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White Sox Likely To Place Eloy Jimenez On Injured List

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White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez departed the team’s loss to the Royals on Tuesday with right elbow soreness after a collision with center fielder Charlie Tilson. While the severity of the injury isn’t yet known, Jimenez is “likely” headed to the IL, manager Rick Renteria told Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times and other reporters. He’ll undergo an MRI in the meantime, James Fegan of The Athletic tweets.

An IL stint would be the second of the year for the ballyhooed Jimenez, who suffered a right ankle sprain in late April. That injury cost Jimenez approximately four weeks of action. Since Jimenez returned May 20, he has started all but one of the White Sox’s games in left field.

Considered one of the majors’ elite prospects entering the season, the 22-year-old Jimenez has lived up to the billing at the plate since a rough April and May. The rookie posted a 144 wRC+ in June and has so far mustered a 124 mark in July. Overall, Jimenez has slashed .244/.307/.483 (107 wRC+) with 17 home runs in 267 plate appearances. Jimenez hasn’t been as successful in left, though, with minus-10 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-2.8 Ultimate Zone Rating.

Thanks in part to Jimenez’s offensive contributions, Chicago was unexpectedly in the AL playoff race not long ago. But reality has set in of late for the White Sox, losers of five straight to begin the second half of the season. They’re now 42-49 and a potentially insurmountable 9 1/2 games out of a wild-card spot. Losing Jimenez isn’t going to help the fading club’s cause.

Health Notes: McCann, Castillo, Polanco, Severino

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Veteran Braves backstop Brian McCann hasn’t yet decided on his future but feels great in the present, he tells David O’Brien of The Athletic (subscription link) as part of a lengthy and entertaining chat. The 35-year-old backstop would say only that “we’ll see what happens” when pressed on his intentions for playing beyond the current campaign. It certainly seems like a tempting proposition for McCann, who says he “feel[s] amazing” after undergoing knee surgery last year. While he has had some ups and downs at the plate this season, McCann carries a solid .257/.328/.427 batting line over 198 plate appearances and has been an excellent value for the Braves at $2MM. His ongoing knee health seems to bode well for the organization down the stretch.

More on a few health situations from around the game …

  • The White Sox announced today that they have activated catcher Welington Castillo. He ended up missing about a month with an oblique strain. It remains to be seen how the Chicago org will allocate playing time, but odds are James McCann will continue to receive the lion’s share of the duties behind the dish. Castillo could conceivably be moved later this month, if only because teams will be looking to stash depth in advance of the single trade deadline, but he won’t hold much appeal given his ugly .196/.289/.364 slash. The veteran backstop is also earning a hefty $7.25MM this year and is owed a $500K buyout on a $8MM club option for 2020. The White Sox may also just hang tight and see if their club can make a surprise run at a Wild Card slot.
  • Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco won’t bounce back to the majors quite as quickly as had been hoped. As Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, Polanco was pulled from a rehab contest with left shoulder tightness. For now, the club only intends to give him a brief rest without interrupting the rehab assignment. As Mackey notes, the timing is of some consequence to the Bucs. The club is in a tough spot as the trade deadline approaches, having slipped into the NL Central cellar. It’s arguably positioned to sell a left-handed-hitting outfielder regardless of what else it does — highly paid pending free agent Corey Dickerson seems a particular candidate — but it’ll be tough to pull the trigger on a deal if there’s uncertainly regarding Polanco’s availability.
  • As expected, Yankees righties Luis Severino and Dellin Betances resumed throwing yesterday, as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports. Indications are that all went well for both hurlers in limited sessions, designed only to begin reintroducing their strained lats to the rigors of the MLB mound. Severino told reporters that he’d be willing to work back in a relief capacity if that’s the organization’s preference. While that’d bring him aboard quicker, it probably isn’t the optimal outcome for a club that has a need for quality rotation pieces and can probably afford to be patient.

White Sox Designate Juan Minaya For Assignment

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The White Sox have designated righty Juan Minaya for assignment, tweets Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Minaya, a former Astro farmhand, was reasonably effective for the club this season, posting a 3.90 ERA with a decent 27/12 K/BB in 27 2/3 mostly low-leverage innings. ERA estimators were far less impressed, though – his 29.4% grounder rate was among the league’s lowest, leaving a projected HR/9 well north of the 1.30 total he allowed this season. The 28-year-old’s velocity also dipped nearly two full miles per hour from his career-best 95.4 MPH mark in ’18, and his slider effectiveness had diminished substantially.

Minaya’s DFA makes room for the return of righty Dylan Covey, himself somewhat of a chink in the already-frail armor of the White Sox rotation. The team’s bullpen’s also struggled, making the Minaya move a bit of a head-scratcher. Only a dominant Aaron Bummer has separated himself; Alex Colome and Evan Marshall have gotten outs with iffy peripherals, with the former sporting a comically low .124 BABIP.

