WHITE SOX HEADLINES of JULY 27, 2017 “Rays Get Lefty Jennings from White Sox” … Oliver Macklin, MLB.Com “Yoan Gone: Moncada Hits Homer No
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WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF JULY 27, 2017 “Rays get lefty Jennings from White Sox” … Oliver Macklin, MLB.com “Yoan gone: Moncada hits homer No. 1” … Scott Merkin, MLB.com “White Sox send Avisail to DL for thumb strain” … Scott Merkin, MLB.com “Moncada, Hanson HRs not enough vs. Cubs” … Carrie Muskat & Fabian Ardaya, MLB.com “The White Sox celebrated Yoan Moncada's first career home run by giving the silent treatment” … Jessica Kleinschmidt, MLB.com “Trades, callups intersecting for White Sox” … Scott Merkin, MLB.com “Pelfrey, Lester square off in Crosstown finale” … Fabian Ardaya, MLB.com “Unheralded Sox trio making most of opportunity” … Phil Rogers, MLB.com “Yoan Moncada predicts home run is 'first one of many that are coming'” … Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago “Turning rebuild lemons into World Series lemonade, Cubs can provide hope, if not a template, for rebuilding White Sox” … Vinnie Duber, CSN Chicago “On night when James Shields gets knocked around by Cubs, future White Sox starters shine” … Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago “In midst of breakout season, Avisail Garcia sent to DL with right thumb strain” … Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago “White Sox trade reliever Dan Jennings to Rays for minor-leaguer Casey Gillaspie” … Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune “Hawk Harrelson says John Lackey is ‘full of (expletive)’”… Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune “White Sox to place Avisail Garcia on disabled list” … Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune “White Sox trade lefty Dan Jennings to Rays for prospect” … Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun-Times “Reynaldo Lopez forcing his way into White Sox’ rotation” … Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun-Times “White Sox to put Avisail Garcia on disabled list” … Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun-Times “Moncada hits first major-league homer in latest Chicago White Sox loss” … Scot Gregor, Daily Herald “Thumb injury lands Chicago White Sox all-star Garcia on DL” … … Scot Gregor, Daily Herald “MLB trade news: Rays acquire LHP Dan Jennings for prospect” … Thomas Lott, Sporting News Rays get lefty Jennings from White Sox Chicago acquires first-base prospect Gillaspie in return By Oliver Macklin / MLB.com | July 27, 2017 CHICAGO -- The Rays acquired left-handed reliever Dan Jennings from the Chicago White Sox for switch-hitting first baseman Casey Gillaspie on Thursday. Jennings was 3-1 with a 3.45 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings for the White Sox this season. The 30-year-old helps bolster the bullpen for Tampa Bay, which sits one game behind Kansas City for an American League Wild Card spot and 2 1/2 games back of Boston for the AL East Division lead entering play on Thursday. A six-year veteran who began his career with the Marlins, Jennings has a 2.86 ERA in 261 1/3 innings over the course of his career. He should provide the Rays with a solid left-handed relief option in a right-handed-heavy bullpen. The White Sox continue to stock up on prospects in acquiring Gillaspie, who was drafted in the first round in 2014 by Tampa Bay. The 24-year-old is hitting .227 with nine home runs and 44 RBIs in 95 games for Triple-A Durham this year. A 6-foot-4, 240-pound switch-hitter, Gillaspie brings plus power potential at the dish while playing solid defense at first base. He was ranked the Rays' No. 10 prospect by MLBPipeline.com. Gillaspie will be placed on the Triple-A Charlotte disabled list with a fractured right great toe he sustained on Tuesday at Buffalo when he fouled a ball off the foot. He is expected to miss 1-2 weeks. Yoan gone: Moncada hits homer No. 1 Top prospect's solo shot off Arrieta projected at 417 feet By Scott Merkin / MLB.com | @scottmerkin | July 26, 2017 CHICAGO -- During Yoan Moncada's first week with the White Sox, the No. 1 prospect in baseball per MLBPipeline.com, has picked up his first walk, first triple and first RBI. A first home run can be added as of Wednesday night, with the second baseman going deep against Jake Arrieta in the seventh inning of an 8-3 loss to the Cubs at Guaranteed Rate Field. Moncada connected on a 0-2 curve from the Cubs' right-hander, who had yielded one run on one hit until that point. Moncada's drive to center carried 417 feet per