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White Sox Sign Rafael Dolis To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox recently signed reliever Rafael Dolis to a minor league contract, as noted by Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. According to Dolis’ transactions tracker at MLB.com, he has been assigned to the team’s Arizona complex. After some time to build arm strength, he figures to head to Triple-A Charlotte.

Dolis, 34, spent the past two seasons with the Blue Jays. The 6’4″ righty signed a one-year guarantee with Toronto on the heels of a strong four-year run for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He fared well in his initial return stateside, working to a 1.50 ERA with a 31% strikeout rate in 24 innings during the truncated 2020 season. He walked an alarming 14% of batters faced, but the Jays were nevertheless impressed enough with his swing-and-miss acumen they exercised a cheap $1.5MM option on his services for 2021.

That didn’t pan out, as Dolis scuffled last year. He tossed 32 innings — his biggest MLB workload since a 38-inning campaign with the 2012 Cubs — but posted below-average results. Dolis managed just a 5.63 ERA and saw virtually all of his peripherals go in the wrong direction relative to the previous year. His strikeout percentage dropped to 25% as his swinging strike rate dipped from 12.6% to a below-average 10.5% mark. The already-worrisome walk figure spiked even further, while Dolis’ ground-ball rate fell from 50% to 41.4%.

As his struggles continued, the Jays designated Dolis for assignment and passed him through outright waivers in mid-August. He managed better results with Triple-A Buffalo late in the year, but he continued to demonstrate control issues and the Jays never added him back to the 40-man roster. Dolis qualified for minor league free agency after the season and will try to pitch his way back to the big leagues with the ChiSox.

He’ll be joined in that effort by former Yankee Brody Koerner, who also recently signed a non-roster with Chicago (h/t to Hilburn-Trenkle). Koerner was assigned directly to Charlotte earlier this month and has already made a couple appearances for the Knights. The 28-year-old got his first cup of coffee in the majors with New York last August, suiting up in two games and tossing three innings of one-run ball.

Designated for assignment and outrighted just before the Yankees’ Wild Card game, Koerner qualified for minor league free agency. The Clemson product has a 4.92 ERA in 228 2/3 innings at Triple-A, but he owns a more impressive 3.55 mark in three Double-A seasons. Koerner has come out of the bullpen for his first two outings with Charlotte but was primarily a starting pitcher during his time in the New York organization.

White Sox Activate Andrew Vaughn, Place Lucas Giolito On IL

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The White Sox announced they’ve reinstated first baseman/corner outfielder Andrew Vaughn from the injured list. In a corresponding move, ace Lucas Giolito was placed on the COVID-19 injured list.

Vaughn hasn’t played since late April due to a hand injury. The team initially kept him on the active roster in hopes he’d avoid an IL stint altogether, but he required a bit more time than initially hoped. Chicago finally sent him to the IL on May 5 (retroactive to three days prior). He embarked upon a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte within a week, however, and he makes his return after two games with the Knights.

A former #3 overall pick, Vaughn has shown the kind of offensive promise the White Sox have dreamed on through the season’s first few weeks. He’s hitting .283/.367/.566 with four homers in 16 games after a roughly league average .235/.309/.396 showing as a rookie. The right-handed batter figures to rotate between first, DH and both corner outfield spots and assume a middle-of-the-order role while the team is without Eloy Jiménez.

Giolito’s IL placement seems to be precautionary. The team announced he’s been experiencing virus-like symptoms for the past couple days but is expected to return next week (via James Fegan of the Athletic). The right-hander has a 2.70 ERA in 26 2/3 innings over his first five starts; he made his most recent appearance on Tuesday, tossing seven innings of one-run ball in a win over the Guardians.

White Sox – Guardians Postponed Due To COVID Concerns Within Cleveland Organization

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12:43pm: Hale also winded up testing positive, reports Mandy Bell of MLB.com (Twitter link).

12:38pm: This afternoon’s game between the White Sox and Guardians has been postponed, Major League Baseball announced. Cleveland is dealing with multiple COVID-19 positives, and the teams won’t play today “to allow for continued testing and contact tracing.”

