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White Sox Place Dallas Keuchel On Injured List

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The White Sox have placed lefty Dallas Keuchel on the 10-day injured list and recalled righty Reynaldo Lopez from their alternate training site in his place, per a team announcement. Keuchel is dealing with back spasms. His placement on the IL is retroactive to Sept. 7, so he could return in as little as a week. That appears to be the hope, as it was already known that Keuchel’s next start would be skipped because of this issue. Given that expectation, it’s not entirely surprising to see an IL stint to bring in a fresh arm.

Chicago’s three-year, $55.5MM investment in Keuchel has paid off in spades thus far. Prior to going on the injured list, the 32-year-old was in the midst of perhaps his best run since capturing the 2015 American League Cy Young Award. Through 53 1/3 frames this year, Keuchel has worked to a 2.19 ERA and 3.14 FIP with 5.4 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.34 HR/9 and a 56 percent ground-ball rate. He’s never managed to limit home runs at this rate, so there may be some regression coming on that front, but Keuchel still looks better than he’s been since that Cy Young win.

Lopez was only just optioned to the White Sox’ Schaumburg site last week. The former top prospect simply hasn’t performed well enough to be one of the team’s top rotation options over the past two seasons. Dating back to Opening Day 2019, Lopez carries a dismal 5.53 ERA and 5.18 FIP in 193 2/3 innings. He started four games for the Sox in 2020 before being optioned out, but he lasted only 9 2/3 innings overall. In that short time, he yielded 11 runs (nine earned) on 14 hits, eight walks and a hit batter with 10 strikeouts.

Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease and Dane Dunning currently lead an impressive core of young ChiSox starters, and veteran Gio Gonzalez was just activated from the injured list earlier this week. Assuming Keuchel’s injury doesn’t worsen, he could return for the finale of a pivotal series against the division-rival Twins next Thursday. The Sox also play four games in Cleveland from Sept. 21-24, and if Keuchel is able to make it back for the finale against the Twins, he’d line up to start the second game of an equally important series against the Indians.

American League Injury Updates: Piscotty, Cobb, Keuchel, Pearson

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Here are the latest updates on a few injury situations from around the American League …

  • The Athletics will go a few days without full participation from outfielder Stephen Piscotty, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle covers on Twitter. (He’s pinch running as we speak.) Thankfully, it seems there’s reason to hope he’ll bounce back quickly after receiving a cortisone shot to his balky wrist. Piscotty has turned in a useful but hardly world-beating .264/.308/.438 batting line on the season.
  • Orioles righty Alex Cobb is days away from a return, with outfielder Austin Hays seemingly not far behind, as skipper Brandon Hyde tells reporters including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). Cobb’s absence is as yet not fully explained; the quick turnaround could indicate that he had to step away owing to coronavirus protocols. Regardless, it’s good news that he’s expected to jump right back into active duty.
  • The White Sox don’t appear overly concerned with the health status of lefty Dallas Keuchel. He’ll plan to miss a start after taking an early exit from his last outing due to lower back issues, but that’s expected to be the extent of the missed time, as Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times and others mentioned on Twitter. Keuchel has thus far justified the South Siders’ faith in signing him, running up 53 1/3 innings of 2.19 ERA ball.
  • Exciting young Blue Jays hurler Nate Pearson is likely not going to build back to a full starter’s role, skipper Charlie Montoyo told reporters including MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm (Twitter links). That’s sensible for a variety of reasons. For one thing, there really isn’t much time to ramp him up. For another, it’s not clear that’d be the right role after Pearson ran into some early MLB struggles. The firmly contending Toronto outfit can certainly make use of Pearson in a relief role while still getting him valuable work at the game’s highest level.

White Sox Activate Gio Gonzalez

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The Chicago White Sox have activated Gio Gonzalez, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin (via Twitter). Zack Burdi has been optioned to the team’s alternate site to make room on the roster.

Gonzalez has pitched both out of the bullpen and from the rotation this season. Given the injury concerns for the soon-to-be 35-year-old, Chicago could reason that the bullpen would be the prudent and more effective usage play for Gonzalez. Instead, they’re likely to put him back into their starting five for now alongside Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, Dylan Cease, and Dane Dunning. Keuchel has been struggling with a balky back, so getting Gonzalez tuned up and back to his usual innings-eating self could be a benefit for the Pale Hose come playoff time.

The veteran southpaw has the battle scars to mark his playoff resume. He’s made 8 starts in his postseason career for the Nationals and Brewers with his team’s going an even 4-4 in those games. Batters have hit just .215/.346/.393 over those 29 1/3 innings, while Gonzalez has racked up 27 strikeouts and a 4.91 ERA. In sum, Gonzalez has suppressed batter contact and power throughout his playoff tenure, but also struggled at times with command leading to short starts and an average start length of less than 4 innings. Still, when the playoffs roll around, 4 solid innings from a time-tested veteran might be preferable to relying on the youth of Cease and/or Dunning. Now that the White Sox have all guaranteed a playoff berth, we have only time in the way of learning the White Sox’ postseason strategy.

