As the calendar flips to September, the rosters expand to 28 to help all teams during the final stretch of the season. As a competing team, this gives the White Sox the ability to rest their stars and give some intriguing young names the chance to see some major league pitching. This, combined with the fact that the White Sox had some players on a rehab assignment, led the team to make a flurry of roster moves this morning in advance of this evening’s game against Pittsburgh.
Here is a summary of the six moves:
- Tim Anderson placed on 10-Day IL with left hamstring strain
- Recalled Matt Foster from AAA Charlotte
- Recalled Gavin Sheets from AAA Charlotte
- Selected the contract of Romy Gonzalez from AAA Charlotte
- Returned Billy Hamilton from his rehab assignment
- Designated Jake Lamb for Assignment
This does in fact leave the roster at 28, with Gavin Sheets and Romy Gonzalez serving as the 27th and 28th men on the roster.
Gonzalez, as was written in this morning’s article, was certainly a surprise call-up to the roster. His callup necessitated the move to designate Jake Lamb for assignment. Lamb was hitting just .212/.321/.389 despite his hot start to the season. He was completely league average with a 100 wRC+, but Gonzalez’s inclusion on the roster made Lamb expendable. The 30-year-old will likely try to latch on to another team as part of a playoff push, similar to what the Oakland Athletics did last season with Lamb.
Gavin Sheets will provide the left-handed power off the bat that will be missing with Jake Lamb’s departure. Sheets got off to a hot start in the majors, but by the time he was sent down earlier this year, was hitting just .225/.293/.483, still with an impressive 110 wRC+. Sheets has been hitting well since his return to Charlotte, slashing .303/.385/.591 with four home runs.
Matt Foster has spent time up and down between Charlotte and Chicago this season. He has a 5.67 ERA this season in Chicago despite a 3.09 ERA in Charlotte, so look for him to continue to get low-leverage opportunities.
As for Tim Anderson, the star shortstop has been battling leg pain for a few weeks. The decision to put Anderson on the Injured List likely means more playing time for Romy Gonzalez, Danny Mendick, and Leury Garcia, as the White Sox will look to continue to rest stars Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, and Luis Robert. Look for Gonzalez, Mendick, and Garcia to get plenty of at-bats this month as the White Sox hold the biggest division lead in baseball.
Finally, let’s be honest: you’re excited to see Billy Hamilton back on the team. His speed and defense will be crucial in October.
The White Sox also made two smaller, less announced moves:
- Released Kyle Crick, a reliever in AAA Charlotte
- Signed Carl Edwards Jr. former Cubs reliever, to a minor league contract. He was sent to AAA Charlotte
Kyle Crick, a former Pirates reliever, had pitched well in AAA Charlotte since coming to the team: he had a 0.87 ERA in 10.1 IP, with a 13.1 K/9. However, with September call-ups completed and Crick still sitting in the minors, the former big-league likely preferred to see if he could find a major league opportunity elsewhere.
Carl Edwards Jr.has seen his fair share of major league time to mixed results. For his career, he has a 3.77 ERA across 187.1 IP and will likely serve as roster depth over the course of the next few weeks.
We’ve mentioned this before, but the fact that the White Sox are up 10 games in the division gives them the ability to rest their stars – it’s a luxury not every playoff team currently has, so we should expect the White Sox to take full advantage of it.
For now, let’s take care of Pittsburgh tonight in what could be Romy Gonzalez’s major league debut.
Follow us @SoxOn35th for more updates!
Featured Photo: Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) / Twitter
Interesting. They need to get healthy and rest some. Tpd@thomasdubrick