (should have occurred about 2 seasons ago if their owner was serious about winning), especially if they want any chance of being competative in 2-3 seasons. Keep Sale, Rodon, Fulmer, Anderson, and Eaton, maybe Jones, and everyone else can be traded for prospects, then get in Gardenhire or even Dave Martinez (bench coach for Maddon on the north side), and spend next year getting a new feel in the org.
Good news. I hope this call is a wake-up call for Avisail Garcia who has been a poor DH. I thought he had a good start but he is now back to his old habits and Morneau’s activation make be the fire he needs to wake up.
If they wanted to send notice to Garcia he would have been in AAA about 2 months ago. The fact they sent down Coats and not Garcia (who still has an option left and would appear he needs to go down to work on his swing) tells me that the Sox desperately want Garcia to somehow work out otherwise they look a bit silly not going after Iglesias in that Peavy trade. Including keeping a guy, who was already having a hard time hitting, on the roster as a DH, which is the worst thing you can do for a guy that is struggling. My guess is he should be a 1st baseman and should have been the minute he hurt his shoulder (if his shoulder is now what is causing his mediocre hitting in the past few years).
Does Morneau have a son that can fill in for their missing clubhouse leader, Drake?
How much more exciting can Williams and Hahn make this team?