- On the heels of their first postseason berth since 2008, the White Sox somewhat surprisingly parted ways with manager Rick Renteria yesterday. Jim Margalus of Sox Machine digs into the likely motivations behind that decision. To some extent, Renteria was the victim of circumstances, Margalus feels; when the former Cubs skipper took over on the South Side entering the 2017 season, the Sox were amidst a rebuild. Margalus opines those first few years of losing, while expected, made it easier for the front office to move on from Renteria now if they weren’t convinced the 58-year-old was best equipped to guide the contending club to postseason success. (Indeed, the front office was displeased when Renteria pushed back a bit against the use of data in his in-game decision-making, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). Another factor working against Renteria, according to Margalus: the Tigers’ own vacancy, which could have spurred GM Rick Hahn to launch a managerial search this offseason rather than risk losing an ideal potential candidate to a division rival.
White Sox Rumors
Latest On Garrett Crochet, Nick Madrigal
White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet left the team’s Game 3 wild-card round loss to the Athletics on Oct. 1, though it wasn’t clear why his season came to a premature end. It turns out that Crochet suffered a flexor strain, general manager Rick Hahn revealed Monday (via James Fegan of The Athletic). While flexor strains often lead to Tommy John surgery, Crochet avoided damage to his ulnar collateral ligament, per Hahn. Chicago expects him to be ready for spring training.
Meanwhile, second baseman Nick Madrigal – another of Chicago’s key young players – underwent surgery on his left shoulder, Scott Merkin of MLB.com relays. Madrigal will require five to six months to recover, which could jeopardize his chances of being at full strength when the spring comes.
This news is a mixed bag for the White Sox, though it’s clearly a relief that Crochet seems to have dodged an especially serious injury. The 21-year-old was the 11th overall pick in this year’s draft, and he wasted little time making a significant impact in the bigs. After the White Sox promoted him in September, Crochet used his blazing fastball to throw six scoreless regular-season innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. Crochet then struck out both batters he faced in his playoff debut before walking off the mound in what proved to be a season-ending defeat for the White Sox.
The 23-year-old Madrigal had a highly effective rookie campaign in his own right, as he slashed .340/.376/.369 in 109 plate appearances. But Madrigal’s shoulder, which he separated Aug. 5, shelved him for almost a month. The hope now is that he’ll be ready when the 2021 season opens.
Don Cooper Will Not Return As White Sox Pitching Coach
After agreeing to part ways with manager Rick Renteria this morning, GM Rick Hahn spoke to the media, announcing further changes. The White Sox have made the decision to move on from long-time pitching coach Don Cooper, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin and others (via Twitter). Cooper has been the pitching coach for parts of 19 seasons with the White Sox, beginning in July of 2002.
Cooper first joined the White Sox in 1988, giving him a remarkable 32 years with the organization. He was one of the longest-tenured pitching coaches in the major leagues. He was not only the pitching coach for 4 different White Sox skippers, but he actually became the manager himself for a short time at the end of the 2011 season when Ozzie Guillen was let go. Cooper then went back to his pitching coach responsibilities when Robin Ventura took over starting the 2012 season.
In recent years, Cooper has overseen the development of ace Lucas Giolito, as well as the ushering of many young arms to the major leagues. As a staff, the White Sox ranked 6th in the majors with a 3.81 ERA in 2020, but just 18th with a 8.93 K/9, and 17th with 3.71 BB/9. The change may be as much about allowing a new manager to weigh in on coaching decisions as it is about anything particular with Cooper, especially given comments from Hahn suggesting they are looking for new voices from outside the organization.
White Sox Part Ways With Rick Renteria
The Chicago White Sox and manager Rick Renteria has agreed to “part ways,” per The Athletic’s James Fegan and others (via Twitter). The club announced the move. The rest of the coaching staff will be determined in consultation with their next manager, per Fegan.
The news comes as a surprise after the White Sox stormed the AL Central to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Renteria was famously let go by the Chicago Cubs as well in a similar fashion. After one season with the Cubs in 2014, the team jumped at the chance to hire Joe Maddon, just as the team was becoming competitive. The White Sox had lauded Renteria’s work, but ultimately they decided to make a similar move just as their club hopes to embark on a multi-year run of contention.
Renteria spent four seasons with the White Sox totaling a 236-309 (.436) record in that time. Of course, for most of this tenure, the White Sox did not roster a team expected to contend in the AL Central. It was only this season that expectations rose. Renteria seemingly answered the call, leading Chicago to a 35-25 record before falling to the A’s in a 3-game wild card series.
