For all of Chris Sale's regular-season dominance, he's often struggled to sustain that form through the end of seasons, even at his healthiest. This is most crudely illustrated by his monthly win-loss record ...
- April: 24-15
- May: 31-6
- June: 23-14
- July: 22-14
- August: 21-15
- September: 17-19
... and it was acutely felt during his time with the White Sox, when episodes of late-season mortality extinguished the embers of faint White Sox postseason chances or stronger Cy Young possibilities.
Sale last pitched for the White Sox in 2016, so in order to confirm a memory, I combined the lines from the nine times his final start of the season came in September, and indeed, it shows a Sale at his most gettable. He only threw two quality starts, which wasn't enough to offset the clunkers, and it resulted in a 4.95 ERA and 50 hits allowed over 43⅔ innings.
Sale is finally going to win the Cy Young that eluded him this season, as he leads the National League in wins (18-3), ERA (2.38), FIP (2.09) and strikeouts (225), but I was still curious whether he'd be able to see an award-winning season all the way through the final start of the regular season.
The answer was "no," but only because back spasms made him a late scratch for a must-win Game 2 of Atlanta's doubleheader with the Mets on Monday. The Braves managed to win without him with a shutout over a Mets team that had already clinched, so the sudden absence won't drain all the joy out of Sale's long-awaited individual accolade.
Atlanta manager Brian Snitker doesn't expect Sale to pitch in the wild card series, so his absence could still be felt in the postseason. Then again, given all the other injuries the Braves have suffered, it's a minor miracle that they're still playing at all.
Sale's absence removes the former White Sox I was most interested in watching this October, but he has plenty of company throughout the other 11 contenders. Most of them are pitchers.
National League
Atlanta Braves
Besides Sale, Reynaldo López threw a scoreless seventh inning in Atlanta's Game 2 victory, which lowered his ERA from an even 2.00 to 1.99. He'll enter the postseason having allowed just six runs and 30 baserunners over his last 34 innings while striking out 48, but those eight games have come over 9½ weeks as he's battled forearm and shoulder issues at the end of an otherwise incredible season. That scoreless inning against the Mets on Monday came just two days after he threw six innings and 73 pitches against the Royals, so they're not taking it easy on him.
Aaron Bummer has been a bastion of stability by comparison. He gave the Braves a respectable season in medium leverage, but he's still recognizable for an ERA that's way higher than his FIP (3.58 to 2.23), and he's allowed 36 percent of his inherited runners to score.
San Diego Padres
Dylan Cease led the league in starts for the third time in four seasons, appearing 33 times and throwing 189⅓ innings in his first season with the Padres. The 3.47 ERA effectively splits the difference between his last two seasons with the White Sox Sox (3.37 ERA), and he's toggled between "Cy Young runner-up". and "guy who gets bogged down with walks" over the last two months. He's lined up to start Game 3, if that game is necessary.
New York Mets
José Quintana entered the season with a 92-93 lifetime record and a 3.74 ERA. He proceeded to go 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA in his second season with the Mets, but three of his four starts in September were scoreless. He last pitched on Saturday, so he's lined up for a start in the Wild Card Series if the Mets abide by a schedule. Their rotation has been rather amorphous all season.
Also, Eddy Alvarez was a September call-up for the Mets. He went 0-for-9 over 11 games, so he doesn't seem likely to make the cut when rosters shrink back to 26. You're probably more likely to hear about Carlos Beltran, a special assistant to the Mets whom Bob Nightengale considers a potential candidate for the White Sox's managerial job.
Milwaukee Brewers
Here's a regular reminder that Tobias Myers, who posted a 3.00 ERA over his first 27 MLB games and 136 innings in Milwaukee this season, posted a 15.92 ERA in seven starts with Charlotte just two years ago.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers bullpen is three-eights former White Sox, although given that Daniel Hudson last pitched for the White Sox 14 GD years ago, that label just has just about worn off. Michael Kopech and Joe Kelly are far more recently relevant to White Sox interests. For Kopech, Sox fans will be waiting to see if his resurgent form holds up under October pressure. For the suddenly less popular Kelly, they'll probably hope he biffs it.
Also, first-base coach Clayton McCullough was identified as a White Sox managerial prospect by Bruce Levine, so pay attention to what you hear and read about him.
Philadelphia Phillies
Tanner Banks has resembled Tanner Banks since the White Sox traded him at the deadline. He's mostly been used in low leverage, as the return of his reverse splits make him hard to trust in traditional lefty situations. Likewise, José Ruiz found a bullpen where his ability to record quick innings when games are out of hand could be appreciated. He posted a 3.71 ERA over 52 games, and recorded his first save in his 264th career appearance.
American League
Kansas City Royals
Through his first 22 games with the Royals after the White Sox traded him to Kansas City, Paul DeJong hit .284/.355/.597 with six homers over 76 plate appearances. Then he struck out four times to close out August, and went just 5-for-41 with 18 strikeouts the rest of the way. Balance it out, and he more or less matched his White Sox production in one-third of the plate appearances:
- CHW: .228/.275/.430 over 363 PA
- KC: .222/.277/.417 over 119 PA
Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman also found their way to the Royals after tours after earlier trades sent them to the Cardinals and Rangers, respectively, and both replicated their White Sox careers as well, looking briefly like potential top-of-order candidates until a lack of power made pitchers increasingly comfortable attacking them. The return of Vinnie Pasquantino from injury pushed Grossman off the Wild Card roster.
Baltimore Orioles
Two potential former White Sox were taken out of play toward the end of September when the Orioles optioned Eloy Jiménez to Triple-A and designated Craig Kimbrel for assignment, so that leaves James McCann, who probably should only appear in games that are well in hand. Jiménez hit just .232/.270/.316 for Baltimore, continuing the trend of hitters who couldn't escape regression to their previous selves.
Detroit Tigers
If only Jason Benetti were calling games for Tigers on radio rather than TV.
Houston Astros
At this time last year, José Abreu began atoning for a disappointing regular season with a dynamic October. He won't get that chance this year, because the Astros DFA'd him in June.
Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians used 50 players this season, and none of them ever played for the White Sox, although Cleveland came tantalizingly close with Connor Gillispie.
New York Yankees
Carlos Rodón posted a 2.91 ERA over 12 starts and 68 innings in the second half, which was enough to negate his midsummer swoon and drag his ERA below 4 (3.96). He'll be part of the Yankees' rotation plans after their first-round bye, in some order with Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil.
The Yankees bullpen could feature upwards of three former White Sox. Tommy Kahnle looks like a sure thing, and while Ian Hamilton returned from his strained lat during the expanded September roster, he might've pitched well enough to survive the cuts. Jake Cousins never pitched for the White Sox because they traded him for cash considerations, but he was in the organization briefly as a spring training non-roster invitee, and he could factor into October bullpen plans assuming he returns from a strained pectoral muscle with minimal complications.
