White Sox Rumors

AL Central Notes: Petricka, Danks, Castellanos, Pitching, Lindor

By Jeff Todd and Steve Adams | May 5, 2016 at 6:33pm CDT

The White Sox have placed right-hander Jake Petricka on the 15-day disabled list with a left hip impingement, the club announced. Petricka’s DL stint is retroactive to May 2, though there’s no immediate timetable for his return. The 27-year-old has battled control problems all season and is currently sporting a 4.50 ERA with eight walks against seven strikeouts in eight innings of work. Ugly as those numbers may be, a lengthy absence for Petricka would be no small blow to the Sox bullpen, as he’d previously worked to a very solid 3.24 ERA in 144 1/3 innings from 2013-15. Chicago announced that right-handers Tommy Kahnle and Erik Johnson have been recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to take the place of Petricka and left-hander John Danks, whose 10-year run with the Sox came to an end when the team designated him for assignment.

Here’s more from Chicago and the rest of the AL Central:

Speaking of Danks’ pending release, the veteran southpaw told reporters, including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, that he has no hard feelings toward the White Sox organization and is supportive of the team’s decision. “The way my April went and the way the team is playing, I can’t fault anybody with the decision they made,” said Danks. “It’s a win-now league, and I wasn’t helping the team win. You can’t go out there with four-fifths of a rotation. I totally understand that. It all starts with pitching.” Danks heaped praise onto the clubhouse environment and the camaraderie felt among the Sox players, wishing his former teammates luck and thanking the organization in a gracious exit. “I’m a Sox fan for sure,” he said.
Tigers GM Al Avila admits that third baseman Nick Castellanos, who is in his third big league season despite just recently turning 24, may have been rushed to the Major Leagues, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports in his latest notes column. “Nick got to the big leagues very quickly, being a high-school draft [pick],” Avila told Rosenthal. “… I don’t think he really, fully understood the game. He got there because of his ability and an organizational need we had at the big-league level. … He ended up completing his development at the major-league level.” Avila’s comments come on the heels of what many believe could be the beginning of a breakout campaign for Castellanos, who is hitting a robust .378/.385/.589 this year. Castellanos’ production, though, is being propped up to a large extent by a .455 average on balls in play. That number figures to regress substantially, which will in turn magnify an unflattering 23-to-3 K/BB ratio through his first 96 plate appearances. Nonetheless, Castellanos has seen notable gains in his line-drive rate, hard-contact rate and homer-to-flyball ratio, so while some of the huge upswing in production is smoke and mirrors, there does appear to be some legitimate growth as well. He’ll still need to improve his discipline and still rates as a poor defender at third, but there is indeed reason for some optimism surrounding the former top prospect.
The Tigers’ rotation costs more than five times that of the division-rival Indians’ rotation, observes MLive.com’s Chris Iott, who provides a breakdown of the cost of starting pitching throughout the AL Central. The significant sum that the team is spending isn’t lost on GM Al Avila, who implies to Iott that he’s focused on making that unit more cost-effective in the years to come. “It’s very important to develop your own pitching,” said Avila. “You can’t trade for a five-man rotation. You can’t sign five free agents. It’ll cost you an arm and a leg.” Those comments, some might say, run counter to the manner in which Avila acted this offseason when he signed Jordan Zimmerman (five years, $110MM) and Mike Pelfrey (two years, $16MM). However, Avila also revealed that he persistently received calls regarding prospects Michael Fulmer and Daniel Norris this winter but was quick to turn away interested parties, believing each to be a key part of the organization’s future. “Those young pitchers are gold to us,” said Avila.
Over at Fangraphs, August Fagerstrom lays out the case that Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor is the best in all of baseball. Simply put, Lindor has been the more valuable contributor than fellow young star Carlos Correa since both debuted, with the former’s large advantage on defense more than making up for the latter’s slight offensive edge. Of course, that’s looking at what’s already happened, and it takes much more to assess what we ought to expect moving forward. Projections still prefer Correa’s bat, notes Fagerstrom, so one needs to buy into Lindor’s improvements at the plate and his ability to sustain a high BABIP in order to think he can keep pace with his peer from Houston (and other viable contenders for the crown).

