WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF AUGUST

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1 WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF AUGUST 29, 2018 Shields solid in 400th start, but lead slips away Scott Merkin, MLB.com Anderson thriving since McEwing's challenge Scott Merkin, MLB.com Walker 'thankful' to be playing pro ball Scott Merkin, MLB.com In My Words: Pierzynski on life in the booth A.J. Pierzynski, MLB.com Tim Anderson injured after collision with Nicky Delmonico, Michael Walton, NBC Sports Chicago Kris Bryant on Eloy Jimenez's wait to get promoted: 'There's nothing else you can do'' Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune White Sox blow 4-run lead in 5-4 loss to Yankees to snap 4-game win streak Mike Fitzpatrick, Chicago Tribune Eloy Jimenez saying he belongs with White Sox with his bat Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun Times Omar Narváez s breakout year clouds White Sox s future catching picture in a good way James Fegan, The Athletic Why the White Sox aren t giving up on Yoán Moncada s right-handed hitting anytime soon James Fegan, The Athletic Shields solid in 400th start, but lead slips away By Scott Merkin / MLB.com / August 28, 2018 NEW YORK -- As James Shields was talking to the media following the White Sox 5-4 walk-off loss to the Yankees on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, right fielder Avisail Garcia walked by and gave him a pat on the back. It was a hang with 'em sort of gesture, as Shields pitched well enough to win in sweltering conditions featuring a 96-degree first-pitch temperature. But the bullpen couldn't hold a 4-2 lead, and in the process, the four-game winning streak for the White Sox (52-80) came to an end. View Full Game Coverage Shields' start actually ended the same way every road start since Opening Day has gone for the righthander -- without a victory. He allowed two runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings, as Shields became the 134th pitcher in Major League history to reach 400 starts. Seattle's Felix Hernandez joined him in that exclusive club later Tuesday evening. "Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty proud of that. I never really thought about it until before this season," said Shields of the 400 starts. "I knew I was going to have a chance to hit it as long as I stayed healthy all year. I was able to hit it. I'm just proud of the hard work I've put in my entire career, and to be able to get to 400 is pretty special." New York won the game via Neil Walker's pinch-hit home run in the ninth. It came with one out and on the first pitch from Dylan Covey (4-12), who was making his third relief appearance after 17 starts this season. White Sox manager Rick Renteria doesn't believe the adjustment to the bullpen has been a tough one for the right-hander despite Tuesday's outcome.

2 "You need to get outs. It just happens to be the ball went out of the ballpark to end the game. You still have to get outs," Renteria said. "That's the one thing that we try to make sure pitchers understand. Outs are outs, regardless of the inning. "Everybody makes it more dependent on the situation, the leverage. You're going to go in there and hopefully focus on trying to execute, and I think dealing with the inning for him, I don't think he was thinking about it. I think he was trying to make a pitch and he didn't make it. To be honest, that was it." Through the top of the sixth inning, the Yankees had scored two runs on four hits while committing five errors over the first two games of this series. But they quickly sliced into a 4-0 deficit via Miguel Andujar's two-run home run off a Shields sinker that caught too much of the plate with two outs in the bottom half of the frame. The Yankees tied the score in the eighth when Giancarlo Stanton singled off Juan Minaya and Aaron Hicks crushed a two-run homer to right. The four-run lead was built by the White Sox off Lance Lynn on a Garcia RBI double in the fifth, and then three more scored in the sixth. All three runs in the sixth came with two outs, courtesy of Yolmer Sanchez's RBI single up the middle and Nicky Delmonico's two-run single to left. It wasn't enough to end this prolonged road winless streak for Shields, who ranks third in the Majors with 176 1/3 innings pitched. "Unfortunately, my record is not really showing how I've pitched this year, but overall I'm really pleased with my season," Shields said. "Sometimes that happens. So, I've been grinding all year. I'm going as deep as I can every single game." