WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF SEPTEMBER

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1 WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF SEPTEMBER 9, 2017 Avi's HR provides offense in loss to Giants Scott Merkin and Fabian Ardaya, MLB.com Rodon placed on DL; out for rest of 2017 Scott Merkin, MLB.com Giolito ejected by plate ump as he exits start Scott Merkin, MLB.com Shields looks to end shaky run of starts vs. SF Fabian Ardaya, MLB.com Race to the bottom? With Giants in town, thinking about No. 1 pick and another high-profile addition to White Sox rebuild Vinnie Duber, CSN Chicago Carlos Rodon's 2017 season is over as he heads to the disabled list with shoulder inflammation Vinnie Duber, CSN Chicago Carlos Rodon's latest injury spawns many questions and few answers about his future and future of White Sox rebuild Vinnie Duber, CSN Chicago With 7-2 loss to Giants, White Sox gain ground in race to the bottom Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune White Sox shut down starter Carlos Rodon with left shoulder inflammation Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune White Sox say Carlos Rodon done for the season, lose to Giants Brian Sandalow, Chicago Sun-Times Even with Giants in town, draft position not on Rick Renteria s mind Brian Sandalow, Chicago Sun-Times White Sox shut down Rodon for season Scot Gregor, Daily Herald Giolito ejected in White Sox's 9-2 loss to Giants Scot Gregor, Daily Herald Carlos Rodon done for the season with shoulder inflammation James Fegan, The Athletic By the numbers: White Sox air grievances, but lose badly James Fegan, The Athletic Sandoval snaps 0 for 38 with HR as Giants top White Sox 9-2 Associated Press White Sox's Tyler Saladino stands for national anthem during rehearsal Arthur Weinstein, Sporting News Nicky Delmonico's Rollercoaster Trek from Suspended Addict to Rookie MLB Stud Seth Gruen, Bleacher Report Avi's HR provides offense in loss to Giants By Scott Merkin and Fabian Ardaya / MLB.com September 9, 2017 CHICAGO -- Matt Moore allowed two runs over 6 2/3 innings and Pablo Sandoval had a home run and four RBIs to lead the Giants to a 9-2 victory over the White Sox on Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field. It was Moore's first start since Aug. 29, having worked two scoreless innings of relief against the Cardinals on Sept. 3. Moore won for just the second time in his last eight decisions and for the first time since Aug. 18. It was his first quality start since a run of three straight from Aug He had 22 balls in play with an average exit velocity of 83.4 mph, 11 called strikes and just eight swings and misses per Statcast. "I threw some of the better [changeups] I've thrown all year, and there were some I got away with," Moore said. "I'd say it was there seven out of every 10 times I threw it or so. I thought I had a good breaking ball. I was able to get the cutter into righties and fastball into some lefties there." His main offensive support came from Sandoval, who hit a three-run home run off of White Sox starter Lucas Giolito with two outs in the fourth. Sandoval's drive to right broke a 0-for-39 slide. Denard Span hit his 11th home run to highlight a three-run ninth inning for San Francisco. "They were just happy for [Pablo]," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "That's a tough skid he was in, and to break it like that. That's a good way to come out of it. He got all of it, too. Nice swing there." Giolito allowed five runs, with three earned, over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five, walked four and had 11 swings and misses of his 107 pitches. Five of them came off of Giolito's fastball, which averaged 92 mph on the night, per Statcast. "The big glaring thing was not commanding the changeup as well as I usually do," Giolito said. "And then from there just falling behind too many batters. The pitch count got way up there, a lot of 2-1 and 3-2 counts. I wish I did a better job of getting ahead of guys and putting them away."

2 The night ended twice in the sixth for Giolito. First, White Sox manager Rick Renteria replaced him with reliever Aaron Bummer, and after exchanging words with home-plate umpire Gabe Morales, Giolito was ejected. Moments later, Renteria also was ejected by crew chief Eric Cooper. Avisail Garcia's 15th homer in the fourth provided the White Sox their two runs off of Moore. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Gearrin Up: Moore left the game with a four-run lead and the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh with Jose Abreu coming to the plate against Cory Gearrin. Gearrin ran a 92.4-mph sinker in on Abreu's hands, getting the slugger to ground out, halting the White Sox rally. "Huge," Moore said. "He's probably done that six, seven times this season already, coming in with the bases loaded, and it's not like you're coming in with bases loaded facing anybody. That's their best hitter over there, and he did a great job." Panda Express: The Giants' third baseman continued a miserable stretch at the plate Friday in his first at-bat, flying out to left field to extend his skid to 0-for the longest stretch in Giants history for a position player since at least 1900, and the longest of any position player in the Majors since Coco Crisp also had an 0-for-39 stretch between the seasons. Sandoval snapped out of it in a big way in the fourth, though, driving an 82-mph changeup from Giolito 413 feet, according to Statcast, to give San Francisco a 3-0 lead. "One of those balls were going to fall one day," Sandoval said. "You're not going to be 0-for-100, so just focus up there, try to keep working hard in the cage. Put a great performance in the game, that's what I was looking for. Hopefully they keep falling for me." QUOTABLE "He was walking away. I didn't think it was so egregious. I think mine was more true to being tossed." -- Renteria, on his ejection following Giolito's "With Pablo, nothing about me wanted to stop talking to him, cutting up with him. He's got a good energy, and always brings it. When you are going back and people start to leave you alone, I think I go the opposite. I try to keep it light, make a joke out of something here and there. It ain't easy. Hitting, I think, is harder than pitching, and I'm a pitcher saying that. It's all on your plate. You're either going to do it or not." -- Moore, on Sandoval UPON FURTHER REVIEW The Giants looked to take advantage of Chicago's second error in the first two innings by sending Mac Williamson to steal second base on White Sox catcher Kevan Smith. After umpires originally ruled that Williamson beat shortstop Tim Anderson's tag, the White Sox challenged that Williamson came off the base and Anderson's tag stayed on him. The call was overturned after a minute-long review, and the inning was over. WHAT'S NEXT Giants: Jeff Samardzija will make his first start against his former team at 4:10 p.m. PT on Saturday. "The Shark" pitched with the White Sox in 2015 and has pitched at least six innings in eight straight starts. White Sox: Despite taking a line drive off of his right knee in Monday's start against Cleveland, James Shields will take his regular turn Saturday for a 6:10 p.m. CT first pitch against the Giants. Shields is winless in his last 11 starts, going 0-5 with a 6.64 ERA. Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV. Rodon placed on DL; out for rest of 2017 Alburquerque, Volstad have contracts purchased from Triple-A By Scott Merkin / MLB.com September 8, 2017 CHICAGO -- Carlos Rodon will not pitch again for the White Sox during the 2017 season, with the southpaw being placed on the disabled list as announced by the team prior to Friday's 9-2 loss to the Giants.

