Prior to tomorrow’s series opener at Toronto, the White Sox made four roster moves. They are, as follows:
- Placed RHPs Dylan Cease and Kendall Graveman on the Restricted List;
- Recalled RHP Kyle Crick from Triple-A Charlotte;
- Placed LHP Dallas Keuchel on waivers for the purpose of granting his unconditional release.
For those wondering about Cease and Graveman, this move is a result of the vaccination ordinances in place throughout Canada. Both players are reportedly not vaccinated, preventing them from traveling with the team. Though Cease was not scheduled to pitch this series anyways, the loss of Graveman for a few days could have bigger consequences.
As for Keuchel, placing him on waivers is essentially the last step before the southpaw officially departs the organization. The 34-year-old has been met with obstacles again this year, as through eight starts for the White Sox in 2022 has an ERA of 7.88, a WHIP of 2.16, and a record of 2-5. Keuchel has yet to capture the success he had in his first season with the club when he had an ERA of 1.99, a WHIP of 1.09, and a record of 6-2 which ultimately landed him a top-five placement for the Cy Young Award.
Keuchel’s pitches haven’t been moving as well this season, and players haven’t been fooled in a while. This move comes after the veteran’s second straight blowup outing, as he has surrendered six runs against both the Yankees and Red Sox in consecutive starts. He had expressed some belief in some “leeway” he had earned to figure this out, but apparently, this wasn’t the case in the front office. With Lance Lynn on his way back and alternative options available (Davis Martin, Vince Velasquez, Reynaldo Lopez, etc.), it’s time to say so long and good riddance.
Obviously, the one name absent from today’s moves is shortstop Tim Anderson, who we expect to have an update on as early as Tuesday. Though the early indications aren’t favorable after he suffered a groin injury on Sunday, we’ll just have to hope now for an IL stint that lands on the shorter side of the spectrum.
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