AL Central Notes: White Sox, Danks, Lincecum, Pelfrey

By Steve Adams | May 3, 2016 at 8:47pm CDT

The White Sox are on the lookout for a left-handed bat and an addition to the starting rotation, reports Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago/670thescore.com (via Twitter). Per Levine, GM Rick Hahn and his staff have been “very active” to this point. Levine expands on that statement a bit toward the end of his latest column, noting that the Sox figure to look for a replacement for John Danks, who was designated for assignment earlier today, both internally and via trade. The Sox are turning to Erik Johnson to make Danks’ upcoming start, and the club has other internal options in the form of Miguel Gonzalez, Jacob Turner and Chris Beck. As for the search for bats, Levine writes that the Sox are “kicking the tires” on quality left-handed bats. Levine speculates that Carlos Gonzalez, who could be moved by this year’s Aug. 1 trade deadline, would make sense and could fit into the budget after the Sox saved $13MM with Adam LaRoche’s retirement. I’d add that lefties Jay Bruce and Nick Markakis both figure to be available in trades this summer, though neither is as strong a hitter as Gonzalez.

Latest On Tim Lincecum Showcase

By Jeff Todd | May 3, 2016 at 2:47pm CDT

We learned recently that free agent righty Tim Lincecum is preparing for a long-awaited showcase on Friday. Once one of the best pitchers in the game, Lincecum has been slowed by a variety of injury and performance issues more recently — including, particularly, hip surgery this past September — and is looking to show that he’s back to full health before signing.

Here’s the latest, with links to the Twitter account of MLB Network’s Jon Heyman unless otherwise noted:

The showcase will be held at Scottsdale Stadium, the Giants’ spring home, per Heyman. While Lincecum has availed himself of his long-time team’s facilities during his ramp-up, it shouldn’t be supposed that a return to San Francisco is particularly likely. As we’ve covered before, the Giants are said to be interested in Lincecum as a bullpen option, while he’s hoping to find a shot as a starter.
This particular event was always going to draw more fanfare than a typical bullpen session for a free agent who hasn’t posted a sub-4.00 ERA since 2011, but it appears that it could be made into a bigger spectacle than anyone would have foreseen. ESPN may be on hand to broadcast the outing, Heyman tweets, which would certainly lend an interesting combine-esque quality to the proceedings.
Beyond the Giants, we heard previously that the Orioles, Padres, and Athletics plan to have a scouting presence on hand. The White Sox, too, will be there, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link), as will the Angels, according to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (via Twitter). And the Blue Jays will also take a look, John Lott tweets.
Heyman also adds several more clubs that plant to send eyes (links: 1; 2; 3; 4). The Dodgers, Cubs, Nationals, and Marlins will be there from the National League side of things. And American League teams with at least one scout in the stands will include the Rangers and Astros.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/1/16

By Connor Byrne | May 1, 2016 at 1:20pm CDT

Here are today’s minor transactions from around baseball:

The Indians have placed catcher Roberto Perez on the disabled list with a thumb injury and recalled Adam Moore from Triple-A to take his place, according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). Perez, Yan Gomes’ backup, was a 1.7-fWAR player in just 70 games last year, but he has only appeared in four contests this season, going without a hit in 15 PAs. In 287 big league PAs, the 31-year-old Moore and has hit a weak .201/.241/.309.
The Nationals activated catcher Wilson Ramos from the bereavement list before their game against the Cardinals on Sunday and optioned backstop Pedro Severino to Triple-A, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (on Twitter). Ramos, a career .259/.301/.413 hitter over 1,839 big league PAs, batted a solid .316/.328/.491 with two home runs and threw out four of eight base stealers in April. Severino appeared in only one game and logged three PAs in Ramos’ absence.
The White Sox have activated closer David Robertson from the bereavement list and optioned right-hander Tommy Kahnle to Triple-A, reports Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). Robertson, who hasn’t pitched since Wednesday, has converted eight of nine save opportunities this season in dominant fashion. The 31-year-old has racked up 13 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings of work while surrendering a single run. Kahnle threw an inning for the White Sox prior to today and walked two batters.
The Braves recalled utilityman Emilio Bonifacio from Triple-A and optioned right-handed reliever Chris Withrow on Sunday morning. However, because of a rule technicality the Braves were unaware of, they can’t activate Bonifacio today, tweets David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Specifically, the Braves need to wait 30 days from the date they released Bonifacio (April 6) to activate him, per O’Brien (Twitter link). Atlanta brought back the switch-hitting Bonifacio on a minor league deal after it released him. He owns a career .259/.316/.337 line in 2,807 major league plate appearances and will lengthen the Braves’ bench if he’s ultimately activated. Atlanta needed reserve depth after it had utilized a 13-man pitching staff over the last couple weeks, as Mark Bowman of MLB.com wrote Saturday. Withrow, a former Dodger, threw seven innings with the Braves prior to today, striking out four and allowing three earned runs on five hits and five walks. Those seven frames were Withrow’s first in the majors since 2014, as he underwent Tommy John surgery that year and later required surgery on a herniated disk in his lower back.

