Eleven roster moves.
No one connected to the White Sox or media who have covered the team for decades could recall that many in one day, but the White Sox pulled that off Tuesday in a confluence of changes including perhaps their most valuable player in Tim Anderson returning from the injured list, sending rookie Oscar Colas to Triple-A Charlotte and designating left-hander Jake Diekman for assignment.
The rash of moves points to where the Sox, a deplorable 8-21 going into their game against the Twins Tuesday, stood in a dazed state on the first day of May. It also underscored their ongoing injury problems (Anderson is back after the Sox went 3-15 without him but Yoan Moncada is still out), the failure of top prospect Colas to stick after being pegged by general manager Rick Hahn last winter as the man for the job in right field (there were plenty of proven right fielders available on the free agent market) and the ditching of Diekman, essentially the only player acquired at the trade deadline last year.
The Sox got Diekman, thought to be a high-leverage lefty at the time, in exchange for catcher Reese McGuire and a minor league pitcher. McGuire is batting .327/.353/.408 in 18 games for the Red Sox. Diekman posted a 7.94 ERA in 13 games after posting a 6.52 ERA in 26 games for the Sox last season.
Hanser Alberto was also reinstated from the IL, and the contracts of light-hitting but fast outfielder Billy Hamilton, veteran right-hander Alexander Colome and lefty Sammy Peralta were purchased from Charlotte.
Infielder/outfielder Romy Gonzalez, who struggled offensively and defensively and until Elvis Andrus was acquired early in spring training was pegged by Hahn to be the everyday second baseman, landed on the 10-day IL with a sore left shoulder.
The Sox also optioned Lenyn Sosa to Charlotte, lost reliever Joe Kelly for a few days as he goes on the paternity list and designated Triple-A righty Frank German for assignment.
Colas, who had a strong spring and won an Opening Day roster spot, is batting .211/.265/.276 in 84 plate appearances and has been shaky at times defensively, signaling the need for more time at Charlotte. He played only seven games at Charlotte last season after excelling at High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham.
“He wasn’t producing the way we anticipated and that happens,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “This is a tough level to play at. Some guys get here and produce right away, some guys don’t. Some guys need to go back down and continue to develop.”
Colas’ shortcomings are emblematic of where the Sox are but there’s much more to it than one player.
“Controlling the running game, I’m not happy about it,” Grifol said Tuesday. “Cutoffs and relays, I’m not happy about it. Runners in scoring position, not happy about it. Controlling the strike zone? We’re not.”
Perhaps Anderson can provide a lift.
“We’ve seen it. We watched it. I watched it,” Anderson said. “You all watched it. You all wrote about it. You all talked about it. Hopefully we can start something new here today.”