3 An MRI on Friday afternoon showed left shoulder inflammation for Rodon, and the plan is for him to be re-evaluated next week. He was scratched with left shoulder tightness 25 minutes before his scheduled start on Thursday against the Indians. "We'll see. Still evaluating," Rodon said. "I'll definitely be back to pitch next year, no doubt about that. Just try to get healthy and figure out the problem." "We're just being extremely cautious," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "[Rodon is] a very important piece for us moving forward. We'll just see how it continues to progress as he settles into some downtime right now." Rodon, 24, posted a 4.15 ERA over 12 starts this season, with 76 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings. He had a 3.00 ERA over his last seven outings, with 45 strikeouts in 45 innings. Rodon's first start in 2017 didn't come until June 28 after he missed the first three months of the season due to biceps bursitis. The southpaw didn't feel right on Thursday when he started warming up, and he said this most recent MRI showed the same results as one done at the end of Spring Training. "For the future of the team and my future, I think it's the best thing, the best way to go about it," Rodon said. "I mean it's tough news to take, but there's not much I can do about it. "Had some good starts, had a good run. Would've been nice to keep going, but these things happen and just got to get better." Mike Pelfrey picked up the slack on Thursday with Rodon scratched, throwing 96 pitches. Between the emergency start and Tuesday's 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, Pelfrey has thrown 136 pitches. That usage, along with an extended outing by Chris Beck and catcher Rob Brantly being forced to throwing an inning on Thursday, led to right-handed hurlers Chris Volstad and Al Alburquerque having their contracts purchased by the White Sox from Triple-A Charlotte on Friday. The moves raised the active roster total to 30 and the 40-man roster to 40. Alburquerque, 31, combined to go 2-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 37 2/3 innings, with 43 strikeouts over 32 relief appearances in Triple-A this season. He needed one pitch to record the final out in the top of the ninth in his White Sox debut Friday. Volstad, 30, went 3-10 with a 5.57 ERA in 27 appearances (18 starts) for Charlotte this season, his second in the White Sox system. He has not pitched in a big league game since June 24, 2015, when he was with the Pirates. "We can use him in any number of ways," Renteria said of Volstad, adding that Alburquerque's big league experience also provides the White Sox bullpen depth over the final three weeks. "He's going to give us some flexibility. We'll deal with him as we need to, and I'm sure he's happy to be here and wants to contribute in any way he can." Giolito ejected by plate ump as he exits start Renteria tossed after defending right-hander, who allowed 5 runs to Giants By Scott Merkin / MLB.com September 8, 2017 CHICAGO -- Lucas Giolito didn't think his actions on Friday night warranted his first career ejection. But the big right-hander understood why home-plate umpire Gabe Morales made the decision to toss him, even after he had been removed from the White Sox 9-2 loss to the Giants at Guaranteed Rate Field. "Yeah, I didn't think I said anything to warrant an ejection," Giolito said. "I just wanted to kind of let him know I thought he missed some calls throughout the night. But to a certain extent, you have to stand up for yourself. Just said one too many things." Giolito was headed toward the third-base dugout after walking Hunter Pence on a 3-2 fastball which appeared to be in the zone. If that 3-2 pitch was called a strike, Brandon Crawford was an easy out attempting to steal second base, and the inning would have been over. Instead, Pence walked, Crawford moved to second and Buster Posey raced home from third on what was ruled a fielder's choice. That important moment produced Giolito's parting words to Morales, eventually leading to the right-hander rushing forcefully toward Morales after being issued the ejection.

