Veteran right-hander Luis Castillo threw a bullpen on Wednesday afternoon. Given his 7.25 ERA in a White Sox uniform and general manager Chris Getz’s recent comments on his delivery, it was a crucial one.
“There were some lower half mechanics that they were working on, and that seemed to be in a much better place,” Getz said of Castillo’s last start. “The upper half, the shoulder seemed to be flying open a bit more than it had in the past.”
It also was confirmation that after the Sox pushed back their rotation order on Saturday, Castillo is no longer slotted behind Wednesday’s starter Davis Martin. Extra rest didn’t do much for Sean Burke on Tuesday, but the Sox wanted a long window for tweaking Castillo’s mechanics.
Instead, Castillo will start sometime during this weekend’s series in St. Louis. Erick Fedde, initially the odd-man out of the rotation when Castillo arrived via trade last month, would be rested for Thursday’s finale against the Pirates, and the Sox are 17-11 when he starts or provides bulk innings. Anthony Kay would also be on regular rest, but as has often been the case as the Sox have patched together a group that has the fifth-highest ERA in MLB, Venable wouldn’t confirm Thursday’s starter until he knows “where we’re at at the end of today.”
With 17 games left after Wednesday, the repeated assertions that rookies Noah Schultz, David Sandlin, or that a rehabbing Drew Thorpe could be recalled for meaningful innings down the stretch are harder to figure. But that hasn’t slowed the flow of said assertions.
“There’s a number of guys down there that are going to be helpful for us at some point here,” Venable said. “A very important piece of this, getting to the end here, is having those guys available and ready to contribute.”
If Thorpe being asked to turn a lineup over twice in a division race–more than two years since he was last in the majors–feels far-fetched, multi-inning relief work is a potential fit for him and other Triple-A starters.
Day off for Vargas
Miguel Vargas was out of the lineup Wednesday, as Venable aims to fit in one more breather for each of his positional regulars for the rest of the season. As is typically the case, it’s really a half-day off until a pinch-hitting opportunity arises.
Roster move
Rookie right-hander Tyler Davis was placed on family medical emergency/bereavement leave on Wednesday, while left-hander Chris Murphy was recalled. They are two of the 10 different Sox pitchers to record a save this season.
Pham timeline
Athletes are usually bullish on their recovery timelines, but there’s at least one person who thinks Tommy Pham will be ready to be activated from his left calf strain by Sunday.
“If you talk to Tommy, as soon as he’s eligible to come back he’s going to be ready to go,” Venable said. “We’ll see how he continues to progress over the next couple of days.”
AFL-bound
When No. 2 Sox prospect Caleb Bonemer reports to Glendale for the Arizona Fall League in October, he’ll have many Double-A Birmingham teammates with him. Infielders Anthony DePino, Colby Shelton and catcher Grant Magill will be the other Sox positional representatives.
After getting shut down for the season with right wrist soreness, top prospect Roch Cholowsky will prepare for next spring.