The 25-year-old Burdi made 8 appearances this season, and while 13.5 K/9 to 3.7 BB/9 are sound peripheral numbers, Burdi was saddled with an 11.05 ERA across 7 1/3 innings. An 8.57 FIP only paints a marginally better picture for the hard-throwing right-hander. Things started out well-enough when Burdi allowed just 1 earned run over his first four outings, but 8 earned runs over his final 3 1/3 marred the earlier performance and likely played a role in his demotion. The Illinois-native suffered a particularly brutal 1/3 of an inning at the hands of the Royals, surrendering a solo shot, an RBI single, and then another long ball to Maikel Franco that plated three and ended Burdi’s evening. Despite the rough outings, Burdi boasts an electric 98 mph fastball and will find his way back to the majors.

Dallas Keuchel Leaves Start With Lower Back Stiffness

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White Sox starter Dallas Keuchel prematurely exited today’s game against the Royals with an apparent injury. The White Sox went on to announce (via The Athletic’s James Fegan on Twitter) that Keuchel is dealing with stiffness in his lower back and is currently considered day-to-day.

It’s good news that the preliminary evaluation of Keuchel doesn’t sound too severe, and we hope that Keuchel will get back on the mound with no IL stint and without missing a beat. The veteran lefty has been a solid addition to the suddenly-contending White Sox, as he’s contributed a 2.42 ERA through his first 8 starts.

This afternoon, he was at it again, allowing just two hits in five shutout innings for the Sox before unexpectedly leaving the game following his warm-up pitches. Averaging just 5.6 K/9 for the year, Keuchel is as uninterested in the strikeout as ever, but he’s excelled elsewhere, allowing fewer walks and home runs than in recent years. That’s given way to a 3.19 FIP, which would be the lowest mark Keuchel has posted in a season since his Cy Young Award-winning year in 2015.

The White Sox have already had fellow starters Carlos Rodon and Gio Gonzalez require IL stints this year, so it’s a relief that Keuchel is initially listed as only day-to-day. And while Rodon is said to be nearing a return, any more injuries would be a considerable test to Chicago’s depth. Should Keuchel need an IL stint, the recently-optioned Reynaldo Lopez could be forced back into Major League action.

White Sox Option Reynaldo Lopez

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The White Sox have optioned struggling right-hander Reynaldo Lopez to their alternate training site and recalled left-hander Bernardo Flores Jr., per a team announcement.

It’s a disappointing development for the 26-year-old Lopez but one the Sox clearly no longer felt they could avoid. Lopez was once regarded as one of baseball’s best overall prospects and was a key piece in the trade that sent Adam Eaton from Chicago to Washington, D.C. He’s been in the big leagues since his original promotion with the Sox back in Aug. 2017.

Lopez posted a solid 3.91 ERA through 188 2/3 frames with the Sox in 2018 — his first full Major League season. However, he did so with ugly peripheral metrics that painted him as a candidate for major regression, and that’s precisely what panned out. Dating back to Opening Day 2019, Lopez has a 5.53 ERA and 5.18 FIP in 193 2/3 innings for the South Siders. In 2020, he’s started four games but lasted only 9 2/3 innings overall. Along the way, he’s yielded 11 runs (nine earned) on 14 hits, eight walks and a hit batter with 10 strikeouts.

Were the Sox still in rebuild mode, perhaps they’d chalk this up to continued growing pains and keep trotting Lopez out against big league lineups. But the team’s drawn-out rebuilding process has reached its conclusion, and the White Sox are now squarely in win-now mode, making it harder to accept substandard outings like the one put together by Lopez yesterday. In a key match against the division-rival Twins, Lopez was unable to escape the second inning, allowing three runs on four hits and a pair of walks. He used 53 pitches to record his five outs.

Even when Lopez was considered a premier prospect, there were some scouts who felt his ultimate home would be in the bullpen. He’s worked closer to a true three-pitch mix in 2020 and, in his two most recent outings, thrown primarily fastballs and sliders. Given his ongoing struggles in the rotation, perhaps there will be some intrigue within the organization to see how Lopez would handle short-relief stints that allow him to ramp up his fastball velocity and focus on a two-pitch mix.

With Lopez out of the mix for at least the foreseeable future, it appears the Sox will roll with Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, Dylan Cease and perhaps Dane Dunning as the top four in their rotation. Carlos Rodon was said over the weekend to be nearing a return, and the Sox also have veteran southpaw Gio Gonzalez on the mend from a groin strain.

