Pregame notes: Garrett Crochet’s abbreviated first half finale

As several sports gambling accounts are screaming about in my mentions, the White Sox are effectively giving shortened final outings to both Garrett Crochet and Jonathan Cannon on Friday, making them piggyback each other before an extended All-Star break.

For Crochet, it serves to enable him to pitch on Tuesday in the All-Star Game itself, while fitting alongside the more official goal of tapering down his workload. He is also scheduled to be the last starter out of the break (Erick Fedde will be second-last), though Pedro Grifol at least offered the carrot that Crochet won't be ratcheted down to just being an opener until a bit later in the season. That is, if he's still here.

The MLB Draft will be dominating the attention of every front office for the next five days, but there's at least the possibility that Crochet's shortened outing will follow in the tradition of José Abreu quietly sitting on the bench on the last day of the 2022 season, and Mark Buehrle throwing seven scoreless on a dark, wet night in September 2011 for low key White Sox farewells.

"Executing a deal is really, really hard," said Pedro Grifol. "Executing a deal with a potential superstar makes it that much more difficult. I’m not focused on that. Garrett’s not focused on that."

Paul Skenes is in town, and while he missed facing Crochet by a day, his media availability for being named the National League starter for the All-Star Game allowed him to comment on his counterpart in a way that would be creepy in most other forums.

"I don’t know a whole about his repertoire or anything like that, but I know how his body moves and it’s kind of what I pay attention to; it’s interesting," Skenes said. "I’m a crossfire righty, crossfire low slot righty. He’s a crossfire lefty, but he has something like seven feet of extension and also throws 99 to 100 mph. It’s tough for hitters. It’s a different angle, obviously, than me. But trying to pick stuff off him as I watch him. It’s fun to watch him move."

Which of these men is less likely to agree to terms on a contract extension with their current organization? I suppose only time will tell.

A bullpen day is on tap for Sunday's first half finale, and Grifol indicated some order of Cannon, Drew Thorpe and Chris Flexen will lead the Sox starters in the first three games out of the break. That order does not include Mike Clevinger, who is scheduled to throw a bullpen Friday and pitch for the Charlotte Knights on Sunday. The next step of his rehab depends on how those two steps go.

Davis Martin was activated Friday at Triple-A Charlotte--he was never placed on the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man spot because he was on the Triple-A IL this entire time--and is the scheduled starter for the Knights Friday. His progression is more something than watch than one that comes with a specific ETA for returning to the majors, but he's hit all his rehab goals so far.

Joe Barlow was released alongside the move to add Martin. He assembled a 10.03 ERA in 11 2/3 innings with the Knights, and the White Sox apparently cut bait on the project of restoring him to pre-shoulder injury form.

Eloy Jiménez is homerless with a 71.3 percent ground ball rate since returning from the injured list in the final week of June.

"It’s a matter of finding that swing, finding that rhythm and tempo that he needs to get the ball in the air," Grifol said. "He's still hitting the ball on the ground, but I’m proud of the fact that he sees it, he’s working on it — relentlessly working on it — he understands what he needs to do, and it’s just a matter of timing now. It’s a matter of him continuing to repeat it in the cage, on the field during batting practice and then go and execute in the game. But he understands that his game is hitting the ball in the air, a big part of his game is slugging. He gets it, and he’s working hard to go execute it."

Even with his struggles and injuries, Michael Kopech's fastball profile and pure physical talent will maintain a level of trade interest in him throughout the league, and few in the industry would be surprised to see him rip off a stretch of elite relief seasons with the right blend of health and organizational situation.

That said, Grifol gave him an extremely defiant endorsement after his immaculate inning.

"There’s too much talent, too much heart, too much character to even think about moving him down," Grifol said Wednesday. "'Hey, you’re going to pitch the seventh or eighth.' That didn’t even cross my mind. What crossed my mind is, how are we going to get him to do what he did today consistently, the last two times out, consistently."

For his part, having experienced the good with the bad, likes closing and feels it's the closest he can get to the sense of purpose that came with starting.

"It's still a peak moment in the game," Kopech said. "It's just amplified, which is part of the role. When things go well, it's great and everyone expects you to do your job, having that role. When things go wrong, it becomes highly scrutinized, which is what that position entails. It's still something that I enjoy doing."

FIRST PITCH: WHITE SOX VS. TWINS

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