AL Notes: Porcello, White Sox, Headley, J. Hamilton

By Connor Byrne | May 1, 2016 at 9:35am CDT

Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello has been at his best during his 33 starts with Boston when he has relied on his sinker, Scott Lauber of ESPN.com details. During his first 20 starts last season, Porcello threw his sinker 28 percent of the time against lefties and 41 percent versus right-handed hitters – down from career rates of 42 and 52 percent, respectively – and he pitched to an ugly 5.81 ERA. After a stint on the disabled list, Porcello returned and finished the season strong (3.14 ERA in eight starts) while throwing sinkers 44 percent of the time to lefty batters and 58 percent against righties. He’s at 49 and 57 percent this year, respectively, and has been among the top pitchers in baseball with a 2.76 ERA, 9.92 K/9, 1.65 BB/9 and 49.4 percent ground-ball rate over 32 2/3 innings (five starts). “He had to work extremely hard to get the sink back, to get that mindset back, because he had gotten away from it a little bit,” pitching coach Carl Willis told Lauber. “But once you get to that point, I think it’s simple because it allows him to then be himself and pitch to his strengths.” In addition to throwing more sinkers, Porcello helped his cause by changing his arm slot late in Spring Training after he raised it slightly thanks to an increased use of four-seam fastballs, per Willis.

AL Central Notes: Abreu, Murphy, Gonzalez, Bauer

By Jeff Todd | April 26, 2016 at 8:36am CDT

Court records have provided new insight into allegations against the former representatives of White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, as Jared Hopkins of the Chicago Tribune reports. The Cuban emigre is said to have paid his agents $5.8MM in the first year after signing as a free agent, after they successfully engineered his complicated and shadowy escape from his home island. Human trafficking charges have been brought against agent Bart Hernandez and others relating to the scheme, which allegedly involved as many as 15 other players.

Here’s more from the AL Central:

The Twins were making preparations to call up outfielder David Murphy before he advised GM Terry Ryan that he wished to return to his family, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. Minnesota attempted to pass catcher John Hicks through waivers to clear a roster spot, ultimately losing him to the division-rival Tigers as a result. It certainly appears that the 34-year-old Murphy is headed for retirement, though nothing has been formally announced. Murphy had high praise for the way that Ryan handled things, saying that the veteran executive “showed that he genuinely cared about the situation I was in.”
After calling up veteran righty Miguel Gonzalez for a start yesterday, the White Sox haven’t yet decided whether he’ll stick in the rotation, manager Robin Ventura told reports including Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Gonzalez, 31, allowed five earned on 11 hits and two walks while recording six strikeouts over his 5 1/3 frames last night. That’s obviously not terribly promising, but Gonzalez did put up two solid outings at Triple-A and did show a 90 mph average fastball that wasn’t too far off of his prior years’ levels. And fellow veteran John Danks hasn’t exactly set a high bar in the fifth starter’s role, as he owns a 6.23 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9 over 17 1/3 innings in three starts.
Trevor Bauer will move back into the Indians rotation while Carlos Carrasco is on the shelf, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. The 25-year-old lost the competition for a starting job out of camp, with Josh Tomlin and Cody Anderson grabbing those spots. But it’s certainly possible to imagine him forcing his way back in even after Carrasco returns, particularly with Anderson off to a rough start.