This marks the first game of the 2022 season postponed because of virus concerns. Under the MLB – MLBPA health and safety protocols for this season, the commissioner’s office has final authority on whether to postpone a game. Protocols state that “MLB intends to postpone games only if necessary to protect the health and safety of Club personnel, players and umpires. Games will not be postponed for competitive reasons provided the Club has a sufficient number of players available to substitute those players on the Active Roster who are unavailable to play as a result of COVID-19.”

The league has not yet announced rescheduling plans. Today would’ve marked the rubber match of a three-game set between the teams. The White Sox host the Yankees for four games starting tomorrow; the Guardians have a scheduled off day Thursday before heading to Minnesota for a weekend series. The division rivals have four more series on the schedule, so it seems likely today’s game will be made up as part of a doubleheader down the line.

The identity of any players affected by Cleveland’s outbreak is unclear. Jesse Rogers of ESPN reports (on Twitter) that the positive tests “mostly” involve coaches and other staff members. The team had announced this morning that manager Terry Francona tested positive for the virus, with bench coach DeMarlo Hale set to serve as acting manager. There’ll surely be forthcoming updates about other individuals who have tested positive. At present, Cleveland has one player — infielder Yu Chang — on the COVID injured list; Chang went on the IL in mid-April and has been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus for the past week and a half.

White Sox To Activate Yoan Moncada, Joe Kelly From 10-Day IL; Aaron Bummer To Be Placed On 10-Day IL

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The White Sox are set to activate Yoan Moncada and Joe Kelly off the injured list for Monday’s game against the Guardians, manager Tony La Russa told reporters (including LaMond Pope of The Chicago Tribune).  Both players will be playing in their first games of the 2022 season, and in Kelly’s case, it also marks his debut in a White Sox uniform.

Moncada suffered a right oblique strain near the end of Spring Training, and it would like the third baseman is back in form, given how he has shredded Triple-A pitching during a rehab assignment.  Moncada will be looking to build on a solid 2021 season that was perhaps slightly disappointing because it was “only” solid, given all of the superstar hype attached to Moncada during his time as baseball’s best prospect.  2019 saw Moncada reach a higher level of performance, though as he enters his age-27 season, it isn’t yet clear if Moncada will indeed become an All-Star.

Kelly signed a two-year, $17MM contract just after the lockout ended, as between Kelly and fellow free agent Kendall Graveman, the Sox reinforced their bullpen depth in advance of Craig Kimbrel being traded to the Dodgers.  Due to a biceps strain suffered during the NLCS last season, Kelly’s offseason prep work was delayed, hence his late start to the 2022 campaign.

With Moncada and Kelly back, the White Sox will gain some relief from the swath of injuries that have hampered their club all season.  However, it’s a case of two steps forward and another step back, as La Russa told reporters (including Daryl Van Schouwen of The Chicago Sun-Times) after today’s game that reliever Aaron Bummer will be placed on the injured list with a knee problem.  Kelly will take Bummer’s spot on the 26-man roster.

A reliable bullpen arm over his five previous seasons in Chicago, Bummer has gotten off to a slow start, with a 4.91 ERA and 15.1% walk rate over his first 11 innings of work in 2022.  The extra walks certainly haven’t helped Bummer’s efforts, but there is also at least a little bad luck involved, as the grounder specialist has a .370 BABIP.  It isn’t known how serious Bummer’s knee issue is, or how long the left-hander could be out of action.

Rookies Tanner Banks and Bennett Sousa are now the only healthy left-handers in the Sox bullpen, and Anderson Severino (another first-year player) is the only other southpaw reliever on Chicago’s 40-man roster.  While Banks has pitched well thus far, it stands to reason that the White Sox might look to add a more experienced left-handed arm if Bummer is expected to miss beyond the 10-day minimum.