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Anderson leaves early: Tim Anderson was replaced by Jose Rondon in the ninth inning after Anderson and Delmonico collided chasing a Greg Bird popup with a runner on second and two outs in the eighth. Anderson appeared to call for the ball all the way, but Delmonico slid into him at the last second, causing Anderson to trip over him. The White Sox listed Anderson as day to day with a bruised left ankle. "Looked like I think a little bump on his ankle. He was walking. He developed a little lump on there. I'm assuming he'll be fine," Renteria said. "He was trying to call it and then Nicky tried to slide underneath him. When he slid underneath him, it looked like he clipped him on his ankle. That was it." SOUND SMART Sanchez has reached base in a career-high 16 straight games. HE SAID IT "We've been playing really good baseball over the last month really, putting together some series wins. That's a game we can't let go right there. That's a learning process for these guys, and situational pitching is very important in this game. We have to do a better job of that." -- Shields UP NEXT Right-hander Reynaldo Lopez is scheduled to make his 27th start of the season, 15th on the road and second vs. the Yankees in Wednesday's series finale, with a first pitch of 6:05 p.m. CT at Yankee Stadium. CC Sabathia, who is 19-6 lifetime against the White Sox, starts for the Yankees. Lopez is 0-4 with a 6.70 ERA in his past nine starts and has received a no-decision in each of his last five outings. Anderson thriving since McEwing's challenge By Scott Merkin / MLB.com / August 28, 2018

3 NEW YORK -- It was approximately six weeks ago when White Sox bench coach Joe McEwing challenged shortstop Tim Anderson. Actually they sort of challenged each other. "I said how proud I was of him from where he started as a player, as a person, as a family member and as a member of the community, and how well he's matured and got to this level," McEwing said. "Let's take it to the next level now. "And he has. I couldn't be happier for him. I couldn't be prouder of him. He's learning so much about himself. But he's just going out there and playing. He's not playing to make a mistake. He's playing without one ounce of fear right now. He's playing with total confidence." McEwing was focused on Anderson's defense, but his entire game really could be viewed in that manner. Anderson is on pace to become the first White Sox shortstop with at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season. He had a six-game hitting streak entering Tuesday and was using his legs as well as his bat for team success. As for his defense, McEwing equates Anderson's current state to a player in a pickup basketball game who wants the ball and wants to score. "He's free, he's loose," McEwing said. "He makes a mistake and he knows what he has done and he's accountable for it. The body language from where it was to where it is now, it's on a whole different level." Plays such as the one Anderson made deep in the hole Monday to take away a hit look spectacular. In reality, Anderson regularly practices them with McEwing. "When game time comes, they become [easier] but not easy. The more reps I get, I feel like I can get a lot better, too," Anderson said. "Just really being out here and knowing my range and knowing the guys beside me, kind of just really doing my work and taking pride in it." Moncada looking up the middle Yoan Moncada's game-tying double and hard-hit grounder deflected by Masahiro Tanaka for an out Monday were not hit up the middle by accident. It's a concerted effort being shown by the switch-hitting second baseman. "That has been my approach recently," said Moncada through interpreter Billy Russo. "Just think to hit the ball through the middle instead of pulling the ball." "He's trying to stay on the ball," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "He's trying to keep his head over the baseball a little bit more, stay behind the ball, seeing it a little better. He has a ways to go to where he ultimately will be in his all-around play. But he has shown some big improvements on both sides, and I think he'll chip away." Third to first Carlos Rodon has made nine straight quality starts while allowing five hits or fewer, the longest such streak by a White Sox pitcher since at least His.178 opponents' batting average this season would rank second in the American League with the required innings, and his 2.70 ERA would rank fourth. Adam Engel has improved his batting average in each of the last two months. He was hitting.296 in August entering Tuesday after batting.254 in July and.228 in June. Walker 'thankful' to be playing pro ball By Scott Merkin / MLB.com / August 28, 2018 NEW YORK -- In Steele Walker's past three games for Class A Kannapolis, the left-handed-hitting outfielder has four hits, two home runs and eight RBIs.