Flores, recalled in place of Lopez, could be an option to start a game as well. He made 15 starts for Chicago’s Double-A affiliate last year, totaling 78 1/3 innings with a 3.33 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and a 53.3 percent ground-ball rate. He’s yet to pitch in the big leagues, so whether his first appearance comes as a starter or out of the ’pen, that’ll mark his MLB debut. Flores isn’t considered one of the system’s elite prospects, but he ranks on the back half of the top 30 at MLB.com (19) and FanGraphs (27).

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/1/20

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Keeping up with the latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The White Sox have outrighted outfielder Nicky Delmonico, James Fegan of The Athletic reports. He’ll remain with the organization at the team’s alternate training site. Now 28 years old, Delmonico enjoyed a terrific 166-plate appearance debut with the White Sox in 2017, when he slashed .262/.373/.482 with nine home runs. Success in the majors has eluded Delmonico since then, though, as he has combined for a weak .210/.287/.346 line with nine HRs in 408 PA dating back to 2018. The White Sox designated him for assignment Aug. 28.
  • The Mariners have outrighted Zac Grotz to Triple-A Tacoma, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com. The right-handed Grotz struggled mightily across five appearances and 7 1/3 innings before the Mariners booted him from their 40-man. So far this season, offenses have tattooed Grotz for 12 earned runs on 11 hits and 11 walks, and he has totaled just four strikeouts.
  • The Rangers have added infielder Davis Wendzel and outfielders Steele Walker and Bubba Thompson to their 60-man player pool, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. They’re headed to the Rangers’ alternate site. All three rank among the Rangers’ top 15 prospects at MLB.com, which places Wendzel 11th, Walker 12th and Thompson 15th. Wendzel’s only a year removed from going 41st overall in the 2019 draft, but a thumb injury limited him to 24 plate appearances between rookie and Low-A ball. Walker was a 2018 second-rounder of the White Sox who joined the Rangers in the two teams’ Nomar Mazara trade last winter. The Rangers used a first-rounder on Thompson in 2017, but the 22-year-old is coming off a rough 2019 in High-A, where he batted .178/.261/.312 in 228 trips to the plate.

Indians Notes: Marte, White Sox, Clevinger, Padres

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Before the Diamondbacks traded Starling Marte to the Marlins yesterday, “the Indians made a run at” acquiring the outfielder, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (subscription required).  Marte would’ve been a enormous boost to Cleveland’s long-struggling outfield, and it is interesting to wonder what it would have cost the Tribe to land Marte.  Looking at what the D’Backs accepted from Miami, the Indians would have had to surrender a pitcher with some proven MLB-level ability (like Caleb Smith), another big-league ready young arm (like Humberto Mejia), and a lottery ticket of a long-term pitching prospect like Julio Frias.

Beyond the prospect cost, it’s fair to assume that Marte’s financial cost was also a factor for Cleveland — Marte has $1.71MM remaining this year, and a $12.5MM club option for the 2021 season.  Giving up a big prospect package and then declining Marte’s option wouldn’t have made much sense, and it isn’t yet clear what kind of payroll capacity the Tribe will have going into next season.

Some more Tribe notes…

  • Also from Rosenthal, he shares some details on the talks between Indians and White Sox about a possible Mike Clevinger trade.  The idea of a Clevinger trade to an AL Central rival seemed surprising at the time, and one Chicago official feels “the Indians used the Sox as a stalking horse, never intending to trade him within the division.”  The White Sox also denied that right-hander Michael Kopech was offered to Tribe as part of the Clevinger negotiations.
  • Clevinger wound up being traded to the Padres as part of a major deadline-day swap that saw the Indians acquire six players.  It was a trade born from a lot of “familiarity” between the two organizations, as president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti told MLB.com’s Mandy Bell and other reporters.  “We’ve spent a lot of time on their system….We have asked about all of these players in the past. Every one of them,” Antonetti said.  “I would comfortably say, at this point, we’ve had hundreds of iterations of deals with the Padres.”  Cleveland and San Diego have combined for five trades since July 2018.
  • In other Clevinger news, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the right-hander turned down an extension offer from the Indians in the spring of 2019.  Terms and contract length weren’t revealed, though the deal would have almost assuredly gone beyond the four years of control the Tribe already held over Clevinger.  The righty was coming off an impressive 2018 season and heading into his age-28 campaign, so purely speculatively, I wonder if the Tribe’s offer was at least somewhat similar to the five-year, $38.5MM extension (with two club option years) reached with Corey Kluber prior to the 2015 season.  Kluber had a similar amount of service time and was coming off a better platform of a Cy Young Award-winning season, though he was also a year older than Clevinger would have been at the time of his hypothetical early-2019 extension.

AL Central Trade Deadline Recap

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With the deadline in the rearview mirror, we’ll look back at each AL Central team’s trade activity over the past month.

