December 26, 2018 9:56 PM PST
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox lost 100
games [url=http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-red-schoendienst-jersey]http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-red-schoendienst-jersey[/url] ,
struck out more times than any other team in major league history and had
several key prospects suffer serious injuries.They missed the playoffs for the
10th straight year, too.Still, the White Sox hope the worst of the rebuild is
behind them and general manager Rick Hahn expects to see more signs of a
turnaround next season with the young players on the roster continuing to mature
and promising prospects in the pipeline.“I don’t think it’s too early to say we
expect to be certainly more competitive,” Hahn said.After dropping 95 games last
year, the White Sox came within six losses of the franchise record at 62-100.
Only the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals had worse marks. They also set
the major league record by striking out 1,594 times.“A lot of ups and a lot of
downs,” manager Rick Renteria said. “Probably more downs than ups but some
moments of clarity that we see for some of the guys that we have that we believe
will be impactful for us going forward.”STAY OR GOThe White Sox hung onto Jose
Abreu and Avisail Garcia last winter. The question is whether they will this
time. Both players could be attractive to contenders with prospects to spare,
though they had their seasons cut short by injuries. Abreu made his second
All-Star team, but missed most of the final six weeks because of surgery to
repair a testicular torsion and then an infection in his right thigh shortly
after returning. Garcia went from hitting .330 in a breakout All-Star season in
2017 to .236 while being limited to 93 games because of discomfort in his right
knee. He will have surgery.PITCHING INThe White Sox appear to have three solid
rotation pitchers for the future in Carlos
Rodon [url=http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-enos-slaughter-jersey]Enos
Slaughter Jersey[/url] , Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez. Dylan Cease could
join them at some point next season. The right-hander dominated at Class A and
Double-A this year. Hahn might also look for outside help to boost the rotation
and bullpen in the short term.“Just because we foresee a guy like Dylan Cease,
let’s say, being a stalwart in a championship rotation in the future, we are
going to wait until he’s fully ready to start that process,” Hahn said. “In the
interim, we need to come up with alternatives.”ON THE MARKETManny Machado and
Bryce Harper are due to hit the free agent market. That raises a question: Would
the White Sox make a move for a big star now?“If we see long term pieces that
make sense, in addition to augmenting the pitching or filling certain needs for
2019, I think we have the flexibility to pursue them and we are going to be
opportunistic and respond to the market accordingly,” said
Hahn [url=http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-chris-carpenter-jersey]http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-chris-carpenter-jersey[/url] ,
who did not mention any players by name.IN THE PIPELINEPrized outfielder Eloy
Jimenez looks like he’s ready to make his major league debut. Jimenez — who
along with Cease came to Chicago in the deal that sent Jose Quintana to the Cubs
last season — hit a combined 337 with 22 homers and 75 RBIs for Double-A
Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte this year. Despite those numbers, the White
Sox did not call him up. If they wait until mid-April, they will have him under
contract control until 2025 rather than 2024. A similar scenario unfolded in
2015 between Kris Bryant and the Cubs.“At some point over the course of next
year, either at the start or for the majority of the season, we’ll have Eloy
Jimenez we project joining us and certainly by the middle or end of next year I
suspect there will be some other young potential core pieces forcing their way
to Chicago and allowing us to further solidify what this is going to look like
going forward,” Hahn said.ON THE MENDWhite Sox fans might be as interested in
the medical reports as the box scores. Pitcher Michael Kopech had Tommy John
surgery in September after making four starts for the White Sox and will miss
next season. Minor league third baseman Jake Burger — the No. 11 overall pick in
the 2017 amateur draft — tore his left Achilles tendon in spring training and
did it again walking in his backyard in May. Potential closer-of-the-future Zack
Burdi is working his way back from Tommy John surgery in 2017. HOUSTON — The
Houston Astros fared decently the last time they faced Shohei Ohtani more than
four months ago.The Astros will get another crack at Ohtani on Sunday afternoon
when they conclude a four-game series with the Los Angeles Angels.Ohtani will
make first start on the mound since June 6. He missed 22 games on the disabled
list with a right UCL sprain but returned exclusively as a designated hitter on
July 3.Article continues below ...When Houston’s hitters saw him April 24 in
Houston, Ohtani allowed four runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He threw 98
pitches and issued five walks in an 8-7 victory.To prepare for his 10th career
start, Ohtani threw up to 50 pitches in bullpen sessions and will be on a pitch
limit.“Very excited,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told reporters on Thursday.