4 White Sox manager Rick Renteria quickly raced from the mound, where he had replaced Giolito with Aaron Bummer, to try to diffuse the situation, while Giolito was moved away from home plate. Renteria continued the argument until crew chief Eric Cooper also tossed him. Renteria now has seven ejections this season and 13 for his career. "Obviously, [Giolito] was sharing his thoughts with the umpire, with Gabriel," Renteria said. "'Coop' was doing a great job trying to keep me in, to be honest. It didn't happen. It's just like anything: A pitcher in the heat of the battle, he's walking off the hill, was sharing some of his emotion." After allowing one run and striking out 14 over 14 innings in his last two starts combined, Giolito allowed five runs (three earned) over 5 1/3 innings Friday. He struck out five and walked four, but his exit ended up being almost as noteworthy as his fourth White Sox start. "Basically, I just told him that I wish he would have worked me a little bit better, but that's about it," Giolito said. "I felt like I threw a few pitches that were clearly in the strike zone that he called balls throughout the night, especially the last one." Shields looks to end shaky run of starts vs. SF By Fabian Ardaya / MLB.com September 8, 2017 The Shark is back in Chi-Town. Jeff Samardzija will square off against his old team Saturday as he takes the mound against right-hander James Shields and the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Giants' workhorse grew up 30 minutes from the White Sox ballpark looking up to former slugger Ron Kittle. Samardzija played for the White Sox in 2015, going with a 4.96 ERA in 32 starts, before signing with San Francisco as a free agent before the '16 season. Samardzija, who was drafted by the Cubs, will be making his first start against the White Sox since leaving the organization. "He was a horse," said White Sox manager Rick Renteria, who managed Samardzija while both were with the Cubs in "Big, strong man who could go out there and eat up some innings with some good stuff.... He's a guy with a power arm." Samardzija has been in a strong stretch, pitching at least six innings in each of his last eight starts and allowing three or fewer earned runs in seven of those outings. He picked up his first shutout since Sept. 21, 2015, on Aug. 28 against the Padres. "He's just gotten in such a great rhythm out there," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "The confidence he's gotten this year [has come from] throwing strikes, throwing quality strikes. Jeff, he's one of those guys you can ride. He's a horse that can log a lot of innings and pitches for you. He's getting to be more of a complete pitcher and using all of his pitches." Shields (2-6, 5.72 ERA) had a shaky start on Monday against the Indians. He took a mph line drive off the bat of Indians catcher Francisco Mejia off his right knee and sustained a contusion that caused him to leave the game after allowing four runs in 6 1/3 innings. Shields is 0-5 with a 6.22 ERA in 10 starts since the All-Star break. Three things to know about the game Buster Posey will likely be the Giants' designated hitter on Saturday. He missed Wednesday's game against Colorado with a bruised right ring finger and returned in Friday's opener, hitting third as the DH. The White Sox have slow-played the return of MLBPipeline.com's top prospect, Yoan Moncada, who was activated off the disabled list this week after dealing with a right shin contusion. Since being activated on Tuesday, Moncada has started three of the White Sox four games. "We'll see how he finishes after tonight's game and then we'll make a determination as to what he's going to do tomorrow," Renteria said. "I think he's been OK." Entering Friday's game, in the 63 games in which the Giants have scored four or more runs, they are They are when they score three or fewer.

5 Race to the bottom? With Giants in town, thinking about No. 1 pick and another high-profile addition to White Sox rebuild By Vinnie Duber / CSN Chicago September 8, 2017 The race to the bottom kicks into high gear this weekend on the South Side. No, there won t be the same sort of atmosphere that accompanies the actual pennant races happening elsewhere around the league at this time of year, but you could argue that the stakes are similarly high for the teams with two of the three worst records in baseball. The White Sox and the visiting San Francisco Giants are a combined 67.5 games out of first place in their divisions, at the tail end of a couple last-place seasons, but they ll be fighting for the No. 1 pick in next summer s draft this weekend and throughout the remainder of September. Both are competing with the team with baseball s worst record, the Philadelphia Phillies, and all three squads are within a game and a half of each other at the bottom of baseball s standings. Now, as manager Rick Renteria explained and as you surely could have guessed, obviously these teams aren t trying to lose to improve their draft position. It s been a tough year in all three cities. The White Sox are in the early stages of their rebuild. The Phillies are trying to crawl out of theirs. And the Giants are having a very uncharacteristic season after failing to make it four straight Even Year championships last October. Getting the No. 1 pick isn t on the minds of those in either of the dugouts this weekend at Guaranteed Rate Field. I think their club and our club and every club that plays Major League Baseball tries to go out honestly and tries to perform well, tries to win a ballgame, Renteria said. I think all those things take care of themselves. They re not something I think about, worry about, concern myself with. My biggest concern is, are the players doing what they re supposed to do, are they gaining experience and knowledge and are they dealing with situations that occur at any given moment properly? And the rest, it is what it is. But while the managers and players aren t thinking about next year s draft, the fans certainly are. And while there will be nothing that happens this weekend that affects baseball s exciting pennant races, it s anything but a meaningless trio of games, as it could have a huge impact on who gets to pick first next June. That provides some reason to pay attention over the final month of the season as the White Sox finish out a last-place campaign. Getting the No. 1 pick could be huge, obviously, as it would give Rick Hahn a golden opportunity to add a franchisechanging player to his already remarkable cadre of highly ranked prospects in the minor leagues. Top picks over the past decade and a half have included some of baseball s best players: Carlos Correa, Gerrit Cole, Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, David Price, Justin Upton and Joe Mauer. Imagine adding someone like that to an existing group of prospects that includes Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Eloy Jimenez, Alec Hansen, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Dane Dunning and Luis Robert. But while the race to the bottom is a moderately fun thing to follow over the season s final month, it s important to note that no matter the White Sox pick, there will be opportunity to add an incredible talent as well as the usual pitfalls of a guy not panning out. There have been No. 1 busts like Bryan Bullinger, Matt Bush and Luke Hochevar. And similarly there have been perennial All Stars taken at Nos. 2 and 3: Kris Bryant, Mike Moustakas, Alex Gordon and Justin Verlander were No. 2 picks, while Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer and Evan Longoria all went at No. 3. The White Sox spent a No. 3 pick on Carlos Rodon three years ago, and they re hoping he ll be at the top of their rotation of the future. It might be fun this weekend to follow the standings closely and see if the White Sox can better position themselves for the first choice in the draft. But at the same time remember that this last-place season s silver lining means a pick at the top of that draft, even if it s not the first one. And as history has shown, there s franchise-altering talent to be found at one, two and three. So get ready for another high-profile addition to the White Sox rebuild. Carlos Rodon's 2017 season is over as he heads to the disabled list with shoulder inflammation By Vinnie Duber / CSN Chicago September 8, 2017 Carlos Rodon has thrown his last pitch in 2017.

