- The White Sox, who are 4 1/2 games out of a Wild Card spot, are looking to buy in advance of the Aug. 1 trade deadline, general manager Rick Hahn said Friday (via Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com). Hahn conceded that deals could be difficult to come by because, at least as of now, “it’s a strong seller’s market.” Chicago already made one trade earlier this season – acquiring right-hander James Shields from the Padres – signed first baseman Justin Morneau, and promoted shortstop prospect Tim Anderson and young righty Carson Fulmer. In regards to those changes (and future moves), Hahn stated, “Already this year, you’ve seen us change 40 percent of the rotation, change the shortstop, add various players to the bullpen, and we’re going to continue to operate in that manner.”
White Sox Rumors
White Sox Activate Justin Morneau
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 To Promote Carson Fulmer
The White Sox are promoting right-hander Carson Fulmer to the Majors today to work out of their bullpen, according to Dave Williams of Barstool Sports (links to Twitter). MLBPipeline.com’s Jesse Burkhart first tweeted that Fulmer was likely heading to the Majors. Fulmer will inherit the 40-man roster spot that was vacated by yesterday’s outright of right-hander Scott Carroll.
The Sox selected Fulmer, 22, out of Vanderbilt with the eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft. He dominated in 23 innings between Chicago’s Rookie League affiliate and Class-A Advanced affiliate in 2015 following the draft, but the 2016 season hasn’t gone quite as smoothly. Fulmer currently has a 4.76 ERA with 90 strikeouts against 51 walks in 87 innings for Chicago’s Double-A affiliate, though he’s pitched considerably better as of late. Over his past seven starts, Fulmer has a 3.51 ERA with a 54-to-17 K/BB ratio in 41 innings, and he’s yielded just two runs in his past 19 innings.
Fulmer entered the season as a consensus Top 100 prospect, and he’s currently 33rd on MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects list and 73rd on Baseball America’s midseason update of its Top 100 prospects. Some pundits at the time of the draft wrote that Fulmer projected as a future reliever, and that’s still a consideration for a number of scouts, though the Sox will presumably give Fulmer a chance to stick in the rotation down the road. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reference Fulmer’s 93-97 mph fastball in their scouting report (which could play up in a short-relief role) and call his curveball a plus offering as well while noting that his changeup gives him potential for a third plus pitch. Fulmer, however, is slight in frame, as he’s listed at 6’0″ and 195 pounds. ESPN’s Keith Law has written on a number of occasions that Fulmer profiles best at the back of a bullpen due to that lack of size, a high-effort delivery and a lack of command.
Via Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune, manager Robin Ventura suggested the possibility of utilizing Fulmer in a relief role last week. “You’re trying to see if a kid can do it, and we did it with Carlos (Rodon) a little bit and Chris (Sale) has done it,” Ventura told the Tribune. “You bring ’em up here and you bring ’em through out of the bullpen and see if you can lighten their load a little bit and then see how they handle it.”
Fulmer’s long-term role with the Sox remains undetermined, but if he’s in the Majors to stay he’ll fall well shy of Super Two status, as the most service time he could accrue in 2016 would be 79 days. He’ll be arbitration eligible following the 2019 season and controllable through the 2022 season if he does not return to the minor leagues from this point forth, though obviously a demotion could further delay his path to arbitration and free agency.
White Sox Outright Scott Carroll
Right-hander Scott Carroll has been outrighted off the White Sox’ 40-man roster, according to Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). The Sox have since announced the outright, but an accompanying move has not been announced or reported.
Carroll, 31, has appeared in three games for the White Sox this season and a total of 47 contests for the South Siders over the past three seasons. Since making his big league debut in 2014 at the age of 29, Carroll has pitched to a 4.60 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 168 1/3 innings. He’s made 19 starts in that time, though none since 2014, and has been pitching for the Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte since mid-May. Carroll’s career work at the Triple-A level is, somewhat stunningly, a near-mirror image of his big league production. He’s totaled 395 innings at the top minor league level and posted a 4.60 ERA that is identical to his Major League mark while averaging 5.3 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9.
It’s not clear how the Sox will utilize the empty 40-man spot for now. The club doesn’t need a 40-man roster spot to activate Justin Morneau from the minors, as he signed a Major League deal and is already on the 40-man roster. The Sox could use the spot to select someone from their minor league ranks that isn’t currently on the 40-man or could be keeping it open as they explore the trade market for center fielders, as they were reported to be doing earlier this afternoon.
White Sox Scanning Market For Center Fielders
The White Sox are scanning the market for center field help, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). It seems that the organization isn’t sure how Austin Jackson is progressing after undergoing knee surgery a month ago.