As successful as this season was, however, it was also marred by two late collapses, one to lose the division crown after taking a lead into the week’s final weeks. The other came in the wild card round, when a game one victory brought them to within one win of advancing. GM Rick Hahn, however, said the decision was about the organization’s standing at this time, and it doesn’t have anything to do with specific decision made on Renteria’s part, per Fegan.
Still, neither collapses rate on a grand scale, especially in the playoffs, where a 3-game series hardly allows for enough of a lead to swing expectations. Regardless, GM Rick Hahn felt a change should be made. He will be addressing the media a little later on today.
White Sox Have Contract Decisions Looming
- The White Sox have some options pending after their most successful season in over a decade, and the Athletic’s James Fegan provides a rundown. One of the easier calls will be declining the $12MM club option on designated hitter Edwin Encarnación. It’s true that Encarnación didn’t exactly dazzle this year with a triple slash of .157/.250/.377, but more telling is GM Rick Hahn’s comment about #3 overall draft pick of the 2019 draft: Andrew Vaughn. Per Fegan, Hahn said, “Given his makeup and given his tools, it’s hard to look at him and rule him out of being able to help a team in the not too distant future.”
- Like ships passing in the night, just as one #3 pick could soon embark on his White Sox career, another in Carlos Rodon could be nearing an end. The big lefty will be due at least a nominal raise on his $4.45MM contract, and there’s a decent chance that’s too rich given his inability to stay healthy. The White Sox will be looking for stability for their rotation now that their contention window has firmly opened. With that in mind, it’s likely they decline Gio Gonzalez’s $7MM option as well.
Minor MLB Transactions: 10/3/20
A trio of players appear ticketed for free agency this offseason after being outrighted off clubs’ rosters yesterday, per the MLB.com transactions log:
- Cubs’ reliever Josh Osich cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. Chicago acquired Osich from the Red Sox at this year’s trade deadline, although he only wound up pitching in four games for them down the stretch. Osich combined for a 6.38 ERA in 18.1 innings for the two teams this year, although he did rack up an impressive 24:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
- White Sox reliever Alex McRae also passed through the wire after being designated this week. McRae spent the first six seasons of his professional career in the Pirates’ organization before joining the Sox last offseason. He tossed three scoreless innings for the South Siders this year. McRae has a 7.50 ERA/7.09 FIP in 36 career MLB innings.
- Also passing through waivers was Rangers’ infielder Yadiel Rivera. The 28-year-old utilityman was reported to have been designated for assignment in early September, but he instead reverted to the injured list after being diagnosed with an elbow injury. Rivera wound up having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his elbow, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reported late last month, and is expected to be out for five to six months. Rivera has just a .175/.244/.217 line in 319 MLB plate appearances across six seasons.
Eloy Jimenez, Garrett Crochet Exit With Injuries
3:48pm: The White Sox announced that Jimenez exited with right foot discomfort. The news looks worse for Crochet, who left with forearm tightness.
3:20pm: White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez and left-hander Garrett Crochet exited early in the team’s make-or-break Game 3 against the Athletics on Thursday. It’s not yet clear why they departed.
Jimenez led off the third inning with a double before walking off with a trainer. It’s worth noting Jimenez missed time late in the season with a mid-foot sprain. If the White Sox advance, they’ll need him back in their lineup, as the 23-year-old turned in a brilliant second season with a .296/.332/.559 line and 14 home runs in 226 plate appearances.
Crochet, meanwhile, departed in the second inning after striking out both batters he faced. He was throwing in the 96 to 97 mph range, and his fastest pitch clocked in at 98.9, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Just about any pitcher would be pleased with that type of velocity, but it’s a notable step down for Crochet, who averaged 100.2 mph on his fastball during his brief regular season. The 21-year-old threw 85 pitches in the season after debuting a couple weeks ago, and 69 of them came in above 98.9 mph, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com (via Merkin).
Crochet, whom the White Sox chose 11th overall in this year’s draft, quickly reached the majors and, thanks in part to his all-world velocity, made a major impact for the White Sox. He ended the season with six shutout innings of three-hit ball across five appearances, in which he totaled eight strikeouts and didn’t walk a batter. He clearly looks like another young star for the up-and-coming White Sox to build around, so the hope is that Crochet didn’t suffer a serious injury in his playoff debut.