6 The White Sox announced after the start of Friday night s game that their young starting pitcher will go on the disabled list with left shoulder inflammation and that he won t play again this season. This a night after Rodon was scratched from his scheduled start against the Cleveland Indians. He had an MRI on Friday. It s Rodon s second trip to the DL this season. He missed the first three months of the regular season with bursitis in his left biceps. While Rodon figures to factor heavily into the team s future plans in the midst of this rebuild, it s a tough sign to see him battle another injury. With the injury coming in the final month of a last-place season, shutting him down makes tons of sense regardless of how significant the injury actually is. Though there will also be some mystery as to how long it might have put him on the shelf had it come earlier in the season. Though he didn t know what was wrong with Rodon before Friday s game, manager Rick Renteria said the team will be cautious with the 23-year-old regardless of the severity of the injury. Absolutely. I think we will, with Carlos, just like any of our guys when we re concerned about or have any questions about any of them, we will always deal with them with an abundance of caution, Renteria said. He s no different. We ll see how it unfolds, and we ll proceed accordingly. Rodon, who the White Sox took with the No. 3 pick in the 2014 draft, pitched well after his first handful of starts back from his season-opening stay on the disabled list. After posting a 6.29 ERA in his first five starts, he s turned in a 3.00 ERA in his last seven outings, with 45 strikeouts in 45 innings. What impact this injury will have, if any, on Rodon s readiness for the 2018 season is unknown at this point. Rodon is expected to be a significant part of the team's future rotation, one that already includes prospects Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez. Michael Kopech is the top pitching prospect in baseball and could be a factor in next year's rotation, as well. Carlos Rodon's latest injury spawns many questions and few answers about his future and future of White Sox rebuild By Vinnie Duber / CSN Chicago September 8, 2017 Carlos Rodon s 2017 season will end the same way it began: with the White Sox potential ace of the future on the disabled list. While there are minor league arms currently staking their own claim to that title Michael Kopech is the top-ranked pitching prospect in baseball Rodon entered the picture before the rebuild was announced. So when the franchise s direction was made known this past offseason and most definitely after Chris Sale and Jose Quintana were traded away from the South Side it made sense that the 2014 draft s third overall selection would be the piece of which the rotation of the future would be centered around. Then came the 2017 season, with Rodon missing the first three months of the campaign with left biceps bursitis and then going on the disabled list again Friday, shut down for the season after an MRI revealed left shoulder inflammation. For the future of the team and my future, I think it s the best thing, the best way to go about it, Rodon said after Friday s loss to the visiting San Francisco Giants. I mean it s tough news to take, but there s not much I can do about it. While the mystery of Rodon getting scratched shortly before Thursday s scheduled start was finally solved right after Friday s game began, there s still plenty of unknowns out there about this latest injury. Will it be similar to the issue that knocked him out for months earlier this year? Or is this a more minor thing that only results in a season-ending DL stint because the White Sox are already well into the final month of a last-place season? No one seems to know yet, and Rodon is scheduled to undergo further evaluation next week. But certainly the sobriety with which Rodon discussed his injury and granted it wasn t too remarkable a departure from his usual quiet demeanor at least had to bring to mind the idea that this could potentially be another roadblock in his development. Rodon hit the big leagues less than a year after he was drafted, and while that s worked for some pitchers in the past (Sale), it hasn t always been smooth sailing for Rodon. Injuries have proven the biggest obstacles of late, and it s a logical jump to question whether Rodon needs to make some changes to avoid this kind of thing in the future.

