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AL Central Notes: Infante, White Sox, Jimenez, AJax

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It has been a long and winding path back to the big leagues for White Sox righty Gregory Infante, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago writes. After briefly making his MLB debut at 22 years of age, the now-29-year-old had bounced around the upper minors waiting for another shot. That finally came after Infante threw 13 dominant innings at Triple-A Charlotte to open the current season, earning him a ticket back to the majors. “I am very happy and glad to get this opportunity,” Infante said. “The last seven years were tough years, but I also worked a lot in the last seven to get to this point because this is where you want to be as a player.”

  • That White Sox bullpen of which Infante is now a member figures to draw plenty of attention over the coming months. With a variety of interesting arms — closer David Robertson, injured setup man Nate Jones, and suddenly interesting righties Tommy Kahnle and Anthony Swarzak — on hand, the rebuilding organization could be in quite a nice selling position at the deadline. In the meantime, manager Rick Renteria tells Hayes, the organization plans to carry eight relievers — helping to spread the burden in the pen and alleviate any innings shortages from the rotation.
  • Tigers reliever Joe Jimenez is expected to miss about a month with a back injury, writes John Wagner of the Toledo Blade. Jimenez, 22, has been working at Triple-A after a rough debut in the majors. Since his demotion, Jimenez has continued the dominant path he charted over the preceding four seasons, racking up 13 strikeouts against four hits and two walks over 6 1/3 scoreless innings. Had that continued, he may well have been positioned to return to the bigs in relatively short order. Instead, he’ll first have to rehab the injury.
  • Indians outfielder Austin Jackson appears to be progressing from his toe injury, as Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports on Twitter. The veteran is with the club today, participating in agility drills and baserunning work. It’s not clear whether he’ll require a brief rehab stint once he’s back to health, but presumably he’ll be ready for MLB duty in relatively short order once his toe is healed.

Knocking Down The Door: Faria, Guzman, Moncada, Rosario, Sims

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This week’s installation of “Knocking Down The Door” includes two of the best middle infield prospects in baseball, a 22-year-old first baseman with a .404 OBP in Triple-A, and a pair of starting pitchers who combined for 23 strikeouts in their last start.

Jacob Faria, SP, Tampa Bay Rays (Triple-A Durham)

Despite not making it through the fifth inning in his latest start, the 23-year-old Faria has likely propelled himself to the top of the Rays’ “next in line” spot in the starting rotation. Striking out 13 hitters while recording 14 outs does tend to get a pitcher noticed, as will his overall numbers on the season (3.47 ERA, 3.7 BB/9, 14.4 K/9).

Coincidentally, there is a spot open after Blake Snell was optioned to Triple-A over the weekend. The Rays will certainly discuss whether Faria can have more success than the inconsistent and inefficient Snell, who has completed six innings only six times in 27 MLB starts. Prior to his 108-pitch, 4 2/3-inning outing on May 10th, Faria had back-to-back six-inning starts in which he threw 89 and 91 pitches, respectively, while allowing only two runs with one walk and 17 strikeouts. That should help his cause.

Rays Depth Chart

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Ronald Guzman, 1B, Texas Rangers (Triple-A Round Rock)

Mike Napoli’s four homers and two doubles over a 10-game span to start the month, as well as the team’s recent six-game win streak, should at least temporarily halt any talk of a lineup shakeup. However, Triple-A first baseman Ronald Guzman hasn’t slowed down one bit, and Napoli is still just 6 for his last 34 with with an overall season slash line of .165/225/.353. Even for a well-respected veteran with a strong track record, that’s not going to cut it for much longer.

The left-handed hitting Guzman struggled after a late-season promotion to Triple-A in 2016, but he’s having no such trouble this time around. After a multi-homer game on Sunday, the 22-year-old is slashing .343/.404/.518 with five homers, five doubles and two triples in 36 games with Triple-A Round Rock.

Rangers Depth Chart

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Yoan Moncada, 2B, Chicago White Sox (Triple-A Charlotte)

The White Sox could have a lineup spot available after optioning designated hitter Cody Asche to the minors today. The corresponding move is a reliever, but that could be temporary with the team possibly calling up another position player in the near future. A pair of candidates, Nick Delmonico, a Knocking Down The Door pick from three weeks ago, and Danny Hayes, haven’t hit much this month and Triple-A Charlotte’s two most productive hitters, Kevan Smith and Willy Garcia, are already in the Majors. Would they promote top prospect Moncada just days after general manager Rich Hahn shot down the idea? It wouldn’t be the first time a team has misled the media on a player move or simply just changed their mind.

The 21-year-old Moncada is still striking out at an alarming rate (42 K in 153 PAs) and was overwhelmed in a late-season stint with the Red Sox in 2016. But he’s also putting up huge numbers in Triple-A (.333/.405/.511 with six homers, four doubles and 10 stolen bases) and his plate discipline has improved drastically this month. He had 10 walks and 30 strikeouts in April; he has seven walks and 12 strikeouts in May.