“But
obviously [url=http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-kolten-wong-jersey]Kolten
Wong Jersey[/url] , I don’t know if we could put those expectations that we had
for Shohei when he really hit stride, have those expectations what he’s going to
come out and do for Sunday. Hopefully, he’s going to get back to that.”Ohtani
will oppose Gerrit Cole, who is 2-0 with a 3.71 ERA in his last three starts
after a three-start losing streak. Cole is 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA in two starts
against the Angels (66-70) this season and 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in four career
starts. With rosters expanding Saturday throughout the majors, the Astros added
two pitchers with one, left-hander Cionel Perez, poised to join an already
crowded bullpen.Astros manager A.J. Hinch had 10 relievers at his disposal on
Saturday as the Astros (83-53) rallied for a 7-3 victory. With right-hander
Charlie Morton set for reinstatement from the 10-day disabled list next weekend
in Boston, left-hander Framber Valdez or right-hander Josh James, who made his
debut against the
Angels [url=http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-trevor-rosenthal-jersey]Trevor
Rosenthal Jersey[/url] , is likely to be bumped from the rotation.Currently,
Hinch has eight right-handers and two lefties in his bullpen heading into the
finale of a four-game series with the Angels.“It depends on how our pitching
staff goes,” Hinch said of predicting future bullpen usage. “Most of the season
our starters have logged the majority of the innings as they should; they’ve
gone deep into games. I know I’ve cut back a little bit of that in August, some
of it out of performance, some of it out of trying to work the bullpen in there.
I guess we have the weapons, but I’m still going to read the game.“I don’t think
I need to aggressively change a ton. We’re trying to get to 27 outs, we’re
trying to get to as many wins. If the starters get the bulk of those outs,
great. If I’ve got to go to the pen early I have the reinforcements. Most of the
time in September you don’t worry about running out of pitching.”The Angels on
Saturday selected the contract of veteran right-hander Junichi Tazawa from
Triple-A Salt Lake. Tazawa is the fifth Japanese native in club history,
including Ohtani. He signed as a free agent with the Angels on July
13.Tazawa [url=http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-jedd-gyorko-jersey]http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-jedd-gyorko-jersey[/url] ,
32, spent his first seven seasons in the majors with the Boston Red Sox,
finishing 17-20 with a 3.58 ERA and four saves in 56 appearances (four starts)
from 2009 to 2016. He subsequently made 16 appearances with the Miami Marlins in
parts of two seasons before being released May 21 and went 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA
in seven games with Salt Lake.“He still has plenty of velocity, spins the ball
really well, and he’s a veteran pitcher that can make pitches,” Scioscia said.
“He threw the ball well down below and hopefully he’ll continue to bring it up
here and throw the ball with the consistency that he has.”
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox lost 100
games [url=http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-red-schoendienst-jersey]http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-red-schoendienst-jersey[/url] ,
struck out more times than any other team in major league history and had
several key prospects suffer serious injuries.They missed the playoffs for the
10th straight year, too.Still, the White Sox hope the worst of the rebuild is
behind them and general manager Rick Hahn expects to see more signs of a
turnaround next season with the young players on the roster continuing to mature
and promising prospects in the pipeline.“I don’t think it’s too early to say we
expect to be certainly more competitive,” Hahn said.After dropping 95 games last
year, the White Sox came within six losses of the franchise record at 62-100.
Only the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals had worse marks. They also set
the major league record by striking out 1,594 times.“A lot of ups and a lot of
downs,” manager Rick Renteria said. “Probably more downs than ups but some
moments of clarity that we see for some of the guys that we have that we believe
will be impactful for us going forward.”STAY OR GOThe White Sox hung onto Jose
Abreu and Avisail Garcia last winter. The question is whether they will this
time. Both players could be attractive to contenders with prospects to spare,
though they had their seasons cut short by injuries. Abreu made his second
All-Star team, but missed most of the final six weeks because of surgery to
repair a testicular torsion and then an infection in his right thigh shortly
after returning. Garcia went from hitting .330 in a breakout All-Star season in
2017 to .236 while being limited to 93 games because of discomfort in his right
knee. He will have surgery.PITCHING INThe White Sox appear to have three solid
rotation pitchers for the future in Carlos
Rodon [url=http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-enos-slaughter-jersey]Enos
Slaughter Jersey[/url] , Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez. Dylan Cease could
join them at some point next season. The right-hander dominated at Class A and
Double-A this year. Hahn might also look for outside help to boost the rotation
and bullpen in the short term.“Just because we foresee a guy like Dylan Cease,
let’s say, being a stalwart in a championship rotation in the future, we are
going to wait until he’s fully ready to start that process,” Hahn said. “In the
interim, we need to come up with alternatives.”ON THE MARKETManny Machado and
Bryce Harper are due to hit the free agent market. That raises a question: Would
the White Sox make a move for a big star now?“If we see long term pieces that