White Sox Place Andrew Vaughn On 10-Day IL

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TODAY: Vaughn was officially sent to the 10-day IL today, with a retroactive May 2 placement. The White Sox called up Danny Mendick to take Vaughn’s spot on the active roster.

MAY 4: The White Sox have been arguably the team most affected by injuries in the first month of the 2022 season, with many of their position players and starting pitchers having missed some time, whether they’ve gone on the injured list or not. These various maladies have dragged them down to an 11-13 start to the season. It appears they’ve taken yet another blow, according to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, with Andrew Vaughn likely headed to the injured list before the team opens a series against Boston on Friday.

Vaughn was hit by a pitch on his hand in a game last week and, despite negative X-rays, hasn’t played since. “It’s kind of progressed, but it’s still aching when I swing, real bad,” Vaughn said. “Like it’s kind of blocking me from swinging because of the pain. I feel it all the time.” Injuries to outfielders Eloy Jimenez, AJ Pollock and Luis Robert had opened up some regular playing time for Vaughn and he answered the call by hitting .283/.367/.566 this year, good enough for a 177 wRC+. Unfortunately, that will all have to be put on hold until he can recuperate.

There is at least some good news for the Pale Hose, however, as Van Schouwen also reports that Yoan Moncada is likely joining the team next week. The third baseman has yet to make his season debut due to an oblique strain. With Moncada out, most of the playing time at the hot corner has been going to Jake Burger, who’s hitting .250/.270/.383. That line amounts to a wRC+ of 91, or 9% below league average. Moncada’s wRC+ for his career is 114 and it was 122 last year, meaning he should provide the lineup a boost as long as he can return and produce at his usual level.

The bullpen also should get a reinforcement soon, with Joe Kelly likely making his debut with the White Sox next week. While with the Dodgers last year, the righty was sidelined with a bicep injury. The Sox signed him in the offseason knowing that he was still working his way back from that issue and likely wouldn’t be ready for the start of the season. Since switching from the rotation to the bullpen, Kelly has emerged as a useful fireballer. From 2017 to 2021, he threw 229 innings with a 3.62 ERA, 24.8% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate.

As for the rotation, Johnny Cueto seems ready suit up for the White Sox as well. Signed to a minor league deal in early April, he’s been gradually building up his arm strength with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. After a nice bounceback season with the Giants last year where he threw 114 2/3 innings of 4.08 ERA ball, he signed with the White Sox on a deal that will pay him $4.2MM once he’s selected to the big league club. With Lance Lynn on the shelf for a while, a spot in the rotation opened up for Vince Velasquez, who has a 4.58 ERA through four starts, with strikeout and walk rates roughly in line with his career numbers. The weakest link in the rotation so far, however, has been Dallas Keuchel, who has an 8.40 ERA at the moment, along with a measly 9.8% strikeout rate and 13.4% walk rate. That’s a small sample of just four starts, but it continues a trend that began last year, when the lefty put up a 5.28 ERA and 13.2% strikeout rate. He’s in the last guaranteed year of his three-year, though there is a $20MM club/vesting option for 2023. If Keuchel were to reach 160 innings pitched this year, that would become guaranteed.

AL Notes: Blue Jays, White Sox

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The Blue Jays have sent southpaw Tayler Saucedo to the 10-day injured list with right hip discomfort. Taking his roster spot, Bowden Francis has been brought back to the active roster, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com (via Twitter). Francis was only just optioned to Triple-A yesterday. Saucedo was roughed up in 2 2/3 innings of work, yielding four earned runs and six hits, including three home runs.

  • The Blue Jays have a couple of key players that might be coming back soon. Teoscar Hernandez and Hyun Jin Ryu have both returned to baseball activities and could be gearing up for a rehab assignment, per The Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath. Ross Stripling has held the line in Ryu’s stead, but the offense could use a jolt of Hernandez’s trademark power.
  • Yoan Moncada is beginning his rehab assignment today, per the lineup card posted by the Charlotte Knights’ Twitter account. An oblique strain has kept Moncada out of the lineup for the entirety of the season thus far. 26-year-old  Jake Burger has been starting games at third in his stead, slashing .260/.275/.420, good for a 105 wRC+ despite walking at just a 1.9% clip.
  • X-rays on Andrew Vaughn’s hand came back negative. He was hit on the hand with a pitch in yesterday’s game. He’s day-to-day for now, per The Athletic’s James Fegan (via Twitter). Vaughn has gotten off to a hot start at the plate, slashing .283/.367/.566 across 60 plate appearances.