Hahn Again Touches On Abreu's Future

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  • Jose Abreu’s contractual status with the White Sox has been an ongoing story throughout Chicago’s rebuild. While he’s long been a logical on-paper trade chip, Sox brass has maintained that the first baseman’s clubhouse presence and leadership is virtually indispensable; both sides have openly stated a desire to continue the relationship beyond his current contract, but no deal has come to pass. Now, with Abreu months from free agency, GM Rick Hahn touched on the subject again — discussing the delicate balance of cold, hard statistical value and less quantifiable intangible means of value. “That’s the more, unfortunately, clinical side of things is, ‘OK, a right-handed hitting first baseman who’s produced at this level over the last few years at this age, what do you project going forward and what’s the value of that?'” Hahn asked rhetorically in an interview with The Athletic’s James Fegan. “It’s sort of that more touchy-feely, emotional side of things in terms of knowing the value that he has in this clubhouse and the leadership skills, the softer benefits that he brings to the club, that affects your valuation of a guy like that.”

White Sox To Promote A.J. Reed

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The White Sox will bring just-acquired first baseman A.J. Reed right onto their active roster, the young slugger tells Rick Semmler of Indiana’s WTHI (via Twitter). Reed had initially been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte but says he was informed he’ll meet the big league club in Oakland.

It’s not yet clear what the corresponding move will be for the Chicago organization, which snagged Reed from the Astros in a recent waiver claim. The White Sox were in need of another lefty bat after parting ways with Yonder Alonso, who struggled in brief action. Perhaps it’s unsurprising, then, that they’ll hand over an immediate opportunity to Reed.

The former second-round draft pick would obviously not have been freely available had he performed to expectations, but the White Sox can afford to have greater patience and perhaps offer a new perspective in attempting to draw out the long-evident talent. Now 26 years of age, Reed struggled in his only extended MLB action back in 2016.

While he has mostly performed well at Triple-A, Reed hasn’t forced his way onto a deep Houston roster and has clearly lost much of his prospect luster. This year has been a particular struggle, as he carries only a .224/.329/.469 slash line with a dozen long ball in 225 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors. In this booming offensive environment, that’s actually about ten percent below league-average productivity. Though he’s still walking at an even  12 percent clip, Reed has also gone down on strikes in nearly three of every ten trips to the dish.

White Sox Claim AJ Reed

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The White Sox announced that they’ve claimed first baseman/designated hitter AJ Reed off waivers from the Astros. Injured pitcher Ryan Burr was transferred to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Reed, who was designated for assignment by Houston last week, has been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte.

Baseball America once rated the now-26-year-old Reed as the game’s No. 11 overall prospect, but the slugger never lived up to that billing. He’s hit just .153/.253/.244 and punched out 50 times in 150 Major League plate appearances, though it’s also worth emphasizing that Reed has never had much of a shot at regular playing time in the big leagues.

Reed’s .224/.329/.469 line in Triple-A this season has been underwhelming, but he has a lifetime .260/.351/.517 with 89 home runs in 1617 plate appearances at that level. Reed’s strikeout rate has jumped 23.7 percent in 2018 to 29.8 percent in 2019, but he’s still walking at the same strong 12 percent clip he’s managed in each of his three prior seasons in Triple-A.

The White Sox have Jose Abreu entrenched at first base, but he’s a free agent at season’s end. The South Siders also recently released Yonder Alonso, freeing up significant time at both first base and designated hitter. Reed is in his final option season, so he’ll need to make next year’s Opening Day roster or else be exposed to waivers once again. There’s little reason for the Sox not to give Reed a look, however. given his recent prospect pedigree and the potential long-term opening at first/DH. Even if the organization ultimately extends or re-signs Abreu, Reed could be given an opportunity to establish himself in an arrangement similar to the previous timeshare between Abreu and Alonso.

White Sox To Release Yonder Alonso

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The White Sox have requested unconditional release waivers on first baseman/designated hitter Yonder Alonso, according to a club announcement. He’ll formally become a free agent once he clears waivers on Friday. A team could technically claim Alonso, but doing so would mean claiming the remaining $4.83MM still owed to him, which won’t happen given the former All-Star’s considerable struggles in Chicago.

Alonso, 32, was acquired partly because the Sox envisioned him to be a productive partner for Jose Abreu in a first base/DH timeshare but also likely as a means of enticing his brother-in-law, Manny Machado to choose the Sox in free agency. Neither of those things came to fruition, however. In 251 plate appearances this season, Alonso has floundered at .178/.275/.301 pace with seven home runs.