Todd Frazier Sought Extension With Reds Prior To Trade

By Jeff Todd | April 25, 2016 at 10:11pm CDT

Prior to being dealt to the White Sox, third baseman Todd Frazier sought to reach agreement with the Reds on a deal to stay in Cincinnati for the long haul, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (Twitter links). Frazier was ultimate swapped in a three-team trade that brought Jose Peraza, Scott Schebler, and Brandon Dixon in from the Dodgers.

According to Heyman’s report, Frazier and his representatives at CAA “made many proposals” to the Reds, one of which looked something like the seven-year, $100MM pact between the Mariners and Kyle Seager. Indeed, Frazier met with ownership just before he was dealt in an effort to find a way to add years to his contract and stick with the Reds.

Certainly, it isn’t surprising that the organization decided it was time to move on. While some have criticized the quality of the return, the decision to part with Frazier — a 30-year-old who is set to reach free agency after the 2017 campaign — made sense for a team in transition. It certainly would have been difficult to take on another significant contract for an older player with so much already committed to pieces like Joey Votto and Homer Bailey.

It’s obviously not entirely clear what kind of arrangement Frazier might have settled for, but the Seager comp doesn’t exactly scream value. To be sure, the veteran has largely matched the production of his competitor in Seattle over the last couple of seasons. But Frazier is also about three years older than Seager was at the time of his deal, and the latter’s extra year of control doesn’t really close the gap all the way.

The report is mostly of historical interest now, of course, as Frazier is under control of the White Sox until qualifying for free agency before the 2018 campaign. But the information about Frazier’s price point and interest in a long-term deal could certainly become relevant again if the Sox are more inclined than were the Reds in a significant extension.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/24/16

By Connor Byrne | April 24, 2016 at 8:44pm CDT

Here are today’s minor transactions from around baseball:

The Rangers will purchase the contract of southpaw Cesar Ramos on Monday so he can make a spot start in place of the injured Cole Hamels, Texas executive VP of communications John Blake tweets. There is no word yet on the corresponding moves that would create roster space for Ramos; Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram speculates that Keone Kela could be moved to the 60-day DL and Alex Claudio could head to Triple-A. Only ten of Ramos’ 251 career games have been starts, though he made seven starts as recently as 2014 with the Rays. Ramos posted a 2.75 ERA and 2.87 K/BB rate in 52 1/3 relief innings with the Angels last season before being rather surprisingly non-tendered. He signed a minor league deal with Texas in January.
The Rays transferred Alex Cobb to the 60-day DL in order to create a 40-man roster spot for Jhan Marinez, the club announced. Cobb has been out of action for almost a full year recovering from Tommy John surgery and is expected back late this season.

Earlier Updates

The White Sox have recalled right-hander Miguel Gonzalez from Triple-A and optioned righty Erik Johnson in a corresponding move, tweets Scott Gregor of the Daily Herald. Gonzalez will start for the White Sox on Monday in Toronto. Gonzalez joined the Sox as a free agent earlier this month after the Orioles unexpectedly released him. The 31-year-old has made 95 career starts and owns a lifetime 3.82 ERA to go with a 6.47 K/9 and 2.96 BB/9.
The Red Sox recalled lefty Henry Owens and right-hander Pat Light, sending southpaw Roenis Elias and righty Noe Ramirez to Triple-A in corresponding moves, per a team announcement. Owens, 23, will start the Red Sox’s game against Houston tonight. He made 11 starts for the Sox last year and logged a 4.57 ERA with a 7.14 K/9 and 3.43 BB/9 in 63 innings. Light has been in Boston’s system since the club used a first-rounder on him in the 2012 draft, and he’s just now breaking into the majors. Light owns an underwhelming 4.63 ERA in 266 1/3 minor league innings, though he has flashed impressive strikeout ability since moving to a relief role last season and can hit 100 mph.
The Reds announced that right-hander Tim Melville (who was designated for assignment Friday) cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Louisville. The 26-year-old Melville allowed 11 earned runs in nine innings — including two starts — while recording eight strikeouts against nine walks before the Reds designated him. Melville worked to a 4.63 ERA in 151 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level last year in the Tigers organization.
The Tigers have placed closer Francisco Rodriguez on the family medical emergency list and recalled left-hander Matt Boyd from Triple-A, the team announced. There’s no word yet on how long Rodriguez will be away from the club. K-Rod has converted on 4 of 5 save opportunities for the Tigers this season, but the process hasn’t been pretty (.75 K/BB ratio, 7.11 ERA). Boyd, whom Detroit acquired from Toronto in the David Price trade last year, debuted in the majors in 2015, logging a combined 13 appearances with the Tigers and Blue Jays. The 25-year-old pitched to an unsightly 7.53 ERA in 57 1/3 innings, though he has been quite successful at the Triple-A level (2.53 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 10 starts dating back to last season).