4 But here's the strange fact related to this South Atlantic League outburst: the numbers ultimately don't matter to the charismatic 22-year-old. Of course, these statistics someday will help define what sort of player Walker has become. As a secondround selection in the 2018 Draft out of the University of Oklahoma, that time presently has been superseded by Walker simply getting adjusted to life as a professional. "I know results are everything in this game, but for me right now, they don't mean anything, to be completely real," said Walker during a recent phone interview. "I'm trying to get comfortable again, playing the game every day again. "That's my main focus. I don't need to try to hit 10 [homers] in these few games I have. It's just getting back into the swing, go to instructs and learn what I can and try to continue to get better and go in and have a healthy offseason." Getting healthy became part of the first-year adjustment for Walker, who entered the organization with a right oblique strain. The injury took place after Oklahoma's last game of the regular season, so Walker missed the Big 12 Tournament and the week of the regional. Even after Walker signed and came to Arizona, the oblique still needed time to heal. "So, it ended up being over a month of really no baseball," Walker said. "We are kind of still getting back into it." Many pundits, along with White Sox front office members, believe the team picked up first-round talent with the 46th overall pick, a player entering with a true pure hit tool. Walker counts himself as one of those believers. "It was a little surprising to fall where I did. But on the bright side, I'm thankful to be valued by them in that way," Walker said. "I agree with them. I feel the same way they do. "That's how I saw myself. I couldn't be more pleased ending up with the White Sox. They respect my game and appreciate me for the player that I am. What more can you ask?" Walker has a combined.224 average to go with five homers, six doubles and six stolen bases over '18 stops with the Arizona Rookie League squad, Rookie-level Great Falls and Kannapolis. There will be time for closer number-watching as the outfielder's career develops, but life is more about learning the professional way. Walker's life with the White Sox is different from his collegiate time. In fact, in some ways, he finds it easier. "You see the College World Series and you think, 'It's so cool,' and it is. It definitely is. But you are going from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in college if you don't have a game. That's just a practice day," Walker said. "In pro ball, you play every day, but wouldn't you rather play every day than practice? 100 percent. "Once you get to the field, you are working. It's awesome. It's a job I'm thankful to be able to pursue. I've loved it. It's refreshing to be able to play baseball and just play the game. You show up to the park, you know you are going to play and enjoy the atmosphere that pro ball has. "We can just focus on the ball. I don't have to stay up and write a paper," Walker said. "You are expected more to perform here. But in college, your plate is so full. It's tough, man. Obviously, it matures you and it grows you. You can't get those years anywhere else. I'm very thankful." In My Words: Pierzynski on life in the booth

5 By A.J. Pierzynski/ MLB.com / August 28, 2018 Sunday is going to be a special day. I will be in the booth with Hawk for the White Sox-Boston game. First of all, it's going to be fun. His family will be there. My family will be there. It also will be a little emotional, and knowing it is Hawk's last year, I'm sure we will have some tears flowing. We won't try to hold them back. I've known Hawk for a long time, and he definitely had a huge stake in me becoming a White Sox in He also has been a big help to me in my current role as a baseball analyst for Fox. Whenever Hawk watches a game I'm doing, he says, "Hey, just be yourself. You know what you're talking about. You know how to play baseball." He's said if you're genuine, people will respect you for it. It's worked so far. It's been a good way to go about this job. I'm thankful for his advice. Fox has been great. They've been nothing but positive. They've done everything to help me out. They're trying to teach me what the ropes are. I'm still involved in baseball, which is great. I get to go on TV and talk baseball for three hours. It's not too bad. Baseball looks a lot easier from the booth, but I know it's very hard. I always try to remember that. When I call a game, the best 15 minutes of the day is when we get to talk to the managers. You learn so much. Most of these guys are really good, and they open up to you. As a player, you don't get to talk to a lot of managers. When you can sit down and talk to them, you're pretty amazed at what they say and what they look for in a game. Often, I'm like, "Whoa, I didn't think about that." Or I didn't realize what was said behind closed doors. If I had known some of those things when I was playing, I would have been a better player. I get asked a lot if I ever would want to be a manager or coach. I wouldn't change what I'm doing now. I still get to travel to do games, but I'm home a lot to be with the kids. Now tomorrow, something can change. My son asks me all the time, "Dad, why did you stop playing?" My son misses it probably more than I do, because he got to hang out in the clubhouse. I'm sure he would love for me to get back into the game. Right now, it's not something I'm looking to do. Then again, if a team said, "Hey, we want you to be our big league manager," it would be pretty hard to turn down that job. Plenty of guys have gone from the booth to being manager. Aaron Boone is doing it this year with the Yankees. Bob Brenly did it with Arizona. I once talked to him about it. He said something I'll always keep in mind: "As much as I love managing, one good thing about being in the booth is win or lose, when I go home, I'm not nearly as upset. I want my team to win, but it's not my job on the line." One great thing that happened to me is being associated with the White Sox again as a team ambassador. I always consider myself a White Sox. That's where I won a World Series. It's been terrific to meet with the fans and spread some goodwill. With the Sox in a rebuild, you try to keep the fans positive and looking forward to what's coming. The Sox are definitely going in the right direction, and they've done a great job of lining up prospects. They have 25 prospects, and if four or five of them hit, you've done a great job. You never know what's going to happen, but they have put themselves in position with depth and quality prospects to do it quickly and make it special again. It's great that people respect what you did on the field. It means more to my kids. I knew what kind of career I had, but they were still relatively young. Now they get to see first-hand how the fans react to me. It's nice to be able to give back to an organization that gave so much to me.