7 I m sure that the staff, the medical staff and the doctors and everybody can kind of put their heads together and see what it is that needs to be done to see if we can clear up whatever it is that s causing the inflammation, manager Rick Renteria said. Right now, I m not a doctor so I couldn t tell you what s causing it. But we do know that something is wrong. Right now it s inflammation that he has, so they ll deal with it and again there s no rush for us to get him back at this point. The harsh question has to be asked: If the injuries keep piling up, is Rodon s status as a part of the future rotation in jeopardy? Any answer besides yes would be a difficult one to swallow, considering how high a draft pick was used to bring him to the South Side. But at the same time, that fantasy starting staff is getting crowded with names. Aside from Kopech, there s Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez already at the big league level and Dane Dunning and Alec Hansen racking up big strikeout numbers in the minors. That s five names right there. But while Rodon's 2017 campaign was far from where he or the White Sox wanted it to be because he ll end up missing almost four months of a six-month season there was plenty to salvage from when he was on the mound. After a bit of a bumpy start, Rodon settled in nicely and posted a 3.00 ERA over his final seven outings of the year. Take out a five-run clunker against the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 26, and Rodon s ERA was a dazzling 2.25 in those other six starts. Had some good starts, had a good run. Would ve been nice to keep going, Rodon said. But these things happen and just got to get better. Obviously for us we would have liked to have had him out there on the mound gaining more experience and continuing to hone his craft. But there are only certain things we can do. There s only certain things that we can control. Renteria said. At this point, it is what it is. I think as he starts to continue to recover and get back on track, hopefully for the coming season, we ll just have to make up whatever we lost and try to gain ground at that point and take advantage of the skill set that he has. So there s still a bit of a waiting game to see exactly what this injury is and exactly how impactful it will be to Rodon s future and the future of the White Sox rotation. It s a long time until spring training, meaning this issue could be well forgotten by the time camp begins in Arizona. But if indeed Rodon s latest problem has a similar effect to the one that knocked him out for months this season, then the White Sox rotation could look considerably different next season. Giolito, Lopez and the under-contract James Shields figure to be penciled in as three of the five starters. But what about Kopech? Did his dazzling minor league campaign earn him an opportunity to compete for a spot on the starting staff? And how different might that opportunity be if Rodon is still battling this issue come February and March? The White Sox seem to have a lot more questions than answers right this second, and perhaps more will be known by Monday, when Rodon is slated for his further evaluation. It s in times like this, rightly or wrongly, that speculation runs rampant. And with a team so prone to speculation about its future already almost exclusively in a positive manner, considering the minor league assets Rick Hahn has stockpiled it s near impossible not to try to play this out in your head. Unfortunately for Rodon, the White Sox, observers and fans, there seem to be plenty of blanks that still need to be filled in. With 7-2 loss to Giants, White Sox gain ground in race to the bottom By Chris Kuc / Chicago Tribune September 8, 2017 A game that had significant ramifications in the standings was played in Chicago on Friday night. On the South Side. The White Sox and Giants, holders of the third- and second-worst records in the major-leagues, respectively, entering Friday's play opened a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field that could go a long way toward determining which team gets the higher pick in the 2018 draft. Surpassing the Giants and possibly the last-place Phillies could be a big benefit for the Sox's rebuild as a top pick would be a welcomed addition to their stable of prized prospects. While many fans and likely some members of the organization are likely focusing on it, Sox manager Rick Renteria doesn't believe players on either team are affected by their places in the standings when it comes to competing.

8 "Their club and our club and every club that plays Major League Baseball tries to go out honestly and tries to perform well, tries to win a ballgame," Renteria said before the Giants handed the Sox their fifth consecutive loss, this one a 9-2 decision. "All those (draft) things take care of themselves. My biggest concern is, are the players doing what they're supposed to do, are they gaining experience and knowledge and are they dealing with situations that occur at any given moment properly? And the rest, it is what it is." What it was Friday was a sloppily-played game that resulted in the Sox dropping to a season-worst 32 games below.500 at They are a half-game behind the Giants in the race to the bottom. Rookie starter Lucas Giolito was roughed up in his fourth Sox start, going 5 1/3 innings and giving up five runs three earned on three hits with four walks and five strikeouts. After Renteria replaced him during a Giants rally, Giolito was ejected by home-plate umpire Gabe Morales for arguing balls and strikes on his way off the field. Renteria got the heaveho moments later. "I didn't think I said anything to warrant an ejection," Giolito said. "I just wanted to kind of let him know I thought he missed some calls throughout the night. To a certain extent you have to stand up for yourself." Veteran third baseman Pablo Sandoval provided the big blow for the Giants, a three-run homer in the fourth. He added another RBI later. Nick Hundley knocked in two runs and Denard Span (home run) and Brandon Crawford one each for the Giants (56-87). Avisail Garcia belted a homer for the Sox's runs. The game featured four errors, three by the Sox including two from rookie second baseman Yoan Moncada. "We didn't play very well behind (Giolito)," Renteria said. "We didn't play very good defense. We have seen our club, all these young men, play clean baseball. (Friday) wasn't one of those days." As the architect of the Sox's dramatic rebuild, general manager Rick Hahn said the team is "not focused" on its draft standing. "We're fortunate that next year projects to be a very good draft," Hahn said last week. "Whether we're picking one, three, five or whatever, we're going to wind up with a very interesting talent to add into this mix." White Sox shut down starter Carlos Rodon with left shoulder inflammation By Chris Kuc / Chicago Tribune September 8, 2017 Carlos Rodon s season is over. The White Sox starter will not pitch again in 2017 because of inflammation in his left pitching shoulder and was placed on the 10-day disabled list, the team announced Friday. "For the future of the team and for my future it's the best thing," Rodon said of being shut down for the season. "It's tough news to take but there's not much I can do about it." Rodon, who had the start of his season delayed because of left biceps bursitis before developing into the team's top starter, was scratched just before Thursday's start against the Indians with stiffness in his shoulder. That led to an MRI Friday and the results came back during the Sox's 9-2 loss to the Giants at Guaranteed Rate Field. Rodon will undergo further evaluation Monday to determine the extent of the injury. "I'll definitely be back to pitch next year," he said. "No doubt about that." In 12 starts this season, the 24-year-old Rodon went 2-5 with a 4.15 earned-run average and 76 strikeouts in 691/3 innings. Bullpen bolstered: The Sox added a couple of veteran arms to their pitching staff by purchasing the contracts of righthanders Al Alburquerque and Chris Volstad from Triple-A Charlotte. The 31-year-old Alburquerque, who has 254 major-league relief appearances, combined to go 2-1 with a 2.87 ERA over 32 games between Triple-A Omaha in the Royals organization and Charlotte. "With his experience and his ability to come out and eat up some innings when we need it an inning or two it just gives us a little more depth and gives us an opportunity to pull guys when we need to," Renteria said.