Alonso is still not far removed from an All-Star appearance in a 2017 season that saw him emerge as one of the poster boys for MLB’s “fly-ball revolution.” The former No. 7 overall draft pick (Reds, 2008) put a focus on elevating the ball with the A’s that season and saw his fly-ball rate jump nearly 20 percent from his 2015 levels with the Padres. He raked at a .266/.369/.527 clip with Oakland before being traded to the Mariners. His fly-ball rate, launch angle and average exit velocity have steadily trickled downward since that strong 2017 campaign, however.

Once he clears waivers, Alonso will be free to sign with any club and would only be owed the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time spent in the Majors, with the Sox on the hook for the remainder of this season’s salary. Disappointing as his tenure on the South Side of Chicago was, Alonso will likely find interest elsewhere given his solid track record (although he may need to settle for a minor league contract).

White Sox To Promote Dylan Cease

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The White Sox announced that they’ll promote top pitching prospect Dylan Cease to start Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Tigers. The right-hander is already on Chicago’s 40-man roster, so it won’t need to make a corresponding move in that regard.

Cease joined the White Sox in July 2017 in a trade that could make a huge long-term impact for the Pale Hose. They acquired Cease and outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez from the crosstown rival Cubs for left-hander Jose Quintana. Jimenez is already a mainstay in the White Sox’s lineup as a 22-year-old rookie, and Cease could soon join him as a staple on their roster for the foreseeable future. Indeed, manager Rick Renteria told reporters the plan is for Cease to stay in the fold going forward.

The 23-year-old Cease is widely regarded as an elite pitching prospect, with MLB.com rating him the 18th-best farmhand in the game. Cease possesses a dominant fastball/curveball combination, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com write in their free scouting report.

For the most part, Cease has been a force in the minor leagues, though his numbers have taken some steps back this season in his first Triple-A experience. In 68 1/3 innings and 15 starts with Charlotte, Cease has pitched to a 4.48 ERA/3.77 FIP with 9.61 K/9, 4.21 BB/9 and a 54.9 percent groundball rate.

Should Cease offer similar production in his first taste of the majors, it would be welcome for Chicago, whose rotation has been atrocious this season. The club looks to have found an ace in breakout righty Lucas Giolito, but he has been the lone bright spot among its starters. Carlos Rodon struggled earlier this year before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery in May. Likewise, Reynaldo Lopez, Ivan Nova, Manny Banuelos and Dylan Covey have fallen flat in an extensive number of starts, and no one else the Sox have plugged in has helped their cause either.

With Cease, Giolito and prized young righty Michael Kopech, who’s recovering from September 2018 TJ surgery, the club may be laying the foundation for an enviable rotation. Those three could occupy 60 percent of Chicago’s starting staff in a year. For now, though, Cease will try to earn a spot on a team that’s 6 1/2 games back of a playoff spot and still has a glimmer of a chance to make things interesting this season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On White Sox Prospect Jake Burger

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White Sox third base prospect Jake Burger didn’t play at all last year after tearing his left Achilles tendon twice, once in February and again in May. It turns out Burger will also miss this season, owing in part to a bruised left heel, general manager Rick Hahn told James Fegan of The Athletic and other reporters Friday.

The Burger news adds to a vicious week on the injury front for the White Sox, who also ruled injured pitchers Ryan Burr, Jimmy Lambert, Ian Hamilton and Zack Burdi out for the season Friday.

Like Burdi (No. 26, 2016), Burger joined the organization as a recent first-round pick. The White Sox selected Burger 11th overall in 2017 and then inked him for $3.7MM – almost $500K below slot – with the hope the ex-Missouri State standout would lock down third on the South Side for the foreseeable future.

The 23-year-old Burger could still emerge as a long-term building block in Chicago despite this injury-stunted start to his career. It may not happen at third, though, as Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs noted back in April he looked like a questionable fit for the position even before this awful run of left leg troubles. Nevertheless, McDaniel and Longenhagen ranked Burger 12th among the White Sox’s prospects and credited him with possessing a “sizable ceiling.” The Sox are hoping Burger will return for Arizona Fall League action this year and finally start showing off his potential in real games again.

Rick Hahn On White Sox's SP Need

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  • At 6 1/2 games back of a wild-card spot, the White Sox may be closer to playoff position than expected this season. However, general manager Rick Hahn unsurprisingly isn’t going to mortgage the future for short-term pitching help prior to the deadline, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score writes. Asked Friday about adding an established starter in the next month, Hahn said: “”I wouldn’t say you can count on additions at the deadline that will be short-term fixes. Our focus going to remain long term.” Hahn admitted Chicago “would like to add controllable starting pitching,” but he quickly noted that’s a goal for every team in the game. Below-average starting pitching has prevented the White Sox from making a more serious playoff push this year. While Lucas Giolito has been tremendous, the team hasn’t gotten respectable production from any of its other starters.
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