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.”