Considering that Alexander Colomé wasn't signed until April, and that the White Sox called him up to fill in Joe Kelly's roster spot during paternity leave, everything about his presence suggested his stay wouldn't be a long one.
That didn't stop his first two appearances from coming in high leverage, which summed up the precarious state of the White Sox bullpen during the first week of May.
Colomé gave up the game-tying homer in the eighth inning of his first appearance, and then he yielded the go-ahead run in the 12th inning of the next one. Pedro Grifol chose to use him in the former situation, and was resigned to using him in the latter, and he didn't luck out either time.
Sanity was restored over the weekend, as Colomé pitched with the Sox trailing by two on Saturday, then while leading by 13 on Sunday. And now he's out, with Nick Padilla taking his place as the last man in the bullpen as part of four roster moves made by the White Sox this afternoon.
In the other matching pair, the Sox purchased the contract of Jake Marisnick while placing Billy Hamilton on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring.
Padilla seems equally destined for a short stay, whether because he's walked 11 guys over his last 11⅔ innings, or because the returns of Garrett Crochet and Liam Hendriks return loom over the near future. Still, he's 26 and has the option status to be shuttled between Chicago and Charlotte, so he's a better use of even a temporary roster spot.
Speaking of which, the White Sox also upgraded their outfield bench situation by swapping out Hamilton for Marisnick, regardless of the mechanism that made it possible.
Hamilton proved his value as a pinch-runner early, but his value as a legs-only player took a hit once Eloy Jiménez landed on the IL after his emergency appendectomy. Hamilton's dreadful late-inning plate appearances in the aforementioned 12-inning loss showed that the Sox should never want the bat in his hands. Jiménez's absence means one more lineup spot is subject to pinch-hitters and defensive caddies. That either increases the chances of Hamilton hitting for himself, or decreases the amount of moves Grifol can make elsewhere.
Marisnick offers some of Hamilton's speed and most of the defense, and his right-handedness complements Adam Haseley and Gavin Sheets in right field. Even though he's likely a replacement-level hitter in the majors, his .264/.407/.391 line at Charlotte shows that he stands a chance at offering a competitive plate appearance if the game finds him, which could not be said about Hamilton.
Hamilton hasn't played since the White Sox stranded him twice in the late innings last Thursday, which makes one wonder when he actually had an occasion to hurt himself. He's out of options, but he's also tough for any other team to roster for any length of time, so it wouldn't surprise me if both sides found the injury of convenience a mutually agreeable option. He gets to hang around and draw closer to 10 years of service time (he's coming up on 100 days of his ninth year), and the White Sox can wait and see if the roster can regain the shape that made Hamilton especially useful.