Patrick Kivlehan Signs With NPB’s Yakult Swallows

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Infielder/outfielder Patrick Kivlehan has signed with the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The well-traveled corner bat will be paid $600K and can boost that total via incentives. He’s represented by Pro Agents Inc. and Agency 1.

Kivlehan, 32, has seen action in parts of four big league seasons, most recently appearing in five games with the Padres in 2021. He also played with Team USA during last summer’s Olympics. A fourth-round pick by Seattle back in 2012, Kivlehan has bounced from the Mariners to the Padres, Reds, D-backs and, earlier this year, the White Sox, with whom he opened the season in Triple-A. He logged a career-high 105 games with the 2017 Reds but hit just .208/.304/.399 in 204 plate appearances. All told, he’s a .208/.308/.398 hitter in 250 big league plate appearances.

Tepid track record in the Majors aside, Kivlehan has a solid minor league track record, including a .263/.325/.488 batting line in more than 2200 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. He mashed 32 home runs between the Pirates and Blue Jays’ minor league systems in 2019, slugged 21 long balls in just 91 games with the Padres’ Triple-A club in 2021 and was 5-for-12 with a pair of homers in three games with the ChiSox’ top affiliate this year before this NPB opportunity presented itself.

Jon Jay Announces Retirement

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Veteran outfielder Jon Jay took to Twitter earlier today to announce his retirement after over a decade in the big leagues.

“As a kid I remember watching SportsCenter highlights and imitating my favorite MLB players,” Jay wrote. “It is still surreal to me that I played Major League Baseball. As I officially retire from the game that changed my life, I want to thank everyone who has played a role in getting me here.”

Jon JayJay, 37, was a second round pick of the Cardinals in 2006 and then made his MLB debut in 2010. He immediately hit the ground running with the contact-oriented approach that would be a trademark of his career. He hit .300/.359/.422, walking in 7.4% of his plate appearances and striking out just 15.5% of the time. That production amounted to a 116 wRC+, or 16% above league average. The next year, he put up a similar line of .297/.344/.424, 115 wRC+, helping the Cardinals qualify for the postseason and eventually win the 2011 World Series.

Jay stuck with the Cardinals for the next four seasons, with the team making the postseason in each of them. His production stayed largely consistent until wrist issues started hampering him in 2015. He underwent surgery prior to that season and then struggled at the plate, hitting .210/.306/.257. After that campaign, he was traded to the Padres for Jedd Gyorko.

He was able to bounce back somewhat in 2016, hitting .291/.339/.389 as a Padre, good enough for a wRC+ of 99. He signed with the Cubs for the 2017 season and had another solid season, hitting .296/.374/.375, 101 wRC+. He went into journeyman mode for the next few years, spending time with the Royals, Diamondbacks, White Sox, D-Backs again, and then the Angels last year, with none of those stints lasting more than 84 games.

In all, Jay played in 1201 games in 12 MLB seasons from 2010 to 2021. He will head into retirement with a lifetime .283/.348/.373 batting line, 37 home runs, 185 doubles, 25 triples, 1,087 total hits, 532 runs scored, 341 runs batted in and 55 stolen bases. He was a solid contributor to an excellent run of Cardinals baseball, earning a World Series ring in the process. MLBTR congratulates him on a fine career and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors.

Eloy Jimenez To Miss 6-8 Weeks With Hamstring Strain

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April 26: Jimenez underwent surgery to “repair a torn hamstring tendon behind his right knee,” the White Sox announced. It’s a similar injury to the one incurred by Lynn earlier this year. Jimenez’s estimated timeline remains unchanged; he’s still expected to miss six to eight weeks.

