Following up: Lance Lynn out, Reese McGuire on his way

(Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports)

Catching up on a few items I couldn’t quite get to while finishing up the arrival of FutureSox

Lance Lynn

If you go back and think about the last couple months of the 2021 season, Lance Lynn could say he was healthy enough to shed the designation of “injured,” but he never proved that he was all the way back to being Lance Lynn.

Lynn averaged 5⅓ innings and 85 pitches over his last four starts, all of which were on extra rest. The Sox could maintain that they were being cautious thanks to the huge divisional lead, and Lynn’s workload might’ve looked exactly the same even if he had the knees of a 20-year-old. Throw in a disappointing postseason start against a team that has a history of hammering his array of fastballs, and there was no way to detect the degree of discomfort from context alone. Lynn wasn’t going to provide any cues from his quotes, either.

So when he hopped off the mound and dragged himself toward the dugout on Saturday night, at least we got some clarity out of the matter. Lynn will undergo surgery to repair a slightly torn knee tendon, which will cost him four weeks, and then he’ll be starting spring training over again, which is another four weeks.

Now that Lynn has no choice but to admit, he’s taking the fatalistic approach as well.

Between Lynn’s absence, Michael Kopech’s reintroduction to starting and general Dallas Keuchel wariness, Reynaldo López and Vince Velasquez will have their hands full early. Hey, at least Tony La Russa was able to name Lucas Giolito his Opening Day starter without any hurt feelings.

PERTINENT: Lance Lynn’s knee won’t be ignored

REESE MCGUIRE

Likewise, the backup catching situation gained similar clarity when the White Sox acquired the out-of-options Reese McGuire from the Blue Jays. McGuire was named the No. 2 catcher behind Yasmani Grandal before he could even report to camp.

Rick Hahn’s description of McGuire indirectly highlighted all of the skills the incumbents failed to bring to the table.

“Reese McGuire is a player we’ve targeted for a while,” White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. “We view him as a very strong defensive backstop, solid on framing and lateral movement as well as catching and throwing and handling a game plan and managing a pitching staff. 

“[He is] someone we view as a nice addition. Good complement to Yas, and someone we look forward to arriving here in the next couple of days before we head out.”

McGuire will only have a couple of days to learn the staff before the season. Glass half empty, McGuire faces a steep in-season learning curve to build a rapport with pitchers. Glass half full, the White Sox staff can temporarily go without the idea of a personal catcher, giving all arms a fresh start with Grandal.

PERTINENT: White Sox land true backup catcher, acquire Reese McGuire for Zack Collins

Andrew Vaughn

While it appeared that Andrew Vaughn might have to open his season with a rehab stint, he managed to return to the lineup ahead of schedule on Sunday. He played the whole game as a DH, going 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts from the ninth spot.

The White Sox originally had him out for one to two weeks, but Vaughn said he was back to feeling like himself after two days. Tony La Russa joked about sending Vaughn to the penalty box for embellishment.

“He’s moving around terrific,” manager Tony La Russa said. “I reprimanded him for that act he put on that had us worried it was much more serious. He smiled. I would have never guessed he would be playing today. Tough guy, strong guy.”

The White Sox aren’t yet playing Vaughn in consecutive games, as he’s out of the lineup in today’s afternoon tilt against the Cubs, but he’s still in play when it comes to the bigger picture. In the meantime, the White Sox optioned Anderson Severino and Romy González to minor league camp, leaving 34 players for 28 spots.

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yinkadoubledare

Update: Vaughn is in today’s game and playing right field as Pollock was scratched with a “head cold”

JimMargalusBiggestFan

I don’t know what to say about the title of this post…

I typed about three different comments, then deleted them all and decided not to say anything. 🙂

yinkadoubledare

well we’ve had a Spanky at catcher on a Sox playoff team before

calcetinesblancos

I can’t believe Harrison is going to play 2B over Romy. The Sox never learn. Same old BS.

jorgefabregas

You can’t? Which one has a better 2022 projection? Romy will probably get a shot at some point this season.

Augusto Barojas

Will be very interesting to see if they attempt to find a temporary replacement for Lynn. To lose a lot of games the first two months because of poor starting pitching would be bad enough, but it’s the toll on the bullpen that will be the real problem.

There is always a chance Lopez can go 5 in a few games, though I just don’t have faith in the guy. I like his chances better than Keuchel or Velasquez at this point. That’s just an ugly back end of the rotation.

itaita

If there is a division where you can afford to start a little slow and lose a couple extra games from the back of the bullpen guys going extra innings its the Al Central.

My concern is Kopech trying to replace Lynn and going a bit too hard in the paint coming out of the box.

metasox

Has much been said about Giolito adding a lot of weight? Presumably he thinks that will help him over the course of the season.

BenwithVen

Pollock mentioned where he “could have ended up” when talking about his excitement to join the Sox. I wonder how close LA were to sending him to like Pittsburgh or Cincinnati.

tommytwonines

Was there any consideration that Lynn should have knee surgery after last season? Was he talking to Scottie Pippen for advice?

Qubort

I haven’t seen for sure which tendon it is, but it doesn’t sound like it was torn during the off-season. There’s a good chance the torn part is just being cut out. It doesn’t sound like he postponed surgery because you can’t have surgery until the actual tear occurs.

ParisSox

An aside – I see lots of top prospects making opening day rosters.

