Pregame Notes: Prelander Berroa and Brad Keller tasked with aiding a taxed bullpen

Pedro Grifol made it clear Saturday night that the White Sox would need another bullpen arm after a taxing week and a 10-inning victory. 

So Prelander Berroa getting called up Sunday morning amid a run of seven scoreless appearances with Charlotte and improved scouting reports, while Jonathan Cannon went back to Triple-A made…well, maybe not all the sense in the world, but prompted few follow-up questions beyond “so when will Brad Keller be called up for his first start?”

That the Sox immediately called up Keller and designated the promising but erratic Deivi García–who got the win Saturday night with his usual mix of raw talent and raw command–would require more of a walk-through for their thinking.

“It was a really tough call,” Grifol said of García. “I really love the kid. And I love his makeup and his arm. He's got a good arm, and he's willing to pitch every day, willing to do whatever it takes for this team. It's unfortunate. I'm hoping it works out for him, and if it doesn't I'm hoping he's able to come back here because like I said, he's a good pitcher.”

If it were me, I might ponder whether aggressively slandering a player’s makeup would help him clear waivers in the short-term, but then again maybe there’s a reason all my OOTP teams had clubhouse issues. Moving on, Grifol clarified that Keller,who was originally scheduled to start for the Knights on Sunday, is available for multi-inning relief as needed for the next couple of days, which would still allow him to start in St. Louis this coming weekend.

“I’m really happy with how my body felt, how everything has come along as far as recovery and how my arm has been able to hold up after everything with the rehab and the surgery,” said Keller, who underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome over the offseason, and feels his command has bounced back. “Especially in games now, battle counts, I feel like I can stay in there. I feel like my arm has been able to hold up. Command has been good down there. Just kind of continue with that process up here.”

– Your latest Oscar Colás update is that he was the person who informed Berroa that he was getting recalled to the majors, because Knights manager Justin Jirschele was having trouble getting in contact with the right-hander at the team hotel. Early season reports on Berroa as he was getting mauled for 11 runs in his first four appearances on the season were that his slider had lost its snap, which is problematic for someone who throws it the majority of the time, despite upper-90s heat.

Berroa described the issue as simply leaving the pitch up.

“I try to attack hitters with my slider down in the zone, fastball low in the zone,” Berroa said via interpreter. “I was leaving the pitch in the strike zone a lot, and hitters were taking advantage of that. We made adjustments and I’m trying to be sharper, execute the pitch, and the results have been better.”

– Jason Bourgeois also wishes he just had three Luis Robert Jr.’s to direct around the outfield.

“That’d be great!” said the Sox first base coach. “We could have everybody who runs like [Byron] Buxton out there, three gazelles, that’s the ultimate outfield. You witness all the time now that the athletes, the outfielders are getting faster all the time. But at the same time, we are who we are and we go after the margins by preparing.”

But Bourgeois praised Tommy Pham’s experience and route-running as he fills in at center, and Saturday night’s swirling winds backed up the importance he’s placing on trying to acquaint his newest charge with the surroundings, which he could be spotted doing through batting practice on Saturday.

“Making sure he’s checking the flags, but at the same time dialing in on his positioning and have some flexibility on that as well.”

Bourgeois said the flags in the right field corner can be deceiving and not reflective of what’s going on in center field, and he tries not to rely on them as much as the others. He did not go so far as to call the flags liars, but I will. Those flags are liars.

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