Between rehab stints, minor-league signings and injuries, the White Sox made a lot of roster moves up and down the farm system on Friday.
Charlotte Knights
The Knights' roster featured a few new names, and their doubleheader against Norfolk allowed them to accommodate everybody. Tim Anderson and Hanser Alberto began their rehab stints in Game 1, while the newly signed Clint Frazier started in left field in Game 2.
The arrival of Frazier, even at Charlotte, adds to this season's rebuild-y feel, when the White Sox brought in guys like AJ, Reed, DJ Peterson and Manny Banuelos based on the prospect stock in the distant past. The former fifth-overall selection has had an up-and-down career. It probably peaked with the Yankees in 2019-20 when he hit .267/.347/.497 over 108 games. Poor defense limited his value, and then his 2021 season ended abruptly due to dizziness that he says stemmed from multiple concussions.
An attempt to rebound with the Cubs was interrupted by an early-season appendectomy. He spent most of the remainder of the season with Triple-A Iowa, and then he signed a minor-league contract with the Rangers after the season. He'd been hitting .250/.350/.442 with 18 strikeouts over 16 games for Triple-A Round Rock when they released him.
The White Sox also signed Bryan Shaw, who had a decent spring training with the Sox but wanted to explore options elsewhere. Then he probably saw what the White Sox bullpen was doing and figured he'd be better off competing with Alex Colomé for one more go-around.
A.J. Alexy has been in Charlotte the whole time, but he's no longer on the 40-man roster. The White Sox outrighted him after he went unclaimed through waivers, and the 18 walks in 10 innings explain why.
Birmingham Barons
Garrett Crochet underwent his evaluation, and he's good to join the Barons and start his rehab assignment from Tommy John surgery this weekend.
The Barons placed José Rodríguez on the injured list retroactive to Wednesday. His return from the hamate injury that truncated his 2022 season has been a rocky one, as he's hitting .218/.279/.346 with an uncharacteristic 15 strikeouts over 61 plate appearances. Even when he opened his Double-A career with prolonged struggles last season, he still only struck out 16 percent of the time.
In his place, Alsander Womack made his Double-A debut on Friday. The White Sox signed Womack (son of Tony Womack) as an undrafted free agent out of Norfolk State in 20211, and he's spent the bulk of his professional career at Winston-Salem, where he hit .277/.360/.409 over 90 games between 2022 and 2023. He's 24 and his stocky frame limits his defensive contributions, but it's been fun watching him hit, and he has some idea of the strike zone (45 walks against 61 strikeouts over 97 games between the A-ball levels).
And in Arizona
The White Sox shared some welcome footage of Liam Hendriks back on the mound.
Charlotte 6, Norfolk 3 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Tim Anderson DH'd and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in his first rehab game.
- Hanser Alberto doulbed and singled twice in his three trips.
- Carlos Pérez was 0-for-3 with a K.
Norfolk 8, Charlotte 4 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Clint Frazier walked once and struck out thrice in his organizational debut.
Birmingham 10, Tennessee 2
- Alsander Womack made his Double-A debut, going 3-for-5 with a double.
- Luis Mieses went 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Yoelqui Céspedes singled, walked and struck out twice.
- Adam Hackenberg singled twice and struck out twice.
- Cristian Mena: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, 1 HR