April 24: The White Sox released a statement today in regards to outfielder Eloy Jimenez, who left yesterday’s game with an injury. Jimenez has a right hamstring strain and will be heading to the injured list. While further updates are coming, the statement says that he is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. (Statement relayed by James Fegan of The Athletic.) The club later announced that Jimenez has been placed on the 10-day IL, with Lucas Giolito being reinstated and starting today’s game.

This is yet another blow to a White Sox team that has been pummeled by injuries in the first few weeks of the 2022 season. Lance Lynn, Garrett Crochet, Yoan Moncada and a handful of other players are already on the shelf, with Jimenez now set to join them. Giolito had been a part of that group as well, though the bit of good news is that he has now returned and rejoined the rotation.

The absence of Jimenez will put a dent in the club’s lineup for a second straight season. Last year, a ruptured left pectoral tendon kept him out of action beyond the halfway point of the season. He eventually returned to play 55 games down the stretch, but he only hit at around a league average level with a line of .249/.303/.437, 101 wRC+. That was certainly a few notches below his 2019-2020 output of .276/.321/.527, 122 wRC+, though perhaps understandable given the long layoff.

This year, he was off to a slow start, hitting .222/.256/.333, 74 wRC+. That’s a tiny sample of just 11 games and he surely would have improved it as time went on, but he will now have to sit on the injured list for around two months, give or take, depending on what further testing reveals. Once healthy, he will have to ramp back up and get back into game shape, just like last year.

The White Sox will now have an awkward situation on their hands for their outfield picture, as center fielder Luis Robert has also been dealing with an injury. Although he hasn’t been placed on the injured list, Robert’s groin injury has kept him out of the lineup for the past two games. AJ Pollock was just activated from the injured list on Friday after missing time with a strained hamstring. Pollock is starting in right field today, with Andrew Vaughan in left and Adam Haseley in center. Gavin Sheets and Adam Engel will likely be in the mix for some outfield time as well, with Robert eventually getting folded back in as he heals.

Eloy Jimenez Leaves Game With Hamstring Injury

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9:56PM: The “initial diagnosis” on Jimenez is a hamstring tear or strain, Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweets.

7:07PM: Jimenez’s injury is thought to be “significant,” manager Tony La Russa told The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters.  While more testing is taking place, the team believes for now that Jimenez won’t miss the rest of the season, and this absence won’t be as long as his four-month IL stint following his pectoral surgery last year.

4:03PM: White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez left today’s game with what the team described as right hamstring soreness.  While trying to beat out a grounder in the second inning, Jimenez seemingly took a bad step after hitting first base and had to lay down on the grass.  A cart was required to take Jimenez off the field.

Considering how ominous the situation looked, “only” a sore hamstring would seem to represent a best-case scenario for Jimenez and the team, though the outfielder is continuing to undergo more tests.  It would certainly seem like Jimenez will miss at least the next couple of games for rest and evaluation purposes, and a trip to the injured list seems like a possibility.

Losing Jimenez would represent yet another major absence in what has already been an injury-riddled season for the White Sox.  While most of the injuries have come on the pitching side, Yoan Moncada (oblique strain) and Yermin Mercedes (hamate surgery) have yet to play in 2022, and AJ Pollock only just returned from a hamstring injury of his own.  Luis Robert and Josh Harrison have also recently missed time, leaving the Sox particularly shorthanded for this weekend’s series against the Twins.

Jimenez is no stranger to the IL, as he played only 55 games in 2021 due to a ruptured left pectoral tendon that delayed his season debut until July 26.  Between this layoff and some other minor injuries, it isn’t surprising that Jimenez hit a modest .249/.303/.437 over 231 plate appearances last season.  While the White Sox were still able to win the AL Central even without Jimenez (and Robert) for big portions of 2021, all of this year’s injuries have contributed to Chicago’s 6-7 record heading into play today.

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