Can someone refresh me about what changed in the CBA to make this happen? Seems there’s less service time manipulation going on. Which is good.

jorgefabregas

Teams can get a draft pick or international draft pick/slot if a top 100 prospect breaks camp at the start of the season and places high in award voting during their pre-arb years.

“ A team is eligible for Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) draft picks if a rookie-eligible player with 60 days or fewer of major league service who is included on a preseason top 100 prospect list by two or more of Baseball America, ESPN.com or MLB.com is promoted and finishes high in award voting in any year before he is eligible for arbitration. The team would get an amateur draft pick for a Rookie of the Year or a top three in MVP or Cy Young, and an international selection if second or third in Rookie of the Year, or fourth or fifth in Cy Young. A team can gain at most one PPI pick in the amateur draft and three total PPI picks for any individual prospect in his career.”

snoopy369

There is the extra draft picks awarded if a rookie is on the roster receives a full year of service time and gets high awards consideration (top-2 ROTY or top-5 MVP). There is also a larger roster, which makes it easier to add prospects of course (aside from service time manipulation).

vanillablue

Sox have signed Johnny Cueto to a minor league deal, per Ken Rosenthal.
Cueto is maybe the most entertaining pitcher I’ve seen, what with his arsenal of shimmies, quick pitches, etc, but he was getting by with smoke and mirrors with the Giants last year. He’ll need all the tricks in his arsenal to contribute to the Sox this year as he doesn’t have much left physically.

a-t

Johnny’s very fun, if he can still get outs effectively I’ll be delighted to see him eat some innings. It’s also possible he’s cooked, but unlike the last time they went and got an old maybe-cooked former #2 RHP now getting by on guile, at least Johnny won’t cost them a Hall of Fame talent!

shaggy65

Solid addition at this late stage. I would much rather see old Johnny Cueto on the mound than young Vince Velazquez…

metasox

And better than hoping the Sox can dig up a Hector Noesi

dongutteridge

Your wish has been granted.

tommytwonines

I wonder if Lynn goes to the 60-day IL now (is he there already?).
The BoSox, btw, placed Chris Sale on the 60-day to make way for – wait for it – Tyler Danish!

Augusto Barojas

I prefer Cueto to Danish, or Dylan Covey.

Last edited 1 year ago by Augusto Barojas
soxfan

This is the type of situation that makes me wonder if we aren’t over focusing on our own problems rather than realizing that everyone is scrambling for pitching depth right now. Yeah Lopez and Velasquez might get exposed, but if the other Sox are counting on Danish then offensive numbers are gonna pop this spring for everyone. Just enjoy the four hour games and hope we have enough healthy arms at the break to make a push.

calcetinesblancos

I get if they like Lopez in the pen, but I also think they should let him have a few starts.

Augusto Barojas

Great, this is what I was calling for yesterday. Seems like a heck of a lot better move than an overpay for Montas. I’m sure it will take him some time to ramp up since he isn’t in camp somewhere, but it’s a no brainer in terms of being better off than they were yesterday.

BenwithVen

Cueto is fine. Literally all he has to give us is some average-ish innings.

knoxfire30

Hope they catch some lightning in a bottle on Cueto, smoke and mirrors or not they are gonna need innings and the less that go to Velazquez the better. Looking at the schedule and hoping Lynn is back in June but realistically they have no idea how fast he may be able to ramp back up but only 2 off days in April, 4 in May, 3 In june then a grueling 17 games in a row to start July before the ASB…. its gonna be tough to expect the staff not to get burnt out. Obviously some rainouts may come to their aid but its gonna be all hands on deck especially when you know the sox are still gonna limit Kopech’s innings/pitch counts.

HallofFrank

Yes. I’d guess this signals no Montas? From that perspective, it’s a bit of a bummer. But I like the move, at this point. I mean, there’s a real chance he’s the Sox 3rd best starter for the first month or so of the season, with Kopech still getting ramped up.

knoxfire30

I dont think they have ruled themselves out on Montas at all, they dont even have to pay Cueto if he isnt on the mlb roster and he could opt out by may 15 …. they just needed to add a bit due to the lack of available AAA depth in terms of starting pitching.

HallofFrank

Yeah, fair, and I suppose we were calling for Montas prior to Lynn’s injury. I suppose they could be trying for Montas and nabbed Cueto as a backup. It just strikes me as a move that signals they are planning to more survive with their starting pitching rather than super solve it.

calcetinesblancos

With all the pitchers getting hurt, the A’s are probably hoping for someone desperate and willing to give up too much.

knoxfire30

Montas has an extra year but I didnt think they got some great return on Manea

jhomeslice

I was surprised the Padres gave up so little to get him. Seems a shame the Sox did not match/beat that offer, would certainly not have taken Vaughn or somebody great.

jhomeslice

I’d rather go the Cueto route than give up Vaughn for Montas. It didn’t seem like the A’s got a ton for Manaea, but Montas has an extra year which is huge.

I doubt the Sox make a huge deal, I only hope it doesn’t take Cueto long to get into game shape and that he’s been getting ready. Their bullpen is gonna get worked to death in the early part of the year with nobody aside from Giolito/Cease having much of a chance to give them even moderate innings.

Elena

I doubt that Rick would have made the deal for Cueto if he wasn’t in near game-ready shape. A couple of weeks at Camelback and he should be ready to go.

Last edited 1 year ago by Elena
Willardmarshall

Show me the innings!