make sense, in addition to augmenting the pitching or filling certain needs for
2019, I think we have the flexibility to pursue them and we are going to be
opportunistic and respond to the market accordingly,” said
Hahn [url=http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-chris-carpenter-jersey]http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-chris-carpenter-jersey[/url] ,
who did not mention any players by name.IN THE PIPELINEPrized outfielder Eloy
Jimenez looks like he’s ready to make his major league debut. Jimenez — who
along with Cease came to Chicago in the deal that sent Jose Quintana to the Cubs
last season — hit a combined 337 with 22 homers and 75 RBIs for Double-A
Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte this year. Despite those numbers, the White
Sox did not call him up. If they wait until mid-April, they will have him under
contract control until 2025 rather than 2024. A similar scenario unfolded in
2015 between Kris Bryant and the Cubs.“At some point over the course of next
year, either at the start or for the majority of the season, we’ll have Eloy
Jimenez we project joining us and certainly by the middle or end of next year I
suspect there will be some other young potential core pieces forcing their way
to Chicago and allowing us to further solidify what this is going to look like
going forward,” Hahn said.ON THE MENDWhite Sox fans might be as interested in
the medical reports as the box scores. Pitcher Michael Kopech had Tommy John
surgery in September after making four starts for the White Sox and will miss
next season. Minor league third baseman Jake Burger — the No. 11 overall pick in
the 2017 amateur draft — tore his left Achilles tendon in spring training and
did it again walking in his backyard in May. Potential closer-of-the-future Zack
Burdi is working his way back from Tommy John surgery in 2017. HOUSTON — The
Houston Astros fared decently the last time they faced Shohei Ohtani more than
four months ago.The Astros will get another crack at Ohtani on Sunday afternoon
when they conclude a four-game series with the Los Angeles Angels.Ohtani will
make first start on the mound since June 6. He missed 22 games on the disabled
list with a right UCL sprain but returned exclusively as a designated hitter on
July 3.Article continues below ...When Houston’s hitters saw him April 24 in
Houston, Ohtani allowed four runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He threw 98
pitches and issued five walks in an 8-7 victory.To prepare for his 10th career
start, Ohtani threw up to 50 pitches in bullpen sessions and will be on a pitch
limit.“Very excited,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told reporters on Thursday.
“But
obviously [url=http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-kolten-wong-jersey]Kolten
Wong Jersey[/url] , I don’t know if we could put those expectations that we had
for Shohei when he really hit stride, have those expectations what he’s going to
come out and do for Sunday. Hopefully, he’s going to get back to that.”Ohtani
will oppose Gerrit Cole, who is 2-0 with a 3.71 ERA in his last three starts
after a three-start losing streak. Cole is 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA in two starts
against the Angels (66-70) this season and 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in four career
starts. With rosters expanding Saturday throughout the majors, the Astros added
two pitchers with one, left-hander Cionel Perez, poised to join an already
crowded bullpen.Astros manager A.J. Hinch had 10 relievers at his disposal on
Saturday as the Astros (83-53) rallied for a 7-3 victory. With right-hander
Charlie Morton set for reinstatement from the 10-day disabled list next weekend
in Boston, left-hander Framber Valdez or right-hander Josh James, who made his
debut against the
Angels [url=http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-trevor-rosenthal-jersey]Trevor
Rosenthal Jersey[/url] , is likely to be bumped from the rotation.Currently,
Hinch has eight right-handers and two lefties in his bullpen heading into the
finale of a four-game series with the Angels.“It depends on how our pitching
staff goes,” Hinch said of predicting future bullpen usage. “Most of the season
our starters have logged the majority of the innings as they should; they’ve
gone deep into games. I know I’ve cut back a little bit of that in August, some
of it out of performance, some of it out of trying to work the bullpen in there.
I guess we have the weapons, but I’m still going to read the game.“I don’t think
I need to aggressively change a ton. We’re trying to get to 27 outs, we’re
trying to get to as many wins. If the starters get the bulk of those outs,
great. If I’ve got to go to the pen early I have the reinforcements. Most of the
time in September you don’t worry about running out of pitching.”The Angels on
Saturday selected the contract of veteran right-hander Junichi Tazawa from
Triple-A Salt Lake. Tazawa is the fifth Japanese native in club history,
including Ohtani. He signed as a free agent with the Angels on July
13.Tazawa [url=http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-jedd-gyorko-jersey]http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-jedd-gyorko-jersey[/url] ,
32, spent his first seven seasons in the majors with the Boston Red Sox,
finishing 17-20 with a 3.58 ERA and four saves in 56 appearances (four starts)
from 2009 to 2016. He subsequently made 16 appearances with the Miami Marlins in
parts of two seasons before being released May 21 and went 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA
in seven games with Salt Lake.“He still has plenty of velocity, spins the ball
really well, and he’s a veteran pitcher that can make pitches,” Scioscia said.
“He threw the ball well down below and hopefully he’ll continue to bring it up
here and throw the ball with the consistency that he has.”