Romy González headlines list of six White Sox transactions
While September rosters only gain two spots this year, the White Sox opened the month with a transaction frenzy that would resemble any Sept. 1 B.C. (before coronavirus).
The White Sox made a whopping six roster moves in between games against the Pirates:
- Placed Tim Anderson on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain retroactive to Aug. 29
- Selected the contract of Romy González
- Reinstated Billy Hamilton from the injured list
- Recalled Gavin Sheets from Charlotte
- Recalled Matt Foster from Charlotte
- Designated Jake Lamb for assignment
The addition of González is the main attraction here. After hitting .244/.329/.364 over 101 games in Kannapolis in 2019 and losing all of 2020 to the cancellation of the minor-league season, González took an aggressive season-opening assignment to Birmingham and ran with it. Between the Barons and a recent promotion to Charlotte, González hit .275/.357/.525 with 23 homers and 22 steals over 87 games. It comes with a 27.8 percent strikeout rate, but they tend to come in bunches. He’s had 11 games with at least three strikeouts this year, and 29 games without a K, including three of nine games at Triple-A.
I remember being at Regions Field in Birmingham for the Barons’ first three games of the season. González went 5-for-10 with two homers and three walks, and broadcaster Curt Bloom told me that the Sox must’ve seen something in González, because they could’ve rolled with Laz Rivera at shortstop without much thought. Instead they plugged González into a position he didn’t play in any of his first 155 professional games with the White Sox, and now he’s an 18th-round pick who will wear a major-league uniform.
One question to be resolved is whether González is eligible for a postseason roster if he looks worthy of a spot. The deadline for postseason eligibility lapsed at midnight ET, but there appears to be potential path:
In a typical season, any player who is on the 40-man roster or 60-day injured list as of 11:59 p.m. ET on Aug. 31 is eligible for the postseason.
Those on the restricted list at that point are also eligible if they haven’t been suspended for performance-enhancing drugs during that season. (All players who have served a suspension for PEDs in a given season are ineligible for postseason play that year.)
A player who doesn’t meet said criteria for postseason eligibility can still be added to a team’s roster in the postseason via petition to the Commissioner’s Office if the player was in the organization on Aug. 31 and is replacing someone who is on the injured list and has served the minimum amount of time required for activation. (For example, a player on the 10-day injured list who has been on it for at least 10 days, or a player who has been on the 60-day injured list for at least 60 days.) Players who are acquired in September or after are ineligible.
That last paragraph theoretically means somebody like González could still work his way in. However, somebody like Carl Edwards Jr., who is reporting to Charlotte after the White Sox signed to a minor-league deal today, would not be eligible.
González has played 67 games at short in 2021, along with 12 at second base and four at third. He’ll probably be first in line for MLB reps at his new primary position because Anderson is getting a proper injured list stint for an issue that’s been draining playing time from him during the second half of August.
The presence of González indirectly afforded the Sox the ability to part ways with Lamb, whose ability to play third was his only distinguishing skill after the returns of Luis Robert and Eloy Jiménez crowded him out of the outfield. Brian Goodwin already gave the Sox a left-handed bat in a corner spot, and since Lamb doesn’t have noteworthy splits, Tony La Russa had to generate reasons to play him.
Lamb hit .212/.321/.389 over 43 games with the Sox, but like so many other players who have passed through the roster, he timed his best stretch extremely well. His .893 OPS over 20 games from mid-may into late June allowed the White Sox to transition the DH spot away from Yermín Mercedes.
Unfortunately for Lamb, he suffered a quad strain that kept him out of action for all of July, and by the time he returned to the majors, Jiménez had already beaten him to the roster, and Robert returned a few days later. I’ll always appreciate him for being the subject of one of my favorite posts this year:
PERTINENT: One smaller step for Jake Lamb, one giant leap in production
Sheets returns to the roster to take his place, because if you’re going to have a career infielder faking it in the outfield, you’d at least like him to be dangerous against pitchers of a certain handedness. Sheets hit .260/.333/.558 with six homers over 87 plate appearances against righties in his first go-around with the Sox, and while he’s 0-for-12 against lefties, he shouldn’t see many of them, if any.