Chicago White Sox

Cleveland Indians

Detroit Tigers

Kansas City Royals

Minnesota Twins

Deadline Day DFAs: Phillies, White Sox, Cubs, Marlins

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Given the flurry of transactions around the deadline, a number of players have been designated for assignment. This is, of course, the natural consequence of such a dramatic amount of shuffling to the roster via trade. These players will be available to the 29 other teams via waiver claim. We’ll use this post to track some of the more recent DFAs around baseball.

Latest Updates

  • The Marlins have designated left-hander Adam Conley for assignment, MLBTR has learned. The 30-year-old hasn’t pitched this season after going on the injured list in the wake of Miami’s clubhouse COVID-19 outbreak. Conley was a prominent member of the pitching staff, recently as a pure reliever, from 2015-19. He struggled to a miserable 6.53 ERA/5.19 FIP last season, although he posted much more palatable 4.09/3.60 marks the year prior.

Earlier Today

  • In perhaps the most surprising DFA of the day, the Phillies designated catcher Deivy Grullón for assignment, per the team. Grullon had been the Phillies presumptive third catcher after J.T. Realmuto and backup Andrew Knapp. The 24-year-old has long appeared on Philly prospect boards, making his first big-league appearance last season, going 1 for 9 in limited action. Rafael Marchan and Logan O’Hoppe are the other catchers in the Phillies’ 60-man player pool.
  • Philadelphia also DFA’ed right-hander Reggie McClain. The 27-year-old McClain had appeared in 5 games this season with a 5.06 ERA across 5 1/3 innings. These moves came as a consequence not of trades, necessarily, but because Jay Bruce and Ranger Suárez both were reinstated from the injured list.
  • The White Sox designated infielder Ryan Goins for assignment after activating Yolmer Sanchez, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Goings, 32, is a veteran of the Blue Jays and Royals. He appeared in 14 games for the White Sox this season, often as a pinch-runner. At the plate, he was 0 for 9 with a walk and a strikeout. Sanchez rejoins the White Sox after being designated for assignment by the Giants. Sanchez spent 2014 to 2019 with the White Sox.
  • The Cubs DFA’ed Ian Miller and Hernan Perez, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter links). Miller and Perez are making room for Andrew Chafin and Josh Osich, respectively, the pair of lefties acquired from the Diamondbacks and Red Sox. Miller, 28, is a speed specialist who appeared in just one game for the Cubs as a pinch-runner. Perez never cracked the rotation in Chicago after several years of regular reps with the Brewers. He appeared in just 3 games for the Cubs, going 1 for 6.

Central News & Rumors: Hader, Burnes, Twins, Norris, Romine, Tigers, Chatwood, Gio

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The Brewers are receiving a lot of interest on Josh Hader and Corbin Burnes, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (all links to Twitter), though there isn’t any sign that Milwaukee would consider moving either reliever for anything less than a major offer, particularly for Hader.  Brett Anderson or David Phelps are perhaps more realistic options to be dealt if the Brewers opt to move an arm.  The Yankees and Twins are two of the clubs who have been in touch with the Brew Crew about Hader, but there hasn’t been much indication that talks led anywhere.

Let’s dive into some news and trade buzz from around both the NL and AL Central divisions…

  • The Tigers are drawing interest in catcher Austin Romine and left-hander Daniel Norris, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports in both a tweet and a longer notes column.  The Rays are one team linked to Norris, who has impressed by posting a 2.40 ERA, 7.2 K/9, and 4.00 K/BB rate over 15 innings.  The former second-round draft pick has been plagued by injuries throughout his career and missed part of Summer Camp recovering from a positive COVID-19 test, though he has performed well as a multi-inning reliever for the Tigers this year.  Romine has also enjoyed a strong season with a .291/.309/.418 slash line over 81 PA, though his trade chip status could have a late wrinkle — the Tigers scratched him from today’s lineup due to right knee soreness.
  • Tyler Chatwood left today’s outing due to right elbow discomfort, according to the Cubs.  The righty bounced a pitch to the plate in the third inning, with manager David Ross telling ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers and other reporters that Chatwood initially felt a problem while throwing a breaking ball on the previous pitch.  Chatwood was making his second start back from the injured list after missing much of August with a back strain.  Elbow problems aren’t good news for any pitcher, though it is particularly concerning in Chatwood’s case since he already has a Tommy John surgery on his record.
  • The injury bug also struck on the south side of Chicago, as the White Sox placed left-hander Gio Gonzalez on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to August 27) with a right groin strain.  Gonzalez’s first year with the Sox hasn’t been a smooth one, as he has a 5.11 ERA over 24 2/3 innings and a 1.5 HR/9 that is almost twice his 0.8 career average.  His most recent outing was, intriguingly, 3 2/3 inning of shutout relief against the Cubs, which could hint at Gonzalez’s role for the White Sox when he returns from the IL.
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