Statcast™, with an exit velocity of 104.8 mph. He became the first White Sox player to hit his first career homer off of a Cy Young Award-winning pitcher since Josh Phegley against David Price on July 5, 2013. "It means a lot because it was the first one of many that are coming," Moncada said through interpreter Billy Russo. "And I'm happy." "That was his first career home run?" Arrieta said. "It was an 0-2 curveball. It was a good breaking ball but not in an 0-2 count when a guy is in swing mode, and he put a good swing on it. He had a pretty balanced swing." Moncada has three hits in 23 at-bats since joining the White Sox. But those numbers don't tell the whole story. There's a confidence and poise Moncada carries with him on everything he's doing. And even with eight strikeouts against four walks, Moncada has been able to work deep counts and track the ball at the plate. "I'm going to say this. I think that there were -- and I'll probably get in trouble for this -- but there were a couple calls that he took, a couple pitches that he took for third strikes that were probably not strikes," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "And he took them. "They weren't situations in which he would like to expand the zone a little bit, so he didn't. He comes back into the dugout, and if it's a situation where I say to him, 'Hey, you've got to expand it a little bit.' But that's not the case." White Sox teammates gave Moncada the silent treatment when he returned to the dugout following the home run. They then quickly celebrated the blast. Michael Kopech, baseball's top pitching prospect per MLBPipeline.com and No. 3 overall for the White Sox, tweeted out congratulations for Moncada and Rafael Devers, Boston's top prospect who hit his first MLB homer Wednesday in Seattle. Kopech, who struck out 12 over six innings in a victory for Double-A Birmingham on Wednesday, played with both last year in the Red Sox farm system. Moncada received the baseball and said it will go in a special crystal case for his kids to know it was very meaningful for him. "You can tell that guy has a lot of potential," Arrieta said. "He's pretty balanced in the box." "It has been a nice week for me," Moncada said. "The results are going to come step by step. I'm just trying to enjoy the moment and try to take advantage of the experience and the opportunity to play here. I'm just happy I'm having this opportunity here." White Sox send Avisail to DL for thumb strain All-Star outfielder hoping for minimum 10-day stint By Scott Merkin / MLB.com | @scottmerkin | July 26th, 2017 CHICAGO -- Avisail Garcia will be placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a ligament strain in his right thumb. The injury was revealed through an MRI on Wednesday after the All-Star right fielder came to the team with continued discomfort in that area. "I've been [feeling it] in games every time, but I wasn't paying attention to it because that's something that happens," said Garcia, wearing a splint on the thumb and talking from the White Sox dugout. "Now I have inflammation. Hopefully it's for 10 days. It's not too serious. Let's see what happens." "It's just a matter of letting the thumb heal and getting him back out there," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "He's been fighting through this for a little while now, and it got aggravated at some point over the last day or so." Garcia, 26, has a .303 batting average with 13 home runs and 54 RBIs during this breakout campaign. But he finished 0- for-5 in Tuesday's 7-2 loss to the Cubs and has gone 3-for-24 without an extra-base hit or RBI over his last six games. That inflammation, located at the base of his right thumb, was hampering Garcia when gripping and swinging the bat. "I feel a big difference," Garcia said. "That's why I decided to go to the doctor today because I couldn't swing the same way that I have to swing. "You could see yesterday, 0-for-5. I've been swinging too much with my shoulders. Trying to force it. I don't have to force it. If something's wrong, I have to stop because I want to help my team. I don't want this to happen. But it happened. That's baseball. So I've just got to take care of this and be back and ready." There's no concern Garcia will need surgery. But with the inflammation in the thumb and the inflammation remaining in his right middle finger that cost him three games from July 6-8, Garcia knew it was time for a rest. In other White Sox injury news, outfielder Leury Garcia began a rehab assignment, for a sprained finger on his left hand, Wednesday with the Arizona Rookie League team.