9 Volstad, 30, is a veteran of seven major-league seasons, including with the Cubs in 2012, and was 3-10 with a 5.57 ERA and one save in 27 appearances (18 starts) with Charlotte. "He has been around, he knows what he's doing," Renteria said. "We can use him in any number of ways." The Sox's active roster increased to 30 and the 40-man roster to 40. White Sox say Carlos Rodon done for the season, lose to Giants The lefty was scratched minutes before Thursday s game with shoulder stiffness. By Brian Sandalow / Chicago Sun-Times September 9, 2017 The news on Carlos Rodon wasn t terrible. It wasn t great, but it could have been much worse. Lucas Giolito s night, meanwhile, was plain frustrating. About five minutes after the first pitch Friday in what was eventually a 9-2 loss to the visiting Giants, the White Sox announced that Rodon has been put on the 10-day disabled list with inflammation in his left (pitching) shoulder and will not pitch again this season. Rodon had been scratched before Thursday s game with stiffness in the shoulder, He had an MRI exam Friday and will be re-evaluated next week and won t go with the team on its trip to Kansas City. Just move on and try to get healthy, Rodon said. Said manager Rick Renteria: We re just being extremely cautious. Obviously a very important piece for us moving forward, and we ll just see how it continues to progress as he settles into some downtime right now. Rodon, 24, who missed almost all of the first half of the season with bursitis in his upper biceps, had shown signs of becoming the starter the Sox expect and need him to be. After his season debut June 28, he went 2-5 with a 4.15 ERA overall, with a 1-1 record, 3.00 ERA and 45 strikeouts over his last seven starts staking a claim on being a staff leader and possible Opening Day starter next year. He struck out a career-high 9.9 batters per nine innings and had a personal-best WHIP. He ll end the season having thrown just 69⅓ innings. I ll definitely be back to pitch next year. No doubt about that, Rodon said. Just try to get healthy and figure out the problem. Assuming Rodon recovers fully, the Sox should still feel confident about a 2018 rotation that figures to include him, Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and sooner or later Michael Kopech. But the Sox and Giolito have to hope things go better next year than they did Friday. During his 5⅓ innings, Giolito had to deal with control problems and a defense that committed three errors. He ended up allowing five runs (three earned) and three hits while walking four, striking out five and throwing a wild pitch. He fell behind 3-0 in the fourth when he allowed a three-run homer to Pablo Sandoval that ended the third baseman s 0-for-39 skid. Giolito s night ended in the sixth when he was removed after walking Hunter Pence on a close pitch that could have led to a strikeout/caught-stealing double play. As Giolito walked off the field, he yelled to home-plate umpire Gabe Morales and was ejected. Second-base umpire and crew chief Eric Cooper also ejected Renteria. Basically, I just told [Morales] that I wish he would have worked me a little bit better, said Giolito, who was 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA and 14 strikeouts over his previous two starts. I felt like I threw a few pitches that were clearly in the strike zone that he called balls, just throughout the night, especially that last one. Avisail Garcia hit a two-run homer in the fourth for the Sox. Even with Giants in town, draft position not on Rick Renteria s mind An argument can be made it would be better for the White Sox and Giants to lose games this weekend so they can get better positioning for the draft. By Brian Sandalow / Chicago Sun-Times September 9, 2017 You could argue it s better for the last-place White Sox and San Francisco Giants to lose games this weekend, to get better positioning for the 2018 draft.

10 But Sox manager Rick Renteria wasn t thinking that way before the teams met Friday night to open their three-game series. I think their club and our club and every club that plays major-league baseball tries to go out honestly and tries to perform well, tries to win a ballgame, Renteria said. I think all those things take care of themselves. They re not something I think about, worry about, concern myself with. For better or worse, the Sox haven t been winning recently. With Friday s 9-2 loss, their ninth defeat in their last 11 games, they fell a season-high 32 games below.500 and continued a march toward 100 losses and perhaps the first overall draft pick. My biggest concern is, are the players doing what they re supposed to do, are they gaining experience and knowledge, and are they dealing with situations that occur at any given moment properly? Renteria said. And the rest, it is what it is. New faces The Sox announced they ve purchased the contracts of right-handers Al Alburquerque and Chris Volstad from Class AAA Charlotte to help fill out the staff for the end of the season. Alburquerque has pitched in parts of seven major-league seasons and went 2-1 with a 2.87 ERA this season in Class AAA, splitting time with the Royals affiliate and Charlotte. His experience and his ability to come out and maybe eat up some innings when we need to an inning or two just gives us a little bit more depth and gives us an opportunity to be able to spell guys when we need to, Renteria said. Volstad was 3-10 with a 5.57 ERA and one save at Charlotte. He last pitched in the majors in 2015 with the Pirates. We can use him in any number of ways, Renteria said. I think he s going to give us some flexibility. Shark night The Sox will see a familiar face Saturday in Jeff Samardzija. He spent the 2015 season with the Sox, going a disappointing with a 4.96 ERA before signing a five-year deal with the Giants that offseason. Renteria also has a Samardzija connection. He managed the right-hander with the Cubs in 2014 until he was traded that July to the Athletics. Before the trade, Samardzija was 2-7 with a 2.83 ERA and earned an All-Star nod. He was a horse big, strong man who could go out there and eat up some innings with some good stuff, Renteria said. Obviously, he was here for a little bit, then went to Oakland, and now obviously with the Giants. He s a guy with a power arm. White Sox shut down Rodon for season By Scot Gregor / Daily Herald September 8, 2017 It's been a frustrating season for Carlos Rodon. Expected to emerge as the Chicago White Sox's next ace after Chris Sale and Jose Quintana were traded, Rodon has spent most of his time trying to get healthy. After missing almost all of spring training with left biceps bursitis and not making his first start until June 28, the 24-yearold starter was 2-5 with a 4.15 ERA heading into Thursday night's scheduled outing against the Indians. Rodon was scratched from the start, and now his season is over. An MRI taken Friday revealed left shoulder inflammation, landing Rodon on the disabled list. He'll be examined again next week. Rodon said something felt wrong when he was warming up Thursday night. "It felt really good," said Rodon, who made 12 starts this season. "It's like a roller coaster going on right now. It felt really good and it just spurts up on us."