We’ve heard mostly about the possibility of Chicago adding a slugging corner outfielder to date, but a slow return from Jackson would certainly increase the need for an up-the-middle option. Even if he is able to return in relatively short order, it would be nice to have a player capable of manning center given Jackson’s less-than-exciting performance to date.
The Sox do still have Adam Eaton on hand. He’s plenty youthful and athletic and manned the position last year, after all. But defensive metrics have viewed him as a sub-par performer up the middle while grading him as an outstanding defender in right, and that surely weighs into the calculus.
A glance at the most recent MLBTR top trade candidate list shows that the top trade options trend toward the corners. Charlie Blackmon is probably the premium center fielder who might be had, with a reborn Melvin Upton also rating as a candidate. Other possibilities include Peter Bourjos, who’d provide a nice glove, though it’s fair to wonder whether the South Siders would be better served with a more significant addition. A player such as Blackmon could push Jackson into a corner outfield platoon when he returns and provide some thump for the lineup.
White Sox A Fit For Carlos Beltran?
- One team that could be a fit for Beltran is the White Sox, as George A. King III of the New York Post notes how little production Chicago has received from its DH spot this season. The Sox recently signed Justin Morneau and the former AL MVP could make his season debut as soon as Friday, though Morneau is also coming off elbow surgery and hasn’t shown much at the plate in Triple-A rehab games (albeit in a very small sample size). In my opinion, the White Sox could make a move for the Yankees slugger even if Morneau does produce, as Beltran would provide a significant right field upgrade over Avisail Garcia’s sub-replacement level numbers.
White Sox Place Carlos Rodon On DL With Sprained Wrist
The White Sox have announced that they’ve placed lefty starter Carlos Rodon on the 15-day DL. Via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter), the move is retroactive to July 6 and is due to a sprained left wrist. They’ve promoted righty Tommy Kahnle to take his place on the active roster.
The White Sox had already elected to skip Rodon’s last start due to neck and arm discomfort, although it appears his current situation is unrelated — via the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc (on Twitter), Rodon injured his wrist Friday after he slipped on the dugout steps. There is no indication yet of the seriousness of his current injury, but with the All-Star break coming up, it would appear to at least be possible that his stay on the DL could result in him missing little time.
It’s been an uneven sophomore season for the 2014 third overall pick, who’s maintained a strong 8.9 K/9 and has significantly reduced his walk rate to 3.1 BB/9 but has had serious issues with home runs, giving up 15 in 92 innings. All the home runs, plus a .349 BABIP, have led to a 4.50 ERA that rates as worse than league average. Still, Rodon has maintained his solid velocity this season (with an average fastball velocity of 93.0 MPH), and he’s been deadly against lefties (.552 OPS against), thanks to his plus slider.
White Sox To Sign Ryan Webb
The White Sox have inked a minor league deal with reliever Ryan Webb, per Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). The veteran righty will report to Triple-A.
Webb, 30, had pitched to a 5.19 ERA over 17 1/3 innings with the Rays before being cut loose. Beneath the surface, though, he has been much the same pitcher as always — a sturdy but hardly dominant middle reliever.
Webb is still generating grounders on about half of the balls put in play against him and is near his career marks with 5.7 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9. The biggest problem thus far, it seems, has been a .417 batting average on balls put in play against him — though Webb’s career-worst hard contact rate (32.3%) suggests that may not just be a result of poor fortune.
For Chicago, the move adds depth in an area where the team has taken some hits of late. The South Siders are still running out a fairly talented overall relief unit, but have lost several useful arms already in 2016.
White Sox Place Alex Avila On 15-Day DL
- White Sox backstop Alex Avila is headed to the DL after leaving tonight’s game with a hamstring strain, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago tweets. It’s too soon to know how long he’ll be out, but hamstring problems can linger. The 29-year-old has compiled a sturdy .231/.361/.347 batting line on the year while serving as part of a platoon with Dioner Navarro behind the dish. Brett Hayes could be an option behind the dish for the Sox, though he’d need to be added to the 40-man roster. The seven-year big league veteran has a .225/.354/.425 batting line through 13 games for Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate since being acquired in a minor trade earlier this summer.
White Sox Sign Tony Campana
- Outfielder Tony Campana is headed to the White Sox on a minor league deal after being released by the Nationals, per Eddy. Campana, 30, has seen MLB time in parts of four seasons, none since 2014. He owns a meager .215/.289/.230 slash in 158 Triple-A plate appearances on the year.