6 Tim Anderson injured after collision with Nicky Delmonico By Michael Walton/NBC Sports Chicago / August 28, 2018 The White Sox were looking to come out of Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night with a five-game winning streak, instead they came out with a walk-off loss and some injury woes. Yankees second baseman Neil Walker came in as a pitch-hitter for Ronald Torreyes in the bottom of the ninth, and hit the go-ahead home run to give New York a 5-4 victory in game two of the three game series at Yankee Stadium. The injury to Tim Anderson came in the bottom of the 8th inning, when Nicky Delmonico and Anderson both made a run at a shallow fly ball in left field. Anderson made the catch for the out, but he and Delmonico got tied up, with the latter seemingly taking the worst of it. As Delmonico came up limping on his way back to the dugout, many onlookers wondered what his status was, which is what made the Anderson news all the more surprising. In the bottom of the 9th, Rick Renteria brought in José Rondón to close out the game at shortstop. With Anderson s ankle injury being listed as day-to-day, there is no word yet on if he will play in tomorrow s game closing out the Yankees series in New York. Kris Bryant on Eloy Jimenez's wait to get promoted: 'There's nothing else you can do' By Paul Sullivan/ Chicago Tribune / August 28, 2018 Kris Bryant can empathize with Eloy Jimenez as the White Sox prospect waits for the start of his majorleague career. It was 3½ years ago that Bryant was tearing up Cactus League pitching in spring training after dominating in Triple A, only to be sent back down to Iowa at the start of the 2015 season for the sole purpose of ensuring he would be Cubs property for seven years instead of six. It was a wise business move on the Cubs part and didn t affect the timeline of their rebuild, but that didn t make it any easier for Bryant to stomach. You obviously understand it, but I m sure Eloy is going to disagree with it, too, because there comes a point where it s like, What else can you do? Bryant said. I don t know his numbers. I m sure he s tearing it up. I look back on my time at Double A and Triple A (in 2014), and it was like.330 with 40 homers. There s nothing else you can do. The Sox, who beat the Yankees on Monday for their 10th win in 13 games, haven t made a decision on whether to make Jimenez a September call-up. General manager Rick Hahn repeatedly has said service-time considerations will not factor into the decision. But Jimenez continues to make it hard for the Sox to keep him at Triple-A Charlotte. He went 4-for-4 Monday night and was hitting.378 in 49 games with 11 home runs and a OPS since his promotion from Double-A Birmingham. Entering Tuesday, he s hitting.346 with 21 home runs and 74 RBI in 102 games combined at Birmingham and Charlotte. Jimenez wrote last week in a Player s Tribune article I m ready, and looking at the numbers, it s hard to dispute that logic.