11 Manager Rick Renteria didn't hesitate to scratch Rodon after he felt shoulder discomfort. "With Carlos, just like any of our guys, when we're concerned or have any questions about any of them, we will always deal with them with an abundance of caution," Renteria said. Fresh arms: With Carlos Rodon out for the final three weeks of the season, the Sox are going to need another starter. Mike Pelfrey could return to the rotation after being moved to the bullpen in early August. On Friday, the White Sox added pitchers Chris Volstad and Al Alburquerque from Class AAA Charlotte. The 6-foot-8 Volstad, who has pitched for the Marlins, Cubs, Rockies and Pirates, was 3-10 with a 5.57 ERA in 27 games (18 starts) for Charlotte this season. "He knows the situation he's in," manager Rick Renteria said. "We can use him in any number of ways. I think he's going to give us some flexibility. We'll deal with him as we need to, and I'm sure he's happy to be here and wants to contribute in any way he can." Alburquerque has pitched for the Tigers, Angels and Royals. In 10 relief appearances with Charlotte, the right-hander had a 4.63 ERA and 2 saves. "Really good slider," Renteria said. "I think that with his experience and his ability to come out and eat up some innings when we need to, an inning or two, it just gives us a little more depth and gives us an opportunity too spell guys when we need to." Giolito ejected in White Sox's 9-2 loss to Giants By Scot Gregor / Daily Herald September 8, 2017 Getting a grip on his emotions helped Lucas Giolito get a shot in the Chicago White Sox's starting rotation this season. Physically, Giolito has the tools to be a standout starter in the major leagues. Mentally, he's made big strides since the first half of the season, when he was producing mixed results with Class AAA Charlotte. Giolito was calm, cool and collected in his first three starts for the Sox, and the 23-year-old righty entered Friday night's interleague game against San Francisco with back-to-back wins while allowing just 1 run in 14 innings over the stretch. In a 9-2 loss to the Giants, Giolito scuffled a bit and was also burned by home-plate umpire Gabe Morales' erratic strike zone. Giolito's frustration boiled after he appeared to strike out Hunter Pence with one out in the sixth inning. Morales called the 3-2 pitch a ball on what looked to be a low strike, so Pence walked while Buster Posey stole home to give the Giants a 4-2 lead. Manager Rick Renteria pulled Giolito after the Pence walk, and the rookie pitcher yelled at Morales as he walked off the field. Morales ejected Giolito, who then moved toward the umpire before being pulled away by bench coach Joe McEwing. "I basically just told him that I wished he would have worked me a little bit better," Giolito said. "I felt like I threw a few pitches that were clearly in the strike zone that he called balls throughout the night, especially that last one. It was a big situation. It was strike him out, throw him out if I got strike three there." The ejection was a first for Giolito.

12 "I don't think I said anything to warrant an ejection," he said. "I just kind of wanted to let (Morales) know I thought he missed some calls throughout the night. To a certain extent, you have to stand up for yourself. I guess I just said one too many things." Crew chief Eric Cooper wound up ejecting Renteria for arguing with Morales as the Sox lost their fifth straight. Giolito didn't get the win, but he wasn't bad. With runners on first and second and two outs in the fourth inning, Giolito hung a changeup to Pablo Sandoval, who was mired in an 0-for-39 slump. Sandoval hit a 3-run homer to give the Giants the early lead. With the loss, the White Sox (54-86) have the second worst record in baseball. The Phillies (53-88) are in the basement and the Giants (56-87) now have the third worst record. Carlos Rodon done for the season with shoulder inflammation By James Fegan / The Athletic September 8, 2017 Yeah, you know, it's been up and down, Carlos Rodon said of his 2017 season Thursday, after a wave of soreness in his left shoulder ended his night before it began. Had some good starts. Now we're fumbling it. His season will end on that uneven, uncertain note. The White Sox announced Friday that the 24-year-old lefty will be placed on the disabled list with left shoulder inflammation. The intention is that he won't pitch again in He will be further evaluated next week, but the MRI results received Friday evening clearly showed enough to merit an abundance of caution. I think it s the best thing, the best way to go about it. I mean it s tough news to take, but there s not much I can do about it, Rodon said after Friday's game. The MRI was kind of the same as the last one I took, the previous one I took at the end of spring training. Just move on and try to get healthy. Manager Rick Renteria deflected all questions regarding Rodon's injury on Thursday and Friday, but he never minimized the issue. For his part, Rodon lamented how good he had been feeling physically beforehand and how immediately he knew something was wrong while warming up. His concerns have been proven to be justified. So ends an incredibly weird season for Rodon. It began with him mysteriously standing to the side of his teammates during spring training throwing sessions, and with him making just one spring training start before his bicep bursitis hit and began a curiously drawn-out three-month recovery. When he finally did rejoin the White Sox, he delivered 69 1/3 innings that ranged from rusty wildness to eye-popping stuff undone by inconsistent command to transcendence that backed up the frontline starter potential the White Sox believe he has. In the end, he has a similarly middling ERA and DRA (4.15 and 5.30), but anyone who watched him will insist that he could, and should, be so much more, and soon. Had some good starts, had a good run. Would ve been nice to keep going. But