White Sox Place Alex Avila On DL With Strained Hamstring

By Connor Byrne | April 24, 2016 at 10:19am CDT

The White Sox have placed catcher Alex Avila on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring and called up Triple-A backstop Kevan Smith to replace him, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network (Twitter link).

Prior to suffering the injury against the Rangers on Saturday, the lefty-swinging Avila posted a .214/.333/.250 batting line in 28 plate appearances. While those numbers certainly aren’t great, they’re easily superior to the ones his platoon mate, Dioner Navarro, has compiled thus far (.100/.129/.100 in 30 PAs).

Navarro looks poised to accrue more playing time with Avila down, though Smith has put up an outstanding line at Triple-A Charlotte this year, batting .345/.394/.586 with two home runs in 33 PAs. The 27-year-old has hit an impressive .290/.367/.454 in 1,988 career minor league trips to the plate while throwing out 31 percent of base stealers in six seasons. He’s now primed to see his first major league action.

AL Central Notes: Kepler, Latos, Dyson, Soria, McCann

By Jeff Todd | April 20, 2016 at 8:37am CDT

ESPN.com’s Jim Caple provides some interesting background on Twins prospect Max Kepler, ranging from his professional ballet-dancing parents to his unlikely introduction to the game of baseball in Germany. Needless to say, the old ballgame still doesn’t have a very high profile in the European nation, but it may surprise some to learn that there’s a fairly notable niche of enthusiasts. As Kepler puts it, “I think since I started playing as a small kid, when it was mainly Americans who were playing baseball, now it’s actually Germans who are starting to play.” No doubt, Kepler’s own career could have a significant impact in driving future growth. (By the way, if you’re interested in the topic, check out this MLBTR podcast episode from last fall, when I chatted with Euroball expert Josh Chetwynd.)

Here’s more from the American League Central:

Mat Latos has paid huge dividends to the White Sox cin his first three starts for the organization, as Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune writes. Since signing for just $3MM in an effort to rebuild his career, Latos has spun 18 1/3 innings in which he’s allowed just six hits and one earned run. While there are plenty of indicators suggesting that Latos hasn’t been quite as dominant as those results would suggest, and his velocity is back down, he’s been in the zone more than ever before and has still managed to induce a lot of easy outs (35.3% soft contact rate; 11.8% line-drive rate).
The Royals activated Jarrod Dyson from the DL yesterday after he missed the first several weeks of the season with a strained oblique. Manager Ned Yost says he’ll be deployed in a “loose platoon” with Paulo Orlando, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star tweet. Of course, the left-handed-hitting speedster figures to get a solid majority of the action in that arrangement.
Meanwhile, the Royals’ vaunted bullpen hasn’t been quite the well-oiled machine thus far in 2016 that it was in the recent past, as Dodd explores. Really, it’s mostly a matter of some early struggles from Joakim Soria, who has allowed six earned runs on ten hits and five walks over his first seven frames. Notably, he’s only managed to get hitters to chase pitches out of the zone 14.7% of the time, which is less than half his career rate. For now, at least, the club isn’t ready to move him out of the primary set-up job, though Kelvin Herrera and Luke Hochevar have both looked strong. “Our roles are set until we need to change our roles,” Yost says.
The Tigers received fairly promising news on the injury front yesterday, as manager Brad Ausmus noted in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link). Catcher James McCann’s absence is expected to land “on the shorter side of the two to four week timetable” that he’d been given for a sprained ankle. (Though it’s fair to note that Jarrod Saltalamacchia has filled in admirably in his stead.) Also, outfielder Cameron Maybin is nearly ready to make his season debut, opening up some options with Anthony Gose off to a slow start.

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