7 Bryant knew he was ready in 2014 when the Cubs declined to make him a September call-up. He had hit.325 with 43 home runs and 110 RBI at Double-A Tennessee and Iowa, but the rebuild was still in Year Three and hadn t turned a corner. Oh, for sure (I was ready), he said. Obviously there were some things I needed to work on. I felt defensively I was fine but just making contact. It s interesting looking at the White Sox and them being out of it too. The Cubs were kind of in the same situation in I don t know how they re going to approach it, but I know the kid is going to be a stud for a long time. Hahn said recently stats don t tell everything about whether a player is ready, and all boxes need to be checked. While you can look at a stat line or you can look at a box score and say, This guy looks like he s doing well, looks like he s ready, our checklist that we want these guys to answer is a little more lengthy than that, Hahn said. And not until they ve answered all those questions we have for them at the minorleague level will we promote them. The Braves sent the majors top prospect, Ronald Acuna, back to Triple-A Gwinnett in spring training this year after he had played only 54 games at the Triple-A level in We just want him to get into the flow, keep doing what he was doing and he'll find his way back here, hopefully very soon, GM Alex Anthopoulos said of Acuna. Acuna continued to excel in the minors, as expected, and the Braves called him up after he played 23 games in Gwinnett. He s now having a Rookie of the Year-type season, helping the Braves to first place in the NL East. And the Braves also get seven years out of him before free agency instead of six because they waited for Acuna to get into the flow. READ MORE: 'I m beyond ready. I ve been waiting to play pro ball in Chicago since I was 11 years old.'» If you re looking at the best reason not to promote Jimenez, it would be to give him that extra year in a Sox uniform. It happened to Bryant, and it also has happened to the Yankees Gleyber Torres and others. Blue Jays prospect Vladimir Guerreo Jr. also hasn t been called up and he s by far the best prospect in the minors. I wasn t the first and I won t be the last, Bryant said of the growing trend toward keeping top prospects in the minors. But Michael Kopech s call-up and the buzz surrounding it have helped the Sox salvage something from a lost season. Every time he starts the rest of the season, Sox fans will pay attention. Soon a decision on Jimenez will have to be made as well. He s a stud, Bryant said. I know we got (Jose Quintana) for him and Q has been great for us, but the White Sox are certainly going to be a team to compete with over the next couple years. It ll be exciting. White Sox blow 4-run lead in 5-4 loss to Yankees to snap 4-game win streak By Mike Fitzpatrick/ Chicago Tribune / August 28, 2018 Through the first 14 innings of their homestand, the Yankees had five errors and four hits. A restless crowd was booing the team in pinstripes on a 96-degree night. Then all of a sudden, the Bronx Bombers snapped out of it in a big way.

8 Pinch-hitter Neil Walker connected for a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, and New York rallied from a four-run deficit to defeat the White Sox 5-4 on Tuesday. "It's not easy for us right now," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "We're kind of grinding through some things. It's a tough stretch. But these guys continue to find a way." Aaron Hicks hit a tying homer in the eighth and rookie Miguel Andujar also had a two-run shot to help the injury-depleted Yankees win for the ninth time in 11 games. With the second-best record in the majors (84-48), they remained 6½ games behind first-place Boston in the AL East. Walker batted for Ronald Torreyes with one out and launched the first pitch he saw from Dylan Covey (4-12) way over the right-center wall for his ninth home run of the season. As he neared home plate, Walker tossed his helmet high in the air and was swarmed by happy teammates. "As a pinch-hitter, you try to assume that the first pitch you see is going to be the best pitch you see. You try to be aggressive, just try to be on time," explained Walker, who acknowledged the Yankees are tired. "That's obviously as much as you can ask for tonight." With the Yankees down by two, Giancarlo Stanton singled leading off the eighth to stop an 0-for-14 slide. Hicks drove a full-count pitch from Juan Minaya to right and shouted toward the Yankees' dugout as he trotted to first. "Just a big relief," Brett Gardner said. "A lot of excitement." Dellin Betances (4-3) struck out two in a perfect ninth. New York was blanked on one hit by James Shields over the first five innings. Gardner began the comeback with a leadoff triple in the sixth, and Andujar connected for his 22nd homer two outs later. Shields left leading 4-2 with two on in the sixth. He remained 5-15 overall, tied with Baltimore right-hander Alex Cobb for the most losses in the majors. "Pretty good outing overall," Shields said. "Unfortunately, my record is not really showing how I've pitched this year. Sometimes that happens.... Overall, I'm really pleased with my season." Flashing signs of improvement, the young, rebuilding White Sox had won four straight and 10 of 13. "We've been playing really good baseball," Shields said. "That's a game we can't let go right there. That's a learning process for these guys, and situational pitching is very important in this game. We have to do a better job of that." The Sox chased Yankees starter Lance Lynn with consecutive two-out singles in the sixth. Yolmer Sanchez greeted Jonathan Holder with an RBI single, and Nicky Delmonico made it 4-0 when he plopped a two-run single into left field. Delmonico scored easily from first base in the fifth when Gardner bobbled Avisail Garcia's RBI double in left. Eloy Jimenez saying he belongs with White Sox with his bat By Daryl Van Schouwem/ Chicago Sun Times / August 28, 2018 Chris Getz created a stir Aug. 5 when he told a radio audience Eloy Jimenez was really close to being a major-leaguer. Oh, I m well aware of that, the White Sox director of player development said.

