Three days after White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said filling the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation is a fluid situation, Miguel Gonzalez will get another shot to fill the role.
Manager Robin Ventura said Friday Gonzalez will start Monday against the Rangers in Texas. Gonzalez pitched 5.1 innings against Toronto on April 25 when he gave up five earned runs and 11 hits.
“We’ll see how many innings he can go,” Ventura said before Friday’s game against the Minnesota Twins. “You look at what he did in Toronto – to get through a lineup like that and to be in a spot to earn something. He has a presence about him and he can throw strikes and do what he needs to do to get through.”
Gonzalez has appeared in four games for Class AAA Charlotte this season and is 1-0 with a 2.65 ERA. The White Sox are looking to solidify the bottom of their starting rotation after designating veteran John Danks for assignment this week. Erik Johnson took the loss on Thursday night against Boston before being sent back to the minors.
White Sox Vice President Kenny Williams was in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Friday where former San Francisco starter Tim Lincecum threw two sessions and 41 pitches. According to media reports, Lincecum’s fastball was consistently clocked at 90-91 mph. and reached 97 at one point of the session. The 32-year-old Lincecum underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip. His last major league start came last July.
White Sox ace Chris Sale – who will pitch Saturday against the Twins – said Friday that having a spot open at the bottom of the rotation creates some competition, which he sees as a positive.
“It puts some fire under people that are looking to stay,” Sale said. “I know whoever is put in that spot is trying to win the game that game, no doubt, but like I said, it puts a little fire underneath them to perform and take that job and run with it.”
Trading places
The White Sox recalled right-handed reliever Scott Carroll from Class AAA on Friday. Carroll takes Johnson’s roster spot. Carroll has appeared in 31 games with the Knights this season and is 0-1 with a 12.27 ERA. Carroll made 18 relief appearances for the White Sox last season, going 1-1 with a 3.41 ERA.
“The vibe is up awesome up here so I’m just glad to be back up and just be part of the team and help them win,” Carroll said.
This and that
Catcher Alex Avila (strained hamstring) started for Charlotte on Friday night and Ventura said he could return to the White Sox during next week’s road trip to Texas and New York….Reliever Jake Petricka isn’t sure when he sustained the hip impingement that landed him on the disabled list this week. “From all the throwing we do in spring, just kind of felt like normal tightness, getting used to the ramping up of the intensity,” Petricka said. “It just kind of kept coming back tighter.”
Follow me on Twitter @JeffArnold_
