Usually teams call up a pitcher for the extra man during a doubleheader, but when the second consecutive postponement of a White Sox-Guardians game this week forced a twin bill today, the White Sox called for Adam Haseley instead.
A position player isn't nearly as odd on a team that 1) already has 15 pitchers and 2) had the last two days off due to weather, but Haseley still seemed like an unusual choice, given that he hadn't started the season off with a noteworthy performance (.211/.302/.237 over 43 PAs in Charlotte, although with four walks to just three strikeouts). He's a left-handed bat for use against a Cleveland team with stout right-handed pitching, but that's about it.
The Haseley decision made a little more sense when Tony La Russa said that Eloy Jiménez was still dealing with ankle soreness stemming from drilling a foul ball into it a week ago.
Eloy Jimenez has sore left ankle. Hit in cages, ran some this morning, might pinch hit. Fouled pitch off ankle last week and has played since but "I think he twisted it somehow, making some kind of move," La Russa said. "It's more than just the bruise, there's some swelling."
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) April 20, 2022
Jiménez sat the next game but played all three games of the Tampa Bay series, going 2-for-10 with a walk and four strikeouts. Five of his six batted balls stayed on the ground, with the lone fly ball going the opposite way.
At least the White Sox have experience in this area should Jiménez's ankle nag him for even longer. It gives Andrew Vaughn a clean pathway to playing time, even if there isn't a lefty starter on the horizon. (Then when AJ Pollock returns to the lineup on Friday, the Sox can bury Vaughn again.)
Dallas Keuchel is 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA (9 ER/34.0 IP) in five career starts at Progressive Field.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 20, 2022
⏰: 1:10 p.m. CT
📺: @NBCSChicago
📻: @ESPN1000
💰: O/U 3.5 CWS Total Runs pic.twitter.com/Fp4yj7n2JO
But there's more injury news, and it's not all bad. Jimmy Lambert is still expected to take the ball as part of a Johnny Wholestaff effort in Game 2, but his time as a rotation patch has an end date in sight, as Lucas Giolito is setting up to pitch Sunday in Minnesota.
That's a day after Johnny Cueto is expected to make his White Sox organizational debut for Charlotte, so while this week's outlook remains dicey, next week could have a considerably different feeling, at least on the pitching front.
In the meantime, the Sox have a doubleheader to survive, and if Game 1 doesn't go well, Game 2 might not line up in a promising fashion.
In Game 2, per La Russa, Mendick probably at SS, Haseley starts in OF, McGuire will catch, Harrison will play 3B or 2B, Garcia 2B or OF.
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) April 20, 2022
