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White Sox Designate Mike Wright For Assignment

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The White Sox announced Friday that they’ve reinstated righty Ryan Tepera from the injured list. Fellow right-hander Mike Wright was designated for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster.

Wright, 31, signed a minor league deal with Chicago over the winter and pitched to a 5.50 ERA with 11 strikeouts and 11 walks in 18 frames over 13 appearances in the past six weeks. He’s spent the bulk of the season with the White Sox’ top affiliate in Charlotte, where he had a more impressive 3.40 ERA with a 23 percent strikeout rate, a 7.4 percent walk rate and a 47.7 percent grounder rate in 95 1/3 frames.

A third-round draft pick by the Orioles back in 2011, Wright spent parts of five seasons pitching in Baltimore but was never able to establish himself there. He headed overseas to the Korea Baseball Organization for the 2020 campaign and logged 157 2/3 innings of 4.68 ERA ball in the rotation for the KBO-champion NC Dinos.

All told, Wright carries a career 5.97 ERA in 276 big league innings but a much sharper 3.70 mark in 543 career innings at the Triple-A level. The White Sox will place Wright on outright waivers or release him in the coming days. Players with three or more years of Major League service time, which Wright has, who are outrighted off a 40-man roster become free agents at season’s end anyhow, so Wright will soon be back on the open market one way or another.

White Sox Place Brian Goodwin On 10-Day Injured List

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The White Sox placed outfielder Brian Goodwin on the 10-day injured list with lower back spasms and recalled righty Matt Foster to take his roster spot, per the team.

Goodwin has played all three outfield positions for the White Sox and served as a valuable fill-in at times. On the whole, Goodwin’s .221/.319/.374 line across 271 plate appearances hardly inspires much confidence heading into the postseason, however. It’s not clear if Goodwin was going to earn a roster spot for the playoffs, but he’s likely out of the running now. Chicago has Billy Hamilton, Adam Engel, and Leury Garcia on the roster capable of backing up the starters in the outfield.

Foster can help keep arms fresh in the final week before the playoffs. With their playoff spot locked, the White Sox can use the next week to align their roster for a first round match-up with the Astros.

MLB Suspends Mike Wright, Tony La Russa

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Major League Baseball has levied a three-game suspension against the White Sox’ Mike Wright for intentionally throwing at Shohei Ohtani, per Jack Harris of the LA Times (via Twitter). Manager Tony La Russa was also given a one game suspension, which he is serving tonight. Impressively, La Russa’s ejection was the 91st of his career.

The suspension stems from a three-pitch incident in which Wright missed badly on consecutive balls, eventually plunking Ohtani in the leg with the third offering. Wright has appealed his suspension, so he will continue to be available for the time being.

The 31-year-old Wright has made nine appearances for the White Sox this year, his first in Chicago. Though he did not appear in the Majors in 2020, he made appearances in every season from 2015 through 2019, mostly with the Orioles. He made nine appearances with the Mariners in 2019 after being acquired via trade. In total, Wright has a 5.87 ERA/5.20 FIP across 271 1/3 big league innings.

Eloy Jimenez Day-To-Day With Bone Bruise

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  • White Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez has missed his team’s last two games due to a bone bruise on his right knee.  The injury is “significant,” manager Tony La Russa told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers and other reporters, though there is some hope Jimenez can return to the lineup in relatively short order.  While sitting in the dugout on Tuesday, Jimenez suffered the injury after being hit by a line drive of an Andrew Vaughn foul ball, and eventually had to leave the game.  The increasingly banged-up White Sox are missing a few key players on the injured list already, though Chicago has plenty of cushion atop the all-but-decided AL Central.

White Sox Sign Kevin McCarthy

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The White Sox have signed reliever Kevin McCarthy to a minor league contract, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte.

McCarthy pitched in the majors with the Royals every season from 2016-20. He has never gotten swings and misses at the rate one might expect from a reliever, but the sinkerballer has always racked up grounders in bunches and had a couple seasons where he was successful at keeping runs off the board. Over 191 2/3 big league innings, McCarthy owns a 3.80 ERA with a 58.7% ground-ball rate that dwarfs the 43.2% league average for bullpen arms.

Kansas City outrighted McCarthy off the 40-man roster last winter and he elected free agency. The 29-year-old latched on with the Red Sox on a minor league deal and spent most of the year with Triple-A Worcester. He struggled to a 7.13 ERA over 35 1/3 frames, although McCarthy’s peripherals (20.6% strikeout rate, 3.5% walk percentage, 49.6% grounder rate) were far better than that run prevention figure might suggest. The Red Sox released McCarthy last month.

Because Chicago didn’t sign McCarthy until after August 31, he won’t be eligible for the team’s postseason roster. He’ll be on hand as high minors relief depth for the regular season’s final couple weeks instead. If the White Sox don’t add McCarthy to the 40-man roster before the end of the season, he’ll qualify for minor league free agency again this winter.

White Sox To Skip Carlos Rodon's Next Start

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The White Sox are skipping Carlos Rodon’s next turn in the rotation due to shoulder soreness, and manager Tony La Russa told reporters (including NBC Chicago’s Maddie Lee) that the team is hopeful Rodon can pitch during the upcoming September 10-12 series with the Red Sox.  That said, “when he doesn’t feel right, it’s impossible to push it,” La Russa said, noting that in the wake of Rodon’s recent injured-list stint due to shoulder fatigue, “that’s what’s concerning, that all this should add up to where right now he would be in peak form.”