9 Getz, however, now knows to choose his words more carefully when it comes to Jimenez, who continues to create a stir. In his own words and with his bat the prized prospect continues to declare he s ready, especially with the way he s playing at Class AAA Charlotte. Jimenez was batting.378/.419/.628 with 11 homers and 32 RBI in 49 games through Monday. General manager Rick Hahn took the Jimenez buzz down a notch Aug. 20, when he said, Eloy is going to remain in Charlotte and we ll evaluate where he s at in the coming weeks. Jimenez, 21, who has been saying for a year he s ready for the majors, cranked it back up again last week when he wrote in The Players Tribune that he is now beyond ready. He followed that by going 12- for-18 at the plate. By Museum of Science and Industry From Finding Nemo, Cars and Brave, discover how art and science combine to create your favorite animated films in... When Jimenez s teammate Michael Kopech, 22, was called up Aug. 21, the focus shifted to the highly touted right-hander who has allowed one run in two starts for the Sox. Kopech s arrival also raised the question, why not Eloy? Why not, Rick? I have spoken on this topic numerous times already and really have nothing new to add at this time, Hahn said last week, responding via to Jimenez s Players Tribune quotes. I promise to discuss it once again once we re ready to announce the plan for the remainder of the 2018 season. That plan could be to bring Jimenez up when rosters expand in September, which is days away, while the Sox are at the beginning of a 10-game homestand. Or it could mean waiting until mid-april 2019, which would give the Sox an extra year of contract control before Jimenez hits free agency in 2024 or 25. The Cubs did the same with Kris Bryant in 2015 when it was quite obvious their future MVP third baseman was ready the previous summer. Service-time clocks are debated differently for pitchers, in part because of injury risks. There s no debate about Jimenez s performance, though. He was 18-for-29 since Kopech s debut through Monday. Talk about a why not me statement. He looks good, Getz said. He s controlling the [strike] zone, he s driving the ball to all places and physically he s moving well. He s moving better, and the defense has improved. He s making good decisions on the basepaths. It s our job to make him as well-rounded as possible, and we feel like he s doing just that. Getz can t say what the plan for Jimenez is. He would only say it s a group decision. From a development standpoint, he just continues to play well, Getz said. At [Class A] Winston-Salem, he didn t slow down, and he hasn t slowed down. He has a bright future. The Knights, who have six games left, are happy to have Jimenez, just as they loved having Carlos Rodon, Yoan Moncada and Kopech. They re the only players whose shirseys were sold at a stadium that has led minor-league baseball in attendance four of the last five years. I ve been here 13 seasons, said Knights chief operating officer Dan Rajkowski, and we ve seen prospects come through. But not to the level we ve had with Moncada, Jimenez and Kopech. These are premier, talented young players. Rajkowski sees the star quality in Jimenez that extends beyond his talent.