White Sox Release Steve Cishek; Ross Detwiler Elects Free Agency
The White Sox have released right-hander Steve Cishek, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Both Cishek and left-hander Ross Detwiler were designated for assignment earlier this week, and Detwiler is also on the move, as the southpaw has elected to become a free agent.
After pitching for the Cubs in 2018-19, Cishek moved to the south side of Chicago after signing a one-year free agent deal with the White Sox last winter. Cishek earned $5.25MM in guaranteed salary, and he will get $750K as a buyout of the $6.75MM club option on his services for the 2021 season.
For that $6MM investment, the White Sox received a 5.40 ERA, 2.33 K/BB rate, and 9.5 K/9 over 20 innings from Cishek. As noted by MLBTR’s Steve Adams last Thursday, much of the damage done to Cishek’s ERA came early in the season — Cishek allowed seven runs over his first 5 2/3 innings of work (in seven games) before settling down to allow five runs over his next 14 1/3 innings (15 appearances). That said, Cishek also had the highest HR/9 and the lowest ground-ball rate of his 11 MLB seasons, albeit in the small sample size of the abbreviated 2020 campaign.
While Cishek had a tough start and a solid finish to his season, Detwiler was the opposite story. The lefty didn’t allow a run until his 10th appearance of the season, and had a sterling 1.47 ERA over his first 18 1/3 innings pitched. Unfortunately for Detwiler, a disastrous final outing more than doubled his runs allowed total for the entire season, though his final numbers (3.20 ERA, 3.00 K/BB rate, 6.9 K/9 in 19 2/3 IP) are more than respectable.
With 23 combined Major League seasons on their resumes, Cishek and Detwiler offer a lot of experience for teams looking for veteran bullpen depth this offseason. The two veterans, however, will face a lot of competition for jobs amidst a deep field of free agent relievers that will only grow longer once more teams begin their offseason roster maintenance.
White Sox Announce Wild Card Series Roster
The White Sox have officially set their 28-man roster for their wild card series against the A’s, beginning today in Oakland. Lucas Giolito will be on the mound this afternoon, while Dallas Keuchel is slated to start Game 2.
The biggest headline (and sign of relief for Chicago fans) of the roster announcement is the presence of Eloy Jimenez, who has been out of action since September 24 due to a mid-foot sprain. Utilityman Leury Garcia is also back from injury, being activated off the 45-day injured list after missing close to seven weeks due to a torn thumb ligament.
Jimenez isn’t in the lineup for Game 1, however, as Garcia is starting in left field and Yasmani Grandal is the DH. The White Sox will start James McCann at catcher, and the roster inclusion of Zack Collins could hint at additional DH duty for Grandal depending on both Jimenez’s status and Chicago’s interest in finding as much playing time as possible for their deep catching corps.
Left-Handed Pitchers
- Dallas Keuchel
- Aaron Bummer
- Garrett Crochet
- Jace Fry
- Carlos Rodon
Right-Handed Pitchers
- Lucas Giolito
- Dylan Cease
- Alex Colome
- Jimmy Cordero
- Dane Dunning
- Matt Foster
- Codi Heuer
- Evan Marshall
Infielders
Outfielders
- Jarrod Dyson
- Adam Engel
- Leury Garcia
- Eloy Jimenez
- Nomar Mazara
- Luis Robert
Catchers
- Zack Collins
- Yasmani Grandal
- James McCann
White Sox Reinstate Leury Garcia From 45-Day IL, Designate Alex McRae
The White Sox have reinstated utilityman Leury Garcia from the 45-day injured list and included him on their postseason roster, the team announced. Righty Alex McRae was designated for assignment to create roster space.
Garcia hasn’t played since August 10, as a severed thumb ligament required surgery. The 29-year-old was off to a pretty nice start, hitting .271/.317/.441 over his 63 regular season plate appearances, getting a lot of action at shortstop (due to Tim Anderson’s own IL stint) and second base (before Nick Madrigal was called up to the big leagues). Garcia has been known more for his versatility than his switch-hitting bat over his eight MLB seasons, and his ability to play all over the diamond will make him a nice bench piece for the Sox during their postseason run. As a member of the White Sox organization since 2013, this playoff appearance surely feels extra sweet for Garcia after seven losing seasons.
McRae only appeared in two games for Chicago this season, tossing three scoreless innings. The right-hander signed a minor league deal with the White Sox last winter after spending his first six pro seasons in the Pirates organization. McRae saw Major League action in both 2018 and 2019, posting a combined 8.18 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 1.14 K/BB rate over 33 innings for Pittsburgh.
