Pregame notes: Yoendrys Gómez trying to seal up a rotation spot

Yoendrys Gómez has earned wins in both of his starts since becoming a surprise addition to the White Sox rotation, though the messiness of his night in Atlanta (5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, BB, 3 K, HR) was obscured by how much more messy it got for the bullpen behind him.

With Jonathan Cannon coming off a sharp outing with Triple-A Charlotte and some passing references being made by Will Venable that a return to bulk relief work is an option for Gómez, he'll need to retain the improved strike-throwing that's marked his White Sox tenure.

Pitching coach Ethan Katz has credited the re-introduction of Gómez's changeup, along with a new sinker and cutter into his mix as giving the 25-year-old right-hander more options with which to work inside the strike zone.

"Early on when he came up as a reliever, there were signs of nibbling, trying to be too fine," Katz said. "The ability to add to his arsenal and use that in the game has really been nice for him. Now you are seeing the ability to potentially be a starter."

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With all the hullabaloo about the White Sox carrying three catchers--alongside now-deposed emergency catcher Brooks Baldwin--it might be startling to realize that since Christian Vazquez on the injured list, the Twins have one catcher listed on their active roster in Ryan Jeffers.

Utilityman Mickey Gasper is technically their backup catcher at the moment. Gasper has appeared in six games behind the plate this season, starting four, and the Twins have lost five of those games while allowing almost seven runs per game.

The Sox won't be reaping the benefits of this odd, temporary arrangement, at least not in terms of exposure to Gasper. Rather, Jeffers is catching his third game of the series, including the dreaded day game after a night game assignment on Sunday that MLB teams regularly avoid.

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Asked about if the Sox will look to add a multi-inning option to aid their taxed bullpen when rosters expand in a week, Katz said it would depend on how things stand by Sept. 1. Then he proceeded to make it sound like the White Sox could really use some bulk innings.

"It's just trying to see where we're at and make sure our relievers are not getting run into the ground," Katz said. "I think they've thrown the second-most innings in baseball. They've been crushing it and they've been doing their best to keep us in games. Kudos to them for what they've done, but we've just got to make sure they're taken care of. So, innings might help."

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