10 His physical frame and the way he presents himself [is notable], but what is unique is the energy he brings, Rajkowski said. He seems to have a great time playing the game. The kid has a smile on his face all the time, and he looks like a great teammate. These are things you see outside the talent. Sox fans can t wait to see it for themselves. Omar Narváez s breakout year clouds White Sox s future catching picture in a good way By James Fegan / The Athletic / August 28, 2018 Another multi-hit night in Monday s invigorating 6-2 victory in New York makes it three games in a row for Omar Narváez, who has given the White Sox the best kind of conundrum going forward: how they should handle all the plus-hitting catchers on the roster. Narváez s night pushed him up to a.288/.380/.441 batting line, which represents a career-best in every category at age 26, and makes for a 129 wrc+ in There are two catchers in baseball with more than 250 plate appearances and a higher wrc+ on the season: Francisco Cervelli and Wilson Ramos. While the White Sox are shuffling Daniel Palka, Matt Davidson and Nicky Delmonico through a LF-1B-DH rotation that will soon have to re-integrate José Abreu, just by pure single-season numbers, the most important bat to get into the lineup regularly is Narváez s, at least against right-handed pitching. We haven t seen manager Rick Renteria hand the catcher DH reps to get his bat in the lineup during his rest days, but it wouldn t be hard to justify. I m just trying to hit the ball gap to gap, middle and waiting for a pitch I can handle, said Narváez, who has mostly dismissed any notion of a major adjustment. I m trying to swing a little more, trying to become more of a swinger guy than wait a little more but still my eye will be there and I m going to keep getting my walks. At the end of the day, Narváez s batting eye has won out more often than not. He s swinging for power more he s added over 100 points in slugging, set a career high for home runs and extra base hits but swinging less often than ever (42.5 percent). From his batted ball profile, it looks like we all saw his big adjustment when he walked into Camelback Ranch in February with a more chiseled frame. It s still coupled with the highest passed ball count (12) in the league (mostly collected during the height of early-season control struggles of Carson Fulmer, Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López) and the 91st-best per pitch framing score (-.011 CSAA) out of 104 major league catchers. In all, it makes for statistically one of the weakest defensive profiles in the league, though Sox pitchers regularly praise him, and the bat has risen to a level where his defensive foibles are something any team would gladly work through. It s not like Welington Castillo (four passed balls, CSAA) was faring any better trying to frame and block the White Sox pitching staff in the early going of the season. Which brings up the crux of the matter. Castillo s eventual return has the potential to squeeze out Kevan Smith, who has provided serviceable backup catcher work (.283/.315/.370, slightly above-average framing, sage pitcher management, struggles throwing out runners) each of the past two years when called upon. With Sept. 1 coming this Saturday, that squeeze won t come this year, but the larger question is how to balance the playing time between Castillo and Narváez, who both grew accustomed to starter playing time at different points this season. Hopefully [Castillo] s healthy and continues to be the same as it s been, Renteria said when Castillo began his rehab in Triple-A Charlotte. He was managing all of our starters. We re going to have to wait until we get to that point and cross that bridge. We ll see how he s doing when he gets here and then we ll move forward. The reference to Castillo s health proved to be more than a throwaway comment, considering the White Sox placed him on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation on Aug. 23, the day he became eligible to return from his 80-game PED suspension. For now, that has saved Smith a return to Charlotte,

11 where Castillo has hit very poorly (.192/.250/.231 in seven games) as he rehabs and works to knock off the rust. Even if Castillo s September presence in Chicago is barely more than a whisper as he wraps up effectively a lost season, he s a veteran catcher who was hitting as advertised (.267/.309/.466 when he was suspended) and is owed at least another $7.75 million. At the time his positive test was announced, Castillo was soaking up two-thirds of the starts behind the plate while Narváez struggled through the worst offensive stretch of his career. Since then, Narváez has hit.329/.419/.516 while taking up a bit more than 55 percent of the starts behind the plate thanks in part to mainly avoiding left-handers and has credited more playing time for getting him back in rhythm. How much that rhythm can hold up with a smaller share of playing time, well, that s a bridge to cross when it arrives. I don t know, Narváez said. It all depends on how the team takes it when he comes back. Right now I have no idea what s going to happen, so I m just going to take care of my job right now. Castillo s suspension, beyond being an embarrassment and a bit of a wasted investment, threw the White Sox into a crisis that Narváez s offensive brilliance helped rescue them from, and that should mean something for the latter s role going forward. Overall, there s probably not many organizations that can just spurn competent major league catching, let alone above-average offense from behind the plate, so the simplest answer for now is that the Sox will find some way to make a marriage between the two in With Seby Zavala taking time to adjust to Triple-A and Zack Collins hitting.214/.332/.373 in Double-A since June 1, Rick Hahn s instincts to build a bridge in 2019 rather than relying on either of their best prospects to be ready to contribute next year are looking sharper than ever. This just might not have been his first guess of what the bridge would look like. Why the White Sox aren t giving up on Yoán Moncada s right-handed hitting anytime soon By James Fegan/ The Athletic / August 28, 2018 As the centerpiece of the Chris Sale trade, and in the middle of a trying year on both sides of the ball, Yoán Moncada is used to every one of his words being parsed for the cause of his shortcomings. This time it s following up on a quote about his superior play in high-leverage situations (.264/.304/.477 per Baseball Reference), and how he has better focus in big moments. He feels he needs to clear up that it s not that he doesn t care about smaller moments, and to be honest, he s probably not wrong. There s no overestimating how much can be misinterpreted. For me, and I guess this is the same for every ballplayer, your intensity, your focus increases in those moments, because those are the moments when the game is on the line and you are more focused on the things you need to do to perform and help your team, Moncada said through team interpreter Billy Russo, in what has to be one of his longest answers ever. I also know you can t only have that focus in that moment. You have to keep it focused through the whole game and every moment of the game if you want to perform and if you want to help your team, and if you want to be a very good baseball player. That s something that s going to come. That s something we as players have to deal with. But definitely with those moments with the game on the line, your focus is better, and it s just part of the adrenaline. There are competitors for the most worked-over topic that Moncada has to hold court on staying in front of ground balls reared its head again after a related error in Detroit but right there with it would be discussing the struggles of his right-handed swing. A.183/.262/.296 line as a righty is basically all that s keeping Moncada from a decent season of measurable progress, and the only thing keeping him standing at his locker and explaining his shortcomings regularly.