At this point, Moncada’s free agency has already been pushed back another season—he won’t be eligible until after the 2023 campaign, at the earliest. Calling him up now, or in the near future, would allow him to gain some valuable experience while possibly providing an offensive spark for a team that has probably been more competitive than many expected.

White Sox Depth Chart

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Amed Rosario, SS, New York Mets (Triple-A Las Vegas)

Amed Rosario (featured)

Asdrubal Cabrera’s torn thumb ligament could send him to the disabled list at some point, maybe even today, which could prompt Rosario’s immediate call-up. Let’s be clear, though. The 21-year-old shortstop has done everything in his power to warrant the promotion and a good argument could be made even if Cabrera was healthy.

After all, the defensive-savvy Rosario is knocking the cover off of the ball in his first Triple-A stint—.359/.401/.493 with two homers and 11 doubles—and this struggling Mets team could use all the help it can get.

Mets Depth Chart

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Lucas Sims, SP, Atlanta Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett)

The Braves’ successful finish to the 2016 season—they won 35 of their last 62 games—had some fans thinking playoffs in 2017. Instead of taking a chance on their unproven young pitching prospects to fill out the MLB rotation, the Braves added three veteran starters over the offseason: Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey and Jaime Garcia. This was not a bad decision, as they didn’t break the bank for free agents Colon or Dickey and they give up elite prospects to acquire Garcia. However, things are going poorly. The Braves are 13-21 and 9.5 games behind the 1st place Nationals — and we could still see a youth movement in Atlanta before long.

Sims, the 21st overall pick in the 2012 draft, is leading the charge. The 23-year-old lowered his ERA to 2.16 after tossing two-hit ball over 6 2/3 scoreless innings with a walk and 10 strikeouts in his last start. In 50 Triple-A innings last season, he had a 7.56 ERA with 10.1 H/9, 6.7 BB/9 and 10.4 K/9. In 41 2/3 innings in 2017, the right-hander has a 5.4 H/9, 1.9 BB/9 and 9.1 K/9. That’s what’s called “making the proper adjustments”.

Braves Depth Chart

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“Knocking Down the Door” is a weekly feature that identifies minor leaguers who are making a case for a big league promotion.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Geovany Soto To Undergo Elbow Surgery

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The White Sox have announced that catcher Geovany Soto will undergo arthroscopic surgery for debridement and the removal loose bodies in his right elbow — a procedure that’ll sideline him for at least the next 12 weeks, per the team. Soto has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list, and his 40-man roster spot will go toright-hander Gregory Infante, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Charlotte. Cody Asche has been optioned to Triple-A to make room for Infante on the active roster.

[Related: Updated White Sox Depth Chart]

Soto, 34, returned to the ChiSox for his second stint with the team this year and was expected to receive a fair share of the playing time, but he’s tallied just 48 plate appearances and batted .190/.271/.405 on the year thus far. He’ll now be out until at least mid-August due to the injury. In his stead, Omar Narvaez and Kevan Smith seem likely to handle the bulk of the catching duties on the South Side of Chicago.

The 25-year-old Narvaez should slot in as manager Rick Renteria’s primary backstop; since making his Major League debut in 2016, he’s proven to have a keen eye at the dish but hasn’t demonstrated much in the way of power. Narvaez has walked more than he’s struck out (13.9 percent versus 12.8 percent) and posted a collective .253/.355/.310 batting line in 187 plate appearances as a big leaguer to date. He’s caught just 18 percent of potential base thieves thus far in his career, though he’s gone 4-for-8 in that regard this year after struggling substantially in 2016 (2-for-25). Baseball Prospectus pegs him as a slighty below-average pitch framer.

As for Infante, the 29-year-old will be returning to the Majors for the first time since a brief, five-game stint with the White Sox all the way back in 2010. He has just 4 2/3 innings under his belt in the Majors, though he possesses a solid Triple-A track record and has been excellent there in 2017. Thus far with Charlotte, Infante has tossed 13 innings and allowed just three runs on seven hits and six walks with 16 strikeouts. Overall, he owns a 3.47 ERA in parts of seven Triple-A campaigns, though he’s been a bit wild there at times, averaging just under five walks per nine innings pitched.

Red Sox, Nationals Looking At White Sox Players

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  • The Nationals and Red Sox have had evaluators watching White Sox players, CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine reports.  Both clubs have been scouting Jose Quintana, while the Nationals continue to have interest in closer David Robertson, and Levine figures the Sox could also be looking at Todd Frazier to address their need at third base.  Chicago already completed major trades with both teams this past winter, of course, in deals that sent Adam Eaton to Washington and Chris Sale to Boston, so there is already a great deal of familiarity between these organizations.  Quintana would fill the Nats’ revolving door in the fifth starter’s spot, though obtaining Robertson to help their struggling bullpen seems like the more pressing fit.  The Red Sox could use Quintana and Frazier, though they seem likely to wait to see how David Price and their internal third base options return before deciding if upgrades are necessary.