these things happen and just got to get better, Rodon said. I ll definitely be back to pitch next year, no doubt about that. But like I said, just try to get healthy and figure out the problem. Getting him to perform on the field seems more inevitable than ever after some of the feel he demonstrated on his changeup this season, but getting him on the field has become a bigger question than ever before. After back problems in college, arm fatigue last season and shoulder and bicep issues this year, Rodon will be under the microscope as the Sox determine whether his delivery puts too much stress on his shoulder and whether he's durable enough to be a contributor during their contention cycle. I'm sure that the staff, the medical staff and the doctors and everybody can kind of put their heads together and see what it is that needs to be done to see if we can clear up whatever it is that's causing the inflammation, Renteria said. Right now, I'm not a doctor so I couldn't tell you what's causing it. But we do know that something is wrong. Right now it's inflammation that he has, so they'll deal with it and again there's no rush for us to get him back at this point. Friday, we discussed how, with all the talent the White Sox have in tow, the coming seasons will be about assessing that talent's real strength and durability. That's what 2018 will be about for Rodon, as well, though that was supposed to be the

13 case for this season, and it remains to be seen how much healthy time he'll get to make up for it next year. By the numbers: White Sox air grievances, but lose badly By James Fegan / The Athletic September 8, 2017 With their staff ace lost earlier in the day to shoulder inflammation, the White Sox (52-84) will be content to have promising rookie Lucas Giolito end the night saddled with nothing more than nagging frustration. Poor command, a tight strike zone and one bad mistake pitch to Pablo Sandoval sent a promising night tumbling into a 9-2 loss to the woebegone San Francisco Giants. The big glaring thing was not commanding the changeup as well as I usually do, Giolito said. And then from there just falling behind too many batters. The pitch count got way up there, a lot of 2-1 and 3-2 counts. I wish I did a better job of getting ahead of guys and putting them away. The loss didn't come without any excitement though, as Giolito and White Sox manager Rick Renteria were both ejected. Let's take a look at some numbers from the Sox's fifth-consecutive loss. *** 32: Games under.500 for these White Sox, which is one game worse than the Giants. Renteria says the Sox aren t thinking about this, and you should very much believe him. At the same time, you are thinking about this, and the No. 2 spot in the draft order, aren t you? The Sox entered the night percentage points behind the Giants in the race to the bottom, but with the loss Friday, passed them for the second-worst record in baseball behind only the Phillies. This series could go a long way in determining the final order. 11: Strikes that home plate umpire Gabe Morales could be credibly accused of taking away from Giolito using the strike zone plot from Baseball Savant. Giolito talked earlier this week about using eye levels to fool hitters. Specifically, he discussed how his height makes batters think the ball is coming at an extreme downward slant, which tricks them into chasing pitchers higher than they expect. Perhaps Morales was fooled as well, because the ump seemed to think every time Giolito threw a ball to the bottom of the zone, that he actually threw it through the ground. Yeah, I guess sometimes when I do a good job of driving the fastball down, it can look like a ball, Giolito said. I m not totally sure. I ve never been behind home plate and see pitches before so I m not totally sure what it looks like. This is also the total number of swinging strikes Giolito had on the night, as his fastball remains a swing-and-miss pitch when he tempts hitters to chase it out of the zone, despite regularly sitting mph with it, and struggling with or just not being rewarded for his control all night. 1: Career ejections for Giolito, who was a little perturbed with Morales after what he thought was a pinpoint 3-2 fastball on the outside corner for the start of an inning-ending strike em out, throw em out double play. Instead, the pitch was called a ball, allowing Hunter Pence to walk and Buster Posey to essentially steal home on what was ruled a fielder's choice when White Sox catcher Kevan Smith tried to throw Brandon Crawford out at second. At 107 pitches, it was already the end of his night, so Giolito decided it was a good time to air his grievances. Then, seemingly all of sudden, despite Morales waving him away, he decided he needed to get a lot closer for Morales for him to hear what he was saying. Yeah, I didn t think I said anything to warrant an ejection, Giolito said. I just wanted to kind of let him know I thought he missed some calls throughout the night. But to a certain extent you have to stand up for yourself. Like I said, just said one too many things. One is also the number of pitches Al Alburquerque has thrown in his White Sox career. He came in with two outs in the ninth and got a first-pitch groundout. 7: League-leading number of ejections this season for Renteria, and a new career-high. Most of them stemmed from his commitment to sticking up for his player whenever one got tossed, not because he heard footsteps on his league lead from Jeff Bannister and Joe Girardi, but he extended his advantage all the same. I think [pitching coach Doon Cooper] was doing a great job trying to keep me in, to be honest, Renteria said. It didn't happen. It's just like anything, a pitcher in the heat of the battle, he's walking off the hill, was sharing some of his emotions basically. But I thought again he was walking away, I didn't think it was so egregious. I think mine was more true to being tossed.