12 The results are not the ones that I wanted, but it s not because of lack of effort, Moncada said through Russo. In rare occasions, a switch hitter can feel good on both sides of the plate. Those are rare occasions, but you have to fight through when you re not feeling as good as you want to on one of the sides, and you have to take advantage of when you re feeling good on one of the sides. You have to take advantage of the moment. Ironically, Moncada has a slighty lower strikeout rate as a righty (33.6 percent compared to 34.4 percent), so it becomes an issue of stinging the hittable fastball he gets as a right-hander. One of the most reliable things about his game to date has been his ability to cover and turn on anything with velocity on the innerthird when he s hitting left-handed in contrast to his struggles to cover sliders but league scouts say he s struggling to do the same as a right-hander, and they identified the same solution as Moncada. Right now I ve been doing practically what I ve been doing the whole season, Moncada said through Russo. With two strikes, just choke up the bat, try to swing at pitches on the zone, try to defend the zone a little bit better and just try to keep my hands inside the ball and try to give a good swing. Staying inside is the crux of the matter, as extending his arms, casting his barrel out too wide and rolling over pitches is the driving factor in his ground ball rate being 19 percentage points higher as righty (50.7 percent) than as a lefty (31.5 percent). That he s struggling on sliders in the zone is one thing, but at least that is more challenging for pitchers to locate. Barreling fastballs has been his strength as a left-hander and he can t afford to struggle with it as a righty. I can t see the movement on them, I can t see the location on them, but the ones that don t break he s starting to make good contact with them, hitting coach Todd Steverson said of Moncada s fastball coverage as a right-hander. It s a body of work, I get it, but as long as you re improving, there s hope there. I think probably the last 25 right-handed at-bats, he s been pretty good. Sure enough, over the month of August, Moncada has made 24 trips to the plate as a right-hander there s still relatively few opportunities for him to get reps there and he s hitting.238/.304/.429 for a 100 wrc+. It s not jaw-dropping, and he s struck out nine times, but any evidence of some improved ability to drive the ball from that side is something. People ask a lot about Moncada ditching right-handed hitting altogether. After just over 200 plate appearances from that side in his career, the White Sox don t appear to be anywhere near that sort of decision. It s a different swing, and cutting the cord, from that sample size, on a naturally right-handed player with such raw power and bat speed would be absurd. But a small note of progress is meaningful, because as patient as the White Sox want to be, eventually not now, not next season they might need to transition from what is best for Moncada s development, and what actually puts him in the best position to contribute in a playoff race. That s more when those sorts of radical changes to commit to only left-handed hitting start to gain traction, and there s no great way to speed up his improvement as a right-hander in the meantime. Nothing s going to compete to the game, Steverson said. We don t have a guy standing 60 feet, six inches away every day in practice. You just have to train your body to be what it is, train your body to see what you see, the velocity maybe off a machine or something like that over the course of your reps, and go there and trust what you re putting together. The most important thing is being able to see it. Switching eyes, switching sides, it becomes difficult sometimes. The more you have a routine of switching sides and doing whatever, it s a lot easier. Maybe some of Moncada s high-leverage focus ultimately winds up being part of the fix. The longer the right-handed swing lags behind, the more often other teams will make a point of turning him around when the game is on the line. The reps will be good for him either way.