AL Notes: Mariners, Lewis, Castillo, Misiewicz, White Sox, Giolito

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The Mariners were hopeful that reigning Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis would begin a rehab assignment on Friday, but those plans were dashed by soreness in his surgically-repaired right knee, per The Athletic’s Corey Brock. Lewis went under the knife in June after just 147 plate appearances. His offense was down a little to a .246/.333/.392 triple slash line, but even ignoring the small sample caveat, that’s still good for a 107 wRC+.

Lewis’ delay is unfortunate, especially given the struggles of Jarred Kelenic in center.  Jake Fraley and Taylor Trammell have helped out in center as well, but Fraley is on the injured list and Trammell is in Triple-A. Somewhat improbably in the playoff hunt, the Mariners could certainly use better than the 50 wRC+ that Kelenic is providing, but given this latest setback for Lewis, any improvement will likely have to come from Kelenic himself. In other news…

  • The Mariners expect bullpen reinforcements soon. Diego Castillo and Anthony Misiewicz are on their way back from the injured list, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). Misiewicz has been one of their more reliable relievers on the season, and Castillo was intended to take over the closer role when he was acquired at the deadline. Paul Sewald has claimed that job for now, so it will be worth watching where manager Scott Servais chooses to work Castillo back into the mix. [UPDATE: the Mariners have officially reinstated Castillo and Misiewicz from the IL.]
  • Lucas Giolito’s hamstring strain may ultimately be a good thing for the White Sox righty. A short stint on the injured list will allow him to reset and adjust some of his mechanics, per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. On finishing his delivery, Giolito said, “When my finish gets violent, I am recoiling on the pitch and my leg stiffens out. It’s almost like I am falling backwards. I don’t want to be there. It’s a bad habit. When I am strong on my front leg, even with a little bend, it allows me to get through the pitch, which leads to more extension going forward. I feel I am more consistent when I am more athletic and stronger through my finish.”

White Sox Place Lucas Giolito On Injured List

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The White Sox placed Lucas Giolito on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to September 1, due to a left hamstring strain this afternoon. It seems the move is mostly precautionary, as manager Tony La Russa told reporters (including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times) that Giolito is scheduled to throw a bullpen session next Wednesday. The White Sox can afford to be especially cautious with even minor injuries for their top players, as they’re coasting to a division title and hoping to get everybody right for the postseason. Giolito has a 3.69 ERA/3.68 SIERA over 158 1/3 innings this season.

Blue Jays Claim Jake Lamb From White Sox

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The Blue Jays announced they’ve claimed corner infielder/outfielder Jake Lamb off waivers from the White Sox. Right-hander Connor Overton was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Lamb signed a one-year deal with the White Sox over the offseason. He spent the year as a left-handed depth piece, picking up occasional starts at each of the four corner spots on the diamond as well as designated hitter. Over 131 plate appearances, Lamb hit a league average .212/.321/.389. He drew walks at a very strong 13% clip and popped six home runs in that limited time, but he also struck out in 29% of his plate appearances en route to that poor batting average.

That’s better production than Lamb had managed over the prior three seasons. He popped 59 home runs as the Diamondbacks’ regular third baseman between 2016-17, earning an All-Star nod in the latter of those two campaigns. But Lamb never regained his peak form upon suffering a shoulder injury in 2018 that eventually required surgery. Between 2018-20, he posted a .205/.309/.351 line in roughly one full season’s worth of playing time.

Lamb figures to assume a similar lefty bench bat role in Toronto. The Jays will take on what remains of his $1MM salary (approximately $171K) to bolster their position player depth as they look to erase a five-game deficit in the race for the American League’s final playoff spot. If the Jays do make the postseason, Lamb would not be eligible for the playoff roster because he was acquired after August 31. The 30-year-old will reach free agency this offseason.

Overton will be placed on waivers in the coming days. Toronto selected the 28-year-old to make his big league debut last month. Overton has been impressive in his first look, tossing 6 2/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts and two walks. And he’d been excellent this season with the Jays’ top affiliate in Buffalo, where he worked to a 2.03 ERA over 57 2/3 innings. Nevertheless, the Jays front office is evidently skeptical he can continue to prevent runs at that level without generating many whiffs. The right-hander only punched out 21.6% of opposing hitters in Triple-A and has a below-average 9.7% swinging strike rate in his brief big league look.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if another club is willing to give Overton a longer look. In addition to his strong results, Overton has all three minor league option years remaining. Any claiming team could shuttle him back and forth between the majors and Triple-A for the next couple years — if he can carve out a permanent 40-man roster spot.

White Sox, Ruben Tejada Agree To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran infielder Ruben Tejada, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Tejada, a client of Primetime Sports Group, will join the White Sox’ Triple-A club this weekend.

Now 31 years old, Tejada is best known for his time with the Mets, with whom he spent the 2010-15 and 2019 seasons. In parts of seven years in Queens, Tejada slashed .254/.328/.322 while logging considerable time at each of shortstop, second base and third base. He’s also had brief stints with the Cardinals, Giants and Orioles, though he hasn’t been particularly productive at any of those three stops.

Tejada has spent the season thus far with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate after agreeing to a minor league deal back in May. He appeared in 72 games with the IronPigs and slashed .231/.341/.262 over the life of 264 plate appearances. He was released late last month.

Chicago’s infield depth was depleted a bit when both Romy Gonzalez and Danny Mendick were called up to the big league roster in recent days, so Tejada will give them another veteran option in Charlotte, where he’ll join a roster that also includes Matt Reynolds, Marco Hernandez, Mikie Mahtook, Nik Turley and the recently signed Carl Edwards Jr.

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