Sheets didn’t show any signs of a hangover in his return to Triple-A, hitting .303/.385/.591 over 19 games for the Knights in August. The question is whether he has a better understanding of breaking balls and other low, slow stuff, which neutralized his power and forced him to settle for shift-thwarting singles.
Hamilton and Foster are the other two moves, but you already know what they’re all about. Hamilton gives La Russa a second great defender in center for whenever he wants to rest Luis Robert without taking a big hit in outfield range, while Foster is a fresh arm for a bullpen that had to cover half a game on Tuesday.
One player the transaction tornado didn’t touch is Lucas Giolito. It wouldn’t have been surprising if the White Sox put him on the injured list for his hamstring issue in order to free up a roster spot that couldn’t have been put into game action for another four-plus days, but the month is still young.
(Photo by Laura Wolff / Charlotte Knights)
Sheets and Romy up, Lamb DFA… a good day.
We might see Giolito go on the IL tomorrow before the team flies to Kansas City.
Here’s to hoping that Keuchel will have his best stretch with Lynn and Giolito missing a couple starts. Lot of innings to make-up with those two out.
Am I understanding the last paragraph on playoff eligibility right that Romy could only make the postseason roster if he is replacing an already eligible player who has been on the IL for at least 10 days? So if Tim couldn’t comeback hypothetically, Romy could take his spot but he couldn’t replace a healthy Mendick or Garcia?
Something tells me if Romy is raking that Danny is going to come down with a bad case of the general fatigue.
Jim, how many plays on “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion” do you already have brainstormed?
Honestly wasn’t expected Romy up until sometime next year but I’ll take it.
I know its a bit of an impossible question to answer but it does make you wonder how the season is different if LaRussa isnt there to manage the lineups with the injuries. One of the things that always killed the Sox was the bench guys or callups needing to fill in for a starter always being a big fail. It might just all be luck but he is the one variable in an otherwise dour situation the Sox had to deal with in the past.
Well that begs the question of who gets credit for these guys playing well? Jake Lamb was an All Star in his early career so he has talent. Billy Hamilton is doing Billy Hamilton things. Brian Goodwin looks like the hitter he’s shown in the past. I think La Russa is doing a good job of not overexposing players (see Sheets and his 12 ABs against LHP) but I’m not sure he’s unlocked something in these guys that no other manager could have accomplished. I think we are just used to seeing most of these dumpster dive guys failing, and our high priced free agents failing, and the middle tier free agents failing, that we’ve just come to expect failure and anything beyond that feels like a damn miracle.
My sentiments the same. I’ve seen no magic from TLR. Any manager would have the same roster to work with. TLR didn’t make Goodwin hit, or Eaton fail. And he’s had a ridiculously good rotation to work with all year.
A lot of questionable decisions the past few weeks, at least a couple of which arguably cost them games. I’ve seen little to suggest that they would not be doing just as well if not better with just about any other decent MLB manager with some experience.
It seems a bit unfair not to credit TLR for utilizing players DFA’d by other teams in ways that have allowed them to make valuable contributions for the Sox. Also, it strikes me as odd to quibble over in game decisions that might be debatable when almost everything indicates LaRussa will have the team healthy, rested and we’ll prepared for the post season.
I mean, I think it is perfectly acceptable to quibble over debatable in game decisions. Those are the exact kind of decisions that can win or lose a playoff series and they are supposedly the decisions he made the hall of fame for making in the past. I don’t agree that TLR shouldn’t get credit for the good decisions he’s made though. We’ve seen with our recent prior managers that some of these decisions aren’t obvious ones to make so I’m glad we’ve improved there. I just don’t know how much credit TLR gets for players doing things they’ve done in the past. Especially since players like Lamb and Eaton both turned back into pumpkins to the surprise of no one.
Romy not in the lineup. Maybe he’ll pinch hit.
Too bad. This AAA quality pitcher of the Pirates would seem to be the ideal opponent for a new MLBer