Chris Sale Thinks Quintana Capable Of Pitching Well For Any Team

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  • Former White Sox teammate Chris Sale thinks oft-rumored trade target Jose Quintana should be able to thrive anywhere, Cafardo writes. “He’s not a guy who lets outside factors bother him,” says Sale. “I think his middle name was ‘No-Decision,’ and how he handled himself through those times where he went out there seven innings, gave up two runs, and had nothing to show for it, never altered his attitude or his work ethic. And seeing that was impressive.”

White Sox Won't Rush Yoan Moncada

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White Sox GM Rick Hahn shot down the idea that top prospect Yoan Moncada will push his way onto the MLB roster early this year, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports. All signs are pointing up for Moncada, who has tamped down on the strikeouts while showing signs of polishing up his defensive game. But that doesn’t mean the club is prepared to make an aggressive promotion. “He’s shown a fair amount of progress in each of those areas that we’ve asked of him,” said GM Rick Hahn. “That said, we want to see that over an extended period of time. It’s awfully important to not lose sight of the fact this is a 21-year-old player, one who was not playing two years ago as of right now. It’s a guy who has fewer than 325 or so plate appearances above A-ball.” Given that, says Hahn, the club won’t “rush” Moncada’s ascension.

Despite Hot Start, Moncada Promotion Not In Near Future

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  • Yoan Moncada is off to a monstrous start in the Triple-A International League, hitting .340/.413/.536 with five home runs, two doubles, a triple and six steals through his first 109 plate appearances. However, the White Sox don’t seem to be in a rush to promote him to the Majors, writes CSN Chicago’s JJ Stankevitz. Despite their hot start, the Sox plan to remain patient with Moncada, as the organization wants him to stick in the Majors from the day he’s first called up to Chicago. “The fact is he does remain a 22-year-old that coming into the year had fewer than 200 plate appearances above A ball,” GM Rick Hahn tells Stankevitz. “His development is by no means complete at the minor league level but he certainly is making a great deal of progress and we’re thrilled with where he’s at.”

White Sox Willing To Deal Despite Solid Start

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  • There are other organizations taking a look around for assistance, though it’s not clear whether any are doing more than eyeing the waiver wire and veterans playing on minors contracts. The Red Sox are looking for rotation help while waiting for David Price, who is said to be nearing a rehab assignment. And the Tigers would like to bolster their beleaguered bullpen. The Diamondbacks will probably wait and see whether they can continue their hot start before deciding how to proceed, but Heyman notes that the club would likely “have some spending money” to work with if additions prove necessary and wise. On the sell side, the White Sox remain willing to deal despite their fairly solid start to the year. But the club isn’t backing down from its offseason asking prices, which is certainly no surprise given its prior stance and the promise of renewed demand at the trade deadline.

White Sox Place Nate Jones On 10-Day DL

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The White Sox have placed reliever Nate Jones on the 10-day DL, per a team announcement. Jones has been diagnosed with neuritis in his pitching elbow. Moving up to the active roster is lefty David Holmberg. To clear a 40-man spot, southpaw Carlos Rodon was moved to the 60-day DL.

Elbow issues are always scary, especially for a pitcher who underwent Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2014, but the initial prognosis seems good for Jones. The team is suggesting that it’s likely a minor issue, with Jones potentially ready to return within two weeks or so, as MLB.com’s Scott Merkin (via Twitter) and Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (Twitter link) report. Jones was off to a bit of a slow start to the season, but had settled in nicely. He is currently on a run of seven consecutive scoreless outings over which he has racked up 13 strikeouts against just two walks.

Jones figures to represent an intriguing trade candidate this summer, so the Sox will hope he can bounce back quickly. It’s also possible that he could step into the closer’s role if the organization finds a trade partner for current ninth-inning man David Robertson.

The 25-year-old Holmberg hasn’t seen the majors since 2015, and owns only a 6.24 ERA over his 62 total big league frames. But the long-time has been pitching well as a multi-inning reliever at Triple-A thus far, with 15 13 innings of 1.76 ERA ball and a 13:5 K/BB ratio.

As for Rodon, who is still out with a biceps issue, the move to the 60-day DL is more or less just a formality. Given that he is not yet even on a rehab assignment, there was no chance he’d return within the first two months of the season, so the move won’t impact his still-uncertain timeline for returning to the majors.

James Shields Suffers Setback; Carlos Rodon Still Progressing Slowly

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The White Sox will put righty James Shields on ice for a bit after he experienced soreness while throwing, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago writes. Shields is on the 10-day DL with a lat strain that hasn’t improved as rapidly as had been hoped. While it would obviously be preferable to have the veteran in the rotation, it seems a slow and steady course will now be required.

  • It has been a long wait for the White Sox as young lefty Carlos Rodon, who hasn’t yet pitched in 2017 due to a biceps injury. Skipper Rick Renteria was somewhat coy when asked about the southpaw, as Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports on Twitter. While Renteria emphasized that the club was “very happy” with Rodon’s progress, he declined to say whether the 24-year-old has been cleared to work off of a mound.
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